1831: The University of Alabama Board of Trustees was created by the Alabama legislature.

April 5, 1859: The Probate Court of Mobile County granted a charter for a medical school with power vested in a board of trustees originally comprised by Drs. Josiah C. Nott, James F. Heustis, William H. Anderson, George A. Ketchum, Francis A. Ross, and Frederick E. Gordon.

November 14, 1859: The Medical College of Alabama opened in Mobile in a rented building. Dr. William H. Anderson was the school's first dean.

January 30, 1860: Act No. 255 of the Alabama Legislature chartered the Medical College of Alabama and appropriated $50,000.00 for purchase of grounds, the erection of buildings, and for necessary contingent expenses. Power for the school was vested with a board of trustees comprised by Newton St. John, J. C. Dubose, Robert A. Baker, William D. Dunn, A. R. Manning, Duke W. Goodman, H. T. Smith, C. R. Foot, Murray F. Smith, Samuel G. Battle, Theophilus L. Toulmin, John Little Smith, Charles Labaron, N. H. Brown, and John Forysth.

March 7, 1860: The first class of 15 graduated from the Medical College of Alabama after a one-year term.  Samuel W. Acton was the school's first graduate.

1860: A new four-story building was opened on St. Anthony Street in Mobile to house the Medical College of Alabama. The building occupied the center of a square bounded by St. Anthony, Lawrence, Cedar, and State streets.

1861: Classes suspended at the Medical College of Alabama due to the Civil War.

1865: The building of the Medical College of Alabama was occupied by the Federal Government; it later became the headquarters of the local Freedmen's Bureau.

1868: The building of the Medical College of Alabama was returned to the ownership of the college's governing board.

November 1868: Classes that had been suspended during the Civil War resumed at the Medical College of Alabama in Mobile. Dr. William H. Anderson returned as dean.

1869: Following the resumption of the school, five students graduated from the Medical College of Alabama after a one-year term.

1874: E. James Nesbitt of the British West Indies graduated from the Medical College of Alabama; the first international student to graduate from the medical school.

March 1878: The graduating class at the Medical College of Alabama included two international students, Segundo Zertuche of Mexico and Charles Hampden Field of London, England.

January 1884: A group of Birmingham women met at the First Methodist Episcopal Church South and formed the Daughters of the United Charities.

1885: Dr. George A. Ketchum became the second dean of the Medical College of Alabama.

September 1888: The Daughters of the United Charities established a hospital board and began plans for The Hospital of the United Charities.

October 23, 1888: The Hospital of the United Charities, a precursor to Hillman Hospital, opened in Birmingham.

July 12, 1893: The Birmingham Dental College was incorporated by the State. The college opened for instruction that fall.  Dr. Thomas M. Allen was the college's first dean.

October 13, 1893: With the start of the new school term, the Medical College of Alabama lengthened requirements for graduation from a two-year to three-year course.

March 7, 1894:  The Birmingham Dental College held its first commencement ceremony at Seal's Music Hall.  Dean Thomas M. Allen presented diplomas to the college's first three graduates:  Drury C. Cosby, John H. Rice, and William P. Stinson.  There had been 27 matriculates during the first year of the dental college.

June 9, 1894: The Birmingham Medical College was organized as a proprietary school and incorporated by the state legislature. Drs. John D. S. Davis, William E. B. Davis, William H. Johnston, Benjamin L. Wyman, Sr., Russell M. Cunningham, John C. LeGrande, B. G. Copeland, J. H. McCarty, and Lewis G. Woodson were the original stockholders of the medical school.

October 2, 1894: The Birmingham Medical College opened for its first term with Dr. William H. Johnston as dean. The College was located in the old Lunsford Hotel, a five-story building at 209-211 21st Street North. The proprietary school had a three-year course of study.  The first catalog for the college included Dr. Ella Elizabeth Barnes as a member of the school faculty.  Dr. Barnes was the "assistant to the chair of Diseases of Children."

December 1, 1894: The Hospital of the United Charities (predecessor of the Hillman Hospital) burned to the ground.

1894: The first class of three students graduated from the Birmingham Dental College after a one-year term.

1895: The first graduating class of the Birmingham Medical College was composed of one student, William Josiah Clark, who graduated after a one-year term.

1895: A one-story annex to the main building, housing the microscopy and pathology laboratories, was completed at the Medical College of Alabama.

March 1896: The Hospital of the United Charities was renamed Hillman Hospital in honor of benefactor Thomas T. Hillman, president of the TCI Railroad.

February 11, 1897: The state legislature chartered Hillman Hospital and vested its management in the Board of Lady Managers.

October 11, 1897: Following an announcement of Governor Joseph F. Johnston, the Medical College of Alabama in Mobile became the Medical Department of the University of Alabama (in Tuscaloosa). Control of the program remained with the school’s independent governing board and no funding was forthcoming from the University.

1897: The state legislature confirmed the charter of the Birmingham Medical College.

1898: Dr. Benjamin L. Wyman, Sr., became the second dean of the Birmingham Medical College.

January 1, 1899: Entering freshmen at the Birmingham Medical College were required to attend the college's new four-year course.

March 29, 1899: Elizabeth White of Birmingham graduated from the Birmingham Medical College. She was the school's only female graduate.

October 9, 1899: Entering freshmen at the Medical College of Alabama were required to attend the college's new four-year course.

• 1800s

1900: When opened for the fall term, the Department of Pharmacy at the Medical College of Alabama had two female students working toward a PhG degree: Lela M. Semler and Esther Turner Colston.

October 28, 1901: Ullman School opened. The building is one of the oldest structures remaining on the UAB campus.

April 8, 1902: Esther Turner Colston received a PhG degree from the pharmacy program of the Medical College of Alabama in Mobile.

July 12, 1902: Cornerstones were laid for the Birmingham Medical College and the Hillman Hospital.

1902: Dr. John W. Abercrombie became president of The University of Alabama and served until 1911.

1902: A one-story addition to the main building, housing the chemical laboratory, was completed at the Medical College of Alabama.

July 15, 1903: Hillman Hospital was dedicated.

February 28, 1905: Hillman Hospital Training School for Nurses graduated its first class. Elizabeth Hale of Birmingham was the program's first graduate.

April 9, 1906: The graduating class at the Medical College of Alabama included international student Tawfik Lutaif of Syria.

October 8, 1906: Dr. Rhett Goode became the third dean of the Medical College of Alabama.

January 1907: The Board of Lady Managers transferred the deed of the hospital land to the Jefferson County Board of Revenue for the purpose of operating the Hillman Hospital.

March 4, 1907: The Alabama Legislature amended the charter of the Medical College of Alabama (in Mobile) to definitely incorporate with and place the school under the control of The University of Alabama Board of Trustees. The legislation appropriated $45,000 to the school for repairs, renovations, improvements, and purchases and $5,000.00 annually for maintenance of facilities.

March 6, 1907: The Mobile medical school dissolved its own board of trustees, and The University of Alabama Board of Trustees gained sole control over the Mobile program. The school was officially renamed as the University of Alabama School of Medicine.

1908: A laboratory for comparative anatomy, a one-story wooden structure, was constructed on the property of the Medical College of Alabama, just north of the main medical building.

1908: At the start of the academic year in the fall, the Birmingham Dental College had one female faculty member, Dr. Meta Tudor Halley, an 1892 graduate of the Pennsylvania College of Dental Surgery.

 

• 1900s

1910: Dr. Edgar Poe Hogan became the first Hillman Hospital administrator, serving in a part-time capacity until 1930.

1910: The Birmingham Medical College merged with the Birmingham Dental College (which had opened in the fall of 1893) and was renamed the Birmingham Medical, Dental and Pharmaceutical College.

1911: Dr. George H. Denny became president of The University of Alabama and served until 1936.

1911: Dr. Eugene DuBose Bondurant became the fourth dean of the Medical College of Alabama.

1912: Dr. Lewis C. Morris, Sr., became the third dean of the Birmingham Medical, Dental and Pharmaceutical College.

September 12, 1912: The trustees of the proprietary Birmingham Medical, Dental and Pharmaceutical College transferred all land, buildings, and equipment to The University of Alabama Board of Trustees, who agreed to continue the school until the enrolled students completed their studies.

1913: Hillman Hospital Annex was completed.

May 27, 1915: The last class of 44 graduated from the Birmingham Medical College, and the program was terminated by The University of Alabama Board of Trustees.

October 2, 1915: Dr. Tucker Henderson Frazer became the fifth dean of the Medical College of Alabama.

• 1910s

View images from the 1920s.

January 1920: Dr. Alfred E. Thayer became acting dean of the medical school in Mobile. Dr. Thayer only served as acting dean through May.

June 1920: Dr. Daniel T. McCall, Sr., became acting dean of the Medical College of Alabama.

April 15, 1920: The University of Alabama Board of Trustees voted to “order the removal” of the medical school from Mobile to Tuscaloosa where the program would be reopened as a two-year preclinical school on the campus of the University.

May 28, 1920: Ten graduates received M.D. degrees from the Medical College of Alabama in the last commencement ceremony held in Mobile. Eleven other graduates received the Bachelor of Science in Medicine degree and two students received degrees in pharmacy.

1920: Medical College of Alabama was transferred from Mobile to The University of Alabama campus in Tuscaloosa where it was housed in a barracks building and reopened as a two-year basic sciences medical program.

1920: Dr. Clyde Brooks became the first dean of the University of Alabama’s two-year medical school in Tuscaloosa.

May 1921: The first two graduates received B.S. degrees in Medicine from The University of Alabama’s new two-year basic sciences medical program.

1922: Hillman Hospital received its first accreditation.

1922: Josiah Nott Hall was completed on the Tuscaloosa campus as a home to the two-year basic sciences medical program.

September 1923: Jimmie Ethel Montgomery entered the medical school in Tuscaloosa as the school's first full-time female student.

May 26, 1925: Jimmie Ethel Montgomery received a B.S. degree in Medicine from The University of Alabama, thus becoming the first female to graduate from the medical school.

1927: The University of Alabama Board of Trustees granted alumni status to all graduates of the Birmingham Medical College.

1928: Dr. Stuart Graves became the second dean of the University of Alabama’s two-year medical school in Tuscaloosa. He served until the school was moved to Birmingham in 1945.

January 15, 1929: The New Hillman Building was dedicated.

April 1929: Hillman Hospital School of Nursing Residence was dedicated.

• 1920s

January 1930: Dr. R. F. Lovelady was named the first full-time superintendent of Hillman Hospital.

1931: Dr. Allan Walker Blair, a Canadian-born pathologist, received a full-time faculty appointment as an assistant professor of Pathology. Blair had been an instructor at the two-year Tuscaloosa school since 1929.

1931: Dr. Eleanor Abrams Hunt received a full-time faculty appointment as an assistant professor of Histology and Embryology at the medical school in Tuscaloosa; she had been a research associate at the two-year school since 1928. Dr. Hunt was the first female appointed to the medical school's full-time faculty.

1932: Dr. Louise H. Branscomb, a gynecologist, became the first female physician granted staff privileges at the county-operated Hillman Hospital. She would later hold a clinical appointment at the medical school from 1945 until her retirement in 1975.

September 14, 1936: The University of Alabama opened its Birmingham Extension Center in an old wood-frame two-story house at 2131 6th Avenue North. For the first term, 116 students enrolled. One full-time instructor and seven-part time instructors taught 19 different courses.  The Center's library had 50 books.

September 1936: Edward K. Austin became the first director of the University of Alabama Birmingham Extension Center.

1936: Dr. Luther Terry completed an internship in Birmingham's Hillman Hospital. In 1961, the native of Red Level, Alabama, would be appointed Surgeon-General of the United States; he was the first Alabamian named as America’s top public health official.

1936: Dr. James W. McQueen was named superintendent of Hillman Hospital.

1936: Dr. Tom D. Spies established the Spies Nutrition Clinic within the Hillman Hospital upon the request of Dr. James S. McLester, physician-in-chief of the hospital.  Dr. Spies, a noted researcher from the University of Cincinnati (later from Northwestern University), would maintain the independent clinic within the hospital until his death in 1960.

1937: Dr. Richard C. Foster became president of The University of Alabama and served until 1941.

April 11, 1938: The cornerstone was laid -- after construction began -- on the Hillman Hospital Outpatient Clinic Building.

May 23, 1938: Thomas S. Lawson was elected to the University of Alabama Board of Trustees. He was the first new trustee elected to the board following the establishment of the extension center in Birmingham.

December 1938: Groundbreaking was held for Jefferson Hospital.

November 19, 1939: Hillman Hospital Outpatient Clinic Building was dedicated.

1939: The University of Alabama added four full-time faculty members at the Birmingham Extension Center:  Dr. Adrienne S. Rayl, Dr. Richard T. Eastwood, Marguerite Matlock Butler, and Quinton Dabbs.  Before these additions, the Center operated with one full-time faculty member, Center director Edward K. Austin, and with numerous part-time faculty and staff, including some full-time faculty from Tuscaloosa who commuted to and from Birmingham to teach.

1939: The University of Alabama's Birmingham Extension Center had an enrollment of 365 students.

• 1930s

View images from the 1940s.

January 23, 1940: Gordon D. Palmer was elected to the University of Alabama Board of Trustees.

November 29, 1940: Brewer Dixon was elected to the University of Alabama Board of Trustees.

December 26-30, 1940: Jefferson Hospital was dedicated.

January 1941: The Federally-sponsored Engineering, Science and Management War Training Program was initiated at the Birmingham Extension Center.  Through the ESMWT, the University of Alabama's extension division served "individuals engaged in the war industry" and aided in their effectiveness in "speeding up the production of goods and materials for the war."

February 1, 1941: Charles R. Skelton, a 43-year old carpenter from Ensley who had helped lay the foundation for the hospital, became the first patient admitted to Jefferson Hospital.

1941: Dr. George H. Denny became president of The University of Alabama -- for a second time -- and served until the following year.

1941: Space was so overcrowded at the Birmingham Extension Center that the university had to use a portion of the city's nearby Phillips High School for classes. The school was located on 7th Avenue North.

1942: Dr. Raymond R. Paty became president of The University of Alabama and served until December 1946.

March 30, 1942: The 10^th and 11^th floors of Jefferson Hospital became home to the secret national headquarters of the US Army’s Replacement and School Command (R&SC), which was charged with individual training of officers and enlisted personnel of the infantry, field artillery, cavalry, coast artillery, armored forces, parachute and tank destroyer units. The operation was moved from Washington, DC and was activated in Birmingham on this date. The R&SC remained in Jefferson Hospital until it was moved to Ft. Bragg, North Carolina in April of 1944.

June 8, 1942: As part of the national defense effort during World War II, the medical school in Tuscaloosa instituted an accelerated training program of year-round school containing four sessions of study within a three-year curriculum. New classes began at nine-month intervals.

1942: Dr. Adrienne S. Rayl became the interim director of the Birmingham Extension Center.

1942: In the fall term, E. A. Lowe became the second director of the Birmingham Extension Center.

May 29, 1943: Paul P. Salter was elected to the University of Alabama Board of Trustees.

June 2, 1943: The Jones Bill, Alabama Act 89, authorized an expansion of the two-year Medical College of Alabama to a four-year program and appropriated over $1.3 million for buildings, equipment, and maintenance.

December 1, 1943: D. Lonnie Noojin was elected to the University of Alabama Board of Trustees.

February 16, 1944: The Building Commission for the Four-Year Medical College adopted a resolution locating the new four-year medical school in Birmingham. The Commission had been authorized in 1943 by the Jones Bill (Alabama Act 89) and its nine members had been appointed by Governor Chauncey Sparks.

August 1, 1944: Dr. Roy R. Kracke became first dean of the four-year Medical College of Alabama.

December 1, 1944: Dr. Roger Denio Baker became the medical school's first full-time faculty member and the first departmental chair (pathology) appointed by Dean Roy R. Kracke.

December 20, 1944: The University of Alabama entered into a 99-year contract with Jefferson County for the use of Jefferson and Hillman Hospitals. The contract also conveyed to the university the land on which the hospitals were located.

1944: Fifty-four students, including three females, graduated as the last class of the two-year basic medical sciences program in Tuscaloosa.

January 1, 1945: Jefferson and Hillman Hospitals were merged to form The University of Alabama’s Jefferson-Hillman Hospital.  More than 670 hospital staff, 257 employed in Hillman Hospital and 419 in Jefferson Hospital, transitioned from Jefferson County employees to become university employees.

July 10, 1945: The Alfred A. Walker Ward was dedicated at Jefferson-Hillman Hospital as a ward dedicated to the treatment of infantile paralysis (a.k.a. poliomyelitis). Named in honor of a city pediatrician and chair of the county’s board of health, the new polio ward was located on the fourth floor of the Hillman building.

March 1945: Mary Ament became librarian of the newly established Medical College Library; she resigned three months later.

June 4, 1945: Twenty-two juniors registered for classes in Jefferson-Hillman Hospital for the new four-year Medical College of Alabama.

June 27, 1945: With the Newton Bill, Alabama Act 207, the state legislature created The University of Alabama School of Dentistry but appropriated no funds for its operation.

June 1945: As World War II was ending, 324 students were enrolled at the Birmingham Extension Center.

September 24, 1945: The two-year basic medical sciences program on the Tuscaloosa campus of The University of Alabama was closed.

September 24, 1945: The fall term began at the Birmingham Extension Center with over 200 students enrolled. There were two full-time instructors, 16 part-time instructors, and three staff. Five of the 18 faculty members were female.

September 1945: Mildred R. Crowe became second librarian of the Medical College Library.

October 1, 1945: The unpacking and organization of the library of the medical college began.

October 8, 1945: Classes for freshmen and sophomore medical students began at the new, four-year Medical College of Alabama with the freshman class size limited to 52 students.

October 18, 1945: The Iota Chapter of the Phi Chi Medical Fraternity held a dance to welcome freshman and sophomore students to the new school in Birmingham.  The established chapter of the medical-social fraternity had been moved from the campus in Tuscaloosa to Birmingham.

December 1945: Highlights of Jefferson-Hillman Hospital, a news sheet for hospital staff, was first published.

1945: Research grants at the Medical College of Alabama totaled $8,900.

1945: Tuition for the Medical College of Alabama was $400 per scholastic year.

1945: Isaac J. Browder became the third director of the Birmingham Extension Center.

1945: Dr. Roy R. Kracke obtained three additional blocks of land adjacent to Jefferson-Hillman Hospital for the development of a medical center.

1945: The Cullom Apartments located at the corner of South 20th Street and 8th Avenue South were acquired for use as student dormitories and as faculty housing.

1945: Dr. Melson Barfield-Carter became chair of the Department of Radiology. She was the first female department head at the Medical Center.

May 1, 1946: By the end of the first year, the medical school employed 172 faculty members, 58 of whom were full-time, four library staff, two hospital executives, and six administrative staff.

August 13, 1946: President Harry S. Truman signed the Hill-Burton Hospital Survey and Construction Act, co-sponsored by Alabama Senator Lister Hill.

October 25, 1946: At the first commencement ceremony held in Birmingham, 21 students graduated from the Medical College of Alabama.  The first graduate in Birmingham was Homer W. Allgood.  The only female in the class, Virginia Dare Hamilton, became the first woman to receive the MD degree.  There were also 14 paraprofessional graduates who received medical technology or radiological technology certificates during this first ceremony.

November 30, 1946: William H. Key, Jr., was elected to the University of Alabama Board of Trustees. Key was the first trustee elected to the board following the establishment of the medical center in Birmingham.

1946: The Birmingham Extension Center had an enrollment of over 500 students. The old building on 6th Avenue North could not handle all of the students and instructors, so the University leased space in several buildings in the city's downtown.

1946: The four-year medical school in Birmingham had 58 full-time faculty, seven of whom were women and one of whom was chair of a department. There were also numerous volunteer faculty (i.e. clinical faculty) who had private practices outside of the medical school.

1947: Ralph E. Adams became the acting president of The University of Alabama and served until 1948.

March 12, 1947: Groundbreaking was held at the Medical Center for the Jefferson County Public Health Building.

June 1947: In the immediate post-war years, total enrollment at the Birmingham Extension Center had surged to over 2,000 students.

June 1947: Laboratory facilities of the Stockham Pipe and Fittings Company were made available to engineering metallurgy students from the Birmingham Extension Center.

October 9, 1947: Alabama Act 678 appropriated funds of $750,000 for the operation of the University of Alabama School of Dentistry.

November 22, 1947: William H. Mitchell was elected to the University of Alabama Board of Trustees.

1947: Graduate programs were first offered at the Birmingham Extension Center during the fall term. Faculty from the campus in Tuscaloosa came to Birmingham as instructors for the two new programs in education and history.

June 8, 1948: Carmen Margarita Sosa of Salinas, Puerto Rico, received a certificate in medical technology, the first international student to graduate from a program at the Medical Center in Birmingham.

June 1948: Dr. Joseph F. Volker was named first dean of the School of Dentistry.

October 18, 1948: Fifty-two freshmen, all veterans, began classes at the School of Dentistry.

October 1948: A separate library was established for the School of Dentistry.

1948: Drs. Joseph F. Volker and Roy R. Kracke decided to jointly fund and administer the basic science departments.

1948: The Medical Center was awarded $30,000 in research and training grants.

1948: Dr. John M. Gallalee became president of The University of Alabama and served until 1953.

1948: The School of Dentistry opened for classes with 23 full-time faculty, all of whom were male. There were two female members of the part-time faculty: Drs. Polly Ayers and Eleanor A. Hunt. Several of the school’s initial faculty held primary appointments in the medical school but also taught basic science courses to the first dental students.

June 3, 1949: The Class of 1949, the first class to spend all four years of medical school in Birmingham, graduated with 24 male and 7 female students.

June 30, 1949: Groundbreaking ceremonies were held in the Medical Center for the Crippled Children's Clinic and Hospital.

September 19, 1949: Alabama Act 596, the Wright-Boutwell Bill, which created The University of Alabama School of Nursing, was signed by Governor James E. Folsom.

October 23, 1949: A groundbreaking ceremony was held at the Medical Center for the Birmingham Veterans Administration Hospital.

November 9, 1949: The Alabama legislature approved plans for a joint medical college and dental school building.

1949: Dr. Hsien Wu became a member of the full-time biochemistry faculty with the appointment as a Visiting Professor. Dr. Wu, who had a long and distinguished career in his native China, remained in Birmingham until his retirement in 1952.

1949: The Jefferson County Public Health Building was dedicated adjacent to the Medical Center.

• 1940s

View images from the 1950s.

January 25, 1950: The first general meeting of the Jefferson-Hillman Hospital Auxiliary was held. Vera Bruhn was elected first president of the auxiliary.

January 1950: Dr. Champ Lyons became the first full-time chair of the Department of Surgery.

February 1, 1950: Construction began on the Medical and Dental Basic Science Building and Dental Clinic.

April 7, 1950: An installation banquet was held for the Alabama Alpha Chapter of Alpha Omega Alpha, the national honorary medical society.

June 6, 1950: William R. Anderson received a master's degree in pharmacology, the first graduate degree awarded through the Medical Center.

June 27, 1950: Dr. Roy R. Kracke, medical dean, died.

August 1, 1950: Dr. Tinsley R. Harrison became acting dean of the Medical College of Alabama and chair of the Department of Medicine.

September 4, 1950: The entering freshman class of the University Hospital School of Nursing included six male students, the first in the history of the hospital's nursing program. Only one would complete his training and graduate.

October 28, 1950: Thomas D. Russell was elected to the University of Alabama Board of Trustees.

December 6, 1950: The first performance of Town and Gown Theater, which had been organized earlier in the year by James F. Hatcher, Jr., was held in the downtown Temple Arena Theatre. "Born Yesterday" starred Tommy Dix, a star of Broadway and Hollywood.

1950: Jefferson-Hillman Hospital School of Nursing, a three-year diploma program, received temporary accreditation from the National League for Nursing.

1950: The University of Alabama School of Nursing was established on the University campus in Tuscaloosa with Dr. Florence A. Hixson as first dean; the nursing school would be moved to Birmingham in 1967.

1950: The director of the Birmingham Extension Center reported that the Center hosted "most of the academic work for five nursing schools operated by Birmingham hospitals” and that over 180 hospital nursing students were enrolled in Center classes in biology, chemistry, sociology, etc.

1950: School of Practical Nursing, a nine-month program, was established at Jefferson-Hillman Hospital.

February 13, 1951: Chi Tau Chapter of Psi Omega dental-social fraternity was established at the Medical Center.

April 2, 1951: The Department of Biochemistry received approval to offer the first doctoral program at the Medical Center.

June 1, 1951: Masie Killingsworth became coordinator and director of the Jefferson-Hillman Hospital Auxiliary, the first person named to the auxiliary’s first paid position.

June 1951: Dr. James J. Durrett became dean of the Medical College of Alabama.

June 1951: Eunice White received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Alabama School of Nursing, becoming the school’s first graduate.

November 22, 1951: The Crippled Children's Clinic and Hospital was officially dedicated adjacent to the Medical Center.

1951: Dr. Richard T. Eastwood became the fourth director of the Birmingham Extension Center.

1951: To complete the Medical and Dental Basic Science Building and Dental Clinic, the new basic science building at the Medical Center, Dr. Joseph F. Volker added several hospital beds to qualify for Federal funds under the Hill-Burton Act.

1951: Various Medical Center libraries were consolidated into one Medical Center Library under the direction of Chief Librarian Mildred R. Crowe.

February 2, 1952: Anna Jane Reid became the first woman to receive a graduate degree (in biochemistry) awarded through the Medical Center.

May 31, 1952: The School of Dentistry graduated its first class. Walter C. Andrews, Jr., was the first of the fifty graduates.

September 13, 1952: The Medical Center Library reopened in its new space in the South Wing of the first and second floors of the New Hillman Building.

1952: The Dentala, a student yearbook for the University of Alabama School of Dentistry, was first published.

1952: Dr. Lawrence Reynolds, an Alabama native practicing radiology in Michigan, agreed to donate his personal library and collection of rare medical texts and manuscripts to the medical school in Birmingham.

1952: Construction began adjacent to the Medical Center on a new four-story “adult education center,” an administrative and classroom building to house the University of Alabama Birmingham Extension Center. Warren, Knight, and Davis was the building’s architectural firm and F. R. Hoar & Son the construction company.

1952: Dr. Josef Peter Lazansky became director of the Division of Dental Medicine and Surgery in the School of Dentistry. A native of what was then Czechoslovakia, Lazansky was the first international named as a divisional director at the Medical Center in Birmingham.

March 22, 1953: The Veterans Administration Hospital was dedicated in the Medical Center.

June 8, 1953: Students from the University of Alabama School of Nursing in Tuscaloosa first came to the Medical Center for clinical training in the hospital complex.

September 1953: Succeeding Interim President Lee Bidgood, Dr. Oliver C. Carmichael became president of The University of Alabama and served until 1957.

1953: Milton Odean Otwell graduated from the University Hospital School of Nursing, becoming the first male graduate of the hospital's nursing program.

May 29, 1954: John A. Caddell was elected to the University of Alabama Board of Trustees.

May 30, 1954: Claudia Holcombe Heard and Ruth Ehricke became the first female graduates of the School of Dentistry.

June 6, 1954: The new University of Alabama Extension Center Building was completed adjacent to the Medical Center and opened in official ceremonies. It was the first off-campus facility the University had constructed anywhere in the state specifically for extension work.

1954: Dr. Adrienne S. Rayl was given the honor of conducting the first class taught in the new building of the University of Alabama Extension Center. Dr. Rayl, a long-time member of the Birmingham faculty, was a professor of Mathematics.

August 10, 1954: Eris F. Paul was elected to the University of Alabama Board of Trustees.

August 1954: The Report of the Special Survey Committee, called the "Duckett Jones Report" for its chief author, was released.

December 1954: The former Birmingham Little Theater building on South 26th Street was donated to The University of Alabama by the family of General Louis V. Clark. The building became home to Town and Gown Theater and was later officially renamed in honor of General Clark.

1954: Research grants at the Medical Center totaled $240,000.

1954: The School of Dentistry's dental hygiene program, directed by Dr. Marjorie Houston, became the first nationally accredited training program in the Southeast.

1954: The Hill-Burton Act was expanded to include nursing homes, treatment centers, rehabilitation facilities, and chronic disease facilities.

1954: Matthew F. McNulty, Jr., was appointed administrator of Jefferson-Hillman Hospital.

February 14, 1955: "Candles in the Canebrake" was the first Town and Gown production held in its new home on South 26th Street.

May 28, 1955: Jefferson-Hillman Hospital was renamed University Hospital and Hillman Clinic.

May 29, 1955: Ruth Stillman Hare received the first doctoral degree (in pharmacology) conferred through the Medical Center.

May 1955: Dr. Robert C. Berson was appointed first vice president for Health Affairs and dean of the Medical College of Alabama.  Dr. Berson was the first person named as a vice president in the 124-year history of the University of Alabama.

1955: Dr. Joseph F. Volker was appointed director of Research and Graduate Studies and continued as dean of the dental school.

1955: At the end of the academic year of 1954-1955 – the first year the Birmingham Extension Center occupied its new home adjacent to the Medical Center – 2,377 students had enrolled during the year. Birmingham enrollment accounted for 41.8% of the university's total extension enrollment throughout the state of Alabama.

1955: Sarah Cole Brown became third librarian of the Medical Center Library.

1955: Research and training grants at the Medical Center totaled $312,000.

1955: A student government association (SGA) was established at the Birmingham Extension Center. The SGA’s constitution was ratified by a vote of the student body during the fall term.

1955: University Hospital and Hillman Clinic operating costs reached almost $3,500,000.

1955: A Medical Center Advisory Board was established.

January 31, 1956: The Louis V. Clark Memorial Theatre was officially dedicated as the home to Town and Gown Theatre. A production of “Best Foot Forward" with music and lyrics by Ralph Blane and Birmingham native Hugh Martin, featured Tommy Dix. Dix had appeared in the very first Town and Gown production back in 1950 and had starred in both the original Broadway and Hollywood versions of “Best Foot Forward."

January 1956: A student-approved constitution for the "Student Government Association of the University of Alabama, Birmingham Center" went into effect following approval by the president of the University of Alabama.

May 8, 1956: An untitled student newspaper was published at the Birmingham Extension Center, it was later named the Center Scope.

May 27, 1956: Howard C. Elliott, Jr., became the first man to receive a doctoral degree (in biochemistry) conferred through the Medical Center.

June 10, 1956: University of Alabama Extension Center building was rededicated as Tidwell Hall in honor of Dr. Robert E. Tidwell, dean of the university's extension division from 1930 until 1954.

August 11, 1956: Ernest G. Williams was elected to the University of Alabama Board of Trustees.

1956: The first annual spring dance was held at the Birmingham Extension Center.

1956: Research grants at the Medical Center totaled $459,000.

1956: The Women's Club of the University of Alabama School of Dentistry was organized with Mrs. E. E. Evans as first president.

January 1957: The Medical Center Bulletin was first published as the University of Alabama Medical Center News Bulletin.

February 1957: University Hospital's Beacon was first published.

February 17, 1957: President Dwight D. Eisenhower appointed Dr. Champ Lyons to the Board of Regents of the National Library of Medicine.

April 4, 1957: Groundbreaking ceremonies were held for the Lawrence Reynolds Library.

