Check out the Spencer Honors House’s newly restored stained-glass windows, take a walk and view public art or find a green space to enjoy a book — all on-campus activities that can be done outside and at a distance.

When UAB celebrated its first commencement in June 1970, the university awarded 478 diplomas to its first graduating class. Now, with a second virtual commencement planned for August, summer 2020 graduates can contribute their best campus memories to make the online ceremony just as special.

In 1977, the world’s first effective treatment for a viral disease occurred at University Hospital when Richard Whitley, M.D., and Charles Alford developed vidarabine. Now, investigators across UAB have mobilized their research interests to help us better understand and fight coronavirus.

Beginning with iron lung treatments in the 1950s, UAB has long been committed to the respiratory health of its patients. That continues with its COVID Respiratory Clinic to better evaluate treatments needed for coronavirus patients.

Necessity may be the mother of invention, but UAB engineers are the ones who bring them to life.

In 1960, many incoming patients were first admitted to the Isolation Unit before transferring to another ward; there were fewer antibiotics at the time, and undiagnosed infections were more prevalent. Today, protecting patients in the time of coronavirus takes an even more complex and multilayered approach — including visitation restrictions and the use of negative airflow rooms.

In 1968, the Medical Center’s computing capability consisted of an IBM 1401 setup and IBM 729 Magnet Tape Units. Now, during limited operations, much of UAB’s mission-critical work is happening on thousands of computers — all of them not on campus.

In March 1947, officials broke ground in the medical center for a new building to house the Jefferson County Public Health Department (JCPHD), now the Jefferson County Department of Health. The department is working alongside UAB and other organizations to monitor closely the ongoing situation surrounding novel coronavirus COVID-19.

UAB Hospital has come a long way since 1929 — all the way to the America’s Best Hospitals list.

In the 1980s, UAB students studied at large tables in Mervyn H. Sterne Library. Today, the library is home to more interactive- and group-study spaces than ever before, plus new dean Kasia Gonnerman joining the Blazer family April 1.