The center of identity and community for the University Honors Program is the Spencer Honors House, a historic church located near the center of the UAB campus at 1190 10th Avenue South. The church was built in 1901 and was used by different religious denominations throughout its storied history. In the 1970s it was used by the Alabama Ballet company as a rehearsal space for performances which included those of Mikhail Baryshnikov. The University Honors Program was founded in 1983 and was initially housed in a house further down Tenth Avenue South. With the guidance of the founding director, Dr. Ada Long and the hard work of the initial class of honors students, the church was transformed into a useable space for our fledgling honors program in 1984.

With a generous gift from Virginia B. and William M. Spencer, the honors house underwent a major renovation in 2000 and was renamed the Spencer Honors House. All of the instructional and social activities of the University Honors Program take place in the Spencer Honors House, and students have access to it 24/7/365 as a place for studying, meeting, and relaxing.

The house features:

• a large classroom with a large screen audio-visual system
• two seminar rooms
• faculty and staff offices
• a kitchen
• Mac and PC computer clusters
• a recreation area with pool and ping-pong tables
• two pianos
• rooms for study and relaxation
• WiFi access throughout the house