May 17, 1957: The Medical Center's chapter of Sigma Xi was installed in ceremonies held in the University Hospital Auditorium. Dr. Arthur J. Tomisek was elected first president.

May 1957: Bertha Smith selected as the first “Miss University Center” during the second annual spring dance sponsored by the Student Government Association of the Birmingham Extension Center.

July 12, 1957: University Hospital School of Nursing received full accreditation from the National Nursing Accreditation Service.

September 1, 1957: Dr. Walter B. Frommeyer, Jr., became physician-in-chief and chair of the Department of Medicine.

October 21, 1957: Birmingham native Patricia "Pat" Neal (later renamed as Fannie Flagg) volunteered her services as the spotlight operator for the Town and Gown production of "Pal Joey." This was Flagg's first experience working in a theatrical production.

November 4, 1957: The statue of Dr. W. E. B. Davis was relocated to the Medical Center from Woodrow Wilson Park in downtown Birmingham.

December 17, 1957: Amendment No. 4 was passed by state voters, making possible federal matching money for the purchase of ten and one-half blocks of urban renewal lands.

1957: For the fall term, total enrollment at the Birmingham Extension Center was 1,856 students.

January 1, 1958: Succeeding Interim President James H. Newman, Dr. Frank A. Rose became the 20th president of The University of Alabama. He served until 1969.

February 2, 1958: The Lawrence Reynolds Library was dedicated.

June 1, 1958: James P. Bryan graduated from the baccalaureate nursing program -- then located on the campus in Tuscaloosa -- becoming the first male graduate of the School of Nursing.

June 9, 1958: The deed to the ten and one-half block expansion area was transferred to The University of Alabama Board of Trustees.

October 15, 1958: Dr. Richard T. Eastwood became executive director of University Affairs in Birmingham, reporting directly to President Frank A. Rose.

October 1958: Maria N. Rada of Columbia received a diploma from the University Hospital School of Nursing, the first international student to graduate from the hospital nursing school.

November 25, 1958: The first Tinsley Randolph Harrison Lecture, "Medical Investigators from Harvey to Harrison," was delivered by Dr. William Dock of the State University of New York.

November 26, 1958: University Hospital School of Nursing held an open house in its new quarters on South 18th Street in the renovated Dr. Gus' Drive-In Restaurant.

1958: Dr. George W. Campbell was named director of the Birmingham Extension Center.

1958: The Faculty Wives Club of the Medical College of Alabama was organized with Mrs. Robert Berson as first president.

1958: Dr. Arthur H. Dohlstrom received a full-time appointment as professor of Mental Health in the School of Nursing. Dr. Dohlstrom was the first male appointed to the Tuscaloosa nursing school faculty.

August 1, 1959: Groundbreaking was held for a psychiatric clinic made possible by a gift from Joseph S. and Bertha Pizitz Smolian.

September 1959: A groundbreaking ceremony was held for Fort Mortimer H. Jordan Alabama National Guard 109th Evacuation Hospital Armory.

October 18, 1959: Luther Leonidas Hill Heart Center was dedicated.

October 30, 1959: William M. Blount was elected to the University of Alabama Board of Trustees.

November 1959: Groundbreaking ceremonies for Children's Hospital were held.

December 5, 1959: Ehney A. Camp, Jr., was elected to the University of Alabama Board of Trustees.

December 7, 1959: Birmingham native Patricia "Pat" Neal (later renamed as Fannie Flagg) appeared in a Town and Gown Theatre production of "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof." She had one line of dialogue in her speaking debut. This production also starred Leonard Nimoy.

1959: Research grants, training grants, and fellowships at the Medical Center exceeded $1,000,000.

1959: Dr. Basil I. Hirschowitz became the first director of the Division of Gastroenterology. A native of South Africa, Dr. Hirschowitz was the first international named as divisional director at the Birmingham medical school.

View images from the 1960s.

1960: The world's first clinical use of a commercially made fiberoptic endoscope for observing the inside on an organ or cavity was used at University Hospital. The endoscope was developed by Dr. Basil I. Hirschowitz.

February 1960: Frank E. and Margaret Cameron Spain gave $500,000 for the construction of new rehabilitation center.

May 1960: Progress Notes, the student yearbook for the Medical College of Alabama, was first published at the cost of $7.50 per copy. Fourth year student Myron A. Levine was editor of the yearbook.

July 1, 1960: Dr. Joseph F. Volker began a one-year leave-of-absence to direct the Arizona Medical School Study. Dr. Arthur H. Wuehrmann served as acting dean of the dental school during Volker's absence.

September 10, 1960: Birmingham faculty member James F. Hatcher, Jr., director of Town and Gown Theatre, directed the annual Miss America pageant in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Miss Michigan Nancy Fleming was selected Miss America for 1961.

September 1960: Three medical-social fraternities, Phi Beta Pi (Sigma chapter), Nu Sigma Nu (Beta Phi chapter), and Phi Chi (Iota chapter), formed the first inter-fraternity council at the Medical Center.

October 2, 1960: Fort Mortimer H. Jordan Alabama National Guard 109th Evacuation Hospital Armory was dedicated at the Medical Center.

October 9, 1960: The Psychiatric Clinic was dedicated.

December 9, 1960: The Health Sciences Research Building was dedicated.

April 1961: A fund-raising goal of $850,000 was met for the expansion of the engineering programs at the Birmingham Extension Center, with a majority of the funds being provided by Birmingham businesses. President Frank A. Rose had kicked off the public portion of the drive in late November of 1960.

April 30, 1961: Children's Hospital was dedicated adjacent to the Medical Center.

October 1961: The Psychiatric Clinic was named in honor of Medical Center benefactors Joseph S. and Bertha Pizitz Smolian.

1961: The Roberts & Son Building was purchased for use as the outpatient clinic of University Hospital.

July 1962: The Medical Center Apartments opened.

July 1962: Spain Rehabilitation groundbreaking ceremony was held.

July 1962: Eye Foundation Hospital groundbreaking ceremony was held.

August 9, 1962: Groundbreaking was held for the Engineering Building.

September 1, 1962: Dr. Joseph F. Volker became second vice president for Health Affairs.

September 1, 1962: Dr. S. Richardson Hill, Jr., became dean of the Medical College of Alabama.

September 1, 1962: Dr. Charles A. McCallum, Jr., became second dean of the School of Dentistry.

1962: Dr. W. Paul Brann was named assistant to the vice president for Health Affairs.

1962: The University Hospital School of Nursing Residence opened.

1962: University Computer Center organized with Homer C. Jemison as director.

1962: The General Clinical Research Center was established at the Medical Center with a grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Dr. Clifton K. Meador was named as the center's first director.

1962: Drs. Wayne H. and Sara C. Finley received a grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to establish a cytogenetics laboratory at the Medical Center.

1962: Dr. Lincoln Roy Manson-Hing became chair of the Department of Oral Roentgenology (later Dental Radiology) and Dr. Gilbert J. Parfitt became chair of the Department of Periodontics, both in the School of Dentistry. Dr. Manson-Hing was a native of British Guiana [Guyana] and Dr. Parfitt was a native of England. They were the first international faculty named as chairs of academic departments at the Medical Center in Birmingham.

January 9, 1963: The Birmingham chapter of the American Association of University Professors was organized in a meeting at the Medical Center. Dr. Leland C. Clark was elected first president.

June 11, 1963: Vivian J. Malone and James A. Hood became the first African American students of The University of Alabama. Although Malone and Hood enrolled at the main campus in Tuscaloosa, they were the first African American students admitted to the University, its medical center in Birmingham, or its extension division programs throughout the state.

June 21, 1963: The University Hospital and Medical Center Heliport opened when a helicopter operated by the National Guard landed in a field between South 15th and 16th Streets, just a few blocks from the hospital complex.

September 15, 1963: Victims of the bombing of the Sixteenth Street Church were brought to the Hillman Emergency Clinic at University Hospital. Fifteen people received treatment at the hospital and autopsies were done on the bodies of the four young victims of the bombing.

September 1963: Luther Lawler became the first African American to register for classes at the Birmingham Extension Center when he enrolled in the master’s program in education.

September 1963: The Medical College Faculty Council approved a request that all facilities in the Medical and Dental Basic Science Building be available to all students and employees without regard to race.

October 2, 1963: Joseph S. and Bertha Pizitz Smolian gave their home to the Medical Center for use as a cultural center.

October 9, 1963: In a letter to Vice President Joseph F. Volker, African American employees in the university’s Medical and Dental Basic Science Building formally requested desegregation of the building’s cafeteria and facilities.

October 1963: Computer Research Laboratory opened in the former Life of Georgia Insurance Building.

December 31, 1963: The independent Eye Foundation Hospital was opened following dedication ceremonies on December 8, 1963.

1963: Extramural grants and contracts at the Medical Center totaled $3,888,514.

1963: Engineering students were first able to complete all four years of classes at the Birmingham Extension Center.

1963: University Hospital and Hillman Clinic was renamed The University of Alabama Hospitals and Clinics.

1963: The medical school's Division of Continuing Medical Education first offered continuing education courses to Alabama physicians.

February 1, 1964: The separate Hillman Emergency and University Emergency Clinics were merged to form one combined University Hospital Emergency Clinic.

March 3, 1964: Dr. Tinsley R. Harrison delivered the first Distinguished Faculty Lecture, "Witches and Doctors."

April 3, 1964: The Dental Education and Research Building was dedicated.

April 25-26, 1964: The Spain Rehabilitation Center was dedicated. Dr. William C. Fleming was the center's first director.

May 27, 1964: The first Medical Student Research Day was held preceding the Honors Convocation of the Medical College of Alabama. Thomas C. Smitherman won first prize for his paper “Distribution of Sucrose-C14 in Thyroid Tissue.” Dr. James A. Pittman, Jr., was his faculty sponsor.

June 1964: University Hospital Outpatient Services Building opened in the renovated Roberts & Son Building.

July 2, 1964: President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibited segregation in any facilities receiving federal funds from the Hill-Burton Act.

July 25, 1964: Samuel Earle G. Hobbs was elected to the University of Alabama Board of Trustees.

September 8, 1964: The entering class of eight students in the medical technology program at University Hospital included one African American, Wilma Ann Barnes. She was the first African American enrolled in any programs in the Medical Center.

October 24, 1964: Drs. Tinsley R. Harrison and Champ Lyons were named Distinguished Professors by The University of Alabama Board of Trustees, the first such designations given to a member of the Alabama faculty.

October 1964: At the start of the academic year, 44 African American students were enrolled at the Birmingham Extension Center.

1964: First classes were held in the new Engineering Building adjacent to the Birmingham Extension Center.

1964: Dr. James T. Montgomery became the first African American physician to be granted staff privileges at University Hospital and the first African American to receive a faculty appointment in the medical school.

1964: Joseph S. and Bertha Pizitz Smolian donated the Cole House to the Medical Center for use as Friendship House.

1964: The Alabama Journal of Medical Sciences began publication with Dr. Emmett B. Carmichael as editor.

1964: A gift from Fay Fletcher Kerner made possible the first endowed chair at the Medical Center, the Fay Fletcher Kerner Chair of Surgery.

1964: The Medical Rehabilitation Research and Training Center was established with Dr. William C. Fleming as director.

January 3, 1965: Effective on this date, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibited segregation in any healthcare facility receiving Federal funds

April 25, 1965: The process of desegregating University Hospital was reported as 100 percent complete.

April 27, 1965: Dr. Champ Lyons delivered the second Distinguished Faculty Lecture, "Some Surgical Aspects of the Stroke Problem."

May 30, 1965: Vivian J. Malone received a B. S. degree in Commerce and Business Administration from the University of Alabama during commencement ceremonies in Tuscaloosa.  She was the first African American to graduate from any of the schools in of the University of Alabama System.

May 30, 1965: John L. Duncan became the first student to graduate from the Birmingham-based engineering program. He received a Bachelor of Science degree at graduation ceremonies held on the university campus in Tuscaloosa.

May 1965: The U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare toured University Hospital and found it in compliance with the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

July 18, 1965: The former University Hospital School of Nursing Residence was rededicated as the Roy R. Kracke Clinical Services Building.

July 30, 1965: VA Hospital Research Annex Wing groundbreaking was held.

August 1965: University of Alabama Medical Center Foundation was created as a non-profit corporation.

October 23, 1965: Daniel T. McCall, Jr., was elected to the University of Alabama Board of Trustees.

September 7, 1965: Barbara Walker became the first African American student in the University Hospital School of Nursing, the hospital-based diploma program.

September 1965: Sarah Louise Fisher became the first African American student in The University of Alabama School of Nursing, then located on the campus in Tuscaloosa.

1965: Extramural grants and awards at the Medical Center totaled $4,445,900.

1965: Dr. Joseph F. Volker assigned responsibility for research and grants administration to Dr. John B. Dunbar and for graduate studies to Dr. Samuel B. Barker.

1965: Dr. Clifton O. Dummett of the Tuskegee Veterans Administration Hospital received a clinical appointment in the School of Dentistry, becoming the first African American member of the school's faculty.

February 1966: Dr. Joseph F. Volker, Arthur Garikes, E. Todd Wheeler, and Dr. George W. Campbell produced the Expansion and Land Utilization Study-UAB.

April 27, 1966: Dr. Joseph F. Volker delivered the third Distinguished Faculty Lecture, "The Way of an Administrator."

July 1966: Dr. John W. Kirklin was appointed chair of the Department of Surgery and surgeon-in-chief of University Hospital.

August 21, 1966: North Wing of University Hospital was dedicated.

September 15, 1966: The Birmingham Extension Center programs were elevated to the four-year College of General Studies, which remained as a branch of The University of Alabama. The College of General Studies was organized similarly to a modified liberal arts college and had seven divisions: allied health sciences, business, education, engineering, humanities, natural sciences and mathematics, and social sciences.  Dr. George W. Campbell was named first dean of the new College.

November 1966: President Frank A. Rose designated all university operations in Birmingham as the "University of Alabama in Birmingham," a degree-granting branch of the University of Alabama campus in Tuscaloosa. Dr. Joseph F. Volker was named vice president for Birmingham Affairs, an office given administrative oversight of the newly combined Medical Center and the College of General Studies. Dr. Volker reported directly to the president in Tuscaloosa.

November 9, 1966: The Health Sciences Research Building was rededicated as the Lyons-Harrison Research Building.

November 13, 1966: Dr. Frank A. Rose announced plans to move the University of Alabama School of Nursing from Tuscaloosa to the UAB Medical Center.

December 1966: Senator Lister Hill announced original grant funding for the Alabama Regional Medical Program.

1966: The University Hospital School of Nursing, a diploma program, admitted its last class. The class graduated in 1969 and the school was eliminated.

1966: The Alabama legislature commissioned the firm of Booz, Allen, and Hamilton to study the expansion of medical education in Alabama.

1966: The Medical Center Men’s Chorus established for students, faculty, and staff. Dr. Henry H. Hoffman was director of the new choir.

1966: Robert W. Holters was named interim administrator and later administrator of University Hospital.

1966: The Division of Allied Health Sciences, comprised of University Hospital's paramedical training programs, was established in the College of General Studies.

1966: Laboratory of Medical Genetics was established under the direction of Drs. Wayne H. and Sara C. Finley.

1966: School of Health Services Administration was established with Matthew F. McNulty, Jr., as dean.

1966: Richard Charles Dale and Samuel William Sullivan, Jr., became the first African American students of the Medical College of Alabama.

1966: Center for Hospital Continuing Education was established. It was later renamed the Center for Health Services Continuing Education. Dr. Richard G. Allen served as the first director of the center.

1966: The Medical Center had a budget of $32,000,000 and a payroll of over $15,000,000 for its 3,200 employees.

1966: The catalog for the fall term of the newly established College of General Studies included 47 full-time faculty, 14 of whom are female. At least a dozen of the faculty were “Tuscaloosa Campus Faculty” who regularly traveled to and from Tuscaloosa to teach in Birmingham.

1966: Cardiovascular Research and Training Center established with grant from the National Heart Institute. Dr. T. Joseph Reeves served as the center's first director.

March 18, 1967: Dr. Thomas E. Hunt delivered the fourth Distinguished Faculty Lecture, "The Tricky Business of Teaching."

May 1967: The Appalachian Regional Commission awarded UAB a grant to establish a Regional Technical Institute for Health Occupations.

June 23, 1967: The Committee on Optometry, a joint state legislative committee chaired by Representative Hugh D. Merrill, found there was “a need for a school of optometry to be located in the State of Alabama” and recommended that it be placed “at an existing state university."

July 1967: A groundbreaking was held for the Center for Developmental and Learning Disorders.

August 18, 1967: Jeremiah E. Abbott received the first master’s degree for graduate work completed in the Birmingham engineering program of the College of General Studies.  Like all other Birmingham students, Abbott received his degree during commencement ceremonies on the university campus in Tuscaloosa.

August 1967: The University of Alabama School of Nursing was moved from the Tuscaloosa campus to the Medical Center in Birmingham. Dr. Florence A. Hixson, founding dean, remained in that position following the move.

September 1967: UAB Advisory Board was established.

September 22, 1967: The Veterans Administration Research Wing was dedicated.

October 26, 1967: The student newspaper, Kaleidoscope, was first published. Patrick Cather was the first editor and Melinda Hidle, who gave the paper its name, served as co-editor.

1967: The Myocardial Infarction Research Unit, later renamed the Specialized Center for Research in Ischemic Heart Disease, was established. Dr. Harold T. Dodge was the first director.

1967: Dr. John W. Kirklin, chair of the Department of Surgery, initiated the Surgeon’s Assistant Program, the first formalized education program in the United States to train surgeon's assistants. Dr. Alan R. Dimick was the program’s first director.

1967: Dr. Margarita P. Medina received a faculty appointment as associate professor of Mathematics, the first female international appointed to the full-time faculty of the College of General Studies. Dr. Medina was from Cuba.

1967: The Alabama legislature granted its first direct appropriation ($1.1 million) to the College of General Studies.

1967: A Faculty Women's Club of UAB was organized as a campus-wide organization that combined other such campus clubs (medical, dental, etc.). Mrs. K. Lemone Yeilding elected as the club's first president.

March 6, 1968: Rust Research Center groundbreaking was held.

March 29, 1968: Dr. Samuel B. Barker delivered the fifth Distinguished Faculty Lecture, "Perspectives."

May 8, 1968: Dr. Arnold G. Diethelm successfully performed the Medical Center's first kidney transplant.

June 23, 1968: The first public exhibit of work by art students in the College of General Studies opened in the Central Bank Building [currently the UAB Administration Building]. Martha Johnson and Barbara Tapla were the art class instructors.

June 1968: Barbara Walker Mitchell became the first African American graduate of the University Hospital School of Nursing.

June 1968: The Medical Center and the VA Hospital were authorized to share programs and facilities under Public Law 89-785.

July 30, 1968: Symbolic groundbreaking was held for Medical Center Library, School of Nursing, and Basic Health Sciences buildings.

July 1968: Dr. Herschell Lee Hamilton received a clinical appointment in the Department of Surgery and became the first African American board-certified general surgeon at University Hospital.

October 1968: Enrollment in the College of General Studies totaled 3,378 students, including business administration (591), allied health sciences (104), education (574), engineering (408), humanities (215), natural sciences & mathematics (341), and social sciences (316).

October 1968: For the fall term, history faculty member Dr. Jack D. L. Holmes offered a course in African American history.

November 1, 1968: Dr. S. Richardson Hill, Jr., became vice president for Health Affairs.

November 1968: Dr. Clifton K. Meador became dean of the Medical College of Alabama.

1968: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced final approval of a 45-block expansion program for UAB and grants totaling over $11.4 million for the project.

1968: Dr. Joseph F. Volker was named executive vice president of UAB.

1968: The entering class size of the Medical College of Alabama was increased to 85.

1968: Dr. W. Paul Brann was named first vice president for Fiscal Affairs.

1968: The Regional Maxillofacial Prosthetics Treatment and Training Center was established with Dr. Dwight J. Castleberry as first director.

1968: The Alabama Ballet, formerly known as the Alabama State Ballet, became an affiliate of UAB. James F. Hatcher, Jr., was appointed as the administrator for the ballet program in addition to his duties as director of Town and Gown Theatre.

1968: Alabama Transplant Center was created in the Medical Center and served as the clinical center for all transplant activities at UAB.

January 28, 1969: Dr. Frank A. Rose announced his resignation as president of The University of Alabama.

February 1969: Sarah Louise Fisher became the first African American graduate of the School of Nursing.

March 27, 1969: Dr. Howard L. Holley delivered the sixth Distinguished Faculty Lecture, "...And Gladly Teach."

March 1969: Delois Skipwith became the first African American faculty member in the School of Nursing and the first tenure-track African American faculty member at UAB.

March 1969: The Center for Urban Affairs was established with Dr. John B. Dunbar as the first director.

April 1, 1969: Dr. Keith D. Blayney became director of the School of Health Services Administration.

April 1969: Alabama Act 91, passed by the state legislature during a special session on education, appropriated funding for a new School of Optometry at UAB.

April 21, 1969: The Center for Developmental and Learning Disorders was dedicated.

May 18, 1969: The Occupational Rehabilitation Center was dedicated at 1616 6th Avenue South.

May 1969: Gloria S. Goldstein (later Gloria Goldstein Howton) was named as the first director of Public Affairs with oversight into the university's public relations efforts.

June 1, 1969: Imogene L. Baswell received a bachelor's degree in engineering, the first female graduate of the engineering program in Birmingham.

June 1, 1969: Effective on this date, the number 934 became the prefix for all campus telephone numbers.

June 5, 1969: The University of Alabama Board of Trustees approved a plan “to provide for a system in which a separate President will be elected for each of the three campuses of the University with each President reporting to the Board of Trustees.” The new three-campus system, a plan which was to be effective September 5, 1969, was announced publicly eleven days later.

June 16, 1969: Governor Albert P. Brewer announced the establishment of The University of Alabama System comprised of autonomous campuses in Tuscaloosa (UA), Birmingham (UAB), and Huntsville (UAH). The University of Alabama in Birmingham (UAB) became one of the three universities in the new three-campus system.

June 16, 1969: Dr. Joseph F. Volker was named first president of UAB.

June 25, 1969: Governor Albert P. Brewer announced $5 million in bond funds for College of General Studies construction.

July 1969: MIST (Medical Information Service via Telephone) was created at the UAB Medical Center.

August 29, 1969: Governor Albert P. Brewer signed an act appropriating $50,000 for the development of a School of Community and Allied Health Resources at UAB.

August 1969: Dr. Henry B. Peters was named the first dean of the School of Optometry, the first optometry school in the nation to be integrated into an academic medical center.

August 1969: Medical Center Annex, formerly the Cullom Apartments, was demolished to build the Kahler Plaza Hotel.

September 1, 1969: Dr. Henry B. Peters arrived on campus as the first dean of the new School of Optometry.

September 1, 1969: The Division of Engineering became solely responsible to the UAB College of General Studies and ceased being a jointly administered program with the University of Alabama.

September 5, 1969: Dr. Joseph F. Volker assumed the office as the first president of the newly autonomous University of Alabama in Birmingham (UAB).

September 12, 1969: Alabama Act 1054, the Skidmore Bill, officially changed the name of the Medical College of Alabama to The University of Alabama School of Medicine.

September 27, 1969: The first eight students began classes in the new School of Optometry.

September 1969: Intramural athletic teams were organized by Dr. James Sharman.

October 15, 1969: A student protest in support of the Vietnam Moratorium was held in front of Tidwell Hall, the College of General Studies Building.

1969: For the first academic term of the newly independent UAB, the College of General Studies had eight full-time faculty members with international backgrounds. Three were natives of Cuba, the others were natives of Canada, England, Poland, South Africa, and Wales. There were also three international faculty with part-time appointments, one was from Spain and two were from India.

1969: For the first academic term of the newly independent UAB, the medical school at UAB had at least forty-one full-time faculty members with international backgrounds and thirteen part-time or clinical faculty members with international backgrounds. The full-time faculty hailed from twenty-six countries, the part-time from nine.

1969: For the first academic term of the newly independent UAB, the dental school at UAB had at least twenty-three clinical or basic science faculty with international backgrounds. These faculty members hailed from nineteen countries.

1969: Rev. Abraham L. Woods, Jr., a pioneer in the Civil Rights movement, became an adjunct (part-time) instructor in the UAB history department.

1969: Regional Technical Institute for Health Occupations was established.

1969: Dr. Keith D. Blayney was named administrator of University Hospital.

1969: Ellen Gregg Ingalls Award was established for excellence in classroom teaching. Dr. Hubert H. Harper, associate professor of English, was the first Ingalls recipient.

1969: Dr. T. Joseph Reeves was named chair of the Department of Medicine.

1969: University Hospital General Services Building opened at 1809 5th Avenue South.

1969: UAB’s first yearbook, the Annual Report, was published with Kay Haslam serving as editor. The Annual Report was focused more toward the College of General Studies since the dental, medical and nursing schools already had their own discrete yearbooks.

1969: The Woodward House atop Red Mountain was acquired by the university as the official residence for the UAB president.

1969: Rust Research Center, which housed the university's computer center, opened.

1969: Active extramural grants and contracts for the newly independent UAB totaled $18,190,620.

View images from the 1970s.

January 30, 1970: A groundbreaking ceremony was held for a new three-building campus for the College of General Studies. This ceremony heralded a campus expansion westward from the Medical Center footprint.

January 1970: UAB received acceptance as a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) school.

February 11, 1970: The first meeting was held for the newly elected senate of the College of General Studies. The 39-member College Senate included elected faculty, staff, and students as well as administrators appointed by the dean.

February 19, 1970: Golf, the first intercollegiate sports team at UAB, opened its initial season in a match with Tulane University.

February 1970: Richard W. Jackson appointed first director of security at UAB.

March 26, 1970: Dr. Sidney B. Finn delivered the seventh Distinguished Faculty Lecture, "In Pursuit of the Elusive."

March 1970: Because of the completion of the new exit ramp to the interstate, the City of Birmingham eliminated parallel parking along Eighth Avenue South [University Boulevard].

March 1970: The Greater Birmingham Alliance to Stop Pollution (GASP) held its first meeting with over 50 attendees. The group was headquartered at UAB in the Baptist Student Union building at 807 South 20th Street [Cullom Apartments]. Dr. Marshall Brewer, a surgery resident, was first president and Henry H. Stebbins, Jr., was executive director of GASP.

April 16-17, 1970: Officials with the US Dept of Health, Education and Welfare toured UAB to review the university’s compliance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. While HEW made a few suggestions for administrative improvements, the university was noted for its progress.

April 1970: South Wing of University Hospital opened.

May 1, 1970: Dr. Samuel B. Barker became first dean of the newly established UAB Graduate School.

May 8, 1970: Several hundred students and faculty members held a protest in front of the College of General Studies Building in sympathy for Kent State.

May 16, 1970: The first social sorority, Alpha Sigma Tau, was formally established at UAB as Beta Zeta chapter.

May 17, 1970: The Ellen Gregg Ingalls Eye Research Institute was dedicated adjoining the Eye Foundation Hospital.

June 7, 1970: In a commencement ceremony held at the Birmingham Municipal Auditorium, UAB awarded its first degrees as an autonomous university.  At this first graduation, 478 students received degress from the new university.  Dr. Joseph F. Volker, UAB president, received the first honorary degree. Ronald T. Acton received a Ph.D. in Microbiology, becoming the first person to receive a degree from UAB. Ellen Clyde Cook received a degree in Microbiology, the first master's degree awarded.  The first bachelor's degree was awarded to Charlene Powell Ackerson from the School of Nursing.

June 7, 1970: Richard Charles Dale and Samuel William Sullivan, Jr., became the first African American graduates of the School of Medicine.

June 14, 1970: The Psychiatric Day Treatment Center was dedicated.

June 14, 1970: Comprehensive Community Mental Health Center established in the Department of Psychiatry.

June 30, 1970: Dr. Florence A. Hixson retired as first dean of the School of Nursing.

July 1, 1970: Dr. Marie L. O'Koren became the second dean of the School of Nursing.

July 1, 1970: Ground was broken for the Diabetes Research and Education Hospital.

July 1, 1970: Dr. Paul H. Spence became librarian of the College of General Studies.

July 13, 1970: Faculty member James F. Hatcher, Jr., and the Alabama Ballet, then an administrative unit of UAB, left for a five-week tour of Europe where the company performed "Repertory 1970" in Italy, France, Switzerland, Spain, and the United Kingdom.

July 1970: Dr. John B. Dunbar became the first vice president for Student and Community Affairs.

July 1970: A groundbreaking ceremony was held for the Physical Sciences Building.

August 29, 1970: UAB’s second commencement ceremony was held in the Exhibition Hall at the Birmingham Municipal Auditorium for 173 graduates, including 59 who received advanced degrees.

September 1970: The University of Alabama Board of Trustees held the first board meeting at the newly independent UAB. The Board approved a $91 million system-wide budget for the three universities, over $53.7 million (59%) of the total budget was for UAB. The Board also approved the recommendation of President Joseph F. Volker that UAB’s school colors would be green and gold.

September 1970: The first three African American students matriculated in the School of Dentistry.

September 1970: Total student enrollment for the fall term in all schools for the second year of classes of the new UAB was 6,629, with 2,724 females.

September 1970: Dean Henry B. Peters announced the appointment of the first academic faculty for the one-year old School of Optometry. The inaugural faculty were Drs. Steven S. Bates, Benjamin V. Graham, Thomas S. Greenspon, Kenton E. Kerr, Randall T. Jose, Dolphus B. Mitchell, Clyde W. Oyster, John R. Pierce, Kenneth A. Polse, William R. Rosenblum, and Ellen Shizuko Takahashi.

October 13, 1970: An organizational meeting was held for the Black Affairs Committee of the Student Government Association (SGA).  The SGA president had appointed Helen Thedford as chair of the new committee at the start of the fall term.

October 1970: Jean-Paul Sartre’s “No Exit” was performed by UAB students, the first time that students had taken complete responsibility for a theatrical production. Speech and Theatre faculty member Dr. Ward Haarbauer directed the theatre-in-the-round production at the Clark Memorial Theatre.  The show opened October 30.

December 1970: The first Ph.D. program, biology, was approved for the College of General Studies.

1970: Dr. J. Durwood Bradley was named full-time chief-of-staff at University Hospital.

1970: A master's degree in Business Administration was initiated in the Division of Business, the first graduate program to begin in the College of General Studies.

1970: The UAB Burn Center was established with Dr. Alan R. Dimick as director.

1970: During the fall term, the Student Government Association (SGA) opened the "Nothin' But," a coffee shop located in the basement of the Engineering Building. The SGA operated the coffee shop until it was closed in the winter of 1972.

1970: The Graduate Student Association was chartered.

1970: The Afro-American Association was approved as an official student organization. Prince C. Chambliss, Jr., was the group's first president.

1970: The UAB student theatre group began in the fall as a means to offer students, faculty, and staff the opportunity to work in performance and technical capacities. It 1972 it would officially be renamed as UAB Commedia.

1970: Dr. John R. Durant established the Cancer Research and Training Center, later designated as the UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center.

1970: The Regional Technical Institute for Health Occupations opened.

January 15, 1971: Dr. Keith D. Blayney became dean of the School of Community and Allied Health Resources.

January 15, 1971: James E. Moon became administrator of University Hospital.

March 8, 1971: Dr. Walter B. Frommeyer delivered the eighth Distinguished Faculty Lecture, "A Physician's Prayer."

