Alabama

  • Auburn University today is a comprehensive land, sea and space grant institution – among the few that hold that distinction – occupying more than 1,840 acres and helping fulfill the dreams of nearly 25,000 students. The university began, though, as the small, more humble East Alabama Male College, which was chartered in 1856 and opened its doors in 1859 as a private liberal arts institution. From 1861 to 1866 the college was closed because of the Civil War. The college had begun an affiliation with the Methodist Church before the war. Due to dire financial straits, the church transferred legal control of the institution to the state in 1872, making it the first land-grant college in the South to be established separate from the state university. It thus became the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Alabama.
  • Founded in 1967 and located in Alabama’s capital city, Auburn University at Montgomery has distinguished itself as the college of choice for students in Alabama’s River Region and beyond. In 2019, Auburn University at Montgomery earned a No. 33 ranking among regional public universities in the South from US News & World Report. AUM received recognition by US. News as the most ethnically diverse campus in Alabama, and the 13th most diverse in the South region – with more than 40 nationalities represented. Accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, AUM offers more than 90 undergraduate and graduate degree programme and certifications. Students can join the verdant, 500-acre campus, learn at their convenience in an online setting or experience a blend of both through hybrid course delivery.
  • The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) traces its roots to the 1859 founding of the Medical College of Alabama and the 1936 opening of the Birmingham Extension Center of the University of Alabama. In 1945 the Medical College of Alabama was moved from Tuscaloosa and the University's Medical Center was founded in Birmingham. In 1954 the Extension Center was moved to a newly constructed facility adjacent to the Medical Center, bringing together for the first time the University's two academic components in Birmingham. Later, in November of 1966, the Extension Center and the Medical Center were administratively merged to form the 'University of Alabama in Birmingham', an organisational component of the University of Alabama (in Tuscaloosa). In 1969 UAB became an independent institution, one of the autonomous universities within the newly created three-campus University of Alabama System. Today, UAB is a comprehensive urban university with a nationally recognised academic health centre. UAB is the only public, 4-year degree-granting university in the state's largest metropolitan area. UAB is the largest research institution in the state of Alabama and is the largest single employer in the state. A comprehensive chronology of the history of the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) and its predecessor entities is found below. Underlined and bolded items in this list may be selected to see portraits or photographs about the specific person or event.
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