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 13th 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 9th 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 21st 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.