March 11, 1971: The Center for Developmental and Learning Disorders was named in honor of former Alabama governor Chauncey Sparks.

April 14, 1971: A National Honor Society chapter was first organized at the College of General Studies.

May 14, 1971: The 55-member UAB Chorus presented its first public performance in the auditorium of the Engineering Building. Roy Wood was choral director.

May 16, 1971: Eastern Annex of Ullman High School was rededicated as the Bell Building in honor of George C. Bell, the former principal of the Ullman High School.

May 29, 1971: John T. Oliver, Jr., was elected to the University of Alabama Board of Trustees. He was the first trustee elected following the establishment of UAB and the three-campus University of Alabama System.

May 1971: A groundbreaking ceremony was held for a classroom for the humanities (Humanities Building) and a library (Sterne Library).

May 1971: Bracie Watson, Jr., a senior in health physics and a biology major, became the first African American elected president of the UAB student government association.

June 5, 1971: Dr. Bengt E. Gustafson, a noted scientist from Sweden, received the honorary Doctor of Science degree, the second honorary degree awarded by UAB. Dr. Gustafson had a long-standing association with the medical and dental schools at UAB.

June 1971: Six students received their Bachelor of Science degrees in Physiological Optics becoming the first graduates of the School of Optometry.

August 1, 1971: Effective on this date, the College of General Studies was reorganized as University College, an academic entity consisting of four academic schools: Arts and Sciences, Business, Education, and Engineering. Dr. George W. Campbell was named as the interim Vice President for University College.

August 4, 1971: Dr. Frederick W. Conner was named interim dean of the new School of Arts and Sciences; the school was abolished two years later.

August 1971: The former Ullman High School was rededicated as UAB's Ullman Building, a facility comprised by the original 1901 school building and the school's 1955 addition.

August 1971: Geraldine W. Bell became the first African American member of the faculty of the University College Library (later the Mervyn H. Sterne Library), receiving the appointment of instructor and reference bibliographer.

September 1, 1971: Ballet House opened in the renovated Second Presbyterian Church building on 10th Avenue South.

September 1, 1971: Stevan Grebel became first director of UAB's ballet program; his wife, Melanie Mihalic Grebel, became assistant to the director.

September 18, 1971: Dr. Fain A. Guthrie became first dean of the School of Education after serving as interim dean for one month.

September 1971: Dr. Jerry D. Young became first dean of the School of Business.

October 6, 1971: The Rebel and Sophie Zeigler Medical Research Building was dedicated.

October 19, 1971: The Lister Hill Library of the Health Sciences was dedicated and named in honor of Alabama's long-time former Senator Lister Hill.

October 19, 1971: Sarah Cole Brown, who had served as chief librarian since 1955, became first director of the new Lister Hill Library of the Health Sciences.

November 19, 1971: Kemmons Wilson, founder and chairman of the Board of Holiday Inns, presented the first Carri-Don Lecture in the School of Business. The school's first endowed lectureship had been established earlier in the year with a donation from Don and Carrie Marshall of Birmingham.

December 1971: Dr. Joseph Appleton was named first dean of the School of Engineering after having served as interim dean since August.

1971: UAB's central administrative offices opened in the 7-11 Building.

1971: UAB was accredited as an independent institution of higher education by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS).

February 1972: Pi Kappa Alpha was chartered as the first social fraternity at UAB. The local Eta Xi chapter had been established as a social club in 1970.

April 8, 1972: Yetta G. Samford, Jr., was elected to the University of Alabama Board of Trustees.

April 17, 1972: Dr. Charles A. McCallum, Jr., delivered the ninth Distinguished Faculty Lecture, "The Challenge of Service."

June 4, 1972: Virginia Baxley, long-time registrar of the medical school, became the first female awarded an honorary degree by UAB. She received the honorary Master of Arts degree.

June 4, 1972: Walter Jackson received a BS in General Engineering, becoming the first African American graduate of the School of Engineering.

June 1972: UAB Regional Spinal Cord Injury Care System was established with Dr. John M. Miller, III, as director.

August 1972: Dr. George W. Campbell was named first vice president for University College after serving as interim vice president since August of 1971.

September 9, 1972: The Psychiatric Day Treatment Center was renamed in honor of benefactor William P. Engel.

September 24, 1972: Dr. Dalton E. McFarland received appointment as UAB’s first “University Professor,” a position designed to cross all school and departmental lines. His faculty appointment was in the School of Business.

September 1972: University Hospital Outpatient Services Clinic was closed.

October 1972: Mercy Hospital opened.

December 1, 1972: A symbolic groundbreaking was held for the School of Optometry Building.

1972: The Extension Library of Lister Hill Library of the Health Sciences opened in the Hillman Hospital building.

1972: Offices for the UAB Graduate School moved into a renovated building at 1016 South 15th Street.

1972: The UAB Center for Labor Education and Research was established. Dr. Higdon C. Roberts, Jr., was the center's founding director.

1972: Air Force ROTC first became available to undergraduate students through a cooperative program with Samford University.

1972: By vote of faculty and students, the UAB student theater was officially renamed as UAB Commedia. The first production of the newly renamed program was Martin Duberman’s play “In White America.”

1972: UAB Police Department formally organized. Thomas C. Seals became the first Chief of Police.

1972: Payroll for UAB's 6,000 employees topped $50 million.

February 1973: A new university bookstore was opened after being moved from the basement of Tidwell Hall to a newly acquired facility at the corner of 15th Street and 8th Avenue South.

March 7-8, 1973: The Diabetes Research and Education Building was dedicated in the Medical Center as the nation's first public, university-affiliated diabetes hospital.

March 27, 1973: Dr. J. Garber Galbraith delivered the tenth Distinguished Faculty Lecture, "Perspectives in Neurosurgery."

April 1973: The UAB School of Business became the youngest business school in the nation to be accredited by the American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business.

May 11, 1973: A tornado struck downtown Birmingham in the area of 6th Avenue North. While UAB was not in the storm's direct path, the university campus was affected by the Friday storm. A tree fell on a portion of the gymnasium at Ullman-Bell and several buildings had roof damage.

May 20, 1973: Dedication ceremonies were held for a new University College campus containing University College Building No. 1, University College Building No. 2, University College Building No. 3, and the university's new library.

June 4, 1973: Seven optometry students received the first O.D. degrees during UAB's commencement exercises; Neil M. Bleakley was the School's first doctoral graduate.

June 7, 1973: The School of Arts and Sciences was disestablished and its three divisions were elevated to three separate academic schools:  Humanities, Natural Sciences and Mathematics, and Social and Behavioral Sciences.

June 7, 1973: Dr. Frederick W. Conner became first dean of the School of Humanities.

June 7, 1973: Dr. Roger W. Hanson became first dean of the School of Natural Sciences and Mathematics.

June 7, 1973: Dr. George E. Passey became first dean of the School of Social and Behavioral Sciences.

July 1, 1973: Dr. James A. Pittman, Jr., became dean of the School of Medicine.

July 8, 1973: First patients were admitted to the Diabetes Research and Education Hospital.

September 1, 1973: Charles G. Jamerson was appointed to the faculty of the School of Business as an assistant professor in the Center for Labor Education and Research, becoming the first African American faculty member of the business school.

September 15, 1973: The University of Alabama Board of Trustees approved a resolution naming the University College Library as the Mervyn H. Sterne Library after the late Birmingham businessman and philanthropist Mervyn H. Sterne. A dedication ceremony would be held the following year.

October 1973: The Division of Special Studies was established to coordinate non-credit courses, workshops, seminars, and conferences. Dr. Rudolph Davidson was named director.

October 1973: Groundbreaking was held for the Physical Education Facility.

November 1973: The Friday after Thanksgiving first became an official UAB holiday.

December 7-9, 1973: The Diabetes Hospital was formally dedicated at UAB in two-day festivities at the medical center. The hospital, which occupied one floor of the Diabetes Research and Education Building, had opened for patients on the eighth of July.

1973: University of Alabama Hospitals and Clinics was renamed The University of Alabama Hospitals.

1973: The Diabetes Research and Training Center was established with Dr. William J. Reddy as first director. This research center was located within the School of Medicine.

1973: UAB became Birmingham's second largest employer.

1973: The University of Alabama Health Services Foundation was established and incorporated as a not-for-profit, professional corporation.

1973: Dr. David M. Witten became the first president of The University of Alabama Health Services Foundation.

March 1974: Dr. Jerry D. Young became first vice president for Finance.

March 1974: Dr. John B. Dunbar became first vice president for Administration.

April 15, 1974: Dr. Elizabeth C. Crosby delivered the eleventh Distinguished Faculty Lecture, "Our Curious Cortex."  She was the first female lecturer.

April 1974: A symbolic groundbreaking was held for the Lurleen B. Wallace Cancer Hospital.

June 9, 1974: Catherine Steinmitz Amos received her O.D. degree becoming the School of Optometry's first female graduate.

June 9, 1974: Jimmie Walker, Jr., and Wilson Wright, Jr., became the first African American graduates of the School of Dentistry.

August 1, 1974: Groundbreaking was held for the Monday Morning Quarterback Tower.

September 24, 1974: The Edward M. Holmes, Jr., Pavilion of the Spain Rehabilitation Center was dedicated.

October 5, 1974: The Silver Anniversary Celebration of the UAB Town and Gown Theatre was the inaugural theatrical event held at the city’s new Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center.

November 1974: Physical Education Facility opened.

December 15, 1974: Patience Hodges Claybon became the first African American female graduate of the School of Medicine.

1974: The Veterans Administration Regional Medical Education Center established as one of only three such centers in the nation. Clyde G. Cox was the center's first director.

1974: Drs. Carl H. Miller and Conrad Merrill received full-time faculty appointments in the School of Nursing, the first male faculty members at the Birmingham nursing school. Dr. Miller was appointed professor of psychiatric nursing; Dr. Merrill was professor and the director of student services.

1974: University of Alabama Medical Center Foundation, a non-profit corporation, was renamed the UAB Medical and Educational Foundation.

1974: Dr. M. Gene Newport became second dean of the School of Business.

February 19, 1975: The University of Alabama Board of Trustees approved plans for UAB to establish a non-commercial, educational FM radio station for the campus.

February 1975: UAB celebrated Black History Week with a series of lectures, dances, and art shows. The weeklong celebration was sponsored by the University College Student Government Association.

April 20, 1975: Mercy Hospital was renamed Cooper Green Hospital.

June 4, 1975: A groundbreaking ceremony was held for the Roberts Annex, an addition to the Clark Memorial Theatre building.

June 9, 1975: Arthur D. Shores, attorney and noted Civil Rights Activist, received an honorary Doctor of Humanities degree from UAB becoming the first African American to receive an honorary degree from the university.

July 1975: UAB Residence Hall at 1600 9th Avenue South was named in honor of Hugh Denman, long-time director of the Birmingham Housing Authority.

August 1975: School of Nursing received approval for the first nursing doctoral program in the Southeast.

September 12, 1975: The School of Optometry Building was dedicated.

September 17, 1975: Dr. John W. Kirklin delivered the twelfth Distinguished Faculty Lecture, "Training of Horses, Quarterbacks, Pilots, and Surgeons."

October 24, 1975: The Reynolds Historical Library was rededicated within the Lister Hill Library of the Health Sciences.

November 22, 1975: The UAB Circle of Omicron Delta Kappa national leadership honor society was chartered. Ninety-one members from across the UAB campus were initiated into ODK; Dr. Aaron L. Lamar, Jr., became the first faculty advisor.

November 1975: The University Ambulatory Center was demolished in order to build East Base of University Hospital.

November 1975: Medical Towers Building was acquired.

1975: The Alabama legislature appropriated funds for the purchase of approximately 45 blocks for UAB expansion.

1975: The entering class size of the School of Medicine was increased to 145.

1975: Aura, UAB’s student literary arts review, debuted with an issue published during the fall.

1975: UAB acquired the Medical Center Plaza Building and renamed it University College Building No. 4.

1975: Dr. John W. Kirklin became the second president of The University of Alabama Health Services Foundation.

January 17, 1976: The Medical and Dental Basic Science Building and Dental Clinic was rededicated as the School of Dentistry Building.

March 15, 1976: Dr. Thomas K. Hearn, Jr., became second dean of the School of Humanities.

March 1976: Dr. Joseph F. Volker presented Hugh Denman of the Birmingham Housing Authority $8.8 million for the purchase of 45 blocks for UAB expansion.

March 1976: Ground was broken for University College Building No. 5.

April 1, 1976: Dr. William F. Bridgers was named to develop public health efforts at UAB.

April 5, 1976: “An Evening with Truman Capote” was held in the Bell Auditorium on the UAB campus.

June 1, 1976: The Ambulatory Dialysis Center opened at 516 South 20th Street.

June 6, 1976: Janice G. Jackson became the first African American female to graduate from the School of Dentistry.

June 16, 1976: Dr. Joseph F. Volker was named the first chancellor of the three-campus University of Alabama System.

June 30, 1976: Dr. George W. Campbell, vice president for University College, was named acting president of UAB.

July 1976: Dr. W. Paul Brann became second vice president for Administration.

September 21, 1976: Dr. S. Richardson Hill, Jr., delivered the thirteenth Distinguished Faculty Lecture, "Endocrinology Revisited."

September 24, 1976: The UAB Report, the weekly faculty and staff newspaper, was first published.

December 4, 1976: School of Community and Allied Health Resources was renamed the School of Public and Allied Health, Dr. Keith D. Blayney renamed as dean.

December 5, 1976: WBHM-FM Radio broadcast for the first time as the 200th affiliated station of National Public Radio. Dr. Florence M. Monroe was the station's first general manager.

1976: The first UAB student handbook was issued. Later, in 1982, it would be renamed as Directions.

1976: The Center for Aging was established.

1976: Dr. Rosalie Andrews Scripa received an appointment as assistant professor of Engineering, the first female with a full-time faculty appointment in the engineering school.

1976: The UAB Jazz Ensemble was organized in the fall as a performing group open to UAB students, staff, and faculty.

1976: The entering class size of the School of Medicine was increased to 165.

January 14, 1977: The Radiation Therapy and Tumor Institute was dedicated as Phase I of the Lurleen B. Wallace Memorial Hospital and Tumor Institute.

February 1, 1977: Dr. S. Richardson Hill, Jr., became the second president of UAB.

February 26, 1977: Dr. Edwin G. Waldrop, a member of the Class of 1946, was awarded the first Distinguished Alumnus Award by the University of Alabama School of Medicine Alumni Association.

February 1977: UAB first celebrated Black History Month with a series of campus events, including lectures, film screenings, and dances. Poet Nikki Giovanni was one of the guest lecturers. The month-long celebration was co-sponsored by the University College Student Government Association and the Graduate Student Association.

May 13, 1977: The Alabama Supreme Court held a session on the UAB campus for the first time. Three cases were heard by Chief Justice C. C. Torbert, Jr., and the other eight members of Alabama’s highest court.

May 26, 1977: R. Lee Walthall became first vice president for Institutional Advancement and Legal Affairs.

May 27, 1977: The UAB Mini Park was dedicated.

May 1977: Dr. J. Dudley Pewitt became third vice president for Administration.

June 14, 1977: Dr. S. Richardson Hill, Jr., announced that UCLA Coach Gene Bartow would become UAB's new Athletic Director and head coach of the Men's Basketball team.

July 18, 1977: The Monday Morning Quarterback Tower was dedicated as Phase I of the Alabama Heart Hospital.

August 1977: Fran Sharp Merrell became the first head coach of the new Women's Basketball team.

September 1, 1977: Dr. Charles A. McCallum, Jr., became vice president for Health Affairs.

September 26, 1977: Dr. Thomas N. James delivered the fourteenth Distinguished Faculty Lecture, "Dobermans, Dalmatians, and Deaf Children."

October 10, 1977: Engineering Building was renamed Cudworth Hall in honor of James R. Cudworth.

October 1977: Basic Health Sciences Building was renamed Volker Hall in honor of UAB's first president.

November 9, 1977: UAB joined the Sun Belt Conference.

1977: Sports Medicine Institute established as an official UAB center. Dr. Kurt M. W. Niemann was the first director.

1977: Drs. Leo M. Hall and James E. Myrick obtained the first license from UAB for manufacture and sale of an invention produced at the university. The reagent they developed was licensed to Calbiochem for US and international sales.

1977: Dr. Robert Glaze became first vice president for Research and Graduate Studies.

1977: The Multipurpose Arthritis Center, later renamed the Arthritis and Musculoskeletal Diseases Center, was created.

1977: Urological Rehabilitation and Research Center established at UAB with Dr. L. Keith Lloyd as director.

1977: World's first effective treatment for a viral disease, the deadly herpes simplex encephalitis, occurred at University Hospital.

January 1, 1978: Dr. Leonard H. Robinson became third dean of the School of Dentistry.

January 13, 1978: In a campus-wide election, students, faculty, and staff voted to name all intercollegiate athletic teams the UAB Blazers.

January 20, 1978: UAB held a ceremony honoring the late Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., with a keynote address by Rev. Wyatt Tee Walker. Walker had served as chief-of-staff for King and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. The event was held in the auditorium of the Engineering Building and was sponsored by the UAB group Students for Greater Awareness. The event was funded by the student government and graduate student associations.

January 1978: Gladys McQueen, supervisor of keypunch services in the Central Computing Facility, was named UAB’s first “Employee of the Month.” At the time, McQueen had 24 years of service.

January 1978: The UAB Symphony Orchestra established as the only college/community orchestra in the Birmingham metropolitan area. The faculty advisor was Dr. Sherrill Martin, department of Performing Arts.  The orchestra's first performance was in April.

January 1978: Patricia P. Farmer was named as first curator of Art Collections at UAB and as curator of the UAB Visual Arts Gallery.

February 1, 1978: The Russell Ambulatory Center was dedicated.

March 6, 1978: University College Building No. 5 opened.

April 28, 1978: University College Building No. 5 was renamed in honor of Dr. George W. Campbell, vice president for University College.

April 1978: Bill Herron hired as the first head coach of Men's Tennis, a team scheduled to begin competition during the 1979 calendar year.

May 1978: Dr. John D. Jones became first vice president for Student Affairs.

May 1978: Alabama native Harry "the Hat" Walker became the first head coach of the new Men's Baseball team. Games for the UAB Blazers were played at Birmingham's historic Rickwood Field since there were no on-campus facilities available.

June 4, 1978: Terrence N. Ingraham received his O.D. degree becoming the first African American graduate of the School of Optometry.

July 24, 1978: Upon the retirement of Sarah Cole Brown, Richard B. Fredericksen became second director of the Lister Hill Library of the Health Sciences.

September 1, 1978: The UAB Police Department assumed “campus-wide responsibility for the enforcement of University parking rules and regulations.”

September 15, 1978: Dr. James H. Woodward, Jr., became second dean of the School of Engineering.

September 22, 1978: Dr. Marie L. O'Koren delivered the fifteenth Distinguished Faculty Lecture, "Nursing: Past Realities and Future Imperatives."

October 1, 1978: Dr. Thomas K. Hearn became second vice president for University College.

October 27, 1978: The Center for Advanced Medical Studies (CAMS) was approved by The University of Alabama Board of Trustees as an official UAB Center. Later, the center was renamed in honor of Dr. James A. Pittman, Jr.

October 1978: Dr. Joel P. Hearn, a post-graduate student in endodontics, composed the new UAB Fight Song.  A committee comprised of students, faculty, and staff selected Dr. Hearn's song during a campus-wide competition.

November 24, 1978: Before a crowd of over 14,800 at the Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center, the UAB men's basketball team competed in its first game, losing to Nebraska by a score of 55 to 64.

November 29, 1978: The Women's Basketball team played its first game at the Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center, losing to North Alabama by a score of 77 to 82.

November 29, 1978: The School of Public and Allied Health was renamed the School of Community and Allied Health, Dr. Keith D. Blayney remained as dean.

December 1, 1978: Drs. Kenneth J. Roozen and Blaine A. Brownell became associate deans and co-directors of the UAB Graduate School.

1978: UAB Ambassadors corps formed with 10 students and two alternates in order to provide student hosts at official university functions.  Dr. Kathleen Faircloth was the faculty advisor for the new student group.

1978: Blazer cheerleading squad of 10 formed in the spring with John Slivka and Susan Rheuby as Head Cheerleaders. Deborath Sutherland was the first director of the cheer and dance teams.

1978: Ayda G. Nambayan received a full-time faculty appointment as assistant professor of nursing, the first international appointed to the nursing school faculty. Nambayan was from the Philippines.

1978: The Medical Education Building opened.

1978: Howard G. Hawk became the first UAB student named as a Truman Scholar.

1978: Susan Cook became the first head coach of the new Women's Volleyball team.

1978: The Nephrology Research and Training Center was established at UAB with Dr. Robert G. Luke as first director.

1978: Dr. Aaron L. Lamar, Jr., was named assistant vice president and dean of Student Affairs, becoming the first African American appointed to a senior administrative position at UAB.

1978: A pink dragon served as the first official mascot for the UAB Blazers.

1978: UAB Pain Treatment Center was formally established as an official center although the program had originated in the late 1960s. Dr. H. Ronald Vinik was the center's first director.

1978: Peter N. Derzis, Jr., became UAB's first Sports Information director.

1978: Lister Hill Library of the Health Sciences contained 188,000 volumes and 2,877 journal subscriptions.

1978: The Alabama Regional Organ and Tissue Center established.

January 23, 1979: In a reception held in the Rust Research Center, Gladys McQueen was honored as UAB’s first “Employee of the Year.” She had been selected as the university’s first “Employee of the Month” the previous January.

January 25-27, 1979: During basketball season, UAB celebrated its first Homecoming festivities.

January 27, 1979: UAB gained full membership as an NCAA Division I athletics program.

January 1979: The University of Alabama System Medical Education Program (UASMEP) was reaccredited by the national Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME).

April 1979: The Division of Special Studies renamed UAB Special Studies.

June 3, 1979: E. Karen King became the first African American female graduate of the School of Optometry.

June 3, 1979: Kathleen G. Andreoli became the first graduate of the School of Nursing’s DSN program, which had been instituted in 1975. Andreoli completed degree requirements in March and was awarded her doctoral degree at the annual commencement ceremony.

June 17, 1979: The Spain Heart Bed Tower, Margaret Cameron Spain Auditorium, Wallace Cancer Bed Tower, and East Base were dedicated as part of the "New U" celebrations.

June 24, 1979: Lilly Henderson, a UAB senior in Counseling and Guidance (Education), was named Miss Wheelchair Alabama.

June 1979: The original Jefferson Hospital building was renamed Jefferson Tower.

July 1979: The former Lawrence Reynolds Library building was demolished in order to construct the Center for Advanced Medical Studies.

September 12, 1979: Vision Science Research Center was dedicated as the only NEI funded center located in an optometry school. Dr. Terry L. Hickey was the center's first director. In 1996 the center received designation as a university-wide research center.

October 12, 1979: UAB’s new heliport was dedicated on the western edge of campus.

October 19, 1979: Dr. J. Claude Bennett delivered the sixteenth Distinguished Faculty Lecture, "The Bench and the Bedside."

October 26, 1979: The John J. Sparkman Center for International Public Health Education was approved as an official center by The University of Alabama Board of Trustees. Dr. William F. Bridgers was the center's first director. In 2004 the center was renamed as the Sparkman Center for Global Health.

October 26, 1979: Martha Simms Rambo and Thomas E. Rast were elected to the University of Alabama Board of Trustees. Rambo was the first women elected to the governing board of the three campus University of Alabama System.

November 5, 1979: T. Massey Bedsole was elected to the University of Alabama Board of Trustees.

1979: Tim Hamer became the first head coach of the new Men's Soccer team.

1979: Center for Nursing Research was established.

1979: Dr. Carl E. Dukes completed an internal medicine residency program and service as the first African American selected as UAB's chief medical resident.

1979: Dr. James Rachels was named third dean of the School of Humanities after serving as interim since 1978.

1979: Jimmy Ballard became the first head coach of the new Men's Golf team.

1979: The Phoenix, a UAB yearbook chiefly focusing on University College, was first published. Steve Nixon, a junior management major, was editor of the first yearbook.

1979: Hugh Thomson became the inaugural head coach of the Women's Tennis team and the second head coach of the Men's Tennis team.

1979: The Muscular Dystrophy and Myasthenia Gravis Center established.

1979: President S. Richardson Hill, Jr., established the UAB President’s Council. Composed by community business and civic leaders, the council was charged with advising the president on matters related to the advancement of the university.

1979: UAB National Alumni Society was chartered.

1979: The Blue Cross/Blue Shield Building on South 20th Street was acquired and reopened as the Community Health Services Building.

1979: Active extramural grants and contracts at UAB totaled $47,471,028.

1979-1980: Beauregard T. Rooster became the official mascot for the UAB Blazers, the university's second mascot.

View images from the 1980s.

January 8, 1980: A groundbreaking ceremony was held for the Hulsey Center for Arts and Humanities.

January 11, 1980: John J. Sparkman Center for International Public Health Education was dedicated.

February 1980: Brenda Williams became the second head coach of Women's Volleyball.

March 5-7, 1980: The Center for Advanced Medical Studies was dedicated.

March 15, 1980: Dr. Milly E. Cowles became second dean of the School of Education.

April 9, 1980: The Physical Education Facility was renamed in honor of former Alabama governor George C. Wallace.

April 30, 1980: Twin Towers, a student residence hall, opened.

June 11, 1980: The first meeting of the Tinsley R. Harrison Medical Student Society was held at UAB. Senior medical student J. Patrick Daugherty was the first to present a research paper before the new student organization.

June 15, 1980: Dr. Lee R. Summerlin became interim dean of the School of Natural Sciences and Mathematics.

September 1980: The Army ROTC program was initiated at UAB, one of 41 universities throughout the country to gain an Reserve Officers' Training Corps program. The UAB program began with 12 cadets.

November 7, 1980: Dr. John R. Durant delivered the seventeenth Distinguished Faculty Lecture, "People I Have Known."

1980: The Pediatric Pulmonary Center was established.

1980: The Center for International Programs was established with Robert W. French as director.

1980: William M. Voigt became the first president of the UAB National Alumni Society.

1980: The University of Alabama Board of Trustees dropped the designation University of Alabama System Medical Education Program (UASMEP) for the system’s medical programs in Birmingham, Huntsville, and Tuscaloosa. In its place, the board recognized that the system had one medical school, The University of Alabama School of Medicine, which is located in Birmingham and which has programs at the Huntsville and Tuscaloosa campuses.

1980: The Occupational Health and Safety Educational Resource Center was created.

1980: The former Jefferson County Public Health Building was demolished.

January 21, 1981: Alabama Congenital Heart Disease Diagnosis and Treatment Center was established with Dr. John W. Kirklin as director.

January 21, 1981: The Cystic Fibrosis Research Center was established at UAB with Dr. Roy Curtiss III as first director. In 1986 the center was renamed in honor of Gregory Fleming James, the late son of Governor Fob James.

January 31, 1981: During UAB's homecoming celebrations, David Bolus and Kay Ellis were chosen as the first “Mr. and Ms. UAB.”

March 1981: The first International Conference on Differential Equations and Mathematical Physics was hosted at UAB by the Department of Mathematics, the founding entity for the conference.

May 17, 1981: Joseph H. Woolf Family Practice Center was dedicated.

May 29, 1981: UAB Department of Public Health was designated the School of Public Health by The University of Alabama Board of Trustees. Dr. William F. Bridgers became the new school's first dean.

June 1981: Eight Avenue South was renamed University Boulevard.

August 1, 1981: Avie Bridges became the second head coach of Women's Basketball. She came to UAB from Tulane University.

September 8, 1981: The first bone marrow transplant at UAB was performed. Dr. Jon Gockerman was medical director of the program.

September 27, 1981: The Baptist Student Center at UAB was dedicated.

October 23, 1981: Dr. James A. Pittman, Jr., delivered the eighteenth Distinguished Faculty Lecture, "Progress."

October 30, 1981: Groundbreaking was held for the University Center.

November 24, 1981: Dr. Robert B. Karp headed the University Hospital team that performed the first heart transplant at UAB.

November 1981: UAB Small Business Development Center was established with Fred Myrick as first director.

December 1, 1981: Dr. Robert Glaze became first vice president for Research and Institutional Advancement after having served as acting vice president since 1980.

December 15, 1981: The Ambulatory Dialysis Home Training Center opened.

1981: Bob Norman became the second head coach of the Men's Soccer team.

1981: The entering class size of the School of Medicine was decreased to 150.

1981: Center for Communications Research was established with Dr. John W. Wittig as director.

1981: Dr. Paul Spence, director of the Mervyn H. Sterne Library, acquired the inventory of three bookstores in New York City, getting over 250,000 volumes for UAB's library collection. The acquisition included several 16th, 17th, and 18th century titles that were added to the library's collection of rare books.

1981: The University of Alabama Board of Trustees expanded from eight to fifteen members.

1981: Jim White became the third head coach of the Men's Tennis team, becoming the first African American named as a Blazer head coach.

1981: The University College Senate was superseded by the new University College Faculty Senate.

February 2, 1982: UAB Synopsis was first published for the medical and dental staff of University Hospital; Dr. Richard McElvein was first editor.

February 28, 1982: Men's Basketball team won their first Sun Belt Conference title in a championship tournament hosted by UAB and held in Birmingham.

March 13, 1982: Men's Basketball team reached the round of 16 in the NCAA basketball playoffs.

March 24, 1982: “Elizabeth,” a narrative film shot entirely on location in UAB’s Spain Rehabilitation Center, was broadcast nationally on the PBS network.

March 25, 1982: "Ceremonies in Dark Old Men,” was the inaugural production held in the theater of the new Husley Center for the Arts.  The Town and Gown Theatre production was sponsored by the United Negro College Fund and was held to honor of local businesswoman Minnie Gaston and local dentist Dr. John W. Nixon, an amateur actor who was also a member of the clinical faculty of the UAB dental school and a veteran civil rights activist.

April 30, 1982: The Hulsey Center for Arts and Humanities officially opened. A poetry reading in the theater studio by Alan Perlis, chair of the English department, and by several UAB students was part of the opening ceremony for the new Center.

April 1982: Charlie Badger became the second head coach for the Women's Tennis team.

May 17, 1982: Wanda Hightower Jordan became the first UAB athlete to have a jersey retired. A member of the 1978-1982 Women's Basketball team, she had scored 2,854 career points and had gained 1,091 career rebounds.

June 3, 1982: A groundbreaking was held for the Susan Mott Webb Nutrition Sciences Building.

August 1, 1982: Dr. Thomas A. Bartlett became the second chancellor of the three-campus University of Alabama System.

August 25, 1982: UAB alumna Barbara Crozier, Miss Wheelchair Alabama, was selected as the 1983 Miss Wheelchair, USA.

August 1982: Dr. Joseph F. Volker, recently retired as chancellor of the three-campus University of Alabama System, returned to UAB as a distinguished professor.

November 4, 1982: The Betty LeRoy Davis Outpatient Clinic was dedicated in University Hospital. The clinic was the first patient area in the hospital to be named for a registered nurse. Davis worked at UAB from 1965 until her retirement in 1981.

November 10, 1982: William H. Mitchell, Jr., and Dr. Sandral Hullet were elected to the University of Alabama Board of Trustees. Dr. Hullet, who had earned a master’s degree from the UAB School of Public Health, became the first African American elected to the governing board of the three campus University of Alabama System.

