1.1 History

The University of Alabama was projected in the Constitutional Convention in Huntsville, Alabama Territory, on June 5, 1819. The University was opened for admission of students on April 8, 1831, at Tuscaloosa.

During the first half of the twentieth century, in addition to its regular educational programs at the Tuscaloosa campus, the University began to offer additional educational opportunities to citizens in the urban communities throughout Alabama. Extension centers, open for both day and night classes, were established in Birmingham, Huntsville, Montgomery, Mobile, Dothan, and Gadsden. The Birmingham and Huntsville centers were the nuclei for the two new University campuses which were later established in addition to the Tuscaloosa campus.

The first extension classes were offered in Birmingham in September 1936. The major growth in Birmingham activities began in 1945 when the medical school was moved from the Tuscaloosa campus and a new medical center was established. In 1954 a new building for the extension program was completed adjacent to the growing and rapidly expanding medical center, and for the first time the University’s Birmingham operations were combined physically within the same geographic area.

In September 1966, all University operations in Birmingham were designated as The University of Alabama in Birmingham by the Board of Trustees, with the University Extension Center’s being transformed into a four-year, degree-granting branch of the campus in Tuscaloosa. Two months later, a vice president for Birmingham Affairs was named with administrative responsibilities for all operations in Birmingham; he reported directly to the president of The University of Alabama.

In June 1969, the campuses were given independence within the framework of The University of Alabama System. By this action, The University of Alabama in Birmingham became one of the three major autonomous campuses of the University system, with each campus having its own administrative structure with a president as the chief executive officer. The new three-campus system included The University of Alabama, The University of Alabama in Birmingham, and The University of Alabama in Huntsville, which had been established in 1964 as a four-year school. In 1984, the name of The University of Alabama in Birmingham was changed to The University of Alabama at Birmingham.

1.2 Governance

The University of Alabama System is governed by a Board of Trustees. The System has a Chancellor and a full-time staff which provide liaison with the campus administrations for the Board and its various committees. Each campus has its own appropriate organization.

1.2.1 Board of Trustees

The Board of Trustees Bylaws, Article I, Sections 1 and 2, state:

The Board consists of the Governor of the State of Alabama, ex-officio, who serves by virtue of the respective office, three members elected by the Board from the congressional district in which the Tuscaloosa campus is located, and two members elected by the Board from each of the other congressional districts in the State of Alabama as those districts were constituted on January 1, 2018. The Governor shall serve only while holding the office of Governor. Elected Trustees shall hold office for a term of 4. six (6) years, commencing on the date of their election except as modified below. When the term of any Trustee shall expire, or in case of a vacancy by death or resignation of a Trustee, or from any other cause, the remaining Trustees shall elect a successor by secret ballot; provided, that any Trustee so elected shall hold office from the date of his election until his confirmation or rejection by the Senate, and, if confirmed, until the expiration of the term for which elected and until his successor is elected, or, in the case of a vacancy, for the unexpired term for which he was elected and until his successor is elected. If the Senate should reject the name of any Trustee, it shall thereupon elect Trustees in the stead of those rejected. Neither the existence nor continuation of a vacancy in the office of a Trustee shall serve to impair or hinder any provisions of these Bylaws or the validity of the operations and actions of the Board by virtue of that vacancy alone. A Trustee shall not serve more than three consecutive full six (6) year terms on the Board.

The Board has delegated to each campus President the authority to administer the policies and programs of that institution. A System Council, composed of the Chancellor and the three Presidents and selected members of the System staff, makes recommendations to the Board concerning matters affecting the common interests of The University of Alabama System. They also act on matters of intercampus significance not requiring Board approval.

1.2.2 The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB)

The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) is governed by its President in accordance with Board rules and System policies and was accredited as an independent educational institution in 1970 by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. The accreditation was reaffirmed in 1984, 1994, 2005, and 2015. Individual schools and programs at UAB have been accredited, where appropriate, by independent accrediting groups.

UAB includes the following academic units [defined as schools, libraries, and colleges]:

1) Collat School of Business

2) College of Arts & Sciences

3) Honors College

4) School of Dentistry

5) School of Education

6) School of Engineering

7) School of Health Professions

8) Heersink School of Medicine

9) School of Nursing

10) School of Optometry

11) School of Public Health

12) The Graduate School

13) UAB Libraries