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UAB Archives |
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Chronology of the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB)
and its Predecessor Institutions and Organizations, 1831-
(Please contact the UAB Archives for additional information.)
Copyright 1996-2008, The University of Alabama Board of Trustees.
The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) traces its roots to the 1859 founding of the Medical College of Alabama and the 1936 opening of the Birmingham Extension Center of The University of Alabama. In 1945 the Medical College of Alabama was moved from Tuscaloosa to Birmingham and the University's Medical Center was founded. Later, in November of 1966, the Extension Center and the Medical Center were merged to form the "University of Alabama in Birmingham," an organizational component of The University of Alabama (in Tuscaloosa). In 1969 UAB became an independent institution, one of the autonomous universities within the newly created three-campus University of Alabama System.
Today, UAB is a comprehensive urban university with a nationally recognized academic health center. UAB is the only public, four-year degree granting university in the state's largest metropolitan area. UAB is the largest research institution in the state of Alabama and, with more than 18,000 employees, is the largest employer in Birmingham.
A comprehensive chronology of the history of The University of Alabama at Birmingham and its predecessor entities is found below.
Select one of the following to skip to a specific time period.
1900, 1920, 1940, 1950, 1960, 1970, 1980, 1990, 2000
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 became the 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.
1860: The first class graduated from the Medical College of Alabama after a one-year term. Samuel Watson Acton was the first of fourteen graduates.
1861: Classes suspended at the Medical College of Alabama due to the Civil War.
November 1868: Classes that had been suspended during the Civil War resumed at the Medical College of Alabama in Mobile.
1869: Following the resumption of class, four students graduated from the Medical College of Alabama after a one-year term.
January 1884: A group of Birmingham women met at the First Methodist Episcopal Church South and formed the Daughters of the United Charities.
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.
1893: The Medical College of Alabama lengthened its requirement for graduation from a two-year to three-year course.
June 9, 1894: The Birmingham Medical College was organized as a proprietary school and was incorporated by the State legislature.
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.
December 1, 1894: The Hospital of the United Charities (predecessor of the Hillman Hospital) burned to the ground.
1895: The first graduating class of the Birmingham Medical College was composed of one student, W. J. Clark, who graduated after a one-year term.
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.
1898: Dr. Benjamin L. Wyman, Sr., became the second dean of the Birmingham Medical College.
1899: The Birmingham Medical College lengthened its requirement for graduation to a four-year course.
1900: The Medical College of Alabama lengthened its requirement for graduation from a three-year to four-year course.
October 28, 1901: Ullman High School opened. The building is the oldest structure remaining on the UAB campus.
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.
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.
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 facilities maintenance.
March 6, 1907: The medical college dissolved its own board of trustees, and The University of Alabama Board of Trustees gained sole control over the Mobile program.
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.
1912: Dr. Lewis C. Morris, Sr., became the third dean of the Birmingham Medical 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.
1912: Dr. George H. Denny became president of The University of Alabama and served until 1936.
1913: Hillman Hospital Annex was completed.
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.
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 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.
1925: Jimmie Ethel Montgomery and Ruth F. Robertson (later Berrey) received B.S. degrees in Medicine from The University of Alabama, thus becoming the first female graduates of 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.
January 1930: Dr. R. F. Lovelady was named the first full-time superintendent of Hillman Hospital.
September 14, 1936: The University of Alabama opened its Birmingham Extension Center in an old house at 2131 6th Avenue North. For the first term, 116 students enrolled.
1936: Dr. Edward K. Austin became first director of the University of Alabama Birmingham Extension Center.
1936: Dr. James W. McQueen was named superintendent of Hillman Hospital.
1937: Dr. Richard C. Foster became president of The University of Alabama and served until 1941.
April 11, 1938: Cornerstone was laid after construction began on the Hillman Hospital Outpatient Clinic Building.
December 1938: Groundbreaking was held for Jefferson Hospital.
November 19, 1939: Hillman Hospital Outpatient Clinic Building was dedicated.