November 12, 1982: Dr. Max D. Cooper delivered the nineteenth Distinguished Faculty Lecture, "Of Mice, Men, and Chickens."

1982: The Alabama Legislature and the voters of Alabama approved a constitutional amendment increasing the membership on the University of Alabama Board of Trustees from eight to fifteen, with the aim to provide diversity and better representation on the governing board of the three campus University of Alabama System. Each Congressional district went from one member to two members; the district containing Tuscaloosa went from two members to three. The state constitution stipulates that the Tuscaloosa district have one more board member than other Congressional districts.

1982: Joe Davidson became the second head coach of the Men's Golf team.

1982: Tom Seals became the first head coach of the new Riflery team. He was the chief of the UAB Police department.

1982: Laboratory for Special Cancer Research opened at 550 South 11th Street.

1982: In the fall of 1982 Men's Volleyball was established as a new Blazer sport, with Tim Richards as the inaugural head coach.

1982: The newly revised campus-wide student guide, Directions, debuted. It replaced the formerly issued Student Handbook.

1982: By the end of the year, Sue Cranford had been hired as the third head coach of the Women's Tennis team, with her first season of coaching being 1983. Cranford had been a student athlete on the inaugural Blazer tennis team.

February 1983: UAB discontinued its bone marrow transplant program after less than two years.

March 26, 1983: Phyllis Pope, a pre-dentistry major from Olympia Field, Illinois, selected as the first Miss UAB. Twenty-two students participated in the university’s first pageant, an official preliminary to the Miss Alabama pageant.

May 21, 1983: UAB held its first telephone student registration in a pilot program sponsored by the Office of Registration and Academic Records.

June 5, 1983: Linda C. Lucas received a PhD in biomedical engineering, the first doctoral degree awarded by the School of Engineering. Junene R. Pearson received a BS in electrical engineering, becoming the first African American female graduate of the engineering school.

June 1983: The UAB Critical Care Transport Service began.

July 14, 1983: Aaron M. Aronov and Garry Neil Drummond were elected to the University of Alabama Board of Trustees.

August 1983: The UAB Conference Center was renamed the Carrie D. and Don V. Marshall Conference Center.

September 10, 1983: Cleophus Thomas, Jr., and Frank H. Bromberg, Jr., were elected to the University of Alabama Board of Trustees.

October 13, 1983: Drs. Wayne H. and Sara C. Finley delivered the twentieth Distinguished Faculty Lecture, "From the Roots to the Branches."

October 18, 1983: Susan Mott Webb Nutrition Sciences Building was dedicated.

October 1983: Dr. James Rachels became interim vice president for University College, he served until the end of the year.

October 1983: The University Center opened.

December 3, 1983: Oliver H. Delchamps, Jr., was elected to the University of Alabama Board of Trustees.

December 10, 1983: Students, staff, and faculty in the arts and humanities held the first Madrigal Feaste in the newly opened University Center.  The annual UAB holiday event would remain on the university calendar for many years.

1983: UAB ranked 24th out of 396 institutions in the amount of funding received for research from the National Institutes of Health.

1983: Dr. Peter V. O'Neil was named second dean of the School of Natural Sciences and Mathematics after having served as interim since 1982.

1983: Center for the Advancement of Developing Industries was established with Dr. James H. Woodward, Jr., as first director.

1983: School of Optometry became the only school of its kind in the nation to require students to pass the National Board Examinations to qualify for graduation.

1983: Don Young was named director of Financial Affairs and University Treasurer.

1983: The Rev. James T. Crutcher, formerly pastor of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church, became the first African American named as a full-time chaplain at University Hospital. He served in that capacity until 1996.

1983: UAB Honors Program, an inter-disciplinary curriculum for undergraduate students, established with Dr. Ada W. Long as first director.

1983: Dr. Sara Ruiz de Molina was named acting dean of Special Studies.

January 1, 1984: Dr. James H. Woodward, Jr., became third vice president for University College; he served until June 1989 when the office was renamed Academic Affairs.

January 21, 1984: The Business and Engineering Complex was dedicated.

February 3, 1984: Dr. Joaquin Aldrete led the team that performed the first liver transplant at University Hospital. The patient was a five-year old boy from Alabama.

April 1984: Roy Kirkpatrick became the second Chief of Police.

April 1984: UAB first hosted Greek Week for sororities and fraternities. Events were held on campus the week of April 23-27.

June 3, 1984: Regina M. Benjamin of Daphne, Alabama, graduated from the medical school at UAB. In 2009 Dr. Benjamin would become the third Alabamian appointed as Surgeon-General of the United States.

July 1984: The UAB Benevolent Fund was established. Dr. Virginia D. Gauld was selected as the first president of the Faculty and Staff Benevolent Fund Council, a 32-member group chosen to oversee UAB's charitable giving campaign.

September 1, 1984: Lung Health Center was established at UAB with Dr. William C. Bailey as director. The center received approval of The University of Alabama Board of Trustees on December 4, 1986.

September 1, 1984: Ken Letson became UAB's second Sports Information director.

September 1, 1984: Dr. Blaine A. Brownell became second dean of the School of Social and Behavioral Sciences.

September 23, 1984: The Tinsley Harrison Tower was dedicated.

November 9, 1984: Dr. Harriet P. Dustan delivered the twenty-first Distinguished Faculty Lecture, "Alabama and The Golden Age of Medical Research."

November 15, 1984: The University of Alabama Board of Trustees approved the change of UAB's name from the "University of Alabama in Birmingham" to the "University of Alabama at Birmingham."

November 16, 1984: The Basic Health Science Education and Research Building was dedicated.

1984: Dr. Jay Goldman named third dean of the School of Engineering, succeeding Dr. Edmond Miller who had served as interim.

1984: Joann Beddow became the first head coach of the Women's Golf team.  The new team was organized that year and began competition in the fall of 1985.

1984: The Phoenix, a magazine for the university community published by UAB journalism students, debuted in the winter. Brent H. Morgan was the magazine’s first editor.

1984: The first use in the United States of a color doppler echocardiograph for visualizing internal cardiac structures occurred at University Hospital.

1984: Najwa S. Bateh became the third president of the UAB National Alumni Society. Bateh was the Society's first female president and first president with an international background.

1984: Dr. Theodore M. Benditt named fourth dean of the School of Humanities.

1984: Dr. Anthony C. L. Barnard named dean and co-director of the Graduate School.

January 1, 1985: Dr. Jerry W. Stephens became second director of the Mervyn H. Sterne Library.

January 23, 1985: First baby was born as a result of the UAB In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) program. Dr. Kathryn Honea, IVF program director, attended the baby girl’s birth at the mother’s local hospital.

April 15, 1985: UAB's first International Food Festival was held in the Mini Park.

April 18, 1985: UAB's new baseball field was officially dedicated as the Jerry D. Young Memorial Field.

April 25, 1985: The residence hall for nursing students at UAB was rededicated as Florence A. Hixson Hall.

June 1, 1985: Dr. Sara Ruiz de Molina became second dean of Special Studies.

June 2, 1985: Dr. J. Durwood Bradley, Jr., chief of staff at the hospital, became the first recipient of The President's Medal, given for distinguished service to UAB.

June 10, 1985: Angela Tower, a dance student at UAB, was named Miss Alabama. She later went on to become the fourth runner up in the Miss America pageant in September in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

June 27, 1985: Center for Health Risk Assessment and Disease Prevention was established.

July 1, 1985: The university launched the first Capital Campaign with a goal of $25 million.

July 1, 1985: William A. "Bill" Ivey became the third head coach of the Women's Basketball team, after having served as interim coach for the previous year.

September 26, 1985: The Center for Telecommunications Education and Research was approved by The University of Alabama Board of Trustees. Drs. Warren T. Jones and David A. Conner were named as center co-directors.

November 13, 1985: Diabetes Research and Education Building was rededicated as the Boshell Diabetes Research and Education Building.

November 15, 1985: Dr. Leonard H. Robinson delivered the twenty-second Distinguished Faculty Lecture, "Excellence Revisited: Prescription for The Future."

November 24, 1985: Birmingham's Visitors and Information Center at UAB was dedicated at 1201 University Boulevard.

December 5, 1985: The Center for Macromolecular Crystallography and the Sleep/Wake Disorders Center were approved by The University of Alabama Board of Trustees. Dr. Charles E. Bugg was named as first director of the crystallography center, and Dr. Virgil Wooten was founding director of the Sleep/Wake center.

1985: W. Grant Shingleton became UAB's third Sports Information director.

1985: UAB's former home of the Alabama Ballet became home to the new honors program and was renamed as the UAB Honors House.

1985: David L. Poehler became the head coach of Men's Tennis.

1985: Ken Cain became the head coach of the Men's Volleyball team.

January 23, 1986: The University of Alabama Hospitals was renamed as The University of Alabama Hospital; but it remained more commonly known as "University Hospital."

January 23, 1986: The Ben S. Weil Endowed Chair of Industrial Distribution was established in the School of Business. Weil was the first endowed chair at UAB outside of the medical center.

February 28, 1986: The UAB student chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) received its charter. The chapter later went dormant but was reactivated during the fall of 2003.

March 1986: Mac Logue became the third head coach of the Men's Golf team. Logue had been a student athlete member of the Blazer team.

April 3, 1986: The Geriatric Education Center was approved by The University of Alabama Board of Trustees. Dr. Glenn H. Hughes was named as first director of the center.

April 3, 1986: The University of Alabama Board of Trustees formally approved the UAB Epilepsy Center, which had been initiated in 1981.

April 3, 1986: The Lister Hill Center for Health Policy and the Center for Nuclear Imaging Research were established by The University of Alabama Board of Trustees. Dr. William F. Bridgers was named first director of the Lister Hill Center. Dr. Gerald M. Pohost was named director of the nuclear imaging center.

May 1986: UAB acquired the Mary Lewis Convalescent Home, a 45-bed facility.

May 1986: Upon the retirement of Harry "the Hat" Walker, assistant coach Pete Rancont was named as the second head coach of Men's Baseball

June 3, 1986: Cudworth Hall was renamed the UAB Continuing Education Center.

June 7, 1986: The first five students graduated from the UAB Honors Program.

June 26, 1986: The University of Alabama Board of Trustees approved the UAB Injury Control Research Center with Dr. P. Russ Fine as first director.

July 1, 1986: Dr. Richard R. Ranney became the fourth dean of the School of Dentistry.

August 1, 1986: Dr. Bradford W. Wild became second dean of the School of Optometry.

September 1, 1986: Dr. Charles A. McCallum, Jr., vice president for Health Affairs, became acting president of UAB during the one-year sabbatical of President S. Richardson Hill, Jr.

September 25, 1986: The Comprehensive Head Injury Center, which had been initiated at UAB in 1986, received approval by The University of Alabama Board of Trustees. Dr. Thomas J. Boll was later named as the center's first director.

September 25, 1986: The Center for Reproductive Health and Genetics was approved by The University of Alabama Board of Trustees. Drs. Sara C. Finley and Hugh M. Shingleton were named co-directors of the center.

September 25, 1986: Center for Interdisciplinary Research on Immunological Diseases, created in 1985 with funding from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, was formally approved by The University of Alabama Board of Trustees. Dr. J. Claude Bennett was the center's first director.

October 15, 1986: International House was rededicated in honor of Joseph S. and Bertha Pizitz Smolian.

November 14, 1986: Dr. Charles E. Butterworth, Jr., delivered the twenty-third Distinguished Faculty Lecture, "The Function of A University Professor."

1986: Antoinette “Toni” Nordan became curator of the UAB Visual Arts Gallery.

1986: Men's Volleyball and the Riflery teams were eliminated as team sports chiefly due to NCAA regulations for sports allowed per member institution.

January 22, 1987: Parkinson's Disease Association Information and Referral Center, established in 1986, was approved by The University of Alabama Board of Trustees. Dr. James H. Halsey, Jr., served as the center's first director.

February 18, 1987: The Neurobiology Research Center was established.

April 2, 1987: Dr. Charles A. McCallum, Jr., became third president of UAB.

April 2, 1987: Dr. Cordell Wynn and George S. Shirley were elected to the University of Alabama Board of Trustees.

April 13, 1987: The first International Festival was held at UAB. The event was sponsored by the International Student Association and association president Khalil Jarrar.

April 1987: Mickey Pizitz Memorial Pool opened as an addition to Spain Rehabilitation Center.

April 1987: Eugenia "Jeannie" Milling became the fourth head coach of the Women's Basketball team.

June 2, 1987: School of Community and Allied Health was renamed the School of Health Related Professions, Dr. Keith D. Blayney remained as dean.

June 17, 1987: The Center for Research in Oral Biology superseded the Institute of Dental Research. Dr. Henning Birkedal-Hansen was first director of the center.

September 1, 1987: Effective on this date, all “indoor public areas” of the UAB Medical Center became smoke free.

October 30, 1987: Dr. Dan W. Urry delivered the twenty-fourth Distinguished Faculty Lecture, "Of Molecules, Motion, Man, and Machines."

October 1987: Mervyn H. Sterne Library was rededicated after the completion of a major expansion and renovation project.

November 1, 1987: Dr. Rachel Z. Booth became third dean of the School of Nursing.

December 4, 1987: The Center for Economic Education was approved by The University of Alabama Board of Trustees. Dr. Henry N. McCarl was named as the center's first director.

December 1987: UAB South opened in an International Park office building.

1987: World's first genetically engineered mouse-human monoclonal antibody was used at University Hospital in the treatment of cancer.

1987: Dr. Clint Bruess was named third dean of the School of Education.

1987: Omar Alcaino became the fourth head coach of the Women's Tennis team. Alcaino, who had been a student athlete on the Blazer men's team, had previously served as the team's assistant and associate head coach.

1987: The movie, “The Verne Miller Story,” was released. Shot partially in Birmingham the previous year, some scenes had been filmed in UAB’s Woodward House. (This film was also called “Gangland”)

1987: UAB Hospice Program was established in University Hospital.

1987: Center for Reproductive Health and Genetics opened in renovated Byrd Building.

1987: The UAB Research Foundation was formed as a non-profit corporation with the mission to identify, assess, and market commercially viable technology developed at UAB.

January 1988: In response to the growing AIDS epidemic, the 1917 Clinic was opened at UAB. The clinic, which took its name from the building’s street address in order to protect the confidentiality of patients, was founded and first directed by Dr. Michael S. Saag.

February 5, 1988: The School of Humanities was renamed the School of Arts and Humanities; Dr. Theodore M. Benditt remained as dean.

April 1, 1988: Dr. John R. Durant became vice president for Health Affairs, succeeding Dr. J. Durwood Bradley who had served as interim vice president since the previous July.

April 1988: Dr. Robert Glaze became first vice president for Research Development.

May 6, 1988: The Center for Management Study was established with Dr. M. Gene Newport as first center director.

May 19, 1988: UAB Arena was dedicated.

May 1988: Kellie J. Isbell and David K. Thomas became the second and third UAB students named as Truman Scholars. This was the first time in Alabama history that two students were selected from the same institution.

May 1988: The Center for Neuroimmunology was established.

June 5, 1988: UAB Commencement was held in the new UAB Arena, the first time a UAB graduation ceremony had been held on the university’s campus. UAB awarded degrees to 3,260 students.

June 5, 1988: R. Kent Oestenstad received a PhD in Environmental Health Sciences, the first PhD awarded by the School of Public Health. Dr. Oestenstad then joined the school's faculty.

June 27, 1988: The first heart-lung transplant in Alabama was performed at University Hospital by a team headed by Drs. James K. Kirklin and George L. Zorn, Jr.

June 1988: Dr. Dick D. Briggs became acting president of The University of Alabama Health Services Foundation.

August 1, 1988: UAB initiated an escort service through the UAB Police Department for any student, employee or visitor between the hours of 6:00 p.m. and midnight.

September 1, 1988: Virginia L. Algermissen became third director of the Lister Hill Library of the Health Sciences.

September 9, 1988: The William Gorgas Center for Geographic Medicine was established.

October 14, 1988: The Doctors' Center Building was rededicated as the Paul S. Worrell Building.

October 28, 1988: William “Jack” Edwards, III, was elected to the University of Alabama Board of Trustees.

November 18, 1988: Dr. Basil I. Hirschowitz selected as the twenty-fifth Distinguished Faculty Lecturer. His lecture was titled "Fiberoptics: Retrospect and Prospect."

November 1988: UAB Travel Center opened in the Burleson Building.

December 3, 1988: In their first home game in the new UAB Arena, the Men's Basketball team defeated Vanderbilt 76-69.

December 6, 1988: In their first home game in the new UAB Arena, the Women's Basketball team defeated Southern University 66-64.

December 9, 1988: The Center for AIDS Research was formally approved by The University of Alabama Board of Trustees. Dr. Eric Hunter was the center's first director.

December 9, 1988:  The University of Alabama Board of Trustees formally accepted a gift from the BellSouth Foundation to help establish the Wallace R. Bunn endowed position in the School of Engineering at UAB.  An endowed professorship was established from this gift in 1991.  Bunn, who had retired in 1984, was the founding chairman and chief executive officer of the BellSouth Corporation.

December 1988: Dr. Dick D. Briggs became the third president of The University of Alabama Health Services Foundation.

December 1988: Upon the resignation of Dr. Thomas A. Bartlett, Samuel E. G. Hobbs was named interim chancellor of the three-campus University of Alabama System. Hobbs had previously served as a member of the Board of Trustees from 1964 until 1987.

1988: Regional Ectodermal Dysplasia Diagnosis and Treatment Center was established with Dr. J. Timothy Wright as director.

1988: Dr. Max D. Cooper, a professor of pediatrics and microbiology, was elected to membership in the National Academy of Sciences.  He was the first UAB faculty member to be so honored.

1988: Dr. Terry L. Hickey named dean and co-director of the Graduate School.

1988: Tony Ianuzzi became the head coach of the Men's Tennis team.

1988: The UAB Office of Minority Business Development was established with George Perdue, Jr., as first director.

January 28, 1989: ESPN televised the men’s home basketball game against UNC-Charlotte, the first national athletics broadcast from the UAB campus. UNC-Charlotte defeated the Blazers 86-72.

February 4, 1989: UAB celebrated homecoming with the university's first homecoming parade. "Catch the Spirit" was the theme for the week's festivities.

March 8, 1989: Dr. Juan M. Navia became acting dean of the School of Public Health.

March 15, 1989: Dr. Kenneth J. Roozen became first vice president for University Affairs.

March 15, 1989: Linda Flaherty-Goldsmith became University Treasurer.

March 15, 1989: Dr. John M. Lyons became first vice president for Planning and Information Management.

April 23, 1989: The first artificial heart used in Alabama was implanted at University Hospital as a temporary measure while the patient awaited a heart transplant. Dr. William L. Holman implanted the ventricular-assist device.

April 27, 1989: UAB celebrated $100 million in active grants and contracts.

June 4, 1989: The UAB Mace, designed by local artist Cordray Parker, was first used during the university’s commencement. Dr. Virginia D. Horns-Marsh carried the mace into the ceremony. It was commissioned by Dr. and Mrs. Samuel B. Barker.

June 4, 1989: National Basketball Association (NBA) superstar Michael Jordan headlined a Slam Dunk Contest at the UAB Arena as a benefit for Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Greater Birmingham. Over 10,000 packed the arena to an over-capacity crowd.

June 1989: Mike Dunphy became the fourth head coach of the Men's Golf team. He had been a student athlete member of the team.

July 1, 1989: Dr. L. Clark Taylor, Jr., became administrator of University Hospital.

July 1, 1989: UAB's Dr. J. Dudley Pewitt, vice president for Administration, became the president of the Sun Belt Conference; he served until the end of June 1990.

September 1, 1989: Dr. Philip E. Austin became third chancellor of the three-campus University of Alabama System. His appointment had been announced in May.

September 22, 1989: The Civitan International Research Center approved as an official UAB center by The University of Alabama Board of Trustees.

September 27, 1989: A groundbreaking ceremony was held for the Center for Psychiatric Medicine.

October 1, 1989: The designation University College was replaced by the designation Academic Affairs, and Dr. Tennant S. McWilliams became interim vice president for Academic Affairs.

October 5, 1989: Dr. George L. Zorn, Jr., headed the team that performed the state’s first lung transplant at University Hospital. The patient was from Arab, Alabama.

October 13, 1989: The groundbreaking ceremony was held for the Civitan International Research Center.

October 1989: Denise Picard, a junior business major, became the first female at UAB to be named as cadet battalion commander, the highest ranking cadet in the Army ROTC Program.

November 16, 1989: Dr. Victor J. Matukas was named interim dean of the School of Dentistry.

December 8, 1989: Center for Community Health Resources Development was approved by The University of Alabama Board of Trustees.

1989: The UAB National Alumni Society celebrated its 10th anniversary with a sold-out Homecoming Gala featuring music by the Tams, a group that had played the first ever Student Government Association-sponsored dance in 1967.

1989: Virginia G. Wadley became the fourth UAB student named as a Truman Scholar.

1989: Jose-Luis Jamarillo became the interim head coach of the Men's Soccer team.

1989: Alabama's first skin grafting procedure using laboratory-cultured skin for treatment of severe burns occurred at University Hospital.

1989: The Smolian House and the Friendship House were sold by UAB.

1988: Derek J. Tarr became the head coach of the Men's Tennis team.

1989: Dr. Harold M. Fullmer delivered the twenty-sixth Distinguished Faculty Lecture, "Dental Research from Antiquity to the Present."

1989: Active extramural grants and contracts at UAB totaled $105,571,876.

1989: Bea Clark became the fifth head coach of the Women's Tennis team. Clark had been a student athlete on the Blazer team.

1989: The UAB National Alumni Society chartered its first international chapter in the nation of Thailand. President Charles A. McCallum, Jr., was on hand in Bangkok to assist with the charter festivities.

• 1980s

View images from the 1990s.

January 1, 1990: Effective on this date, all buildings, grounds, offices, parking lots, and parking decks at UAB became smoke free.

February 1990: Jean Vaughn became the sixth head coach of the Women's Tennis team. Vaughn had been a student athlete member of the team.

April 1990: Dr. Juan M. Navia became second dean of the School of Public Health.

May 30, 1990: Mick Payne became the third head coach of the Men's Soccer team.

June 3, 1990: At the 20th annual commencement, UAB recognized the school’s 50,000th graduate, Michelle Hight who received a bachelor’s degree in marketing. At the ceremony, 3,338 degrees and certificates were awarded.

June 5, 1990: Groundbreaking was held for the Bevill Biomedical Research Building.

June 22, 1990: James D. Loftin and T. Michael Goodrich were elected to the University of Alabama Board of Trustees.

June 22, 1990: UAB Vaccine Center was established. Dr. Jerry R. McGhee served as the center's first director.

August 1, 1990: Dr. Tennant S. McWilliams became third dean of the School of Social and Behavioral Sciences, succeeding Belinda McCarthy who had served as interim dean since June first.

August 1, 1990: Dr. William A. Sibley became first vice president for Academic Affairs.

September 1, 1990: Patrick J. Murphy became the third Chief of Police.

September 1, 1990: Dr. Virginia D. Gauld became second vice president for Student Affairs. She was the first female vice president at UAB.

October 1, 1990: UAB Campus Taxi began as a service to the UAB community. The service, which began with two vehicles, was available Monday through Friday at 40 predetermined locations around the campus.

October 1990: Dr. John H. Walker became interim vice president for Administration. In 1992 he became interim vice president for Administration and Human Resources when the office was reorganized.

November 2, 1990: The Gay/Lesbian Student Union was recognized as an official student organization by vote of the Student Government Association. The LGBT group was later reorganized and renamed as the Gay/Lesbian/Bisexual Alliance.

November 9, 1990: Dr. Juan M. Navia delivered the twenty-seventh Distinguished Faculty Lecture, "On the Idea of a University: Personal Reflections."

November 1990: UAB Blazers became one of the charter members of the new Great Midwest Conference.

1990: Alabama's first use of single-fiber arthroscope for monitoring the treatment of arthritis occurred at University Hospital.

1990: Dr. Victor J. Matukas was named fifth dean of the School of Dentistry after having served as interim dean since November 16, 1989.

1990: Laurie J. Skellie became the fifth UAB student named as a Truman Scholar.

1990: The first use of a monoclonal antibody to treat rheumatoid arthritis occurred at University Hospital.

1990: Diane Ohl-Picket became the second head coach of the Women's Golf team. Ohl-Picket had been a student athlete on the Blazer team.

1990: The first annual Step Show was held at UAB.

1990: UAB awarded its 50,000th degree.

February 20, 1991: Twin Towers, a student residence, was renamed Camp Hall in honor of Ehney A. Camp, a former member of The University of Alabama Board of Trustees.

February 1991: Pam Kaufman became the third head coach of the Women's Golf team.

March 13, 1991: Dr. Charles A. McCallum, Jr., announced that UAB would field an NCAA Division III football team. Dr. Jim Hilyer, who had served as coach of the club team for its two seasons, was named head coach.

May 2, 1991: UAB held a groundbreaking ceremony for a new Bertha and Joseph Smolian International House on 10th Avenue South.

May 3, 1991: The University of Alabama Board of Trustees approved the Teaching and Learning Center.

May 17, 1991: University Center was renamed and rededicated as the Hill University Center in honor of UAB's second president, Dr. S. Richardson Hill, Jr.

May 22, 1991: Dr. Joan F. Lorden received the first Carolyn P. and Charles W. Ireland Prize for Scholarly Distinction and presented a lecture titled "Behavior: The Organizing Principle for the Nervous System."

September 7, 1991: The UAB football team played its first intercollegiate football game, losing 28-0 to Millsaps College in Jackson, Mississippi.

September 13, 1991: Peter L. Lowe and Maury D. Smith were elected to the University of Alabama Board of Trustees.

September 13, 1991: Center for Psychiatric Medicine received approval from The University of Alabama Board of Trustees as an official UAB center.

September 14, 1991: The UAB football team played its first home game at Legion Field but the Blazers lost 28-10 to Evangel College. John Woltersdorf kicked a 27-yard field goal to score UAB's first points; five minutes later running back Pat Green became the first player to score a touchdown for UAB.

September 21, 1991: The UAB football team gained its first win with a 34-21 victory over Washington and Lee.

October 9, 1991: The Bone Marrow Transplant Program was reactivated at UAB with Dr. William P. Vaughan as head. The program had been in operation briefly between 1981 and 1983.

October 17, 1991: The West Pavilion of University Hospital was dedicated.

October 1991: Richard Deason became interim General Manager of WBHM-FM Radio.

December 8, 1991: The first UAB National Alumni Society Distinguished Alumnus Award was presented to Dr. Lawrence J. DeLucas during commencement exercises.  Dr. DeLucas had earned five degrees from UAB.

December 13, 1991: Alzheimer's Disease Center established.

December 1991: UAB Clinic Inverness opened.

December 1991: The street outside of UAB's Clark Memorial Theatre was renamed Hatcher Place in honor of James F. Hatcher, Jr., the founding director of the UAB Town and Gown Theatre.

1991: Dr. Kenneth J. Roozen became first vice president for Research and University Affairs, after the merger of the offices of research development and university affairs.

1991: First UAB Outdoor Sculpture Display competition was held.

1991: UAB MedWise, an outreach program for senior citizens, was established with George Mickwee as the program's founding director.

1991: Vice presidents Dr. John R. Durant and Dr. William A. Sibley became acting deans and co-directors of the Graduate School.

January 1, 1992: Dr. O. Dale Williams became dean of the School of Public Health.

January 17, 1992: Dr. Lionel M. Bargeron, Jr., delivered the twenty-eighth Distinguished Faculty Lecture, "Remembrance of Things Past."

January 1992: James A. Lee was named acting administrator of University Hospital.

January 1992: Dr. Martha C. Nussbaum, of Brown University, was selected as the first Caroline and Charles W. Ireland Distinguished Visiting Scholar. Her visit to UAB included a public lecture on Greek tragedy and Aristotle’s Poetics.

February 1992: The UAB Arena office towers opened.

February 4, 1992: Michael L. Morgan became third General Manager of WBHM-FM Radio.

April 10, 1992: The Wallace R. Bunn Chair in Telecommunications in the School of Engineering was formally established by the University of Alabama Board of Trustees. Originally, it had been established in 1991 as an endowed professorship.

April 28, 1992: A new facility for the Smolian International House was dedicated.

May 6, 1992: UAB unveiled new office space for the Blazer Football coaches and staff in a section of Birmingham’s Legion Field. The university and the City worked together to provide the program its first official office space. The space at Legion Field would be used for three years until football operations were moved to an on-campus site.

May 26, 1992: Dr. Charles L. Joiner named second dean of the School of Health Related Professions, after having served as interim dean since January first.

June 5, 1992: The Kirklin Clinic was dedicated.

June 8, 1992: UAB police officer was shot while on a routine patrol, the first such injury in the history of the department. The injury required surgery but was not life threatening.

June 25-July 9, 1992: UAB faculty member and alumnus Dr. Lawrence J. DeLucas participated in NASA space mission STS-50 aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia.

June 30, 1992: Center for Psychiatric Medicine was dedicated.

June 1992: Mert H. Ertunga became the seventh head coach of the Women's Tennis team. Ertunga had spent his collegiate years as a member of the Blazer men's team and had been named an All-Conference Player.

July 1, 1992: Dr. Charlie W. Scott became interim dean of the School of Medicine.

July 14, 1992: Civitan International Research Center was dedicated.

July 1992: Judy Sackville became interim head coach of Women's Volleyball. She was later named as the team's third head coach.

August 1992: UAB Campus Watch Program instituted by the UAB Police Department.

August 1992: Michael S. Getman became the fourth head coach of the Men's Soccer team.

September 28, 1992:U.S. News and World Report named UAB as the number one up-and-coming university in the United States.

October 30, 1992: The University of Alabama Board of Trustees approved renaming the UAB Medical Center as the UAB Academic Health Center.

October 1992: A 7.5 foot tall statue of Christopher Columbus was dedicated at UAB’s Smolian International House on Columbus Day. The marble statue was carved by sculptor Ugo Sordelli

November 13, 1992: Dr. Jiri F. Mestecky delivered the twenty-ninth Distinguished Faculty Lecture, "New Challenges and New Prospects for Vaccines."

November 1992: UAB Archives formally established as a campus-wide unit. Virginia E. Fisher was named first University Archivist.

December 11, 1992: Sidney L. McDonald was elected to the University of Alabama Board of Trustees.

1992: Nancy W. Clemmons became acting director of the Lister Hill Library of the Health Sciences.

1992: The third annual Step Show was renamed as the Camille Armstrong Memorial Scholarship Step Show in honor of the late Camille Armstrong, a UAB student who died in an automobile accident in 1986 just prior to graduation. Armstrong was a political science major and a UAB Ambassador.

1992: Dr. John N. Whitaker became the fourth president of The University of Alabama Health Services Foundation.

1992: In order to confirm to conference requirements, UAB established a new co-ed Riflery team. Mike Wilson of the UAB ROTC Program became the new team's first head coach. The team began competition in 1993.

January 1, 1993: At the start of the calendar year, new NCAA regulations required that any university operating other sports at the Division I level must also operate football as either a Division I-A or a Division I-AA team.

