The University of Alabama

The University of Alabama Summary

The University of Alabama (also known as Alabama, UA or colloquially as ‘Bama) is a public coeducational university located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA. Founded in 1831, UA is the flagship campus of the University of Alabama System. UA is the senior doctoral university and as of 2006 the largest university in the state. It is one of the state’s three major research universities, along with academic and athletic rival Auburn University and the much younger University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). (The state’s other law schools at Samford University and Faulkner University, as well as the independent Miles Law School and Birmingham School of Law, are all private institutions.) Other academic programs unavailable elsewhere in Alabama include doctoral programs in anthropology, library and information studies, metallurgical and material engineering, music, Romance languages, and social work. The General Assembly of Alabama established the seminary on December 18, 1820, named it “The University of the State of Alabama,” and created a Board of Trustees to manage the construction and operation of the university. The board chose Tuscaloosa, then-capital of Alabama, as the site of the campus in 1827 and opened its doors to students on April 18, 1831, with the Reverend Alva Woods as President. However, Alabama, a frontier state a sizable amount of whose territory was still in the hand of various Native American tribes until the 1840s, scarcely had the infrastructure to adequately prepare students for the rigors of university education. There were around 100 students per year at the University in the 1830s. Discipline and student behavior was a major issue at the university from almost the day it opened. The University had one of the largest libraries in the country on the eve of the Civil War (more than 5000 volumes). To combat the severe discipline problem, president Landon Garland lobbied and received approval from the legislature in 1860 to transform the university into a military school. The university reopened in 1871 and in 1880, Congress granted the university 40,000 acres (162 km²) of coal land in partial compensation for $250,000 in war damages. In June 2003, the university marked the fortieth anniversary of the “schoolhouse door” incident by hosting “Opening Doors,” a three-day event to salute the sacrifice and commitment of the courageous individuals who took a stand for racial change at a crucial time in its history. The eight divisions of the University granting undergraduate degrees are: Degrees in those eight divisions at the master’s, specialist, and doctoral level are awarded through the Graduate School. The College of Community Health Sciences provides advanced studies in medicine and related disciplines and operates a family-practice residency program in association with the University of Alabama School of Medicine. Four University of Alabama buildings survived the Civil War: Gorgas House, Maxwell Hall (the Old Observatory), the Little Round House (Civil War lookout post), and the President’s Mansion. The university also maintains the University of Alabama Arboretum in eastern Tuscaloosa and the Dauphin Island Sea Lab at Dauphin Island. As of the fall semester of 2006, the university has a total enrollment of 23,878 undergraduate, professional, and graduate students. The University of Alabama was named a top 50 public university in the nation by U.S. News & In 2003, five students from the University were named to the 2003 USA Today All-USA College Academic Team. UA students garnered the most awards of any college or university, claiming five of 83 spots on the list. Four students were named to the 2004 team, five students were named to the 2005 team, and six students were named to the 2006 teams. UA’s School of Law ranks as one of the top law schools in the southeast, as it has been named one of the top 50 law schools in the United States several years in a row by U.S. News and World Report. The law school boasts prestigious alumni such as United States Supreme Court Justice Hugo Black, long time Alabama senator Howell Heflin, and both current U.S. Senators from Alabama (Richard Shelby and Jeff Sessions). In 2004-2005, the last year for which statistics are available, the University of Alabama ranked: 94th (out of 113) in support staff; With more than 23,000 students enrolled, the university has a healthy student life component, although many students complain that increasing enrollment without a commensurate increase in the size of the faculty has led to excessively large class sizes in some areas. Greek letter organizations first appeared at the University in 1847 when two men visiting from Yale University installed a chapter of Delta Kappa Epsilon. Women at the University founded the Zeta Chapter of Kappa Delta sorority in 1903. In the spring of 2003, one of the largest and fastest growing multicultural sororities in the nation, Delta Xi Phi Multicultural Sorority, Inc., founded a chapter at the University. Also in 2003, Alpha Delta Sigma was founded at the University of Alabama. This was the first social sorority ever to be founded at the University, as well as the first sorority to emphasize diversity. In April 9th, 2006 the University of Alabama Colony of Sigma Lambda Beta was established, making it the first fraternity of its kind in the State of Alabama. However, all student publications are editorially independent of the University. Alabama maintains athletic rivalries with Auburn University and the University of Tennessee. There are also rivalries with Louisiana State University (football and baseball), Mississippi State University (men’s basketball), and the University of Georgia (women’s gymnastics). The University of Alabama football program is the most nationally notable of all intercollegiate athletics programs. Nearly synonymous with Alabama football is legendary coach Paul “Bear” Bryant whose record at the University of Alabama was 232-46-9. Alabama has 7 NCAA Sweet 16 appearances and in the 2003-04 season the University of Alabama’s men’s basketball team reached the Elite Eight in the NCAA tournament; it ended up losing to the national champion of that year, the University of Connecticut. The women’s gymnastics squad at the University of Alabama first competed in 1975.

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The University of Alabama Academics

Specific academic support services were not reported, although many helpful ones do exist. In addition, when any student is looking for some counseling or other types of support, the school’s counseling services can help. For all that, specific