1939: The University of Alabama's Birmingham Extension Center had four full-time faculty members and an enrollment of 365 students.
December 26-30, 1940: Jefferson Hospital was dedicated.
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.
1942: Dr. Raymond R. Paty was named president of The University of Alabama and served until December 1946.
March 30, 1942: The 10th and 11th 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 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.
February 16, 1944: The Governor's (Chauncey Sparks) Building Commission adopted a resolution locating the new four-year medical school in Birmingham.
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. It 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.
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.
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.
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: 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 along South 20th Street were acquired for use as student dormitories and 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: The first class to graduate from Birmingham with medical degrees had twenty-one students, including Virginia Dare Hamilton, the first female to obtain an MD degree from the Medical College of Alabama.
1946: The University of Alabama's 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 Phillips High School from the city.
March 12, 1947: Groundbreaking was held at the Medical Center for the Jefferson County Public Health Building.
October 9, 1947: Alabama Act 678 appropriated funds of $750,000 for the operation of the University of Alabama School of Dentistry.
1947: Succeeding Acting President Ralph Adams, Dr. John M. Gallalee became president of The University of Alabama and served until 1953.
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.
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: The Jefferson County Public Health Building was dedicated adjacent to the Medical Center.
January 25, 1950: The first general meeting of the Jefferson-Hillman Hospital Auxiliary was held. Mrs. John M. 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 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 the first graduate degree (in pharmacology) awarded through the Medical Center.
June 27, 1950: Dr. Roy R. Kracke, medical dean, died.
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.
December 7, 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 Masonic Temple. "Born Yesterday" starred Tommy Dix, a star of Broadway and Hollywood.
1950: Dr. Tinsley R. Harrison became chair of the Department of Medicine and acting dean of the Medical College of Alabama.
1950: School of Practical Nursing, a nine-month program, was established at Jefferson-Hillman Hospital.
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.
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 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: 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 Center.
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 1956.
1953: Milton Odean Otwell graduated from the University Hospital School of Nursing, becoming the first male graduate of the hospital's nursing program.
May 30, 1954: Claudia Holcombe Heard became the first female graduate of the School of Dentistry.
June 6, 1954: The new University of Alabama Extension Center building was completed adjacent to the Medical Center.
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.
1954: Research grants at the Medical Center totaled $240,000.
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.
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.
1955: Dr. Robert C. Berson was appointed first vice president for Health Affairs and dean of the Medical College of Alabama.
1955: Dr. Joseph F. Volker was appointed director of Research and Graduate Studies and continued as dean of the dental school.
1955: "Candles in the Canebrake" was the first Town and Gown production held in its new home on South 26th Street.
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: University Hospital and Hillman Clinic operating costs reached almost $3,500,000.
1955: A Medical Center Advisory Board was established.
January 31, 1956: Louis V. Clark Memorial Theatre was officially dedicated as home to Town and Gown Theatre.
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.
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.
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, 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 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.
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.
August 1, 1959: Groundbreaking was held for a psychiatric clinic made possible by a gift from Joseph S. and Bertha Pizitz Smolian.
September 1959: Groundbreaking for Fort Mortimer H. Jordan Alabama National Guard 109th Evacuation Hospital Armory was held.
October 18, 1959: Luther Leonidas Hill Heart Center was dedicated.
November 1959: Groundbreaking ceremonies for Children's Hospital were held.
1959: Research grants, training grants, and fellowships at the Medical Center exceeded $1,000,000.
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.
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 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 in the Medical Center.
October 9, 1960: The Psychiatric Clinic was dedicated.
December 9, 1960: The Health Sciences Research Building was dedicated.
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.
August 9, 1962: Groundbreaking was held for the Engineering Building.
July 1962: The Medical Center Apartments opened.
July 1962: Spain Rehabilitation groundbreaking ceremony was held.
July 1962: Eye Foundation Hospital groundbreaking ceremony was held.
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.
1962: The General Clinical Research Center was established at the Medical Center with a grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
1962: Drs. Wayne H. and Sara C. Finley received a grant from the NIH to establish a cytogenetics laboratory at the Medical Center.
