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School of Natural Sciences and Mathematics

The First Decade

New Lights in the Valley

Tennant S. McWilliams

University of Alabama Press, 2007

UAB Archives, Tim L. Pennycuff, Archivist

Office of Planning and Analysis, Renea S. Graves

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Until September 15, 1966 the Birmingham activities of University of Alabama were:

► the Extension Center, dating from 1936

► the University of Alabama Medical Center, dating from 1944

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University of Alabama President Frank Rose at the Extension Center Building

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But on September 15, 1966 President Frank Rose invited all faculty members in Birmingham to a meeting, where he said . . . .

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As of this afternoon, the various components of the University of Alabama in this city will be known as the University of Alabama in Birmingham, to include:

The School of Medicine, the School of Dentistry, the School of Health Services Administration, University Hospitals and

Clinics, and the College of General Studies.

Goodbye Extension Center! Hello College of General Studies!

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Extension Center changes to College of General Studies

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This was not autonomy for UAB! Joe Volker was Vice-President for Birmingham Affairs, reporting to President Rose.

George Campbell became Dean of the College of General Studies.

Complete programs leading to the Tuscaloosa degree were to start four months later - January 1, 1967.

A Planning Group started work to recommend the structure of CGS.

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College of General Studies December, 1966

CGS

Bus Admin

Educ EngrSocSci

HUMAlliedHealth

NS&M

Four professional divisions, three others

The Fall 1966 planning group elected not to have a conventional arts and sciences college.

Divisions

Hanson

George Campbell, