About the University

Our Mission

Our Vision

Our Strategic Goals

The goals identified here are pillars of our Strategic Plan. They are designed to be high-level in nature and are built on the assumption that campus units will base their planning efforts on this overarching strategic plan. Some of the strategies necessary to facilitate the University’s plan are college and department based, while others are Universitywide initiatives.

• Provide a premier undergraduate and graduate education that offers a global perspective and is characterized by outstanding teaching, high-quality scholarship, and distinctive curricular and co-curricular programs.
• Increase the University’s productivity and innovation in research, scholarship, and creative activities that impact economic and societal development.
• Enrich our learning and work environment by providing an accepting, inclusive community that attracts and supports a diverse faculty, staff, and student body.
• Provide opportunities and resources that facilitate work-life balance and enhance the recruitment and retention of outstanding faculty and staff.

Location

The University of Alabama is located in Tuscaloosa, a city with a metropolitan population of more than 100,000 in the west-central part of the state. The post office address of The University of Alabama is Tuscaloosa, AL 35487. University grounds include about 1,400 acres. The University maintains a governmental relations office in Montgomery. Separate campuses of the University have been established in Birmingham and Huntsville. These campuses are known as The University of Alabama at Birmingham and The University of Alabama in Huntsville.

Divisions of the University

Vice Presidents' Offices

• Academic Affairs
• Community Affairs
• Opportunities, Connections and Success
• Finance and Operations
• Research and Economic Development
• Strategic Communications
• Student Life
• University Advancement

Academic Units

• College of Arts and Sciences
• Culverhouse College of Business 
• College of Communication and Information Sciences
• College of Community Health Sciences
• College of Education
• College of Engineering
• Graduate School
• Honors College
• College of Human Environmental Sciences
• School of Law
• Capstone College of Nursing
• School of Social Work

Support Units

• Capstone Center for Student Success
• Capstone International Center
• Center for Instructional Technology
• Libraries at The University of Alabama
• Oak Ridge Associated Universities
• Office of Disability Services
• Office of Information Technology
• Office of Institutional Research and Assessment
• Office of Teaching Innovation and Digital Education
• Office of Undergraduate Admissions
• Office of the University Registrar
• Technology and Testing
• University of Alabama Press
• University Writing Center

Accreditation

The University of Alabama is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) to award baccalaureate, masters, educational specialist, and doctorate degrees. The University of Alabama also may offer credentials such as certificates and diplomas at approved degree levels. Questions about the accreditation of The University of Alabama may be directed in writing to the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges at 1866 Southern Lane, Decatur, GA 30033-4097, by calling (404) 679-4500, or by using information available on SACSCOC’s website (www.sacscoc.org).

In addition, selected programs have been accredited by the AACSB International-The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business; ABET.-Engineering Accreditation Commission; Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care; Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communication; American Bar Association; American Library Association; Alabama State Department of Education; Alabama Department of Public Health; Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education; American Psychological Association; Council on Academic Accreditation in Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology; Commission on Accreditation of Athletic Training Education; Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics; Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education; Commission on English Language Program Accreditation; ABET - Computing Accreditation Commission; Council on Social Work Education; Council for Interior Design Accreditation; Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Education Programs; Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation; National Association for the Education of Young Children; National Association of School Psychologists; National Association of Schools of Art and Design; National Association of Schools of Music; National Association of Schools of Dance; National Association of Schools of Theatre; Council on Education for Public Health; Commission on Accreditation for Marriage and Family Therapy Education; and NASPAA – Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs, and Administration. 

History of the University

1818-1820

In 1818, the federal government authorized Alabama Territory to set aside a township for the establishment of a "seminary of learning." Alabama was admitted to the Union on March 2, 1819, and a second township was added to the grant. On December 18, 1820, the seminary was officially established and named "The University of the State of Alabama."

1827

Tuscaloosa, then the state's capital, was chosen as the University's home.

1831

On April 12, inaugural ceremonies were held, and on April 18 the first students began to enroll. By May 28, 52 students had enrolled. The campus consisted of seven buildings: two faculty houses, two dormitories, the laboratory, the hotel (now Gorgas House) and the Rotunda.

1837

The University of Alabama became the first in the state to offer engineering classes. It was one of the first five in the nation to do so and one of the few to have continuously maintained accreditation since national accreditation began in 1936.

1841

President's Mansion was completed. Its first occupant, Basil Manly, was the University president from 1837 to 1855.

Total University enrollment: 63

1850

Alabama Alpha chapter of Phi Beta Kappa established.

1851

Total University enrollment: 126

1859

Medical College branch of the University opened in Mobile.

1860

The University of Alabama became a military school — martial departmental and disciplinary systems established.

1861

Total University enrollment: 154

1865

Union troops spared only seven of the buildings on the UA campus. Of the principal buildings remaining today, the President's Mansion and its outbuildings still serve as the president's on-campus residence. The other buildings have new uses. Gorgas House — at different times the dining hall, faculty residence and campus hotel — now serves as a museum. The Roundhouse, then a sentry box for cadets and later a place for records storage, is a campus historical landmark. The Observatory, now Maxwell Hall, is home to the Computer-Based Honors Program.

1868

The Medical College reopens in Mobile.

1871

During the Reconstruction era, a reorganized University opened to students.

Total University enrollment: 107

1872

The School of Law was established.

1881-82

Antecedents of the UA College of Engineering were established with the offering of a formal, two-year course of study in civil engineering under the aegis of applied mathematics in 1837. The College of Engineering was established in 1909 with the opening of B.B. Comer Hall.

Total University enrollment: 154

1891

Total University enrollment: 167

1892

The University's first football team assembled — the "Thin Red Line" that later became the "Crimson Tide."

1893

The first female students enrolled for the fall semester at the University. This was due in large part to the successful lobbying of the UA board of trustees by Julia S. Tutwiler. Tutwiler, then president of the Livingston Normal College for Girls, was a lifelong advocate of women's rights to be self-supporting members of society.

1894

The student newspaper, The Crimson White, makes its first appearance.

1901

Total University enrollment: 396

1903

In March, the Alabama Legislature decreed that, after 30 years of student protest, the military system of organization at the University be abandoned.

1904

A summer school for teachers began in response to a need for better public education in Alabama, becoming the School of Education in 1909. The College of Education was established in 1929.

1906

At the University's diamond jubilee celebration, President John William Abercrombie presented to the board of trustees his plans for the Greater University fund-raising campaign, thus ensuring that the state legislature would no longer be the primary source for financing the University's growth.

1909

To meet the demands for specific training in two professions, the College of Engineering and the School of Education were established. Formerly part of the liberal arts disciplines, these new offspring would function independently of the now-reorganized College of Arts and Sciences.

1910

The Alabama Museum of Natural History in Smith Hall was dedicated. Smith Hall served as a geological museum for the University's growing collections and still houses the Museum today.

1911

Total University enrollment: 571

1912

Dr. George Denny became University president; the campus consisted of 652 students and nine principal buildings. His presidency began an era of unprecedented physical and enrollment growth. When he retired in 1936, there were more than 5,000 students and 23 major buildings which now form the central core of the modern campus.

1914-15

The University band was organized.

1919

The School of Commerce was founded. It became the College of Commerce and Business Administration in 1929. It was renamed the Culverhouse College of Commerce and Business Administration in 1997. In 2013, the name was shortened to the Culverhouse College of Commerce. In 2018, the name was changed to the Culverhouse College of Business.

1920

The Medical College moved from Mobile to Tuscaloosa.

1921

Total University enrollment: 2,134

1924

The Graduate School was officially established.

1929

Denny Chimes was dedicated. Named for Dr. George H. Denny, president of the University from 1912 to 1936.

1931

The School of Home Economics was officially established. It became the College of Human Environmental Sciences in 1987.

Total University enrollment: 4,639

1939

Moundville Archaeological Park and its museum opened to the public.

1941

Total University enrollment: 4,921

1945

The Medical College moved from Tuscaloosa to Birmingham.

The University Press was formed.

1948

Introduction of doctoral programs was authorized; first doctorates awarded in 1952.

1951

Total University enrollment: 5,269

1956

The University of Alabama's first African-American student, Autherine J. Lucy, was admitted. She was expelled three days later "for her own safety" in response to threats from a mob. In 1992, Autherine Lucy Foster graduated from the University with a master's degree in education. That same day, her daughter, Grazia Foster, graduated with a bachelor's degree in corporate finance.