January 9, 1963: 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 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.
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: Dr. James T. Montgomery became the first African American physician to be granted staff privileges at University Hospital.
1963: Extramural grants and contracts at the Medical Center totaled $3,888,514.
1963: Dr. Clifton O. Dummett became the first African American appointed to a faculty position in the dental school.
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.
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.
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: 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.
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, becoming the first African American graduate of The University of Alabama system.
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 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.
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.
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 University of Alabama Extension Center programs were elevated to the four-year College of General Studies, but remained a branch of The University of Alabama. Dr. George W. Campbell was named first dean.
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.
November 1966: Dr. Joseph F. Volker was named vice president for Birmingham Affairs.
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: 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.
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: Cardiovascular Research and Training Center established with grant from the National Heart Institute.
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.
July 1967: A groundbreaking was held for the Center for Developmental and Learning Disorders.
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. J. Pat Cather was the first editor.
1967: The Myocardial Infarction Research Unit, later renamed the Specialized Center for Research in Ischemic Heart Disease, was established.
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 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.
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).
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. Herschell Lee Hamilton became the first African American board-certified general surgeon at University Hospital.
1968: Dr. W. Paul Brann was named first vice president for Fiscal Affairs.
1968: The Regional Maxillofacial Prosthetics Treatment and Training Center was established.
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.
April 1, 1969: Dr. Keith D. Blayney became director of the School of Health Services Administration.
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.
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 distinct 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.
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 became first dean of the School of Optometry, the first optometry school in the nation to be integrated into a medical center.
August 1969: MIST (Medical Information Service via Telephone) was created at the UAB Medical Center.
August 1969: Medical Center Annex, formerly the Cullom Apartments, was demolished to build the Kahler Plaza Hotel.
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.
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.
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.
January 30, 1970: Groundbreaking was held for University College Building No. 1, the Education Building.
February 11, 1970: The College of General Studies Senate was formally organized.
February 19, 1970: The first NCAA intercollegiate sports team, golf, 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."
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 16, 1970: The first social sorority, Alpha Sigma Tau, was formally established at UAB.
May 17, 1970: The Ellen Gregg Ingalls Eye Research Institute was dedicated adjoining the Eye Foundation Hospital.
June 7, 1970: In ceremonies held at the Birmingham Municipal Auditorium, UAB awarded its first degrees as an autonomous university. Dr. Joseph F. Volker, UAB president, received the University's first honorary degree. Ronald T. Acton received a Ph.D. in Microbiology, thus becoming the first person to receive a degree from the new University of Alabama in Birmingham.
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 Spence became librarian of the College of General Studies.
July 1970: Dr. John B. Dunbar became the first vice president for Student and Community Affairs.
July 1970: Groundbreaking was held for University College Building No. 2, the Physical Sciences Building.
September 1970: Richard Rudolph, Jimmie Walker, Jr., and Wilson Wright, Jr., became the first African American students in the School of Dentistry.
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: Dr. Alan R. Dimick established the UAB Burn Center.
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.
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 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 1971: UAB Chorus gave its first campus concert.
May 1971: A groundbreaking ceremony was held for University College Building No. 3 (the Humanities Building) and for the University College Library (Sterne Library).
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 consisting of four academic schools: Arts and Sciences, Business, Education, and Engineering.
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.
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.
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.
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: Ballet House opened in renovated Second Presbyterian Church.
1971: UAB was accredited as an independent institution of higher education by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS).
1971: The Carri-Don Lectureship was established by Carrie and Don Marshall of Birmingham.
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.
June 1972: UAB Regional Spinal Cord Injury Care System was established.
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 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 former 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.
1972: Air Force ROTC first became available to undergraduate students through a cooperative program with Samford University.
1972: Pi Kappa Alpha was chartered as the first social fraternity at UAB.
1972: Payroll for UAB's 6,000 employees topped $50 million.
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."
May 20, 1973: Dedication ceremonies were held for University College Buildings No. 1, No. 2, and No. 3.