January 9, 1993: The Blazer Warrior, UAB's third official mascot, was unveiled at a men's basketball game against Marquette University. After much public outcry, the Viking-inspired mascot was dropped within six months.

January 18, 1993: UAB first observed Martin Luther King, Jr., Day as an institutional holiday.

January 1993: Dr. Harold J. Fallon became dean of the School of Medicine.

February 4, 1993: Joseph L. Fine was elected to the University of Alabama Board of Trustees.

February 25, 1993: UAB Comprehensive Head Injury Center renamed Southeastern Comprehensive Head Injury Center.

March 12-13, 1993: The Blizzard of 1993, the so-called Storm of the Century, dumped a record 13 inches of snow on Birmingham, with some areas in the metro receiving up to 17 inches. This was a Birmingham record for a single snowfall and was more than ever received during an entire winter season. All activities at UAB except for essential hospital services were cancelled and many staff remained at their jobs for days.

March 23, 1993: In the first night game held at the Jerry D. Young Memorial Field, the Men's Baseball team defeated Southern Mississippi by a score of 6 to 4.

March 1993: Linda Flaherty-Goldsmith was named first vice president for Financial Affairs.

May 11, 1993: The Bevill Biomedical Research Building was dedicated.

June 16, 1993: Groundbreaking was held for the Alys Robinson Stephens Performing Arts Center.

June 25, 1993: South Hall, a student residence, was renamed and rededicated as Rast Hall in honor of Thomas E. Rast, a former member of The University of Alabama Board of Trustees.

July 1993: Dr. J. Claude Bennett was named to succeed Dr. Charles A. McCallum, Jr., as president of UAB.

September 6, 1993: In a game against Troy State University, the UAB football team played its first game as a Division I-AA scholarship team.

September 17, 1993: The Center for Obstetric Research (later renamed the Center for Research in Women's Reproductive Health) was approved by The University of Alabama Board of Trustees. Dr. Robert L. Goldenberg was named as the center's first director.

September 17, 1993: The University of Alabama Board of Trustees approved the UAB Liver Center. Dr. Harold J. Fallon was named as interim director of the new center.

October 1, 1993: Dr. J. Claude Bennett assumed office as the fourth president of UAB.

October 4, 1993: Kevin E. Lofton became first executive director of University Hospital and the first African American to direct University Hospital.

December 3, 1993: Dr. Charles E. Bugg delivered the thirtieth Distinguished Faculty Lecture, "The Magic of Crystals."

December 3, 1993: John Russell Thomas was elected to the University of Alabama Board of Trustees.

December 1993: Drs. George L. Zorn, Jr., and David C. McGiffin performed University Hospital’s first double-lung transplant on a 41-year-old patient from Florida.

1993: Central Bank Building was renovated and renamed the UAB Administration Building.

1993: UAB first presented its Outstanding Women’s Award to several university administrators, faculty, staff and students. Dr. Virginia Gauld, Betty Jean Duff and Debra Strother received awards for administrator/staff. Dr. Ada Long received the award for faculty. Janet Cash received the award for students.

1993: Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention was established.

1993: Dr. Kenneth J. Roozen was named executive vice president.

1993: UAB's economic impact on the Birmingham region was estimated at more than $1.5 billion per year.

January 1, 1994: Walker College, an independent school in Jasper, Alabama, was acquired and renamed UAB Walker College.

January 1, 1994: Dr. Arol R. Augsburger became the third dean of the School of Optometry.

March 21, 1994: The Samuel Ullman Museum on 15th Avenue South opened as a UAB facility dedicated to Birmingham educational reformer and poet Samuel Ullman.

March 1994: Samuel W. Jackson, Jr., was named first vice president for Financial Affairs and Administration.

May 1994: President J. Claude Bennett organized an ad hoc committee to explore faculty governance possibilities on campus.

June 10, 1994: Frank and Kathleen Ellis Ryals School of Public Health Building groundbreaking ceremony was held.

June 24, 1994: The Environment Awareness Research Technology and Health (EARTH) Center was established with Melinda M. Lalor serving as interim director of the new center.

July 1, 1994: UAB Clinic Bessemer and UAB Clinic Roebuck were opened.

August 23, 1994: Dr. J. Claude Bennett announced plans for the UAB football team to advance to NCAA Division I-A play in 1996.

September, 1994: Active extramural grants and contracts totaled $167,546,543.

September 14, 1994: Construction began on a major expansion of the Lister Hill Library of the Health Sciences.

September 17, 1994: The UAB Marching Blazers, a new 135-member student band, debuted in its first home game at Legion Field. Brian Wilson was the first drum major/field conductor; Clifford "Ski" Winter, an associate professor of music, was first director of bands. The UAB Color Guard also debuted at the same home game.

September 21, 1994: At a University-wide picnic in the Mini Park, UAB celebrated its 25th anniversary as an independent campus.

September 20, 1994: The Center for Industrial and Applied Research/Genesis Center received approval as an official UAB center by The University of Alabama Board of Trustees.

October 14, 1994: School of Optometry Building was renamed the Henry B. Peters Building in honor of the school's founding dean.

October 22, 1994: UAB first celebrated Homecoming during the fall. Previously, festivities had been held in conjunction with the basketball season.

November 18, 1994: Dr. Arnold G. Diethelm delivered the thirty-first Distinguished Faculty Lecture, "The Patient."

December 3, 1994: Dr. Joan F. Lorden became dean of the Graduate School.

December 15, 1994: The Center for Health Promotion was approved by The University of Alabama Board of Trustees.

1994: UAB became the first Alabama university to achieve Research University I status in the Carnegie Foundation classification.

1994: Thomas C. Thrasher became interim vice president for Financial Affairs.

1994: Dr. Suzanne Oparil became the fifth Medical Center physician to become president of the American Heart Association.

January 1, 1995: Dr. Sergio B. Stagno became interim vice president for Health Affairs.

January 2, 1995: Watson Brown was named as the second head coach of the UAB football team.

January 16, 1995: The first simultaneous heart-kidney transplant in the Southeast was performed at UAB by Drs. David C. McGiffin and David Laskow.

February 17, 1995: Specialized Caries Research Center was approved by The University of Alabama Board of Trustees.

April 21, 1995: The Stroke Research Center renamed Comprehensive Stroke Research Center.

April 24, 1995: UAB Blazers became one of the charter members of Conference USA (C-USA).

June 23, 1995: Cell Adhesion and Matrix Research Center was established.

June 30, 1995: A new university-wide Faculty Senate first met. Dr. Mark E. LaGory (Sociology) served as the first chair of the new senate.

August 21, 1995: Dr. Michael A. Geheb became first director of the UAB Health Systems with oversight and coordination of the UAB Hospital, Health Services Foundation, Triton, and clinical activities of the faculty.

August 1995: Paul Harbin became the first head coach of the new Women's Soccer team.

September 1995: Caron Van Gilder became first director of the Alys Robinson Stephens Performing Arts Center.

September 1995: Jack Mott retired as president of UAB Walker College and was succeeded by interim president David Rowland.

September 1995: UAB celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Academic Health Center.

October 1, 1995: UAB assumed administrative responsibility of the School of Primary Medical Care and the University Medical Clinics of the University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH). It was renamed the "University of Alabama School of Medicine Huntsville Program."

October 1, 1995: Dr. Scott Buchalter became University Hospital's second chief-of-staff.

October 14, 1995: The UAB football team had its first win over an NCAA Division I-A opponent, beating North Texas 19-14.

October 18, 1995: Blaze the dragon was unveiled as the new UAB mascot, the university's fourth.

October 27, 1995: T. Scott Plutchak became fourth director of the Lister Hill Library of the Health Sciences.

October 1995: Harry C. Marzette, Sr., became the fourth Chief of Police after having served as interim over the past year.

November 17, 1995: Dr. Albert F. LoBuglio delivered the thirty-second Distinguished Faculty Lecture, "UAB Research - Is the Cup Half Empty?"

November 1995: Local press revealed university plans to possibly lease or sell University Hospital.

December 14, 1995: The Center for Educational Accountability was approved by The University of Alabama Board of Trustees. Dr. James E. McLean served as the first director.

December 14, 1995: The Comprehensive Sickle Cell Center was formally established by The University of Alabama Board of Trustees. Drs. Tim M. Townes and Josef T. Prchal were named as co-directors of the center.

December 14, 1995: The Sexually Transmitted Diseases Cooperative Research Center (later renamed the Center for Social Medicine and Sexually Transmitted Diseases) was formally established by The University of Alabama Board of Trustees. Dr. Edward W. Hook III was named first director of the center.

1995: New Co., a limited liability company directed by Jim Little, was formed to establish a network of primary-care physicians in Alabama.

1995: Lori L. Goodwin became the head coach of UAB's co-ed Riflery team. She had been a student athlete on the Blazer team.

1995: Physical Sciences Building was renamed the Chemistry Building.

1995: The UAB Gospel Choir founded with 38 student members under the direction of Kevin P. Turner.

1995: The UAB Men’s Tennis Team won the conference championship for a fifth consecutive season. Derek J. Tarr, head coach of the Blazers, also won the Conference Coach of the Year award for the sixth consecutive year.

1995: The Offices of Vice President for Health Affairs and Vice President for Academic Affairs were abolished and replaced by a new Provost's Office. Dr. Kenneth J. Roozen was named first provost.

1995: Harold L. Abroms became interim vice president for University Advancement, a newly established administrative office.

1995: UAB Osteoporosis Treatment and Prevention Center was established.

January 6, 1996: UAB's new mascot -- the university's fourth official mascot -- Blaze the dragon made its first public appearance during a basketball game at the UAB Arena.

January 1996: Dr. Charlotte G. Borst became first executive director of UAB Historical Collections, comprised by the Reynolds Historical Library, the Alabama Museum of the Health Sciences, and the UAB Archives.

January 1996: The UAB Office of Minority and Special Programs was established within the Office of the Provost.

March 1, 1996: A UAB Health Center opened in Homewood.

March 1, 1996: Fred Brooke Lee became first vice president for University Advancement.

April 19, 1996: The Center for Metabolic Bone Disease and the Center for Radical Free Cell Biology were approved by The University of Alabama Board of Trustees. Dr. Jay M. McDonald was named as first director of the Center for Metabolic Bone Disease. Dr. Bruce A. Freeman was named as first director of the Center for Radical Free Cell Biology.

April 19, 1996: Center for Biomedical Sciences was renamed UAB Biomedical Implant Center by The University of Alabama Board of Trustees.

April 1996: Murry Bartow became the second head coach of the Men's Basketball team.

May 1996: It was reported that UAB's economic impact on the local community was more than $1.55 billion for FY 1995, an increase of over $100 million since 1993 and more than double its 1985 economic impact.

June 4, 1996: Dedication ceremonies were held for the UAB Cardiac Rhythm Management (CRM) Laboratory.

June 28, 1996: The journal Science named three UAB faculty, Drs. Michael Saag, George M. Shaw, and Beatrice H. Hahn, among the top 10 AIDS researchers in the country, and highlighted the AIDS research program at UAB.

July 1, 1996: UAB Options established to assist the non-traditional student and administer non-credit courses, it superseded the UAB Special Studies program.

July 1, 1996: Dr. Charlotte G. Borst, executive director of Historical Collections, became second University Archivist.

July 1996: Dr. Eli Capilouto was named fourth dean of the School of Public Health after having served as interim dean since November 4, 1994.

July 1996: West Field on the UAB campus was used as a practice site for several soccer teams participating in matches played in Birmingham's Legion Field as part of the 1996 Centennial Olympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia.  Many UAB employees also volunteered to help the city of Birmingham host the soccer matches.

August 31, 1996: For fiscal year 1995-1996, the UAB Research Foundation topped $1 million in license income. UAB became one of about 30 institutions nationwide to reach that amount in annual license income.

August 31, 1996: The Football team lost to Auburn in the first UAB game as an NCAA Division I-A school.

September 22, 1996: Alys Robinson Stephens Performing Arts Center officially opened with Leonard Slatkin conducting the National Symphony Orchestra.

September 27, 1996: University of Alabama Board of Trustee member John T. Oliver, Jr., was named interim chancellor of the three-campus University of Alabama System effective October first.

September 27, 1996: The University of Alabama Board of Trustees approved the Center for Research in Applied Gerontology.

October 1, 1996: UAB Health System, a nonprofit entity, established in a joint operating agreement between The University of Alabama Board of Trustees and the University of Alabama Health Services Foundation.

October 18, 1996: Dr. Gail H. Cassell delivered the thirty-third Distinguished Faculty Lecture, "Emerging Infections: A Global Threat."

October 29, 1996: The Frank and Kathleen Ellis Ryals School of Public Health Building was dedicated.

November 2, 1996: The weekly NPR show "Whad’Ya Know?" with host Michael Feldman was broadcast live from the stage of the concert hall at the new Alys Stephens Performing Arts Center.

November 13, 1996: President J. Claude Bennett announced plans to resign his presidency effective January 1, 1997. Interim Chancellor John T. Oliver, Jr., introduced Paul Hardin as interim president of UAB.

November 1996: Dr. Michael A. Geheb, director of UAB Health Systems, was named interim chief executive officer of the UAB Health System Managing Board.

December 12, 1996: Center for Obstetric Research was renamed the Center for Research in Women's Health by The University of Alabama Board of Trustees.

December 12, 1996: Center for Sexually Transmitted Diseases Cooperative Research Center was renamed the UAB Center for Social Medicine and Sexually Transmitted Diseases by The University of Alabama Board of Trustees.

December 12, 1996: The University of Alabama Board of Trustees approved the renaming of buildings in honor of Gene Bartow and of Drs. Charles A. McCallum and James A. Pittman, Jr.

December 12, 1996: The Clinical Nutrition Research Center was approved by The University of Alabama Board of Trustees. Dr. Roland L. Weinsier was named as first director of the new center.

December 12, 1996: The Howell and Elizabeth Heflin Center for Human Genetics was approved by The University of Alabama Board of Trustees.

December 12, 1996: The UAB Laser and Photonics Research Center (later renamed as the Center for Optical Sensors and Spectroscopies) was approved by The University of Alabama Board of Trustees. Dr. David L. Shealy served as the center's first director.

December 23, 1996: UAB assumed 100% ownership of Triton Health Systems and its VIVA Health HMO subsidiary. John Cline was later named interim CEO of VIVA Health.

December 1996: Linda Flaherty-Goldsmith became interim vice president for Financial Affairs and Administration.

1996: President J. Claude Bennett was named a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences becoming the second UAB physician to be so honored.

1996: The 4,000th kidney transplant was performed at University Hospital.

1996: John J. McMahon, Jr., became first chair of the UAB Health System Managing Board.

1996: With a new $2.3 million five-year grant, UAB became one of the nation's four Oral Cancer Research Centers. Dr. Jeffrey A. Engler was named as first director of the center.

1996: Dr. Albert W. Niemi, Jr., became third dean of the School of Business.

1996: Mary Ritchie became the head coach of the Women's Golf team. Ritchie was a former student athlete on the Blazer team.

1996: Dr. Stephen A. Szygenda became fourth dean of the School of Engineering.

1996: David L. Abrams became interim president of UAB Walker College.

1996: In a survey by the National Research Corporation, University Hospital was named one of the most preferred hospitals in the nation for overall health-care services.

January 1, 1997: Paul Hardin became interim president of UAB.

January 23, 1997: Dr. Michael A. Geheb, director of UAB Health Systems, was named chief executive officer of the UAB Health System Managing Board.

January 25, 1997: UAB Arena was officially rededicated as Bartow Arena.

February 1, 1997: Dr. Peter V. O'Neil became interim provost, and Dr. Michael J. Neilson became acting dean of the School of Natural Sciences and Mathematics.

February 5, 1997: Richard L. Holmes was elected to the University of Alabama Board of Trustees.

March 4, 1997: The Harry "the Hat" Walker Press Box was officially dedicated at the Jerry D. Young Memorial Field.

March 5, 1997: Dr. Mary Lynne Capilouto was named interim dean of the School of Dentistry.

April 1, 1997: J. Foster Watkins became president of UAB Walker College.

April 8, 1997: Dr. William B. Deal named interim dean of the School of Medicine.

April 17, 1997: The University of Alabama Board of Trustees delegated full authority of Triton Health Systems and its VIVA Health HMO subsidiary to the UAB Health System Managing Board.

April 1997: UAB's Bartow Arena served as the location of the 49th National Wheelchair Basketball Tournament.

May 2, 1997: The renovated and expanded Lister Hill Library of the Health Sciences was rededicated.

May 1997: UAB Genesis Center completed as the first of 25 buildings planned for the new 100-acre UAB Research Park at Oxmoor.

June 1, 1997: Dr. Thomas C. Meredith became fourth chancellor of the three-campus University of Alabama System.

June 1997: HealthSouth CEO and UAB alumnus Richard M. Scrushy agreed to donate $2 million for construction of a new building for the School of Health Related Professions.

July 1, 1997: The independent Eye Foundation Hospital was acquired by the UAB Health System and renamed the Eye Foundation Hospital at UAB.

July 17, 1997: Dr. W. Ann Reynolds was named president-elect of UAB.

July 1997: Dr. W. Jack Duncan became interim dean of the School of Business.

September 1, 1997: The UAB Genesis Center was renamed the OADI Technology Center.

September 3, 1997: Drs. James K. Kirklin and David McGiffin headed the team which performed UAB's 500th heart transplant.

September 15, 1997: Dr. W. Ann Reynolds became fifth president of UAB, the first female president in the history of the three-campus University of Alabama System.

September 17, 1997: The University of Alabama Board of Trustees approved the name change of the Center for the Advancement of Developing Industries to the Office for the Advancement of Developing Industries Technology Center.

October 2, 1997: Ground was broken for a new home for the School of Health Related Professions.

October 24, 1997: Dr. Suzanne Oparil delivered the thirty-fourth Distinguished Faculty Lecture, "Academic Family Values, or Can This Marriage Be Saved?"

November 6, 1997: A grand opening celebration was held for the new OADI Technology Center, the first building constructed in the UAB Research Park at Oxmoor.

November 1997: Dr. William B. Deal became dean of the School of Medicine after having served as interim since April.

1997: General Clinical Research Center was awarded a $20 million extension from the National Institutes of Health, the largest single grant in UAB history.

1997: Research grants and extramural funding in the School of Optometry exceeded $27 million, the largest amount for any optometry school or college in the world.

1997: The University of Alabama Hospital became the first hospital in the state to win the national “Top 100 Hospital’s Benchmarks for Success” award.

1997: UAB administrators established the University-Wide Interdisciplinary Research Center (UWIRC) Program to provide UAB funding for those research centers and institutes designated as a UWIRC entity.

January 1, 1998: Dr. Shirley Salloway Kahn became interim vice president for Financial Affairs and Administration.

January 1, 1998 Ann Dumaresq became second director of the Alys Robinson Stephens Performing Arts Center.

January 25, 1998: The Sorority Square Building, the renovated former Van Corr Building, officially opened to provide housing suites for five UAB sororities.

January 29, 1998: The New Woman All Women Clinic, a private facility located adjacent to the UAB campus at 1001 South 17th Street, was bombed. The bombing killed an off-duty police officer and seriously injured a clinic nurse. Several UAB facilities, including the newly opened Sorority Square Building, received damage in the bombing, and the portion of the university campus surrounding the building was closed for days. In 2003 the FBI would arrest an individual for the bombing of the clinic and for the Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1996.

January 1998: President W. Ann Reynolds announced plans to dissolve the five-year cooperative agreement with UAB Walker College in Jasper.

February 6, 1998: Martin C. Nowak became interim executive director of University Hospital.

March 1998: Odessa Woolfolk Community Service Award established and first awarded to Associate Professor Linda W. Goodson.

March 20, 1998: UAB Walker College was returned to control of the Walker College Foundation, ending the merger agreement with UAB.

March 20, 1998: John H. England, Jr., was elected to the University of Alabama Board of Trustees.

March 20, 1998: The University of Alabama Board of Trustees approved the Chemoprevention Center with Dr. Clinton J. Grubbs as first director.

April 24, 1998: Brad Rollow was named interim CEO of VIVA Health, Inc.

April 1998: Richard L. Margison became vice president for Financial Affairs and Administration.

April 1998: UAB announced that the men's track and field program would be eliminated at the end of the current academic year due to Title IX regulations requiring equity in men's and women's programs.

May 13, 1998: Dr. Mary Lynn Capilouto was named sixth dean of the School of Dentistry after having served as interim dean since March 1997.

June 10, 1998: The 1,000th laser vision correction procedure was performed at the Eye Foundation Hospital at UAB.

June 15, 1998: The 500th liver transplant was conducted at University Hospital.

June 25, 1998: After having served as interim since 1997, Dr. Peter V. O'Neil was named UAB's second Provost.

June 26, 1998: Olin B. King and John J. McMahon, Jr., were elected to the University of Alabama Board of Trustees.

June 26, 1998: The Center for Contraceptive Research and Technology Transfer and the Center for the Study of Ethics and Values in the Sciences were approved by The University of Alabama Board of Trustees. Dr. George A. Graham was named as first director of the Ethics and Values center.

June 26, 1998: The Center for Community Outreach Development and the Southeast Center for Excellence in Geriatric Medicine were approved by The University of Alabama Board of Trustees. Drs. Stephen L. Hajduk and Richard M. Allman were named directors of the centers.

July 1, 1998: UAB Historical Collections became part of the Lister Hill Library of the Health Sciences. Library Director T. Scott Plutchak was named interim executive director.

July 1998: Dr. James B. McClintock was named interim dean of the Schhool of Natural Sciences and Mathematics.

July 1998: Dr. Jane F. Milley was named interim dean of the School of Arts and Humanities.

August 9, 1998: Marla Townsend became the first head coach of the new Women's Fast-Pitch Softball team.

August 10, 1998: Alan V. Kaufman became the fifth head coach of the Men's Golf team.

August 1998: Dr. Shirley Salloway Khan named interim vice president for Development, Alumni, and External Relations.

September 18, 1998: The University of Alabama Board of Trustees approved the University Transportation Center, a joint effort of all three of the System's three campuses.

September 19, 1998: In the largest crowd to view a UAB football game at Legion Field, 30,543 people saw the UAB Blazers fall to the University of Kansas by the score of 39 to 37 in the fourth overtime.

September 1998: Dr. Robert E. Holmes named fourth dean of the School of Business, to succeed interim dean Dr. W. Jack Duncan on January 1, 1999.

September 1998: UAB's economic impact on the Birmingham region was estimated at more than $2 billion per year.

October 12, 1998: Howell and Elizabeth Ann Heflin Center for Human Genetics groundbreaking held.

October 16, 1998: Dr. Richard J. Whitley presented the thirty-fifth Distinguished Faculty Lecture, "Herpes Simplex Virus Infections of the Central Nervous System: 25 Years Out, One Year In."

October 26, 1998: Dr. Michael A. Geheb, first director and CEO of the UAB Health System, announced his resignation effective December 5, 1998, and Dr. William B. Deal was named interim director and CEO.

October 1998: UAB awarded $750,000 as part of the Fannie Mae Foundation's 1998 University-Community Partnership Program, one of the largest non-medical grants in University history.

December 4, 1998: The University of Alabama Board of Trustees approved the Center for Outcomes and Effectiveness Research and Education.

1998: Hejal C. Patel, a first-year medical student, was named to USA Today’s All-USA College Academic First Team. He was the first UAB student to be so honored.

1998: Mirela Vladulescu, a member of the Women's Tennis Team, was ranked number one in the nation. She also became the first Blazer, male or female, to win a collegiate Grand Slam event.

1998: Dr. Danny Doyle, second director of the UAB Marching Blazers, composed the Blazer Victory March, later renamed as the Blazer Victory Song.

January 31, 1999: Researchers Drs. Beatrice H. Hahn, George M. Shaw, and Feng Gao announced the discovery of the origin of Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 (HIV-1), the virus that causes AIDS in humans.

February 19, 1999: The University of Alabama Board of Trustees approved a major expansion and renovation plan for University Hospital.

February 19, 1999: The Center for Join Replacement, which had been established in 1998, was approved by The University of Alabama Board of Trustees. Dr. John M. Cuckler was the center's first director.

February 19, 1999: The University of Alabama Board of Trustees approved the Gene Therapy Center, which had been established in 1998. Dr. David T. Curiel was named as the first director of the center.

March 1, 1999: Amy O'Donnell became the first head coach of the new Women's Synchronized Swimming team after having served as advisor to the developing program since 1998. UAB competition began in the fall.

March 1999: UAB ranked 28th in the nation and fourth in the South in the list of universities receiving federal research and development funding.

April 10, 1999: The inaugural Into the Streets Outreach Day was held. Sponsored by the UAB Volunteer Program, the day started at the Hill University Center with over 300 participating students.

May 1, 1999: UAB Health Center in Moody opened.

May 4, 1999: Martin C. Nowak was named second executive director of University Hospital.

May 16, 1999: A performance of "Cabaret" ended the 49-year run of UAB Town and Gown Theatre and the university's use of the Clark Memorial Theater on Hatcher Place.

June 16, 1999: UAB alumnus Larry Giangrosso became the third head coach of the Men's Baseball team.

June 25, 1999: Sidney L. McDonald was elected president pro tempore of The University of Alabama Board of Trustees.

July 1999: Dr. James B. McClintock was named third dean of the School of Natural Sciences and Mathematics.

August 1, 1999: UAB Health Center in Hoover opened.

August 1999: Dr. Shirley Salloway Kahn named first vice president for Development, Alumni and External Relations.

August 1999: Dr. Clair W. Goldsmith became first vice president for Information Technology.

August 1999: Caron Van Gilder Thornton, founding director, was reappointed director of the Alys Robinson Stephens Performing Arts Center.

August 1999: Dr. Kirby I. Bland was named chair-designate of the Department of Surgery, to succeed Dr. Arnold G. Diethelm.

September 1, 1999: Bert Brouwer became interim dean of the School of Arts and Humanities.

September 1, 1999: A reorganization of the School of Business became effective, reducing the academic departments from five to three.

September 1, 1999: David J. Fine became second director and CEO of the UAB Health System.

September 7, 1999: Michael A. Flannery became associate director of UAB Historical Collections.

September 17, 1999: The University of Alabama Board of Trustees approved the Center for Injury Sciences and the Mercedes-Benz CIREN (Crash Injury Research Engineering Network) Center. Dr. Loring W. Rue, III, was named as the first director of both centers.

September 17, 1999: The UAB Pancreaticobiliary Center and the UAB Voice Treatment Center were approved by The University of Alabama Board of Trustees.

September 21, 1999: Drs. Anton J. Bueschen and Carlton J. Young performed the 5,000^th kidney transplant at University Hospital.

September 26, 1999: An open house at the Alys Robinson Stephens Performing Arts Center officially opened the Center's new venues, the Odess Theatre, the Sirote Theatre, and the Reynolds-Kirschbaum Recital Hall.

September 27, 1999: The General Clinical Research Center was formally dedicated as the Pittman General Clinical Research Center in honor of Dr. James A. Pittman, Jr.

September 1999: Dr. Adeniyi Coker, Jr., became director of UAB's new African American Studies program.

October 1, 1999: Dr. Michael J. Froning became interim dean of the School of Education.

October 1, 1999: Tim L. Pennycuff became third University Archivist.

October 28, 1999: The Alys Stephens Center held its inaugural Starlight Gala. Legendary violinist Itzhak Perlman was the featured artist for the first gala.

October 29, 1999: Dr. Albert D. Pacifico presented the thirty-sixth annual Distinguished Faculty Lecture, "The Early Days."

October 1999: The Eye Foundation Hospital at UAB was renamed the Callahan Eye Foundation Hospital at UAB in honor of founder Dr. Alston Callahan.

November 10, 1999: A Midsummer Night’s Dream opened as the first Department of Theatre production to be held in the new Sirote Theatre. The play was adapted by Karma Ibsen to be set in the Antebellum South.

November 18, 1999: The Women's Synchronized Swimming team debuted in an exhibition held in UAB's Bell Gym Aquatic Center.

November 19, 1999: The UAB Acute Chest Pain Center and the UAB Heart Center were approved by The University of Alabama Board of Trustees.

November 19, 1999: The University of Alabama Board of Trustees approved an affiliation between UAB and the Southern Research Institute, a not-for-profit contract research organization with over $50 million in grants and contracts and which had been founded in 1941.

November 1999: The university launched a Capital Campaign with a goal of $250 million.

December 4, 1999: Neelaksh "Neel" Varshney, a senior electrical engineering major from Madison, Alabama, became the first UAB student chosen as a Rhodes Scholar.

1999: The AIDS Vaccine Evaluation Unit (AVEU) became the first evaluation unit to enter a Phase III trail of an AIDS vaccine.

1999: Paul W. Bryant, Jr., was elected to The University of Alabama Board of Trustees.

1999: Gwen Merritt became the head coach of the Women's Golf team.

1999: Active extramural grants and contracts at UAB totaled $286,950,782.

1999: McClintock Point on the continent of Antarctica was named in honor of UAB's Dr. James B. McClintock, professor of Biology. The Point rises above an inlet on McMurdo Sound near McMurdo Station, the US Antarctic research center.

View images from the 2000s.

January 1, 2000: Dr. C. Michael Brooks became interim dean of the School of Health Related Professions.

February 5, 2000: A celebration held as part of alumni weekend marked the renovation of the School of Dentistry Building.

February 12, 2000: UAB's new Division I softball team defeated Samford University 2-0 in their inaugural home game, held at George Ward Park.  The Blazers were coached by alumna Marla Townsend.

February 2000: An open house officially opened the Gambro Healthcare Birmingham-Central Building on the corner of University Boulevard and South 21st Street.

March 2000: An administration building for The University of Alabama Health Services Foundation was completed on South 22nd Street adjacent to The Kirklin Clinic.

April 21, 2000: The Center for Research on Child and Adolescent Development was approved by the University of Alabama Board of Trustees.

April 28, 2000: The Alabama Commission on Higher Education (ACHE) approved the African American Studies major at UAB, ending a multi-decade process to establish the major. Dr. Virginia Whatley Smith was director of the program. UAB was the first university in the State of Alabama to offer the bachelor's degree in African American Studies.

May 19, 2000: The Eppes-Durr Memorial Garden was dedicated at the WBHM-FM Radio Building. The garden was named in honor of Lou Annie McCord Eppes and Virginia Foster Durr, two Civil Rights pioneers in the State of Alabama. The garden was funded by the son of Mrs. Eppes.

June 1, 2000: Dr. Linda C. Lucas was named interim dean of the School of Engineering.

June 1, 2000: Bert Brouwer became dean of the School of Arts and Humanities.

June 23, 2000: The University of Alabama Board of Trustees approved the Center for Disaster Preparedness (later renamed in 2003 as the Center for Emergency Care and Disaster Preparedness). Dr. Thomas E. Terndrup was the center's first director.

July 14, 2000: Ground was broken for the North Pavilion, a major addition and replacement facility for University Hospital.

August 2000: The Carnegie I Research University designation was replaced with Carnegie’s new classification as a “Doctoral/Research-extensive University.”

September 14, 2000: The UAB Center for Education and Research on Therapeutics (CERTs) of Musculoskeletal Disorders was approved by the University of Alabama Board of Trustees. Dr. Kenneth G. Saag was named director of the new center.

September 14, 2000: The University of Alabama Board of Trustees approved the closure of twelve research centers and institutes at UAB.