1961

Total University enrollment: 8,257

1963

The first sustained enrollment of African-American students at UA — Vivian J. Malone and James A. Hood — was achieved. Vivian Malone graduated in 1965. James Hood returned to campus in 1995 and received a PhD in interdisciplinary studies in 1997.

1965

The School of Social Work was established.

1968

The Computer-Based Honors Program, in which undergraduate students apply computer technology to research in a wide range of fields, was established.

1969

The Graduate School of Library Service was established by act of the Alabama Legislature. It became the School of Library and Information Studies in 1989. The School merged with the College of Communication in 1997 to become the College of Communication and Information Sciences.

1970

New College was established to allow students to pursue individualized courses of study while maintaining the academic standards of the University.

1971

The College of Community Health Sciences was established.

Total University enrollment: 13,055

1973

The School of Communication was established. It became the College of Communication in 1988 and, when it merged with the School of Information Sciences, was renamed the College of Communication and Information Sciences in 1997.

1976

The Capstone College of Nursing was established.

1981

The University celebrates its sesquicentennial.

Total University enrollment: 16,388

1985

The MFA Program in Book Arts, with specializations in printing and binding, was established within the School of Library and Information Studies. It was one of only three in the country to offer such an MFA, and the only one do so within the context of a library school.

1986

The University Honors Program was established.

The University's computerized library card catalog, AMELIA, became available for use.

1991

Total University enrollment: 19,366

1994

The Stallings Center opened as the new home of the RISE Program.

1996

The Blount Undergraduate Initiative was established (first freshman class accepted in 1999).

1998

The Second Capital Campaign was concluded, having raised a total amount of $224 million in gifts and pledges.

International Honors Program was established.

Modeled on UA's RISE Program, the RISE School of Dallas, Texas, opened.

Renovation of Bryant-Denny Stadium was completed, increasing capacity to 82,000.

1999

The Student Services Center was completed.

Renovation of Sewell-Thomas Baseball Field to a capacity of 6,000 seats began.

First freshman class accepted in Blount Undergraduate Initiative. Parker-Adams Hall serves as its temporary headquarters.

2000

English major Bradley Tuggle from Decatur, Ala., named UA's 15th Rhodes Scholar.

Historic Barnard Hall rededicated as Oliver-Barnard Hall, the first of two Blount Undergraduate Initiative academic houses.

Construction of 1,500-seat UA Softball Complex completed.

Blount Living-Learning Center opens to its first resident class.

Construction of Alabama Institute for Manufacturing Excellence (AIME) completed.

Dance Theatre reopens after $1 million renovation, the first since its construction in 1911.

2001

UA alumnus Lt. Col. Jim Kelly pilots a Discovery space shuttle mission.

For the third consecutive year, the UA School of Law ranked among the best in the nation, according to U.S. News & World Report.

UA and Auburn University form the "Alabama-Auburn Alliance" to support fair funding of higher education.

Tide Navigator, a Web-based registration system that is the first of its kind in the United States, debuts with incoming freshmen.

Total University Enrollment: 19,633

2002

UA Alumni Association establishes FATE: Future Alumni for Tradition and Excellence.

Crimson Tradition Fund established with $10 million gift by Paul Bryant Jr.

UA named one of the top 50 public universities in the nation by U.S. News & World Report for 2003.

UA student Kana Ellis of Northport, Ala., selected as the first recipient of the Honors Student of the Year Award by the National Collegiate Honors Council (NCHC).

College of Community Health Sciences breaks ground for its $12.6 million facility, designed to consolidate all services and operations of the Tuscaloosa medical campus.

2003

Greensboro East High School, in collaboration with UA, became the first high school in Alabama to establish a state-of-the-art Math Technology Learning Center.

Five students from UA 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.

UA recognized 40 "pioneers" during three days of events to commemorate the 40th anniversary of Gov. George C. Wallace's "stand in the schoolhouse door." Opening Doors, 1963-2003

UA named one of the top 50 public universities in the nation by U.S. News & World Report for 2004.

UA senior Rob Davis selected as one of three 2003 Portz Scholars in the National Collegiate Honors Council's competition for outstanding undergraduate Honors papers.

