Attend a town hall at the Alumni House at 10 a.m. March 19, 2025, for an important update on UAB’s Research Strategic Initiative: Growth with Purpose.

Developed as part of UAB’s Forging Ahead strategic plan and informed by the Campus Engagement Survey, the values — Collaborate, Act with integrity, Respect all and Excel — should “influence the decisions we make, the way we work and how we treat others,” said President Ray Watts.

After an extensive national search, UAB has appointed David Kimberlin, M.D., as associate vice president for Clinical Trial Operations, effective Jan. 1, 2025.

Learn more about the seven 2024 awardees, which received pledges for more than $12 million over three years. The SIF backs cross-campus projects — designed and led by UAB faculty and staff — that align with the university’s strategic plan, Forging Ahead.

James Rimmer, Ph.D., professor and inaugural Lakeshore Foundation Endowed Chair in Health Promotion and Rehabilitation Sciences in the School of Health Professions, has earned the 2024 Sam Brown Bridge Builder Award, which recognizes a UAB faculty member who engages in interdisciplinary, collaborative efforts across campus.

The 2024 honorees for the President’s Award for Excellence in Teaching represent each school, the College of Arts and Sciences, the Honors College, and the Graduate School.

UAB Chief Financial Officer Stephanie Mullins will serve as UAB’s inaugural Vice President for Strategic Initiatives, effective Oct. 1.

Two Tuesdays, Dec. 24 and Dec. 31, will be designated as paid holidays to enable UAB and UAB Medicine employees additional time to spend with their families and friends.

Funds for recruitment and retention, enhanced research capabilities, new leadership roles and new infrastructure for interdisciplinary collaboration are all fueling the initiative's bold vision of growing the UAB research enterprise to increase our positive impact on people’s lives.

Finding a new electronic research administration solution to replace IRAP, the current tool, was one of the five key priorities for immediate action as part of UAB's Research Strategic Initiative: Growth with Purpose. After approval by the University of Alabama System Board of Trustees early this month, UAB has selected an integrated, cloud-based platform that will be named myUABResearch.

The final report from UAB’s engagement with Huron Consulting and Urban Impact Advisors recommended forming six working groups to enable the goals of the Research Strategic Initiative: Growth with Purpose. In collaboration with the UAB deans and the chair of the Faculty Senate, the Executive Steering Committee has identified two co-chairs to lead each working group.

Missed the meeting? Find out about high-growth research areas, governance plans and more in this recap.

President Watts will share an important update on planning during a town hall on March 20. Several areas for improvement identified by stakeholders during the data collection phase last summer were immediately actionable and have already led to significant gains.

Ritika Samant, a first-year student in the Heersink School of Medicine who served as president of the Undergraduate Student Government Association at UAB in 2022-2023, received the 2023 President’s Award for Excellence in Support of UAB and Shared Governance.

UAB engages Huron Consulting Group and Urban Impact Advisors to assist in developing a research growth strategic plan.

Provost and SVP for Academic Affairs Pam Benoit, Ph.D., will retire at the end of 2023, concluding a distinguished career in higher education administration that includes almost seven years as a transformational leader at UAB. 

Christopher L. Shook, Ph.D., who will begin July 1, brings more than 25 years of academic leadership experience to the role; he has served as dean of the Gordon Ford College of Business at Western Kentucky University since 2019.

UAB continues to implement its Campus Master Plan through new facilities and renovations to enhance instruction, research, technology and student life. Some are under construction and others are in planning stages; these include an update to the Unity Park green space, seven new buildings and a new parking deck.

Teresa Taber Doughty, Ph.D., who will begin April 3, brings to the role extensive experience in higher education and a demonstrated commitment to preparing outstanding education professionals; she has served as dean of the University of Texas at Arlington’s College of Education since 2016.

Chemistry Professor Jacqueline Nikles, Ph.D., has proven herself highly qualified at all levels of instruction, according to her peers and students.