September 23, 2000: The UAB Blazer Football team earned its first win over a Southeastern Conference (SEC) team with a 13-10 victory over Louisiana State University (LSU) Tigers and Coach Nick Saban during the LSU homecoming game in Baton Rouge.  The Blazers, who never trailed in the game, won with a last-second field goal by Rhett Gallego.

September 25, 2000: Dr. Arol R. Augsburger was named interim provost effective October 15, 2000.

September 2000: UAB exceeded $300 million in active extramural grants and contracts.

October 1, 2000: Dr. Anton J. Bueschen became the fifth president of the University of Alabama Health Services Foundation.

October 7, 2000: Herman Frazier became UAB's second Director of Athletics. He had been named director in August but took office only after the 2000 Summer Olympic Games.

October 11, 2000: Dr. Larry J. DeLucas presented the thirty-seventh annual Distinguished Faculty Lecture, "Space Exploration and NASA's Biotechnology Research Program."

October 15, 2000: Dr. John F. Amos became interim dean of the School of Optometry.

October 2000: The Department of Medicine passed its goal of $100 million in research funding, maintaining a national ranking of fourth in support from the National Institutes of Health .

November 17, 2000: Joe Espy III and Jacquelyn Shaia were elected to The University of Alabama Board of Trustees. Shaia, the first person elected to the Board with an undergraduate degree from UAB, later removed her name from consideration by the Alabama legislature.

November 17, 2000: The University of Alabama Board of Trustees approved the Center for Surgical Research. Dr. Irshad H. Chaudry was named as the center's first director.

November 17, 2000: The UAB Center for Palliative Care was approved by The University of Alabama Board of Trustees. Dr. John L. Shuster was named director of the new center.

November 17, 2000: The Mental Retardation Research Center was approved by The University of Alabama Board of Trustees. Dr. Michael J. Friedlander was named first director of the new center.

November 2000: The one-year old Capital Campaign reached its original goal of $250 million and UAB announced a revised comprehensive fund-raising goal of $350 million.

December 2000: Dr. Michael J. Froning was named fourth dean of the School of Education.

2000: Angus R. Cooper, II, was elected to the University of Alabama Board of Trustees.

2000: Melinda Claiborne became the fourth head coach of Women's Volleyball.

February 15, 2001: The University of Alabama Board of Trustees approved the International Tuberculosis Center. Dr. Michael E. Kimerling was named first director of the center.

February 2001: Bob Lonergan was named chief executive officer of the UAB affiliated Southern Research Institute.

March 2, 2001: A statue of UAB's founding athletic director and first men's basketball coach Gene Bartow was dedicated in the Bartow Arena.

March 23, 2001: The SEC Gymnastics Championship was held in UAB's Bartow Arena, a neutral site location.

April 20, 2001: The University of Alabama Board of Trustees approved the UAB Cleft and Craniofacial Center. Dr. John H. Grant, III, was named first director of the center.

April 2001: Dr. Harold P. Jones became the third dean of the School of Health Related Professions.

May 21, 2001: The Hugh Kaul Human Genetics Building and the Finley-Compass Bank Conference Center were dedicated.

June 26, 2001: The 13th Street Ensemble, UAB's professional equity theater company in residence at the Alys Robinson Stephens Performing Arts Center, debuted with a performance of "Noises Off." The premiere was a charity benefit for UAB's 1917 Clinic.

August 15, 2001: Dr. Max Michael, III, became the fifth dean of the School of Public Health.

August 15, 2001: Dr. Linda C. Lucas became the fifth dean of the School of Engineering.

August 2001: Classes began at UAB on a semester basis for the first time, the last university in the state of Alabama to convert from a quarter to a semester system.

September 13, 2001: Chancellor Thomas C. Meredith announced that Dr. W. Ann Reynolds would step down as UAB president in the summer of 2002.

October 15, 2001: Richard M. Scrushy and Andria Scott Hurst were elected to The University of Alabama Board of Trustees, becoming the first elected (and later confirmed) board members with undergraduate degrees from UAB.

October 26, 2001: Dr. Robert L. Goldenberg delivered the thirty-eighth Distinguished Faculty Lecture, "A to Z: Alabama to Zambia."

2001: A new student fan group for UAB Athletics, the Gang Green, was formed during the fall semester prior to the exhibition basketball game held on November second.

November 19, 2001: The Center for Advanced Surgical Aesthetics was approved by The University of Alabama Board of Trustees. Dr. Jorge I. de la Torre was named director of the new center.

2001: The UAB Health System and the Children's Health System announced the approval of a joint operating agreement that covered all pediatric and inpatient women's services and created the nonprofit entity, CWH.

2001: Brett Levine became the curator of the UAB Visual Arts Gallery.

January 1, 2002: Dr. Malcolm Portera became the fifth chancellor of the three-campus University of Alabama System.

January 1, 2002: William E. Smith, Jr., became the second chair of the UAB Health System Managing Board.

January 24, 2002: Richard M. Scrushy and Andria Scott Hurst were confirmed by the Alabama Legislature as members of The University of Alabama Board of Trustees, becoming the first confirmed board members with undergraduate degrees from UAB.

February 15, 2002: The University of Alabama Board of Trustees approved the management agreement between the UAB Health System and Bessemer-Carraway Medical center, which was later renamed UAB Medical West. The five-year agreement began on April first.

February 19, 2002: Vonetta Flowers, UAB assistant track coach and former seven-time All-American track star at UAB, and her team-mate Jill Bakken won the Gold Medal in the inaugural Women's Bobsled event at the Winter Olympic Games held in Salt Lake City, Utah. Flowers became the first African American to win a gold medal in a Winter Olympic event.

February 2002: The UAB Safe Zone, which was developed by Dr. Glenda Elliot from the School of Education, was first offered as a campus-wide program.

March 18, 2002: An open house was held in the newly renovated Spencer Honors House.

April 4, 2002: Mike Anderson, a Birmingham native and an assistant coach at the University of Arkansas, was named third head coach of the Men's Basketball team. He was the first African American named as head basketball coach.

April 8-19, 2002: Dr. Lee M. E. Morin, who had earned a master’s degree from the School of Public Health in 1988, served on the crew of STS-110 Atlantis on the 13^th shuttle mission to the International Space Station. During the NASA mission, Morin completed two separate spacewalks.

April 8, 2002: Norman A. Reilly, Jr., became UAB's fourth Sports Information officer.

April 19, 2002: The Comprehensive Youth Violence Center was approved by the University of Alabama Board of Trustees. Dr. Michael Windle was named first director of the center.

April 24, 2002: A new building for the School of Health Related Professions was dedicated along University Boulevard.

April 29, 2002: The groundbreaking ceremony was held for the Richard C. and Annette N. Shelby Interdisciplinary Biomedical Research Building.

May 20, 2002: The administration building of The University of Alabama Health Services Foundation was rededicated as the John N. Whitaker Building.

May 2002: The UAB Health System entered into a joint-operating agreement with the Bessemer Carraway Medical Center and the hospital was renamed as Medical West - An Affiliate of the UAB Health System.

June 1, 2002: Dr. Malcolm Portera, chancellor of The University of Alabama System, became interim president of UAB.

July 7, 2002: The first set of sextuplets (four boys and two girls) born in Alabama was born at University Hospital.  The Harris family was also the first surviving African American sextuplets born in the US.

July 23, 2002: Dr. Carol Z. Garrison became president-elect of UAB by unanimous vote of The University of Alabama Board of Trustees. Dr. Garrison was once a nurse in University Hospital, obtained a master's degree in nursing from UAB in 1976, and taught in the School of Nursing until 1978.

August 7, 2002: UAB's economic impact on the local community was announced as more than $2.5 billion for the 2001 fiscal year.

August 2002: Dr. Mary G. Nash became the third Executive Director of University Hospital, the first woman and the first person with a nursing background to be named hospital director.

September 1, 2002: Dr. Carol Z. Garrison became the sixth president of UAB.

September 20, 2002: The UAB Center for Development of Functional Imaging was approved by The University of Alabama Board of Trustees. Dr. Lawrence E. Mays was named as first director of the center.

September 20, 2002: Finis E. St. John, IV, and Vanessa Leonard were elected to The University of Alabama Board of Trustees. John J. McMahon, Jr., was elected president pro tempore.

September 20, 2002: The University of Alabama Board of Trustees approved the UAB Center for Low Vision Rehabilitation. Drs. Marsha N. Swanson and Donald C. Fletcher were named co-directors of the center.

September 20, 2002: The UAB Minority Health and Research Center was approved by The University of Alabama Board of Trustees. Dr. Mona N. Fouad was named first director of the new center.

September 20, 2002: The University of Alabama Board of Trustees approved the UAB Center for Biodefense and Emerging Infections. Dr. Richard J. Whitley was the center's first director.

September 2002: The remnants of Hurricane Isidore moved across Alabama and caused four days of torrential rain which resulted in flooding to campus and damage to several UAB buildings including the Alys Stephens Performing Arts Center, Business-Engineering Complex, Hill University Center, and Humanities Building.

October 1, 2002: Dr. Eli Capilouto became acting Provost.

October 25, 2002: Dr. Eric Hunter presented the thirty-ninth Distinguished Faculty Lecture, "Why Birmingham, Alabama?"

October 2002: Demolition began on Mortimer Jordan Hall in order to construct the Shelby Interdisciplinary Biomedical Research Building.

October 2002: Blazer Hall, University Hall and the Garden Apartments were demolished in order to construct a student recreation center.

November 9, 2002: The University of Alabama Board of Trustees approved the creation of the Alabama Institute of Minimally Invasive Surgery. Dr. Ronald H. Clements was named director of the center.

November 21, 2002: Watson Brown was named as third Director of Athletics after having served as interim director since August. Brown remained as the head coach of the Football team.

November 2002: The Department of Genetics was approved by The University of Alabama Board of Trustees as a merger of the existing departments of Human Genetics and of Genomics and Pathobiology.

2002: Lisa S. Riddell became the second head coach of the Women's Synchronized Swimming team.

2002: Ajay Kamireddi, a junior biology and philosophy major from Huntsville, Alabama, became the first UAB student to win a Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship.

2002: Kimberly K. Wilcox became the head coach of the Women's Golf team.

January 2003: The School of Medicine’s Faculty Office Tower was completed above Parking Deck No. 4.

March 2003: The UAB Huntsville Regional Medical Campus opened a new clinic and teaching facility, the primary clinical and academic space for the University of Alabama School of Medicine Huntsville Program.

February 7, 2003: James W. Wilson III was elected to The University of Alabama Board of Trustees.

April 7, 2003: Ground was broken for UAB’s long-awaited Student Recreation Center.

April 2003: The UAB Health Sciences bookstore location on South 20th Street was closed and the bookstore was relocated to the Hill University Center.

June 2003: Dr. John F. Amos became the fourth dean of the School of Optometry.

August 1, 2003: Dr. James B. McClintock became interim dean of the UAB Graduate School.

October 28, 2003: Dr. J. Russell Lindsey presented the fortieth Distinguished Faculty Lecture, “A Celebration of Family.”

September 4, 2003: In the first home football game to be broadcast nationally (on ESPN television), the Football team was defeated by Southern Mississippi 17-12. National television and a half-time performance of Birmingham native and “American Idol” Ruben Studdard drew a crowd of 44,079 to Legion Field for the game; the largest crowd ever for a UAB Blazer home game.

September 19, 2003: The University of Alabama Board of Trustees approved the Center for Heart Failure Research. Drs. Louis J. Dell'Italia and Ahsan Hussain were named co-directors of the new center.

December 31, 2003: The UAB Capital Campaign officially ended with over $388.7 million raised, the largest fundraising effort by any university in Alabama. The campaign’s original goal had been $250 million.

2003: Dr. Louis Dale was named the first vice president for Equity and Diversity, becoming the first African American named to a vice presidential office at UAB.

2003: The theatre department first presented its Festival of 10-Minute Plays to highlight plays written, directed and performed by UAB students, staff and faculty. Theatre department professor Lee Shackleford was founder and first director of the festival.

2003: Lucy E. Jones became the sixth UAB student named as a Truman Scholar.

2003: The African American Faculty Association organized formally as a campus organization. Bettye G. Wilson, associate professor in the School of Health Professions, was the association’s first president.

2003: Birmingham native David McNeeley's composition of the Alma Mater was selected by a UAB committee comprised of students, faculty, and alumni. The university's new song was included in the December 13 commencement ceremony.

2003: Dr. Sadis Matalon became the first vice president for Research; he served in an acting capacity.

2003: A major addition to Volker Hall was completed on the building’s west facade.

2003: Construction began on Parking Deck No. 11 at the corner of University Boulevard and South 12th Street. A building to be constructed along with the parking deck would provide space for several campus offices.

2004: For fiscal year 2003, UAB’s economic impact on the Birmingham metropolitan area reached a record high of $2.9 billion, with an impact on the state of Alabama of $3.2 billion.

January 1, 2004: Dr. Huw F. Thomas became the seventh dean of the School of Dentistry.

March 11, 2004: The UAB Health System announced that it would manage three Montgomery hospitals operated previously under Baptist Health of Montgomery. The three facilities were the Baptist Medical Center South (454 licensed beds), Baptist Medical Center East (150 beds), and Prattville Baptist Hospital (85 beds).

April 7, 2004: Audra Smith, an assistant coach at the University of Virginia, was named as the fifth head coach of the Women's Basketball team. She was the first African American female named as a head coach at UAB.

April 11, 2004: University Hospital became a completely smoke-free environment for all staff and visitors in all hospital areas, including parking facilities and outside areas in the multi-block hospital complex.

April 16, 2004: The Center for Wine and Cardiovascular Health was approved by The University of Alabama Board of Trustees. Drs. Dale A. Parks and Francois M. Booyse were named as center co-directors.

June 5, 2004: William S. “Sandy” White became CEO of the UAB Research Foundation, succeeding acting director Lucy Hicks.

June 18, 2004: The South Central Center for Public Health Preparedness, which had been initiated at UAB in 2002, received formal approval of The University of Alabama Board of Trustees. Dr. Donna J. Peterson was the center's first director.

July 1, 2004: Dr. Michael E. Sloane became the second director of the UAB Honors Program.

August 5, 2004: David Hoidal became the third CEO of the UAB Health System after having served as interim CEO for three months.

October 1, 2004: Dr. Robert R. Rich became the dean of the School of Medicine and vice president for Medicine. His appointment had been announced on September 13.

November 5, 2004: The Center for Computational and Structural Biology was approved by The University of Alabama Board of Trustees. Dr. Jere P. Segrest was named the center’s first director.

November 5, 2004: The University of Alabama Board of Trustees approved the Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute and the Institute of Oral Health Research as official research centers at UAB. Dr. Michael J. Friedlander was named first director of the brain institute, and Dr. Mary B. MacDougall was later recruited as first director of the oral health institute.

November 8, 2004: Dr. Albert D. Pacifico performed the first surgery in the new surgical suites in University Hospital’s North Pavilion.

November 11, 2004: Dr. William J. Koopman presented the forty-first Distinguished Faculty Lecture, “Leadership in Academic Medicine.”

December 1, 2004: Dr. Michael R. Waldrum became chief operating officer for University Hospital, with responsibility for the day-to-day operations of the hospital.

December 24, 2004: In the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl in Honolulu, Hawaii, the Football team lost to the University of Hawaii 59-40 in the first post-season bowl appearance for the UAB Blazers. The season record was 7-5.

2004: The UAB Commission on the Status of Women established with a goal of maintaining a positive, equitable environment for all women at the university. Dr. Mona N. Fouad was the first chair of the CSW.

2004: Raymond E. Butler became president of the Callahan Eye Foundation Hospital.

2004: Akofa A. Bonsi became the seventh UAB student named as a Truman Scholar.

February 4, 2005: Marietta M. Urquhart, Karen Phifer Brooks, and Joe H. Ritch were elected to The University of Alabama Board of Trustees. Urquhart graduated from UAB in 1976 with a degree in English and Mass Communications.

February 4, 2005: The Skin Diseases Research Center was approved by the University of Alabama Board of Trustees. Dr. Craig A. Elmets was named first director of UAB's newest center.

March 17, 2005: The UAB Blazers defeated the LSU Tigers by the score of 82 to 68 in the opening round of the NCAA Men's Basketball tournament.

March 19, 2005: UAB's run in the NCAA Men's Basketball tournament ended in the second round when the Blazers lost 63 to 85 to the Wildcats of Arizona.

May 1, 2005: The Campus Recreation Center opened.

May 12, 2005: Dr. Eli Capilouto was named Provost after having served as acting Provost since 2002.

August 1, 2005: The UAB Health System took over management of the HealthSouth Medical Center while a $33 million sale of the center in Birmingham’s Southside remained pending. The center campus included the main hospital complex, two professional office buildings, parking for over 1,400 cars, and several outlying structures.

August 25, 2005: Speakers at the first meeting of the UAB Commission on the Status of Women were President Carol Z. Garrison, Provost Eli Capilouto, and Dr. Louis Dale, Vice President for Equity and Diversity.

September 16, 2005: The UAB Inflammatory Bowel Disease Center and the UAB Recessive Polycystic Kidney Disease Core Center were approved by The University of Alabama Board of Trustees. Drs. Ernesto R. Drelichman and Lisa Guay-Woodford were named, respectively, as directors of the new centers.

September 16, 2005: Joseph C. Espy, III, was elected president pro tempore of The University of Alabama Board of Trustees.

September 2005: Anne Fadiman’s The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down was used as the inaugural campus-wide discussion book.

October 1, 2005: Dr. Ray L. Watts became the sixth president of the University of Alabama Health Services Foundation.

October 20, 2005: Dr. Jay M. McDonald presented the forty-second Distinguished Faculty Lecture, “Survival on the Mission to Mars: Columbus had it Easy.”

November 1, 2005: Dr. Doreen Harper became the fourth dean of the School of Nursing.

November 1, 2005: Dr. Bryan D. Noe became the dean of the UAB Graduate School.

November 2005: The University Optometric Group, a faculty practice for the School of Optometry, opened in a new location in the renovated 9^th Avenue Office Building.

December 13, 2005: Athletic Director Watson Brown stepped down to resume his position as Head Football Coach. He was replaced by Richard L. Margison, UAB's vice president for Financial Affairs and Administration, who became interim Athletic Director.

December 2005: Dr. Robert M. Centor became the second Associate Dean of the University of Alabama School of Medicine Huntsville Program after having served in that capacity on an interim basis.

2005: The UAB Health System entered into an operational affiliation with Baptist Medical Center South in Montgomery, Alabama.

February 3, 2006: The UAB Center for Glial Biology in Medicine and the Center for Nanoscale Materials and Biointegration were approved by The University of Alabama Board of Trustees. Drs. Harold W. Sontheimer and Yogesh K. Vohra were named directors of the new centers.

March 1, 2006: Dr. Cynthia G. Brumfield became University Hospital’s third chief-of-staff, the first female to be named to the position.

March 25, 2006: Mike Anderson, head coach of men's basketball, left UAB when he was hired as coach at the University of Missouri. Anderson left the university after four seasons with a record of 24-7, with three consecutive trips to the NCAA tournament, and with four 20-win seasons.

March 31, 2006: UAB finalized the purchase of the HealthSouth Medical Center and renamed the facility UAB Highlands. Prior to its acquisition by HealthSouth, the facility had been named the South Highlands Hospital and had been founded in 1910 as the South Highlands Infirmary.

April 3, 2006: A dedication ceremony was held for the Richard C. and Annette N. Shelby Interdisciplinary Biomedical Research Building. The 12-story building contains over 323,000 square feet of space and is located at the corner of University Boulevard and South 19th Street.

April 6, 2006: The University of Alabama Board of Trustees approved the Mucosal HIV and Immunobiology Center. Dr. Philip D. Smith was named director of the center.

April 6, 2006: The School of Health Related Professions was renamed the School of Health Professions. Dr. Harold P. Jones remained as dean.

April 7, 2006: Mike Davis became the fourth head coach of the men's basketball team. An Alabama native and former head coach at the University of Indiana, Davis brought to UAB a 115-79 record as Indiana's head coach.

May 2006: The Bishop and University Optometric Group buildings were demolished in order to construct UAB's new biosafety building, the SEBLAB.

June 12, 2006: Brian Shoop became the fourth head coach of the Men's Baseball team.

June 2006: Tina Rogers became the interim chief executive officer of the UAB affiliated Southern Research Institute.

July 1, 2006: Dr. Keith A. Jones became chair of the Department of Anesthesiology, the first African American to become a full-time departmental chair in the School of Medicine.

July 2006: The School of Medicine increased the incoming first-year class to 176 students.

August 2006: Hixson Hall, an on-campus residence that had opened in 1962, was closed while the future of the building was being determined by UAB administrators. Demolition of the building later began in the fall of 2007.

September 12, 2006: A formal dedication ceremony was held for the new Blazer Hall and for the Commons on the Green, UAB's new campus dining facility.

September 15, 2006: The University of Alabama Board of Trustees approved three new centers at UAB, the Comprehensive Diabetes Center, the Center for Pediatric-Onset Demyelinating Disease, and the UAB Comprehensive Neuroscience Center. Drs. Edward Abraham, Jayne N. Ness, and Kevin A. Roth, respectively, were named directors of the three centers.

September 18, 2006: John A. "Jack" Secrist, III, became chief executive officer of the UAB affiliated Southern Research Institute.

October 9, 2006: Anthony B. Purcell became the fifth Chief of Police.

October 30, 2006: Dr. Jack E. Lemons presented the forty-third Distinguished Faculty Lecture, “Celebration of Opportunities: Evolution of Surgical Implant Devices.”

November 1, 2006: The Kirklin Clinic Patient Resources Library opened as a partnership between The Kirklin Clinic, the UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center, and the Lister Hill Library of the Health Sciences. Librarians and Cancer Center staff shared work hours in the second floor library.

December 17, 2006: C. Neil Callaway, assistant coach at the University of Georgia, was named as the third head coach of the Football team.

2006: Kerry Messersmith became the head coach of Women's Volleyball.

February 2, 2007: The University of Alabama Board of Trustees approved the UAB Center for Neurodegeneration and Experimental Therapeutics. Dr. David Standaert was named director of the center.

February 14, 2007: Brian W. Mackin, a former Blazer baseball player and an alumnus of UAB, was named as the fourth Athletics Director at UAB.

July 1, 2007: Barnes & Noble took over management of the UAB Bookstore located in the Hill University Center.

July 30, 2007: Incoming freshman in the School of Medicine began class under a newly initiated curriculum organized around organ systems and called the “Curriculum for the 21^st Century.”

August 15, 2007: Dr. Jean Ann Linney became the fourth dean of the School of Social and Behavioral Sciences.

October 11, 2007: Dr. Dale J. Benos presented the forty-fourth Distinguished Faculty Lecture, "Science, Publications and Society: What Have You Done For Me Lately?"

2007: Entering freshmen in the School of Dentistry began their studies under a revised “vertically integrated” curriculum, where students are exposed to clinical training almost from the start and receive instruction and mentoring from faculty and upper classmen.

2007: Dr. Sarah Parcak, associate professor of anthropology, established the UAB Laboratory for Global Observations. Through the lab, Parcak uses satellite images of earth to locate archaeological sites.

2007: The School of Public Health first presented the Lou Wooster Public Health Hero Award, which is named in honor of Birmingham's famed 19th century madam. Patricia Todd of Birmingham, a member of the Alabama House of Representatives and a former UAB staff member, received the inaugural award.

2007:  A small island in the Palmer Archipelago of Antarctica was renamed Amsler Island in honor of UAB biologists Dr. Charles D. Amsler and Margaret O. Amsler who had studied the continent's marine biology for over three decades.  The island had been the original site of the US research base, Palmer Station, from 1965 until 1968.

2007: The President's Diversity Awards were first presented by UAB to members of the university faculty, staff, and students. Six recipients were named for the inaugural year.

January 4, 2008: Dr. Ray L. Watts, chair of neurology and president of the University of Alabama Health Services Foundation, became interim CEO of the UAB Health System.

February 8, 2008: The UAB Center for Urban Education was approved by the University of Alabama Board of Trustees. Dr. Deborah L. Voltz was named director of the new center.

March 1, 2008: Dr. David R. Klock became fifth dean of the School of Business.

March 10, 2008: Dr. David Winwood became CEO of the UAB Research Foundation.

March 27, 2008: UAB announced that the Women's Synchronized Swimming team would be eliminated as a varsity sport at the end of the 2009 season.

April 29, 2008: A smoke breathing statue of the UAB dragon mascot was unveiled on the concourse in front of Bartow Arena. Created by T. J. Neil of Homosassa, Fla., the three-ton statue was nine feet tall and sixteen feet long.

May 3, 2008: UAB held its first green and gold commencement ceremony, with all graduates dressed in green robes accented with gold. Some 2,083 students participated in the university’s newest tradition.

June 20, 2008: The Pulmonary Injury and Repair Center was approved by The University of Alabama Board of Trustees. Dr. Sadis Matalon was named first director of the new center.

June 20, 2008: The University of Alabama Board of Trustees approved the establishment of the Diabetes Research and Training Center with Dr. W. Timothy Garvey as first director.

June 20, 2008: The UAB Center for Clinical and Translational Science was approved by The University of Alabama Board of Trustees. The center had been established earlier in the year following the receipt of a $26.9 million, five-year grant from the National Institutes of Health. Dr. Lisa M. Guay-Woodford was named director of the new center.

August 22, 2008: Krissy S. Hall became the eighth head coach of the Women's Tennis team.

September 1, 2008: Dr. William Ferniany became the fourth CEO of the UAB Health System, an appointment which had been announced in August.

November 6, 2008: Dr. Robert P. Kimberly presented the forty-fifth Distinguished Faculty Lecture, "And Gladly Teach."

2008: The Southeast Biosafety Laboratory Alabama Birmingham Building (SEBLAB) was completed as UAB's level-3 biosafety facility.

2008: Finis E. St. John, IV, was elected president pro tempore of The University of Alabama Board of Trustees.

2008: Dr. Donna K. Arnett became the second chair of the UAB Commission on the Status of Women.

February 2009: W. Davis Malone, III, Ronald W. Gray, and William “Britt” Sexton were elected to the University of Alabama Board of Trustees.

May 9, 2009: Due to the number of graduates and to better accommodate invited guests, UAB for the first time offered two commencement ceremonies. A morning ceremony was held for the graduates of the Schools of Arts & Humanities, Education, Natural Sciences & Mathematics, and Social & Behavioral Sciences. An afternoon ceremony was held for the graduates of the Schools of Business, Dentistry, Engineering, Health Professions, Public Health, Medicine, Nursing, and Optometry.

May 2009: UAB received an anonymous gift of $5 million to be used chiefly for scholarships for women or minorities. UAB’s gift was one of at least a dozen such bequests received by academic institutions across the country. The only known similarity was that each institution had a female president.

June 26, 2009: The Alabama Commission on Higher Education approved a proposal for UAB to offer two programs on the campuses of Jefferson State Community College. The programs, which were scheduled to begin in the fall, would lead toward a bachelor’s degree in business management (at the JSCC-Shelby campus) or a bachelor’s degree in early childhood education (at the JSCC-Jefferson campus).

August 18, 2009: When classes began, UAB had the largest enrollment in the school’s 40-year history. Freshman enrollment was up 19 percent and graduate student enrollment hit its largest number ever. Student enrollment stood at 16,874, with a total enrollment of 18,047 when the advanced professional schools were included.

September 24, 2009: In honor of the fortieth anniversary of UAB, President Carol Z. Garrison and Provost Eli Capilouto hosted a university-wide convocation at the Alys Robinson Stephens Performing Arts Center as part of the inaugural University Day celebration.

October 12, 2009: Dr. Suzanne M. Michalek presented the forty-sixth annual Distinguished Faculty Lecture, “UAB and Mucosal Immunology: Past, Present and Future.”

October 14, 2009: President Carol Z. Garrison and Provost Eli Capilouto announced plans to merge four schools into a new College of Arts and Sciences effective January 1, 2010. The new College was comprised by the Schools of Arts and Humanities, Natural Sciences and Mathematics, and Social and Behavioral Sciences; the School of Education would become a distinctly identified component within the College. A search to name an interim dean of the College was initiated.

November 2009: Dr. Jean Ann Linney, dean of Social and Behavioral Sciences, was named as interim dean of UAB's new College of Arts and Sciences. This appointment became effective on January 1, 2010.

December 12, 2009: For the first time, the UAB commencement ceremony was streamed live via the internet.

2009: Robert Cofield became the interim president of the Callahan Eye Foundation Hospital.

2009: The UAB National Alumni Society hosted the first Uncork Education event, a food, wine, and beer event that raised funds for student scholarships.

• 2000s

January 1, 2010: Dr. Rodney W. Nowakowski became interim dean of the School of Optometry.

January 1, 2010: The College of Arts and Sciences replaced the separate Schools of Arts and Humanities, Natural Sciences and Mathematics and Social and Behavioral Sciences. Dr. Jean Ann Linney became interim dean of the new College.

January 13, 2010: On a flight to carry a survivor of the earthquake in Haiti to a Miami hospital, UAB Hospital’s Critical Care Transport (CCT) jet became the first US aircraft in five decades to make an official flight through Cuban airspace.

February 21, 2010: UAB opened the new Women and Infants Center and five babies were born in the new facility its first day. In a random drawing, one of the five was selected to receive a full, undergraduate tuition scholarship to the university from the UAB Health System.

March 4, 2010: The UAB Ethics Bowl Team won the National Intercollegiate Ethics Bowl held in Cincinnati, Ohio, in only the team’s second year in existence.

June 12, 2010: UAB student Ashley Davis was crowned Miss Alabama. Davis, of Dothan, was a double major in Political Science and Public Relations.

July 1, 2010: Dr. Thomas M. DiLorenzo became the first dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, an appointment that had been announced in June.

August 2010: For the fall term, total enrollment at UAB increased by almost 4 percent over last year up to 17,543. Undergraduate and freshman enrollment both rose about 3.6 percent and graduate and advanced professional student enrollment grew 4.6 percent.

September 2010: Dr. Sergio B. Stagno, chair of the Department of Pediatrics, became seventh president of the University of Alabama Health Services Foundation.

October 1, 2010: Dr. Ray L. Watts became Senior Vice President for Medicine and dean of the School of Medicine. Dr. Watts, who was then chair of the UAB Department of Neurology and president of the University of Alabama Health Services Foundation, had been selected for the position in July.

November 9, 2010: UAB’s economic impact on the Alabama economy was reported at $4.6 billion annually. UAB supports 61,025 jobs and generates $302.2 million in tax revenue to state and local governments. Further, $1 in every $25 in the state's budget is generated by UAB, and every $1 invested by the state in UAB generates $16.23 in the total state economy.

November 11, 2010: UAB announced plans to add two more sports for female athletes. Women’s bowling would begin in the fall of 2011 and women’s beach volleyball in the spring of 2012.

December 1, 2010: Dr. Arthur M. Boudreaux became interim chief-of-staff of University Hospital.

December 8, 2010: Dr. Edward E. Partridge delivered the forty-seventh Distinguished Faculty Lecture, “Civil War, Civil Rights and the New Moral Imperative: Leadership of a Different Color.”

December 29, 2010: Harold Warren became the second head coach of the Women's Soccer team.

2010: Logan Todd Talbot became the eighth UAB student named as a Truman Scholar.