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.
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 three divisions comprising the School of Arts and Sciences were elevated to the Schools of Humanities, Natural Sciences and Mathematics, and Social and Behavioral Sciences.
June 7, 1973: Dr. Frederick W. Conner named first dean of the School of Humanities.
June 7, 1973: Dr. Roger W. Hanson named first dean of the School of Natural Sciences and Mathematics.
June 7, 1973: Dr. George E. Passey named 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.
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: University College Library was dedicated.
October 1973: Groundbreaking was held for the Physical Education Facility.
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 Bookstore opened in former Utopia Cleaners building at 806 South 15th Street.
1973: University of Alabama Hospitals and Clinics was renamed The University of Alabama Hospitals.
1973: UAB became Birmingham's second largest employer.
1973: The University of Alabama Board of Trustees approved a resolution naming the University College Library after Birmingham businessman and philanthropist Mervyn H. Sterne.
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."
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: Edward M. Holmes, Jr., Pavilion of the Spain Rehabilitation Center was dedicated.
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.
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.
April 20, 1975: Mercy Hospital was renamed Cooper Green Hospital.
June 4, 1975: Groundbreaking was held for the Roberts Annex at Clark Memorial Theatre.
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, "The 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: 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.
June 1, 1976: The Ambulatory Dialysis Center opened at 516 South 20th Street.
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.
1976: Dr. Joseph F. Volker was named the first chancellor of three-campus University of Alabama System.
1976: Dr. Florence M. Monroe was named the first General Manager of WBHM-FM Radio.
1976: The Center for Aging was established.
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.
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 5, 1977: Joyce S. Madison became the first African American female to graduate from the School of Dentistry
June 14, 1977: Dr. S. Richardson Hill, Jr., announced that 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.
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 Blazers joined the Sun Belt Conference.
1977: Sports Medicine Institute established as an official UAB center.
1977: UAB licensed for manufacture and resale its first invention, a reagent used to measure enzyme lipase in the blood that was developed by Drs. Leo M. Hall and James E. Myrick.
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 opened.
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 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.
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.
May 1978: Dr. John D. Jones became first vice president for Student Affairs.
June 4, 1978: Terrence Nelson 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 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) approved by The University of Alabama Board of Trustees as an official UAB Center.
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 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: The Medical Education Building opened.
1978: The Nephrology Research and Training Center was established.
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: UAB Pain Treatment Center was formally established as an official center although the program had originated in the late 1960s.
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 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 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 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.
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.
1979: Center for Nursing Research was established.
1979: Dr. James Rachels was named third dean of the School of Humanities after serving as interim since 1978.
1979: The Muscular Dystrophy and Myasthenia Gravis Center established.
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.
January 11, 1980: John J. Sparkman Center for International Public Health Education was dedicated.
January 1980: A groundbreaking ceremony was held for the Hulsey Center for Arts and Humanities.
March 5-7, 1980: The Center for Advanced Medical Studies was dedicated.
March 15, 1980: Dr. Milly 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 15, 1980: Dr. Lee R. Summerlin became interim dean of the School of Natural Sciences and Mathematics.
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.
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.
January 21, 1981: The Cystic Fibrosis Research Center was established at UAB. In 1986 it 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.”
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.
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.
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: The entering class size of the School of Medicine was decreased to 150.
1981: Center for Communications Research was established.
1981: The University of Alabama Board of Trustees expanded from eight to fifteen members.
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 UAB Blazer Basketball Team won their first Sun Belt Conference title.
March 13, 1982: Men's UAB Blazer Basketball Team reached the round of 16 in the NCAA basketball playoffs.
April 30, 1982: The Hulsey Center for Arts and Humanities officially opened.
June 3, 1982: A groundbreaking was held for the Susan Mott Webb Nutrition Sciences Building.
November 12, 1982: Dr. Max D. Cooper delivered the nineteenth Distinguished Faculty Lecture, "Of Mice, Men, and Chickens."
1982: Laboratory for Special Cancer Research opened at 550 South 11th Street.