Total University Enrollment: 20,333

2004

University Medical Center, UA's new multi-specialty clinic and home of the College of Community Health Sciences, opened on May 11.

UA named one of the top 50 public universities in the nation by U.S. News & World Report for 2005.

Total University Enrollment: 20,969

2005

Five UA students named to the 2005 USA Today All-USA College Academic Team, the most of any school in the nation. UA's three-year total of 14 also tops all other colleges and universities.

2008

Seven UA students named to the 2008 USA Today All-USA College Academic Team, the most of any school in the nation. UA's total of 31 tops all other colleges and universities.

Total University Enrollment: 27,052

2009

UA is ranked 10th in the nation among public universities in the enrollment of National Merit Scholars for the 2009 freshman class.

Total University enrollment: 28,807

2010

UA is ranked 6th in the nation among public universities in the enrollment of National Merit Scholars for the fall 2010 freshman class.

With a record of 10 students named to USA Today's 2010 All-USA College Academic Team, UA leads the nation in placing students on the national team, having placed a total of 46 students on the team since 2003.

Total University enrollment: 30,232

2011

UA scores a perfect four out of four with Goldwater Scholars in 2011 as all four UA students who applied were named recipients of the elite academic award. In all, UA has claimed a total of 34 Goldwater Scholars in the past 25 years.

The 2011 entering freshman class, at 5,772 students, is the largest in UA history and includes 1,614 students who had a 4.0 or higher high school grade point average. The freshman class also included 181 National Merit Scholars, ranking the University second in the nation among public universities in the enrollment of National Merit Scholars.

Total University enrollment: 31,747

2012

Named among the top 50 public universities in the nation by U.S. News and World Report's annual college listing for more than a decade, UA ranks 31st among public universities, its highest ranking ever, for 2012.

The 2012 entering freshman class, at 6,397 students, is the largest and best qualified in UA history and includes 239 National Merit Scholars. 

UA's debate and forensics program wins its 19th national debate championship.

Three UA students are named Goldwater Scholars and one is named a Truman Scholar, increasing UA's totals for the last 25 years to 37 Goldwater Scholars and eight Truman Scholars. 

Total University enrollment: 33,602

2014

Enrollment at The University of Alabama reached a record high 36,155 students.

The freshman class included 6,856 students, a 5.8 percent increase over the previous fall.

The freshman class had an average ACT score of 26.1, the highest in UA history, and  included 135 National Merit Scholars and 20 National Achievement Scholars.

2015

The University of Alabama reached a record high of 37,100 for fall 2015. The entering freshman class, at 7,211 students, was the largest and best qualified in UA history.

More than one-third of the freshman class scored 30 or higher on the ACT, placing them in the top 5 percent of students taking the ACT.

The School of Law ranked 28th among all law schools in the nation for 2016. The School of Library and Information Studies ranked 18th nationally in the latest rankings for library schools. PRWeek Magazine recognized the public relations program in The University of Alabama’s College of Communication and Information Sciences as one of the top five programs in the nation six times. In addition, U.S. News and World Report ranked The University of Alabama’s Manderson Online Business Master’s programs 12th in the nation.

2016 

The Crimson Tide won its 16th national football championship. 

The UA Strategic Plan: Advancing the Flagship was announced.

2017

Enrollment: a record-setting 38,563.

Ground was broken for the first-of-its-kind Adapted Athletics Facility. 

2018 

UA earned its 17th national football championship. 

The University of Alabama is a leader among public universities nationwide in the enrollment of National Merit Scholars with more than 600 enrolled.

2019 

The Carnegie Classification listed UA among the top doctoral research universities in the nation. 

2020

Recognized as Top Producing Institution for Fulbright U.S. Student Award for fourth time

2021 

For the seventh consecutive year, UA earned record external funding for research and other sponsored activities. 

There were 32 major renovations and additions to campus, at a project value of $212+ million.  

2022

The University of Alabama set a new enrollment record of 38,645 students. 

Fall 2022 also marked a record enrollment of students of ethnic and racial minorities with 8,542 students, a more than 2% increase from 2021.

In 2022 the College of Continuing Studies was reorganized and renamed the Office of Teaching Innovation and Digital Education, or OTIDE. Established as a college in 1983, it had previously existed under various names, including Extended Services and the Division of Continuing Education.