2010: UAB became one of the first two civilian hospitals in the US to host a US Air Force Special Operations Surgical Team (SOST). The team was stationed at University Hospital, the state’s only adult Level-1 Trauma Center, in order to develop their medical and teamwork skills.

January 1, 2011: Dr. Deborah L. Voltz became fifth dean of the School of Education.

January 20, 2011: UAB National Alumni Society House was officially dedicated.

March 2011: Dr. Rodney W. Nowakowski was named as the fifth dean of the School of Optometry.

March 2011: The UAB Bioethics Team was named champions of the 2011 National Bioethics Undergraduate Conference held in Durham, North Carolina. Dr. Gregory Pence was the faculty sponsor of the team.

March 2011: UAB announced the establishment of the first two endowed deanships at the university, the James C. Lee, Jr., Endowed Chair for the Dean of the School of Medicine and the Fay B. Ireland Endowed Chair for the Dean of the School of Nursing.

May 18, 2011: Dr. Linda C. Lucas, dean of the Engineering school, became interim Provost.

May 20, 2011: Dr. Michael S. Reddy was named as interim dean of the School of Dentistry, to be effective on June 6, 2011.

May 2011: Dr. Melinda M. Lalor was named as interim dean of the School of Engineering.

June 2011: Michelle C. Crews was hired as the inaugural head coach of the Women's Bowling team, a new sport set to begin competition during the fall semester.

July 1, 2011: Dr. Donna K. Arnett became the sixth UAB faculty member elected as president of the American Heart Association. Arnett, chair of the Department of Epidemiology in the School of Public Health, became president in July 2012, the first epidemiologist selected for the presidency of the AHA.

August 2011: For the third consecutive year, enrollment at UAB reached a record high, with a combined enrollment of 17,575 students in the undergraduate through graduate levels. A record 67 percent of incoming freshmen lived in on-campus housing.

October 1, 2011: Kristi Lamont Ellis became interim General Manager of WBHM-FM Radio upon the retirement of Mike Morgan.

October 10, 2011: Dr. David B. Allison presented the forty-eighth Distinguished Faculty Lecture, “The Fire of Life.”

November 2011: UAB alumnus Joshua Carpenter became the university’s second recipient of the Rhodes Scholarship award. Carpenter graduated from UAB in 2010 with a double major in accounting and economics.

December 5, 2011: Garrick McGee was introduced as the fourth head coach of the UAB football team. Formerly the offensive coordinator at the University of Arkansas, the Oklahoma native had been a quarterback at the University of Oklahoma. His hiring had been announced the day before.

December 2011: John Fields, adjunct instructor in the Department of Art and Art History and a UAB alumnus, became interim director of the UAB Visual Arts Gallery.

2011: Kimberley Michelle Everett became the ninth UAB student named as a Truman Scholar.

2011: Paul W. Bryant, Jr., was elected president pro tempore of The University of Alabama Board of Trustees.

2011: Hal Messersmith became the inaugural head coach of the new Women's Beach Volleyball team.

2011: Dr. Wendy Gunther Canada became the third chair of the UAB Commission on the Status of Women.

February 3, 2012: Dr. Kenneth L. Vandervoort, Sr., was elected to the University of Alabama Board of Trustees. Dr. Vandervoort graduated from the UAB medical school in 1982.

March 5, 2012: The Board of Trustees of The University of Alabama System selected Dr. Robert E. Witt as the sixth chancellor of the three-campus university system. Dr. Witt had previously served as president of The University of Alabama since 2003.

March 15, 2012: Dr. Michael S. Reddy became the eighth dean of the School of Dentistry.

March 27, 2012: Jerod Haase was introduced as the fifth head coach of the Men’s Basketball team. Haase played at Kansas and had served as an assistant coach at Kansas and at North Carolina prior to coming to UAB.

April 30, 2012: Dr. Linda C. Lucas, who had served as Interim Provost since May of 2011, was named Provost of UAB.

May 2012: Dr. Louise T. Chow, a professor of biochemistry and molecular genetics, was elected to membership in the National Academy of Sciences, the second UAB faculty member to be so honored.

May 2012: The UAB Health System entered into an operational affiliation with Northeast Alabama Regional Medical Center in Anniston, Alabama.

July 1, 2012: Dr. Donna K. Arnett became the sixth UAB faculty member to serve as president of the American Heart Association. Arnett, chair of the Department of Epidemiology in the School of Public Health, was the first epidemiologist selected for the presidency of the AHA.

August 20, 2012: Dr. Eric P. Jack, associate dean, was named as interim dean of the School of Business, to be effective October first.

August 21, 2012: Dr. Richard B. Marchase, vice president for Research and Economic Development, was named as interim President of UAB following the departure of President Carol Z. Garrison.

August 27, 2012: Scott E. Hanley became the fourth General Manager of WBHM-FM Radio.

September 2012: For the fourth consecutive year, UAB had a record student enrollment with 17,999 students entering the fall term. Enrollment of incoming freshmen increased 4.4 percent and a record number of students lived in UAB’s on-campus housing.

October 1, 2012: Dr. Robert E. Palazzo became interim dean of the College of Arts and Sciences.

October 1, 2012: Dr. James A. Bonner became the president of the University of Alabama Health Services Foundation.

October 10, 2012: Dr. Stephen Barnes presented the forty-ninth Distinguished Faculty Lecture, “Science, Collaborations, Alternatives, and the Future.”

November 11, 2012: The Office of Veteran Recruitment and Student Services hosted UAB’s first Wreath Laying Ceremony on Veterans Day.

2012: The School of Education was removed from reporting to the College of Arts and Sciences and returned to an independent school with a direct report to the Office of the Provost.

2012: Lisa Jackson became the ninth head coach of the Women's Tennis team.

February 8, 2013: The University of Alabama Board of Trustees selected Dr. Ray L. Watts as the seventh president of UAB. Dr. Watts, who holds an undergraduate degree from the UAB School of Engineering, had joined the UAB faculty in 2003. He later served as chair of the Department of Neurology and at his selection as president was UAB's Senior Vice President and dean of the School of Medicine.

February 8, 2013: Harris V. Morrissette was elected to the University of Alabama Board of Trustees.

February 8, 2013: Dr. Anupam Agarwal, director of the Division of Nephrology, was named as interim Senior Vice President for Medicine and dean of the School of Medicine following the appointment of Dean Ray L. Watts as the seventh president of UAB.

March 18, 2013: The UAB Marching Blazers won the International Band Competition in Limerick, Ireland, beating out 17 other bands from the US and Europe one day after performing in the St. Patrick's Day Parade in Dublin.

April 2, 2013: Dr. Eric P. Jack became the sixth dean of the School of Business.

April 22, 2013: Randy Norton was introduced as the sixth head coach of the Women's Basketball team.

April 2013: UAB created an area at 850 8th Court South, near the university’s soccer field, where associates could grow their own vegetables in a program coordinated by the office of Sustainability. Initially, 65 plots were made available to students, faculty and staff and the program had a 75-person waiting list.

June 1, 2013: Dr. Robert E. Palazzo became the second dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, after having served as interim since October 2012.

June 2013: Reid F. Jones became the chief operating officer for University Hospital, with responsibility for the day-to-day operations of the hospital.

July 1, 2013: Dr. Arthur J. Tipton became chief executive officer of the UAB affiliated Southern Research Institute.

2013: UAB announced plans for a campus-wide in-house bus transportation system to begin operation in 2014. The 24-hour weekday system will operate a fleet of buses on six discrete lines with an aim to have all campus locations within a five-minute walk from a scheduled bus stop. In June of 2013 the system was named Blazer Express after a campus-wide "Name the Bus" contest.

August 1, 2013: Dr. J. Iwan D. Alexander became the sixth dean of the School of Engineering. Dr. Alexander, whose selection had been announced in February, came to UAB from Case Western Reserve University.

September 13, 2013: The University of Alabama Board of Trustees approved the renaming of the UAB School of Business as the Collat School of Business in recognition of a $25 million gift of longtime supporters Charles and Patsy Collat.

September 13, 2013: For the fifth consecutive year, fall enrollment at UAB set a record. Total enrollment increased 3.6 percent, up to 18,568 students. Enrollment of freshmen also reached a record for the fifth consecutive year, and more than 69 percent of freshmen lived in on-campus housing.

September 21, 2013: The Alys Stephens Performing Arts center hosted the world premiere of A More Convenient Season, a multi-media orchestral work composed by Yotam Haber and commissioned by Tom Blount to commemorate the Civil Rights Movement in Birmingham and the bombing of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church on September 15, 1963.

September 2013: John D. Jones was elected to the University of Alabama Board of Trustees. Jones would resign from the board in April 2017.

October 15, 2013: Dr. Selwyn M. Vickers became Senior Vice President for Medicine and dean of the School of Medicine.  Dr. Vickers, a native of Demopolis, Alabama, and a former member of the UAB surgery faculty, was chair of surgery at the University of Minnesota when his appointment was announced in August.

October 25, 2013: UAB announced the largest philanthropic campaign in university history, The Campaign for UAB: Give Something, Change Everything, with a goal of raising $1 billion by the end of 2018.

November 13, 2013: Dr. John F. Kearney presented the fiftieth Distinguished Faculty Lecture, "How One Year Turned Into Forty Years at UAB."

2013: Alan Murray became the sixth head coach of the Men's Golf team.

January 3, 2014: UAB Campus Ride and Campus Escort services were discontinued.

January 6, 2014: The Blazer Express Transit System, UAB's new campus-wide bus and shuttle system, launched with six routes available at no cost to UAB students, staff, and authorized campus visitors.

January 15, 2014: The Abroms-Engel Institute for the Visual Arts (AEIVA) was formally dedicated.  Named for UAB benefactors Hal and Judy Abroms and Marvin and Ruth Engel, the striking new facility houses the university's art galleries, administrative and faculty offices, and the Department of Art and Art History.  AEIVA was opened to the public on the following day.

January 17, 2014: Mark Tjia became the tenth head coach of the Women's Tennis team.

January 22, 2014: In a press conference in Bartow Arena, Bill Clark was introduced as the fifth head coach of the Blazer Football team. Clark was hired away from Jacksonville State University, where he led the team to a record season of 11-4 and the NCAA Division I playoffs for the first time in school history.

January 2014: Bailey Coleman became the second head coach of Women's Beach Volleyball.

April 2014: John M. Meador, Jr., was named as the inaugural dean of UAB Libraries. Meador, who was the dean of the library at SUNY Binghamton, became the university's first library dean in August.

May 22, 2014: UAB Medicine Urgent Care was opened at 125 South 20th Street, on the street level of the Cityville apartment complex adjacent to Birmingham's Railroad Park. The walk-in clinic will be open seven days a week for non-life-threatening illnesses.

June 1, 2014: Dr. Kelly K. Nichols, from the University of Houston, became the sixth dean of the School of Optometry. Her appointment had been announced in February.

June 1, 2014: Dr. J. Fred Olive, a long time member of the library faculty, became interim director of the Mervyn Sterne Library upon the retirement of Dr. Jerry W. Stephens.

June 3, 2014: Dr. Shannon Blanton was named as the inaugural dean of the UAB Honors College. Dr. Blanton came to UAB from the University of Memphis.

July 2014: The UAB Concert Choir won three medals out of three entered competitions at the Interkultur World Choir Games in Riga, Latvia. UAB received a gold medal in the Mixed Youth Choir category and silver medals in the Sacred Music with Accompaniment and Spiritual categories. UAB competed with 450 choirs from 60 countries.

August 5, 2014: John M. Meador, Jr., became the inaugural dean of UAB Libraries upon the administrative merger of UAB's two libraries, the Mervyn H. Sterne Library and the Lister Hill Library of the Health Sciences.

August 25, 2014: For the sixth consecutive year, fall enrollment at UAB set a record. Total enrollment increased to 18,698 students. Over 68 percent of the freshmen class lived in on-campus housing.

September 1, 2014: Lisa Tamiris Becker became the first director of the Abroms-Engel Institute for the Visual Arts (AEIVA).

September 5, 2014: A new statue of Blaze the Dragon was installed in front of Bartow Arena. The multi-color fiberglass sculpture was created by local artist Ira Chaffin.

September 19, 2014: Karen Phifer Brooks was elected president pro tempore of The University of Alabama Board of Trustees. She was the first female president of the governing board of the three campus University of Alabama System.

September 19, 2014: In order to reflect new alignments and campus streamlining efforts, the University of Alabama Board of Trustees approved the closure or merger of numerous research centers and institutes at UAB, including those in the College of Arts and Sciences and the Schools of Business, Dentistry, Medicine, and Nursing. Twenty centers were closed and six other centers were merged into existing UAB centers.

September 19, 2014: Barbara M. Humphrey was elected to The University of Alabama Board of Trustees. Humphrey received a history degree from UAB and had been a scholarship member of the Blazer track team.

October 2014: Dr. Murali Venugopalan became the director of UAB's English Language Institute (ELI). He came to UAB from Virginia Commonwealth University.

November 12, 2014: Dr. Kirby I. Bland presented the fifty-first Distinguished Faculty Lecture, "Evolution of Evidence-Based Science and Education at UAB."

November 22, 2014: Ameen Barghi, a double-major in the undergraduate neuroscience program, became the third UAB student to be named as a Rhodes Scholar. Barghi, who was also a member of the UAB Science and Technology Honors Program, had received a Goldwater Scholarship during his sophomore year.

November 2014: In the newly renovated Comprehensive Cancer Center, two new rooms were dedicated in honor of the first two directors of the Center, the John R. Durant, MD, Educational Facility and the Albert and Rita LoBuglio Board Room.

December 2, 2014: UAB President Ray L. Watts formally announced that at the end of the 2014-2015 academic year the university would eliminate three athletics programs, football, women’s rifle, and women’s bowling. Dr. Watts also announced the appointment of Shannon Ealy as the interim Director of Athletics.

December 2014: With over $225 million in research funds for the fiscal year, UAB ranked 10th in the nation in funding provided by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The medical school had more than $156.3 million and moved up from 31st to 26th in NIH funding.

2014: An area on the planet Mars was named for Dr. Thomas Wdowiak, a former professor of physics at UAB. Wdowiak, who died in 2013, was a member of the NASA Mars Exploration Rover Project and operated the Mossbauer spectrometers onboard the Spirit and Opportunity rover missions. The 500-foot-long Wdowiak Ridge rises 40 feet above the western rim of the Endeavour Crater. More than 20 rocks on the ridge were given names for places related to Wdowiak’s life and career, including Birmingham, Red Mountain, Bessemer, and Hoover.

2014: A gift from the Hugh Kaul Foundation established the Hugh Kaul Personalized Medicine Institute. Dr. Nita A. Limdi was named as interim director.

2014: The UAB Bioethics Team won its second national championship at the National Bioethics Bowl in Tallahassee, Florida. Dr. Gregory Pence was the faculty sponsor of the team.

January 15, 2015: Dr. Jeffrey A. Engler, associate dean, was named as interim dean of the UAB Graduate School following the retirement of Dean Bryan D. Noe.

January 22, 2015: Dr. James J. Cimino was named as inaugural director of the Informatics Institute within the School of Medicine. The Institute had been approved by the University of Alabama Board of Trustees in June 2014. Dr. Cimino, a national leader in the field of biomedical informatics, came to UAB from the National Institutes of Health and the National Library of Medicine.

March 14, 2015: The UAB Blazers defeated the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders 73-60 to win the C-USA men's basketball championship, UAB's first Conference USA basketball title. The C-USA tournament was co-hosted by UAB and the City of Birmingham and games were held in UAB's Bartow Arena and in Legacy Arena at the Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center. The Blazers received an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament, the program's 15th appearance.

March 19, 2015: In a game held in Louisville, Kentucky, as part of the South Region of the NCAA Men's Basketball tournament, the 14-seeded UAB Blazers upset the third-seeded Big 12 champion Iowa State by the score of 60 to 59. This was the Blazer's 15th overall appearance in the tournament and was Jerod Haase's first tournament win as a Head Coach.

March 30, 2015: “Complex Vision,” artist Yaacov Agam’s towering kinetic sculpture, was returned to the façade of the Callahan Eye Foundation Hospital after it had been restored by Agam and by Art Creations and Renovations, a business located in Florida. Reinstallation of the work began on March 26.

April 25, 2015: UAB awarded 2,724 degrees in several commencement ceremonies. Sixty students from 14 states and five countries received doctoral degrees from the UAB Graduate School. UAB’s first Bachelor of Science degree in public health was awarded and, for the first time the program’s history, UAB honored newly commissioned officers from the Air Force and Army Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC).

May 5, 2015: UAB officially introduced Mark Ingram as the university's fifth Director of Athletics. Ingram, who played football for the Tennessee Volunteers, came to UAB from Temple University.

May 11, 2015: UAB was named as a Comprehensive Stroke Center by the Joint Commission and the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association, the first hospital in the state to receive such certification.

June 1, 2015: Six months after announcing the elimination of the UAB bowling, rifle, and football teams, UAB President Ray L. Watts announced that his decision was being reversed and the three teams would be reinstated. No timetable was announced, but football was expected to return in time for the 2016 season.

June 13, 2015: A crowd of 9,347 attended a World Heavyweight Championship match in Birmingham as world-title holder and Alabama native Deontay Wilder knocked out No. 7 Eric Molina in the ninth round in Bartow Arena at UAB. This was the first time a championship bout had ever been held in the State of Alabama and it was the largest crowd to ever attend an event at Bartow.

July 6, 2015: In a non-scientific online poll, UAB affiliates voted overwhelmingly to reinstate the name of “Gang Green” for the Official Student Fan Club of UAB Athletics. Gang Green, which had been the name used for decades before being replaced in the fall of 2014 by “The Inferno,” received 73.75% of the votes.

July 15, 2015: Dr. John R. Jones, III, became vice president for Student Affairs. Dr. Jones, whose selection had been announced in June, came to UAB from the University of North Carolina-Pembroke.

July 20, 2015: UAB opened a mental health and wellness clinic for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer/questioning individuals. Under the direction of the UAB Department of Psychiatry, members of the LGBTQ community will be seen in the clinic located on the third floor of the Callahan Eye Hospital Building.

July 2015: UAB acquired the Paula Building at 728 Richard J. Arrington, Jr., Boulevard.

August 24, 2015: Dr. Lori L. McMahon was named as dean of the UAB Graduate School. Dr. McMahon, a professor of Cell, Developmental and Integrative Biology and the Jarman F. Lowder Professor of Neuroscience at UAB, became dean on the first of October.

October 1, 2015: Anna M. Thompson became executive director of the Alys Stephens Performing Arts Center. Thompson came to UAB from the University of Notre Dame.

November 6, 2015: Scott M. Phelps was elected to the University of Alabama Board of Trustees.

November 2015: Dr. Sarah Parcak, an associate professor of anthropology in the College of Arts and Sciences, was announced as the recipient of the 2016 TED Prize for her pioneering work using satellite imaging to make archaeological discoveries on earth. Parcak received the $1 million prize during the TED Conference in Vancouver, Canada, in February 2016.

December 2, 2015: Dr. Sergio B. Stagno presented the fifty-second Distinguished Faculty Lecture, "Building the Department of Pediatrics: A Team Effort, 1988-2014."

2015: For the fall term, the largest-ever number of students lived on the UAB campus, a total of 2,486 students representing 21 countries.

2015: Dr. Martin J. Heslin became chief of the medical staff at University Hospital.

2015: UAB Rangeela formed as Alabama’s first competitive Bollywood fusion-style dance team. Rangeela is a Hindi word that loosely translates as “colorful.” UAB Rangeela is an official UAB Campus Recreation club sport and it is a co-ed entity.

2015: Alesia Jones became the fourth chair of the UAB Commission on the Status of Women.

2015: The School of Medicine established the Alabama chapter of the Albert Schweitzer Fellowship following the Medical Education Committee’s decision to incorporate service learning as a standard part of the medical school curriculum. The Alabama chapter is open to students in UAB’s schools of Dentistry, Health Professions, Medicine, Nursing and Public Health, as well as graduate students from other schools within the state.

2015: For the fiscal year of 2015, UAB received $219 million in funding from the National Institutes of Health, ranking 10th in NIH funding among public universities. The total extramural research grant awards received at UAB for the fiscal year was over $430 million.

2015: Anne L. Buckley was recruited to UAB from Virginia Commonwealth University to serve as the university's Chief Communications Officer and Associate Vice President.

January 6, 2016: Several hundred staff attended an open forum about the proposed UAB Staff Council. When formally established later in 2016, the UAB Staff Council will be comprised by two employees from each administrative unit reporting to the president, the vice presidents and deans, and the athletic director.

January 15, 2016: Dr. Paulette Patterson Dilworth became vice president for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, the first African American female named as a vice president at UAB.

January 20, 2016: The Hill Student Center was officially dedicated. The new facility, which had opened to the campus community in December 2015, replaced UAB's former student services building. Both student centers were named in honor of Dr. S. Richardson Hill, Jr., UAB's second president.

January 23, 2016: The Men's Basketball team defeated North Texas 78-57 in Bartow Arena to set a UAB school record of consecutive wins (at 14). With a conference record of 7-0, the Blazers were also in first place in C-USA. When SMU lost the following day, UAB became the school with the nation's longest active winning streak at 14 games.

January 29, 2016: Dr. Tina Kempin Reuter was announced as director of the new UAB Institute for Human Rights. Dr. Reuter came to UAB in February from Christopher Newport University in Virginia.

February 1, 2016: UAB President Ray L. Watts announced the increase in the minimum wage to $11.00 per hour for all UAB and UAB Medicine employees, above the federal minimum of $7.25 per hour.

February 16, 2016: UAB space archaeologist Dr. Sarah Parcak announced at the TED conference in Vancouver, Canada, that her $1 million TED prize would be used to build an online, crowd-sourced citizen science platform to allow anyone across the globe to help discover and protect new historical sites.

March 11-12, 2016: UAB served as the host institution for the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships held at the Birmingham CrossPlex.

March 25, 2016: Jerod Haase left UAB when he was hired as the head basketball coach of the Stanford Cardinal. Haase left with a record of 80-53 during his four seasons coaching the Blazers.

April 6, 2016: Robert "Rob" Ehsan was announced as the sixth Head Coach of men's basketball just nine days after being named as interim. Ehsan was formerly an assistant coach for the Blazers.

April 2016 It was announced that UAB anthropology professor Sarah Parcak, a space archaeologist, had likely discovered a Viking settlement located on the southern point of Newfoundland, Canada. This find could rewrite the history of the discovery of North America as it would prove that the Vikings had traveled further into the new continent than had previously been known.

May 25, 2016: An orientation meeting was held for the new UAB Staff Council, comprised of 39 staff members from 21 departments across the units of the university.

June 11, 2016: UAB student Hayley Barber of Pelham, a senior marketing major, was selected as the new Miss Alabama. Barber competed as Miss Shelby County.

July 2016: Gene Fambrough became the interim director of bands, including the UAB Marching Blazers.

August 29, 2016: A groundbreaking ceremony was held for the UAB Football Operations Center and Legacy Pavilion. Later that day, the UAB Green and Gold game was held at the university’s BBVA Compass Field.

August 31, 2016: Mike Wilson became the seventh head coach of the Men's Golf team.

August 2016: A record 19,535 students enrolled at UAB for the fall semester, an increase of 6.56 percent. The freshman class, the largest in school history, grew to 2,021 students, an increase of 24.7 percent from the previous year.

August 2016: UAB became the first institution in the State of Alabama to be recognized with the Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) Award from INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine. UAB was selected because of its exemplary diversity and inclusion initiatives and its broad concept of diversity.

September 1, 2016: C. Ray Hayes became the seventh chancellor of the three-campus University of Alabama System.

September 1, 2016: Dr. Michelle Fanucchi, associate professor of Environmental Health Sciences, became UAB’s inaugural ombuds, an independent, confidential and impartial resource for faculty.

September 7, 2016: An open house served as the formal opening of the UAB Institute for Human Rights. The IHR is housed on the fifth floor of Heritage Hall.

November 1, 2016: The UAB Callahan Eye Hospital Clinic – Cahaba River opened in the Altadena community along the Highway 280 and Interstate 459 corridor. The clinic offered full ophthalmological and optometric services and housed a full-service, in-house optical store.

2016: Anita Clemon became the fifth chair of the UAB Commission on the Status of Women.

2016: The State of Alabama became the first state in the country to host institutions receiving five EPSCoR Track II grants, four of which were awarded to UAB. EPSCoR stands for Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research.

2016: Ashley Hardee became the interim head coach of the Women's Beach Volleyball team.

2016: University Hospital at UAB is licensed for 1,157 beds, making it the 16th largest hospital in the country.

2016: For the 2016 fiscal year, UAB had $538 million in research funding, ranking No. 15 nationally among public universities, No. 31 overall in federal funding, and No. 6 among Southeastern universities. UAB received over $281 million in National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding, and was the recipient of 85 percent of the NIH-funding granted to the State of Alabama.

2016: UAB was ranked as the third largest US public academic medical center.

2016: UAB installed the largest solar-energy system in Birmingham atop the Campus Recreation Center. The 100-panel system will generate power for the university and will be used for coursework and research by faculty and students. Weather sensors on the system will also be used by the emergency management staff.

2016: At the end of the calendar year, the UAB Capital Campaign had raised more than $771.8 million towards the goal of $1 billion.

January 2017: Jessica Angel, an artist living in New York, became the first artist-in-residence for the UAB AEIVA. Angel’s installation, titled “Facing the Hyperstructure,” was unveiled to the public March 31 after a 14-week residency at UAB.

February 15, 2017: Dr. Karen M. Meneses presented the fifty-third Distinguished Faculty Lecture, "From Bataan to Birmingham: Stories of Survivors."

March 8-11, 2017: For the third consecutive year, UAB and the City of Birmingham hosted the Conference USA championship tournament for men's and women's basketball. Men's games were held at the Legacy Arena at the BJCC and women's games started in UAB's Bartow Arena before moving to Legacy Arena for the semifinals and finals.

March 9, 2017: UAB announced the establishment of the Alabama Genomic Health Initiative in partnership with the private HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology in Huntsville, Alabama. The Initiative will begin a statewide effort to “harness the power of genomic analysis to help identify those at high risk for genetic disease.”

April 1, 2017: Dr. John R. Jones, III, vice president for Student Affairs, became UAB's interim provost.

April 7, 2017: W. Stancil Starnes was elected to the University of Alabama Board of Trustees.

April 13, 2017: The new INTO UAB Center, housed on the second floor of the Mervyn H. Sterne Library, was officially dedicated. INTO UAB seeks to increase the global diversity of the UAB student body and increase the international opportunities for domestic students. David Hoffman was the center’s executive director.

May 5, 2017 The first 18 students graduated from the Innovate Birmingham Workforce program, a coalition of business leaders in Birmingham led by UAB. In 2016 the workforce program received a $6 million grant to train un- or under-employed young adults for high-demand information technology careers.

May 9, 2017: A record crowd of 5,344 saw the UAB Blazers Baseball team defeat number fourteen ranked Auburn Tigers 8-2 in a game at Regions Field.

May 2017: Dr. Sean Murray became director of bands, including the UAB Marching Blazers.

May 2017 Erica Demers became the third head coach of the Women's Soccer team.

June 10, 2017: Kyra Iannone became the head coach of Women's Beach Volleyball.

June 14, 2017: UAB unveiled a partially completed two bedroom, two bathroom solar house, complete with a tornado safe room, designed and being built by students as part of the U.S. Dept. of Energy’s 2017 Solar Decathlon in Denver, Colorado. Approximately 60 undergraduate and graduate students participated in the project with faculty advisor Dr. Hessam Taherian, assistant professor in the School of Engineering. The UAB team finished in fifth place.

June 2017: The Campus Recreation Center at UAB hosted the racquetball competition during the 30th National Senior Games. The games were held at venues around the City of Birmingham and in surrounding municipalities between June 2 and June 15.

July 1, 2017: Dr. Pam Benoit became Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs. Dr. Benoit came to UAB from Ohio University.

July 1, 2017: Dr. Lynn Kirkland, chair of the Department of Curriculum and Instruction, became interim dean of the School of Education.

July 1, 2017: Dr. Matthew Might became the inaugural director of the Hugh Kaul Personalized Medicine Institute. UAB had announced his recruitment in February.

July 2017: Dr. Keith A. “Tony” Jones became the ninth president of the University of Alabama Health Services Foundation. Dr. Jones was also named as the inaugural Chief Physician Executive for UAB Medicine.

August 1, 2017: Dr. Michael J. Birrer became the fourth director of the Comprehensive Cancer Center. Dr. Birrer, a specialist in gynecologic cancers, came to UAB from Harvard and the Massachusetts General Hospital.

August 12, 2017: Kevin Wang of Taiwan became the first international student to graduate through the INTO UAB program. Wang completed a master’s degree program in biotechnology (School of Health Professions) in three semesters.

August 18, 2017: A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held to dedicate the UAB Football Operations Center and the Legacy Pavilion.

September 2017: UAB announced a record enrollment with 20,902 students, an increase of seven percent from 2016. The university’s freshman class increased 14 percent to a record total of 2,299 students. Enrollment increases were seen at the undergraduate (6.18 percent), masters (10.51 percent), and doctoral (4.36 percent) levels.

August 2017: Amanda Ellis became the second head coach of Softball. She had previously served as an assistant coach and as the interim head coach.

September 1, 2017: Over 25,000 attended the UAB House Party in Birmingham's Uptown Entertainment District to hear a concert by recording star Sam Hunt. The UAB House Party was held to celebrate the return of the Blazers football program. Sam Hunt was the quarterback of the Blazers in 2006 and 2007.

September 2, 2017: The UAB Blazers football team returned to the field after a two-season absence, defeating the Bulldogs of Alabama A&M by a score of 38-7. A record crowd of 45,212 attended the return game at Legion Field.

September 15, 2017: Ronald W. Gray was elected president pro tempore of The University of Alabama Board of Trustees.

September 19, 2017: An official groundbreaking ceremony was held for the new classroom building for the College of Arts and Sciences that will be located on the southwest corner of the Campus Green.

September 25, 2017: A ribbon-cutting ceremony opened the new UAB Meadow Classroom in a 1,500 acre wooded area within Birmingham’s Red Mountain Park. Over 600 UAB volunteer students, staff, and faculty spent more than 2,400 work hours to clean and prepare the meadow as an outdoor classroom.

October 2017: UAB announced the expansion of its campus supercomputer to 450 teraflops, making the university’s supercomputer the fastest in the state of Alabama and one of the five fastest at an academic institution in the Southeast. UAB IT named the supercomputer “Cheaha” in honor of the highest peak in Alabama.

November 1, 2017: Dr. Peter M. Ginter became interim dean of the School of Public Health.

November 3, 2017: The University of Alabama Board of Trustees approved the Magic City LGBT Health Studies Endowed Faculty Scholar Fund for the UAB School of Public Health.

November 2017: The UAB Health System entered into a management relationship with Whitfield Regional Hospital in Demopolis, Alabama.

2017: UAB’s economic impact on the Alabama economy was reported at $7.15 billion annually, with the university supporting 64,292 jobs throughout the state. It was also reported that UAB generated $25 for every $1 received in state funding. The University remained the largest single employer in the State of Alabama with over 23,000 employees.

2017: The UAB Health System entered into a management relationship with Regional Medical Center of Central Alabama in Greenville, Alabama.

