University of Alabama at Birmingham President Ray L. Watts delivered the annual State of the University address Tuesday, Oct. 30, in the Alumni Theater in the Hill Student Center.
The public event, sponsored by the Faculty Senate, offered the opportunity for the UAB community to hear about UAB’s progress during the past year firsthand and ask questions.
Among the successes of the past year, Watts highlighted UAB’s No. 1 Young U.S. University and Top 10 Worldwide ranking from the Times Higher Education; the early success of the “UAB. Powered by will.” marketing campaign, which showcases the determination of the university’s faculty, staff and students; UAB’s third straight year of record enrollment; several new majors established and new ones to come; the success of The Graduate School and its 13 programs ranked among the nation’s top 25; research funding successes; and the U.S. News & World Report’s 2018-2019 Best Hospitals ranking, which ranked UAB Hospital No. 1 in Alabama, with 10 specialties listed among the nation’s top 50; the creation of the new Grand Challenge initiative; unprecedented accomplishments in athletics, including the football team’s 7-1 start to the 2018 season, which is the best in school history; and many other achievements.
One of the highlights was also the recognition of the university’s first Emmy® award for “Outstanding Sports-Feature Segment,” which was announced at the 2018 Southeast Regional Emmy® Awards in Atlanta this past summer.
Watch the entire State of the University presentation above, including the question and answer session with those in attendance at the end.