1982: Dr. Joseph F. Volker retired as first chancellor of The University of Alabama System and returned to UAB as a distinguished professor.
1982: Dr. Thomas A. Bartlett became the second chancellor of The University of Alabama System.
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.
May 21, 1983: UAB held its first telephone student registration in a pilot program sponsored by the Office of Registration and Academic Records.
June 1983: The UAB Critical Care Transport Service began.
August 1983: The UAB Conference Center was renamed the Carrie D. and Don V. Marshall Conference Center.
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.
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.
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 full-time African American 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.
September 1, 1984: Lung Health Center was established.
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: 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: 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.
April 15, 1985: New baseball field was officially dedicated as the Jerry D. Young Memorial Field.
April 25, 1985: 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 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.
September 26, 1985: Telecommunications Education and Research Center approved by The University of Alabama Board of Trustees.
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 established.
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 Atlantic City.
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."
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.
April 3, 1986: UAB Epilepsy Center and Geriatric Education Center were formally instituted by The University of Alabama Board of Trustees.
April 3, 1986: The Lister Hill Center for Health Policy and the Center for Nuclear Imaging Research were established.
May 1986: UAB acquired the Mary Lewis Convalescent Home, a 45-bed facility.
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: UAB Injury Control Research Center was established.
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 and the Center for Reproductive Health and Genetics were established.
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.
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.
January 22, 1987: Parkinson's Disease Association Information and Referral Center, established in 1986, was approved by The University of Alabama Board of Trustees.
February 18, 1987: The Neurobiology Research Center was established.
April 2, 1987: Dr. Charles A. McCallum, Jr., became third president of UAB.
April 1987: Mickey Pizitz Memorial Pool opened as an addition to Spain Rehabilitation Center.
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.
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 established.
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: Center for Reproductive Health and Genetics opened in renovated Byrd Building.
1987: The School of Humanities was renamed the School of Arts and Humanities; Dr. Theodore M. Benditt remained as dean.
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.
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.
May 19, 1988: UAB Arena was dedicated.
May 1988: The Center for Neuroimmunology was established.
June 1988: Dr. Dick D. Briggs became acting president of The University of Alabama Health Services Foundation.
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.
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 9, 1988: The Center for AIDS Research was established.
December 1988: Dr. Dick D. Briggs became the third president of The University of Alabama Health Services Foundation.
1988: Regional Ectodermal Dysplasia Diagnosis and Treatment Center was created.
1988: The first heart-lung transplant in Alabama was performed at University Hospital.
1988: Dr. Max D. Cooper was elected to membership in the National Academy of Sciences, the first UAB faculty member to be so honored.
1988: Dr. Terry L. Hickey named dean and co-director of the Graduate School.
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 27, 1989: UAB celebrated $100 million in active grants and contracts.
July 1, 1989: Dr. L. Clark Taylor, Jr., became administrator of University Hospital.
September 22, 1989: 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 13, 1989: The groundbreaking ceremony was held for the Civitan International Research Center.
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: Dr. Philip E. Austin became third chancellor of The University of Alabama System.
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.
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.
January 1, 1990: Effective on this date, all buildings, grounds, offices, parking lots, and parking decks at UAB became smoke free.
April 1990: Dr. Juan M. Navia became second dean of the School of Public Health.
June 5, 1990: Groundbreaking was held for the Bevill Biomedical Research Building.
June 22, 1990: UAB Vaccine Center was established.
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: 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.
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 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: The Ben S. Weil Endowed Chair of Industrial Distribution was established in the School of Business as the first non-medical endowed chair at UAB.
1990: The first use of a monoclonal antibody to treat rheumatoid arthritis occurred at University Hospital.
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.
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 3, 1991: The Teaching and Learning Center established.
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.
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: Center for Psychiatric Medicine received approval from The University of Alabama Board of Trustees as an official UAB center.
September 21, 1991: The UAB football team gained its first win with a 22-21 victory over Washington and Lee.
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.
December 13, 1991: Alzheimer's Disease Center established.