January 30, 2018: UAB broke ground for Proton International at UAB. Planned for completion in 2020, UAB's new proton therapy center is a collaborative effort between UAB and Proton International.

January 30, 2018: Amy Pauly named as the new head coach for Women's Volleyball.

February 13, 2018: The six members of the Gold Team of the US Air Force Special Operations Surgical Team (SOST), based out of University Hospital at UAB, were awarded Bronze Star Medals for their actions during the unit’s four-month 2016 deployment in the Middle East. The awarding ceremony was held in UAB hospital. In 2010 UAB became one of the first two civilian hospitals in the US to host a SOST.

March 3, 2018: The Women's Basketball team defeated UT-San Antonio 74-66 to win their first Conference-USA regular season championship. The Blazers record of 24-5 matched their best season record, and the 13-3 conference record was the best in the team's history.

March 5, 2018: Dr. Victor Darley-Usmar presented the fifty-fourth Distinguished Faculty Lecture, "Who Moved My Electron?"

March 2018: UAB named LGBTQ Healthcare Equality Leader by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation. UAB was one of 418 institutions to score the maximum in the areas of: LGBTQ patient-centered care; LGBTQ patient services and support, employee benefits, and policies; and LGBTQ patient and community engagement.

March 2018: The UAB Health System entered into an operational affiliation with Infirmary Health of Mobile, Alabama.

April 28, 2018: The first six students to complete their Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Musical Theatre graduated from UAB.

April 2018: A renovation project began on the BBVA Compass Field to expand the facility to 4,000 seats and to add a new video board and permanent ticket booths, concession stands, and restrooms. The project, which is due to be completed by the end of the year, was initiated because UAB and the United Soccer League (USL) have agreed for the Birmingham Legion, the city’s new professional soccer team, to begin play at the UAB facility starting in March 2019.

May 1, 2018: Dr. Michelle A. Robinson became interim dean of the School of Dentistry. Dr. Robinson joined the UAB faculty in 2005 and had been serving as associate dean at the time of her appointment.

May 27, 2018: The UAB Concert Choir, under the direction of Brian Kittredge, made its Carnegie Hall debut when the choir performed at the New York City venue as part of the 2018 Gotham SINGS! Collegiate Choir Showcase.

June 16, 2018: At the 2018 Southeast Regional Emmy Awards the office of University Relations won UAB's first Emmy award, winning in the "Outstanding Sports-Feature Segment" category for "More than a Game." The video showcased the UAB Football team's 2017 game when Blazer players wore the names of patients from Children's Harbor on their team jerseys.

June 2018: UAB was ranked the top young university in the US and No. 10 worldwide in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings, 2018 Young University Rankings.

June 2018: Jimmy Kolaitis became the third head coach of Softball.

July 1, 2018: Dr. Autumn Tooms Cypres became the sixth dean of the School of Education.

August 1, 2018: Finis E. St. John, IV, a member of the Board of Trustees since 2002, became the interim chancellor of the three-campus University of Alabama System.

August 1, 2018: Dr. Paul Campbell Erwin became the sixth dean of the School of Public Health. Dr. Erwin is a graduate of the medical school at UAB.

August 9, 2018: A new building for the UAB Police Department was opened on South 14th Street. The new headquarters is a two-story, 28,000 square-foot facility.

August 17, 2018: Dr. Michael Saag, director of the UAB Center for AIDS Research, received the inaugural Marchase Award. The award honors a UAB investigator who leads/promotes interdisciplinary research and is named in honor of Dr. Richard B. Marchase, former vice president for Research and Economic Development and former interim president of UAB.

August 24, 2018: The Collat School of Business Building was formally opened along the north side of University Boulevard. The 108,000 square-foot facility houses the business school, the Bill L. Harbert Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, the UAB Regions Institute for Financial Education, and the UAB Healthcare Leadership Academy.

August 29, 2018: A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held for the new Intramural and Club Sport Field Complex at 1101 5th Avenue South, directly across the street from the Football Operations Center. The new fields are home to all of UAB’s outdoor intramural and club sports. The complex may also be reserved for official UAB groups and organizations.

September 6, 2018: A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held for the expanded School of Nursing Building. The recently completed expansion project added over 72,000 square-feet of space and drastically changed the front of the building along University Boulevard.

September 2018: UAB enrollment for the fall semester was 21,923, a record for the third consecutive year. Enrollment increased 4.88 percent from the previous year. The UAB student body is one of the most diverse in the nation, with 39.7 percent minority for the total student enrollment and 40.5 percent minority for the freshman class. The students are 21.9 percent African American and 61.9 percent female. Over 1,049 international students from over 100 countries are enrolled at UAB.

November 15, 2018: UAB broke ground for a new student residence hall, to be located on 10th Avenue South on the site of the demolished Smolian International House and Sorority Square Building. The building will house 730 students and will become the university's first Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Silver building.

November 2018: Birmingham's Energen Company donated its "Wonders of America" art collection to UAB upon the energy company's merger with an out-of-state company. The "Wonders of Alabama" collection contains over 265 oil, watercolor, and mixed media artworks collected by Energen between 1999 and 2015 as part of its juried art competition showcasing Alabama artists. The collection will be displayed and used by the university's Arts in Medicine (AIM) program and the Abroms-Engel Institute for the Visual Arts.

November 2018: UAB reported a record $527 million in research grants and awards for the fiscal year ending October 2018. This was the first time UAB had passed $500 million in funding for a 12-month reporting period. The $527 million was a $48 million (10 percent) increase from fiscal year 2017.

November 2018: UAB announced its Capital Campaign had reached the campaign target of $1 billion and had surpassed the goal by over $2 million. The campaign was the largest in school history.

December 1, 2018: In the Conference USA Championship held in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, the UAB Blazers defeated Middle Tennessee (MTSU) 27-25 to win the university's first conference football championship. The Blazers ended the regular season with an overall record 10-3 and conference 7-1; the best year ever for UAB football. Sophomore running back Spencer Brown was named MVP of the championship game.

December 4, 2018: UAB announced a $30 million gift from O'Neal Industries that will transform the university cancer center and rename it as the O'Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center at UAB. This $30 million is the largest single gift in the history of UAB.

December 13, 2018: Coach Bill Clark selected as the Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year by the Football Writers Association of America. That same week, Coach Clark was also selected as Coach of the Year by Sporting News and as the National Coach of the Year by CBS Sports, the first time CBS Sports had selected the same coach in consecutive seasons.

December 18, 2018: The UAB Blazers defeated Northern Illinois 37-13 in the Cheribundi Boca Raton Bowl before more than 22,600 fans in Boca Raton, Florida. The Blazers ended with a program record 11-3 season, its first conference championship, and its first bowl victory. The bowl's co-MVPs were wide receiver Xavier Ubosi (offense) and Anthony Rush (defense).

December 21, 2018: Jeff Kinney named as the fifth head coach of the Men's Soccer team.

2018: Ryan Ashburn became the head coach of the Women's Golf team. She was recruited to UAB from Baylor University.

January 5, 2019: At a ceremony in San Jose, California, UAB Coach Bill Clark accepted the Eddie Robinson National Coach of the Year Award from the Football Writers Association of America.

March 10, 2019: The Birmingham Legion competed in its first soccer match at UAB's BBVA Compass Field. The Legion lost 2-0 to the Bethlehem Steel before a standing-room only crowd of 5,807. Twenty home games for the USL team's inaugural season were scheduled for BBVA Compass Field, the Legion's home field.

March 15, 2019: Lili Anderson became the first executive director of Visual and Performing Arts upon the administrative merger of the Alys Stephens Performing Arts Center and the Abroms-Engels Institute for Visual Arts (AEIVA).

March 18, 2019: Dr. Mona N. Fouad presented the fifty-fifth Distinguished Faculty Lecture, "When Health Disparities Became Science."

April 1, 2019: Dr. Donna Slovensky, a long-time member of the school faculty, became interim dean of the School of Health Professions.

April 6, 2019: The UAB Bioethics Team won its third national championship at the National Bioethics Bowl held in Mobile, Alabama. Dr. Gregory Pence was the faculty sponsor for the team.

April 12, 2019: Finis E. St. John, IV, a member of the Board of Trustees since 2002, became the eighth chancellor of the three-campus University of Alabama System. St. John had served as interim chancellor since August 2018.

April 17, 2019: Dr. Ravi Bhatia became the interim director of the UAB O'Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center.

May 9, 2019: UAB President Ray L. Watts became the interim Chief Executive Officer of the UAB affiliated Southern Research Institute. Dr. Watts remained chair of the Institute’s board of directors while a search was being conducted for a replacement. Michael A. Catalano, the Institute’s vice president, was also named as the interim chief operating officer.

May 2019: Best Colleges named UAB as the best college for LGBTQ students in the state of Alabama.

May 2019: Dr. Virginia Lolley became chief-of-staff for the UAB Callahan Eye Foundation Hospital, the first female named to the position. Dr. Lolley, a member of the faculty of the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, had previously served as hospital president from 2013 until 2015.

June 7, 2019: Evelyn VanSant Mauldin was elected to the University of Alabama Board of Trustees.

June 2019: For the second consecutive year, Times Higher Education ranked UAB as the top Young University (50 years or under) in the United States.

July 1, 2019: Dr. Andrew J. Butler became the fourth dean of the School of Health Professions. Dr. Butler came to UAB from Georgia State University.

July 2019: Dr. Russell S. Taichman became the ninth dean of the School of Dentistry. Dr. Taichman came to UAB from the University of Michigan.

July 2019: Conference USA announced its new athletics Conference Hall of Fame. UAB had three honorees in the inaugural class of 25, Coach Gene Bartow; student-athlete Deanna Jackson (Women's Basketball); and student-athlete Graeme McDowell (Men's Golf).

August 15, 2019: Dr. Timothy Wick, of the Department of Biomedical Engineering, became the interim dean of the School of Engineering.

September 2019: For the fourth consecutive year, UAB set an enrollment record for the fall term with 22,080 students. This was the first time UAB had more than 22,000 students. The entering first-time freshman class rose 2 percent to 2,346 students.

October 18, 2019: In celebration of UAB's 50th Anniversary, a free homecoming week concert was held on the Campus Green. Weezer headlined the event and Rapper Gashi was the opening act for the 20,000 attendees. The concert was the largest event ever held on the Campus Green.

November 12, 2019: The Jefferson County Commission voted to approve UAB's University Healthcare Authority plan, allowing the UAB Health System to assume the daily management of the county-operated Cooper Green Mercy Health Services. The management transition for the Cooper Green hospital will take place in 2020.

2019: Dr. Nicole Wright became the sixth chair of the UAB Commission on the Status of Women.

 

• 2010s

January 6, 2020: Dr. Barry P. Sleckman of the Weill Cornell Medicine assumed duties as new director of the O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center. Dr. Sleckman had been selected the previous October.

January 13, 2020: Proton International at UAB, the state’s first proton therapy center, was opened with a ribbon cutting ceremony. The three-story facility is located on 20th Street South.

January 2020: The UAB Health System entered into a management relationship with Russell Medical Center in Alexander City, Alabama.

February 10, 2020: Jeffrey D. Graveline, a long-time member of the library faculty, became interim dean of UAB Libraries.

February 11, 2020: Dr. Gregg H. Gilbert presented the fifty-sixth Distinguished Faculty Lecture.

February 2020: UAB announced that its public radio affiliate WBHM-FM Radio was partnering with three other stations, Mississippi Public Radio (Jackson), WNNO (New Orleans), and WPFK (Baton Rouge), to establish the collaborative Gulf States Newsroom. Headquartered at WBHM 90.3 on the UAB campus, the Gulf States Newsroom is sponsored by National Public Radio and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

March 12, 2020: Due to the effects of the growing global pandemic of coronavirus (COVID-19), the University of Alabama System announced that classes on all three system campuses, UA, UAH, and UAB, would transition completely to an online or alternative instruction model for the remainder of March. UAB’s Spring Break – which was due to begin on March 16 – was extended until March 24 and students were instructed to not return to campus until further notice. All non-essential university events and activities, including all Blazer athletic competition, and all non-essential university-related travel were also cancelled for the time being.

March 15, 2020: Due to the growing global pandemic of COVID-19, UAB announced a Limited Business Model for all campus operations except for essential services through the end of the month of March.

March 20, 2020: UAB alumnus Andy Kennedy became the seventh head coach of the men's basketball team. Kennedy, a former Blazer star player and former assistant coach at UAB, had previously served as head coach at the University of Mississippi.

March 26, 2020: UAB announced the indefinite extension to its Limited Business Model due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

April 1, 2020: Kasia J. Gonnerman, previously of Vanderbilt University, became the second dean of UAB Libraries.

April 2020: With the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, UAB opened a COVID Respiratory Clinic for patients who had tested positive for coronavirus but who had not been admitted to a clinical facility and who had remained at home. The clinic was operated by the Division of Infectious Diseases and the Department of Family and Community Medicine. It was housed in the former Regions Bank branch location, located on the street level of the parking deck of The Kirklin Clinic.

May 1-2, 2020: Due to the university's Limited Business Model implemented because of the COVID-19 pandemic, UAB provided virtual only commencement ceremonies for graduating students.  Graduate degrees were awarded during an online-only ceremony on Friday the first, undergraduate degrees were awarded during an online-only ceremony on Saturday the second.

May 2020: Upon the retirement of Brian D. Shoop, Perry Roth became the interim head coach of the Men's Baseball team.

June 26, 2020: Terri Del Conte became the new head coach of Women's Beach Volleyball.

June 29, 2020: Governor Kay Ivey announced programs to provide COVID-19 testing and symptom monitoring for the state's public higher education institutions.  The programs were developed by and are being led by UAB and the Alabama Department of Public Health and are being supported by funding obtained through the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (CARES Act).  The Testing for Alabama initiative will provide testing for every college student attending a public four-year or two-year college prior to the student's reentry to campus.

July 1, 2020: The University of Alabama Board of Trustees approved the creation of the UAB Health System Authority.  Dr. William Ferniany became the first Chief Executive Officer of the new authority.  He was also named as the CEO of the new UAB Health System/Ascension St. Vincent's alliance.

July 2, 2020: Betsy Freeburg became the head coach of Women's Volleyball.

July 2020: Dr. Jeffrey W. Holmes became the seventh dean of the School of Engineering. Dr. Holmes came to UAB from the University of Virginia.

July 2020: Joe Guthrie became the fourth head coach of Softball. He had previously served as an assistant/associate coach for the team.

July 2020: Reid F. Jones became the new Chief Executive Officer of UAB Medicine.  Jones, a long-time UAB employee and UAB alumnus, retained his position as COO of UAB Hospital.

August 1, 2020: Dr. Kecia M. Thomas became the third dean of the College of Arts and Sciences.  Dr. Thomas came to UAB from the University of Georgia.

August 2, 2020: Returning from the International Space Station (ISS), the SpaceX Dragon capsule carried two UAB freezers on its return to earth. The Glacier freezer unit had been aboard the ISS since April 2014 and the Polar freezer unit had been aboard the station since July 2019. The Polar unit had been designed by the UAB Engineering and Innovative Technology Development team.

September 3, 2020: UAB Blazers defeated the Central Arkansas Bears 45-35 before a crowd of 12,000 at Legion Field. This was the first FBS game held in the country during an unusual COVID-19-affected 2020 football season.

September 17, 2020: Michael Brock was elected to the University of Alabama Board of Trustees.  W. Stancil Starnes was elected president pro tempore of The University of Alabama Board of Trustees.

September 2020: For the fifth consecutive year, UAB set an enrollment record with a total of 22,563 students, an increase of 2.19 percent from the previous year. The number of graduate students increased by 6 percent to 7,512 students.

October 1, 2020: Dr. Michelle A. Robinson of the School of Dentistry became interim dean of the School of Education. Dr. Robinson had previously served as interim dean of dentistry from May 2018 until June 2019. She was the first faculty member to have served as an interim dean of two academic schools at UAB.

December 2020: UAB adopted the Okanagan Charter, becoming the first higher education institution in the US to adopt the charter and become a member of the Health Promoting Campuses Network.

December 2020: William Dahlberg became interim General Manager of WBHM-FM Radio.

2020: During the fall, UAB students in the Science and Technology Honors Program, in conjunction with the UAB Sustainability office, created a monarch butterfly waystation at the corner of 10th Avenue South and 14th Street adjacent to the university's new Honors Hall. It is only the second certified monarch butterfly habitat within the city of Birmingham.

February 5, 2021: The University of Alabama Board of Trustees approved the closure of seventeen research centers and institutes at UAB.

February 9, 2021: Forbes named UAB as the best large employer in the nation. The university was at the top of a list of more than 500 public and private corporations, universities, and companies.

April 2021: Two small beehives complete with two queen bees and some 40,000 worker bees were installed in the UAB Gardens to increase pollination in the campus and Southside area. The bee waystation is located in a fenced area across from the UAB Solar House.

April 30, 2021: Dr. Robert M. Centor presented the fifty-seventh Distinguished Faculty Lecture, “The Importance of Clinician Educators.” Because of the global COVID-19 pandemic, the lecture was presented virtually in an online platform.

April 30/May 1, 2021: Because of the continuing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, UAB held outdoor commencement ceremonies at Birmingham’s Legion Field, the first time at that venue and the first outdoor ceremony in UAB history. Graduate students attended a ceremony on April 30 and undergraduate students attended a ceremony on May 1. UAB students who had graduated during virtual-only ceremonies in 2020 were invited to participate.

May 14, 2021: Kari Bellville became the head coach of the Women's Golf team.

May 2021: UAB and the Birmingham Organizing Committee for the 2022 World Games announced that UAB would provide some of the housing needed by athletes, coaches, and officials and the university would host several competitions at UAB venues during the World Games, to be held in Birmingham July 7-17, 2022. Lacrosse would be held on the PNC Field, Tug of War at the track facility, and racquetball and squash in the University Recreation Center. UAB Medicine would be the official sponsor for medical services during the World Games.

June 3, 2021: Justin DeSanto became the head coach of Men's Tennis.

June 2021: For the fourth time, UAB Medicine received the LGBTQ Healthcare Equality Leader designation for 2020 from the Human Rights Campaign Foundation.

June 2021: Casey Dunn was named as the fifth head coach of the Men's Baseball team. Dunn had previously served as head coach at Samford University.

July 6, 2021: Ann Alquist became executive director and the fifth General Manager of WBHM-FM Radio. Alquist came to UAB from Rhode Island Public Radio.

July 14, 2021: Matt P. Whall became the eighth head coach of the Men's Golf team.

September 17, 2021: Kenneth O. Simon was elected to the University of Alabama Board of Trustees.

September 28, 2021: The University of Alabama Board of Trustees approved the renaming of the medical school as the UAB Marnix E. Heersink School of Medicine following a gift of $95 million by Dr. Heersink and his wife, Mary. Dr. Heersink, of Dothan, Alabama, is a renowned eye surgeon, innovator, and entrepreneur. The Heersink gift, which is the largest single gift in the history of UAB, will also create the university's Marnix E. Heersink Institute of Biomedical Innovation and the Mary Heersink Institute for Global Health.

September 2021: For the fiscal year of 2021, UAB received more than $848 million in extramural research grants and awards, a one-year increase of 33 percent. UAB ranked in the top three percent of all universities in the US and each of the six health science schools ranked in the top 10 in National Institutes of Health funding awarded to public universities.

September 2021: UAB reported a fall enrollment of 22,000 students and a record first-time student class of 2,415 freshmen. Total enrollment was down approximately 2.4 percent, but freshmen enrollment increased 12 percent.  The UAB student body was 42 percent minority.

October 2, 2021: UAB hosted Liberty University in the inaugural game held in the new Protective Stadium in the Uptown Neighborhood in downtown Birmingham. The Blazers fell to the Liberty Flames 36-12 before an announced attendance of 37,167.

November 1, 2021: Dr. Lisa Schwiebert from the Department of Cell, Developmental and Integrative Biology, became the interim dean of the UAB Graduate School.

November 5, 2021: The University of Alabama Board of Trustees approved the renaming of UAB's on-campus soccer field as PNC Field.

November 18, 2021: A virtual open house was held for UAB's new Mary Heersink Institute for Global Health.

January 1, 2022: Dr. Selwyn M. Vickers became the fifth CEO of the UAB Health System, he retained his positions as dean of the Heersink School of Medicine and as Senior Vice President for Medicine.

January 2022: Upon the retirement of Doreen C. Harper, Dr. Linda Moneyham became the interim dean of the School of Nursing.

January 2022: The UAB Health System entered into a management relationship with Northwest Regional Health in Winfield, Alabama.

March 8, 2022: The University of Alabama System Board of Trustees approved the sale of the engineering division of the UAB-affiliated Southern Research Institute (SRI) to Kratos, a national aerospace company headquartered in Delaware. Dr. Joshua Carpenter, president of SRI, explained to the board that the sale would allow SRI to "narrow our focus to life sciences, an abiding strength of UAB."

March 29, 2022: Dr. Smita Bhatia presented the fifty-eighth Distinguished Faculty Lecture, "The Art of Surviving and Thriving."

March 30, 2022: The inaugural Rickwood College Classic was held at Birmingham's historic Rickwood Field, the oldest surviving ballpark in the US. The UAB Blazers defeated Birmingham-Southern 10-4.

April 8, 2022: The University of Alabama Board of Trustees approved the closure of ten research centers and institutes at UAB.

May 3, 2022: Dr. Casey Weaver, a professor of pathology, was elected to membership in the National Academy of Sciences, the third UAB faculty member to be so honored.

June 1, 2022: Dr. Maria Rodriquez Shirey became the fifth dean of the School of Nursing.

June 1, 2022: Dr. Shadi S. Martin became dean of the UAB Graduate School and vice provost for graduate and international education.

July 1, 2022: A.J. Daugherty was named as the fifth head coach of Softball.

August 1, 2022: Dr. Daryl Green became the sixth Chief of Police. He was recruited to UAB from the city force of Lansing, Michigan.

August 1, 2022: Upon the retirement of Bill Clark, Offensive Coordinator Bryant Vincent became the interim head coach of the Blazer football team. Vincent had served as Clark's assistant head coach.

August 23, 2022: Jesse Lawley became the head coach of the Women's Golf team. She had been a student athlete on the Blazer team.

September 16, 2022: Jeff Gronberg was elected to the University of Alabama System Board of Trustees.

September 2022: William Dahlberg became the executive director and General Manager of WBHM-FM Radio after having served in an interim capacity. Dahlberg had formerly served as the station's membership manager and deputy director.

September 2022: Fall enrollment totaled 21,639 students, a decrease of 2.92 percent from the prior year. UAB had enrollment decreases for undergraduate and master's students, but had an increase of 4.15 percent for doctoral students.

September 2022: Dr. Anupam Agarwal became, for the second time, acting dean of the Heersink School of Medicine and acting vice president for Medicine.

September 2022: UAB announced the receipt of a $10 million gift by alumnus J. Frank Barefield, Jr., the largest single donation by an alumnus in university history. The funds were split between the Collat School of Business and the Department of Criminal Justice. In recognition of the gift, The University of Alabama System Board of Trustees renamed the department as the Barefield Department of Criminal Justice, the first named academic department at UAB.

October 2022: Three UAB faculty members were named to the National Academy of Medicine, Drs. Marie-Carmelle Elie (Emergency Medicine), James M. Markert (Neurosurgery), and Alan T. N. Tita (OB/GYN).

December 2, 2022: Trent Dilfer became the sixth head coach of the Blazer football team. The former NFL quarterback and Super Bowl Champion (2000) had been named as the new coach two days beforehand.

2022: Donna Williamson became the seventh chair of the UAB Commission on the Status of Women.

January 18, 2023: Lisa Mann became the fourth head coach of Women's Soccer.

January 2023: Dr. Scott Snyder, a member of the faculty and the school's associate dean for Research, became the interim dean of the School of Education.

February 3, 2023: After having served in an interim capacity, Dr. Anupam Agarwal became Senior Vice President for Medicine and dean of the Heersink School of Medicine.

February 3, 2023: After having served in an interim capacity, Dawn Bulgarella became the sixth CEO of the UAB Health System. She was the first female selected to oversee the health system.

February 2023: UAB's economic impact on the Alabama economy was reported at $12.1 billion annually with an impact in the Birmingham area of $8.3 billion.  With nearly 28,000 employees, UAB remains as Alabama's largest single employer and it supports or sustains over 75,500 jobs in the Birmingham metropolitan region and one of every 20 jobs in the state of Alabama.  In addition, UAB affiliated Southern Research generated an additional economic impact of $221.8 million in the state.

April 3, 2023: Dr. Teresa Taber Doughty became the seventh dean of the School of Education.

April 12, 2023: Dr. Casey Weaver presented the fifty-ninth Distinguished Faculty Lecture, "Coming Full Circle."

May 5-6, 2023: UAB, the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, and Rotary International hosted the 2023 International Peace Conference in Birmingham.  Dr. Tina Kempin Reuter, director of the UAB Institute for Human Rights, was one of the conference organizers and hosts.

May 2023: The first patient to receive a uterus transplant at UAB gave birth to a baby boy, the first baby born out of the program of the UAB Comprehensive Transplant Institute and UAB Medicine. Drs. Brian Brocato, Deidre Downs Gunn, and Paige Porrett headed the team of physicians and staff.

July 1, 2023: Dr. Nicolaas Geurs became interim dean of the School of Dentistry.

July 1, 2023: UAB became a full member of the American Athletic Conference. The American is headquartered in Irving, Texas.

July 1, 2023: Dr. Christopher L. Shook became the seventh dean of the Collat School of Business.

July 31, 2023: A groundbreaking ceremony was held for Frances and Miller Gorrie Hall, the second phase of the Science and Engineering Complex.  Gorrie Hall is planned as the new home for the School of Engineering.

July 2023: Art patrons and UAB benefactors Lydia Cheney and Jim Sokol funded the first non-faculty endowed position at UAB, the Lydia Cheney and Jim Sokol Endowed Directorship of AEIVA. Incumbent John Fields became the first holder of the endowed directorship.

August 2, 2023: Dr. Jeanne Marrazzo, the director of the UAB Division of Infectious Diseases since 2016, was announced as the new director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), one of the distinct components of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

August 17, 2023: Delaney Clesen announced as the fifth head coach of Women's Beach Volleyball.

August 17, 2023: A ribbon cutting ceremony served as the official opening of the East and South Science Halls, the first phase of the Science and Engineering Complex.

August 25, 2023: Travis Pope became the head coach of Cross Country and assistant coach of Track and Field.

August 26, 2023: Grammy Award-winner T-Pain headlined a Welcome Back Concert on the Campus Green as part of Blazer Welcome, a four-week celebration for the new academic year. Rapper Nando STL was the concert’s opening act.

August 30, 2023: Ezequiel Gils became the head coach of Men's Tennis.

September 1, 2023: Scott M. Phelps was elected president pro tempore of the University of Alabama Board of Trustees.

September 18, 2023: Lou Baverso became the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of the UAB Health System following the retirement of Reid F. Jones. Baverso, who was recruited to UAB from the University of Pittsburgh, assumed responsibilities for the management of UAB Hospital, ambulatory services (the clinical component of UAB Medicine), the UAB Callahan Eye Hospital, and several related support services.

September 2023: UAB was recognized as one of the 2023 Great Colleges to Work For by Modern Think, a human capital consulting firm.

September 2023: Fall enrollment totaled 21,160 students. The UAB student population was 63.1 percent female and 36.3 percent male.

November 3, 2023: J. Steven Roy was elected to the University of Alabama Board of Trustees.

November 2023: UAB announced a record-breaking $774.5 million in extramural research grants and awards for fiscal year 2023, an 8.2 percent increase from the previous year. The amount is an increase of 73 percent over a nine-year period. UAB remains in the top one percent of all institutions receiving funding from the National Institutes of Health, with over $413 million received for the year.

December 22, 2023: Dr. Michelle A. Robinson became the interim provost and senior vice president for Academic Affairs following the retirement of Dr. Pam Benoit.

2023: The Dora and Sanjay Singh Cultural Arts Fund was established at UAB to support global programming and educational outreach by UAB Arts Alliance. It was named in honor of major UAB benefactors.

February 1, 2024: Dr. Janet Woodruff-Borden became provost and senior vice president for Academic Affairs. Dr. Woodruff-Borden was recruited to UAB from the University of Oregon.

February 2, 2024: The University of Alabama System Board of Trustees approved the change in name of the School of Education to the School of Education and Human Sciences. Dr. Teresa Taber Doughty remained as dean of the newly renamed UAB school. The renaming was announced publicly in May.

March 17, 2024: In their inaugural season as conference members, the Men's Blazer Basketball team defeated the Temple Owls 85-69 to win the American Athletic Conference championship tournament. The conference's 10th anniversary tournament was held in Fort Worth, Texas. The Blazers had a season record of 23-11 and earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament as champions of the American Conference.

April 1, 2024: General Counsel Sid J. Trant became the interim chancellor of the three-campus University of Alabama System.

April 30, 2024: A ribbon-cutting ceremony officially opened the UAB Early Learning Center, an $11 million on-campus facility for use by UAB employees and students. The Center can house 228 children and 46 infants and includes an exterior playground. The UAB Early Learning Center is located on 10th Avenue South.

May 1, 2024: Dr. Cheri L. Canon became the tenth president of the University of Alabama Health Services foundation and the chief physician executive for the UAB Health System. She was the first female to hold those positions.

June 1, 2024: After serving as interim dean for the past year, Dr. Nicolaas Geurs became the tenth dean of the School of Dentistry.

June 7, 2024: The University of Alabama System Board of Trustees approved three new research centers for the UAB Heersink School of Medicine, the Center for Lung Analytics and Imaging Research (CLAIR), the Center for Integrative Structural Biology, and the Center for Neuroengineering and Brain-Computer Interfaces.

June 7, 2024: Charlie Hoyle became the ninth head coach of the Men's Golf team.

June 25, 2024: UAB announced it would be acquiring the Ascension St. Vincent's Health System after unanimous approval by the University of Alabama System Board of Trustees. UAB will obtain all Ascension St. Vincent facilities in Birmingham as well as those in Jefferson, Blount, Chilton, and St. Clair counties, including the Trussville Freestanding Emergency Department and the One Nineteen Campus. Some 5,000 employees and clinicians will transition to UAB upon completion of the sale, planned for fall 2024, and all the facilities will be rebranded as UAB St. Vincent's.

June 28, 2024: A groundbreaking ceremony was held for the new Biomedical Research and Psychology Building, a planned eight-story, $190 million project to be built along University Boulevard between the Hill Student Center and Volker Hall.

July 5-10, 2024: UAB Medicine served as the official medical partner for the Transplant Games of America which was hosted in Birmingham.

July 11, 2024: A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held for the new UAB Medical West hospital, located off Interstate 459 in the Bessemer-McCalla area. The nine-story facility has 200 beds, 12 operating rooms, and is adjacent to a seven-story medical office building. UAB Medical West opened for patients on August 3rd. Keith Pennington is the CEO of the hospital..

July 2024: Dr. Paulette Patterson Dilworth was appointed first vice president for Access and Engagement.

August 7, 2024: Taylor Smartt was named as the sixth head coach of Softball.

September 2024: Fall enrollment totaled 20,905 students. Doctoral and master level student enrollment increased, but the undergraduate enrollment decreased from 2023.

 

Chronology maintained by Tim L. Pennycuff and last updated 18 September 2024

 

• 2020s