2022 in review: Onward and upward

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The university achieved innumerable accomplishments this year, including two program 50th anniversaries, a milestone gift to the College of Arts and Sciences, and the announcement of a new conference for UAB Athletics.

Styslinger Groundbreaking

UAB broke ground in June 2022 on the new $78 million Altec/Styslinger Genomic Medicine and Data Sciences Building, which will accelerate advancements in precision medicine, informatics and data sciences — areas that represent the future of modern health care.

AAC Announce

UAB is one of six schools transitioning to the American Athletic Conference in July 2023, which will become a 14-team league. The conference move represents UAB Athletics' unprecedented momentum: "We've worked hard to make great progress that put us in this position, and we don't intend to slow down," Director of Athletics Mark Ingram said.

Oneal 50th

The O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center at UAB, the only National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center in Alabama and in a four-state region, celebrated its 50th anniversary this summer. And there's more to come: The NCI recently awarded O'Neal $27.5 million to support cancer research through 2026.

LHS Partners

Live HealthSmart Alabama welcomed its first group as designated partners; the inductees have shown their commitment to their employees by promoting a healthy lifestyle and encouraging physical activity breaks and healthy eating and hosting health and wellness sessions for team members.

WLL 50th

To commemorate its 50th year of language education at UAB, the Department of World Languages and Literatures — previously Foreign Languages and Literatures — also published a cookbook packed with 70 recipes contributed by department faculty and their loved ones.

Barefield

J. Frank Barefield Jr., president of Abbey Residential and chairman of Crime Stoppers of Metro Alabama, committed $5 million to name the UAB J. Frank Barefield, Jr. Department of Criminal Justice in the College of Arts and Sciences and $5 million to name the UAB J. Frank Barefield, Jr. Entrepreneurship Program in the Collat School of Business. It is the single largest gift from a UAB alumnus in the school’s history, a legacy intended to reduce crime and drive economic growth in Birmingham.

View From Pedestrian Bridge

Supported by a $76 million federal appropriation, a new Biomedical Research and Psychology Building is coming to UAB. The six-story, 165,000-square-foot facility will house the Department of Psychology and research-intensive departments from the Heersink School of Medicine.