December 1991: UAB Clinic Inverness opened.
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: The first Bone Marrow Transplant was performed at UAB.
1991: Dr. Joan F. Lorden received the first Carolyn P. and Charles W. Ireland Prize for Scholarly Distinction.
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.
February 1992: The UAB Arena office towers opened.
February 4, 1992: Michael L. Morgan became third General Manager of WBHM-FM Radio.
April 28, 1992: A new facility for the Smolian International House was dedicated.
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 25-July 9, 1992: Dr. Lawrence J. DeLucas participated in a NASA space mission aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia.
June 30, 1992: Center for Psychiatric Medicine was dedicated.
July 1, 1992: Dr. Charlie W. Scott became interim dean of the School of Medicine.
July 14, 1992: Civitan International Research Center was dedicated.
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.
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.
1992: Nancy W. Clemmons became acting director of the Lister Hill Library of the Health Sciences.
1992: Dr. John N. Whitaker became the fourth president of The University of Alabama Health Services Foundation.
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 25, 1993: UAB Comprehensive Head Injury Center renamed Southeastern Comprehensive Head Injury Center.
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 and the UAB Liver Center were established.
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."
1993: Central Bank Building was renovated and renamed the UAB Administration Building.
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.
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. Brian Wilson was the first drum major/field conductor; Clifford "Ski" Winter, an associate professor of music, was first director of bands.
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.
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 9, 1994: The Center for Health Promotion 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 head football coach at UAB.
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 established.
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.
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.
September 1995: Carol 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.
October 27, 1995: T. Scott Plutchak became fourth director of the Lister Hill Library of the Health Sciences.
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 established.
December 14, 1995: The Comprehensive Sickle Cell Center and the Sexually Transmitted Diseases Cooperative Research Center were formally established by The University of Alabama Board of Trustees.
1995: New Co., a limited liability company directed by Jim Little, was formed to establish a network of primary-care physicians in Alabama.
1995: Physical Sciences Building was renamed the Chemistry Building.
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.
1995: A new university-wide faculty senate was organized.
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 6, 1996: Blaze the dragon, UAB's new mascot, made its first public appearance during a basketball game at the UAB Arena.
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.
April 19, 1996: Center for Biomedical Sciences was renamed UAB Biomedical Implant Center by The University of Alabama Board of Trustees.
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, was named 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.
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 Blazer football team lost to Auburn in its first 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 University of Alabama System effective October first.
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 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 Howell and Elizabeth Heflin Center for Human Genetics and the UAB Laser and Photonics Research Center were approved by The University of Alabama Board of Trustees.
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.
1996: Dr. Albert W. Niemi, Jr., became third dean of the School of Business.
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.
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.
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 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, the first female president in the history of the three-campus University of Alabama System.
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.
October 2, 1997: Ground was broken for the Richard M. Scrushy Building, future home of 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.
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 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.
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.
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: 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.
June 26, 1998: The Center for Community Outreach Development and the Southeast Center of Excellence in Geriatric Medicine were approved by The University of Alabama Board of Trustees.
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 School of Natural Sciences and Mathematics.
July 1998: Dr. Jane F. Milley was named interim dean of the School of Arts and Humanities.
August 1998: Dr. Shirley Salloway Khan named interim vice president for Development, Alumni, and External Relations.
September 19, 1998: In the largest crowd to view a UAB football game at Legion Field, 30,543 people saw the 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 third 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.
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 and the Gene Therapy Center were approved by The University of Alabama Board of Trustees.
March 1999: UAB ranked 28th in the nation and fourth in the South in the list of universities receiving federal research and development funding.
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 Town and Gown Theatre and UAB's use of the Clark Memorial Theater on Hatcher Place.
June 25, 1999: Sidney L. McDonald was elected president pro tem 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 21, 1999: Drs. Anton J. Bueschen and Carlton J. Young performed the 5,000th 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 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 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: Active extramural grants and contracts at UAB totaled $286,950,782.
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 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.
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.
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 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 Olym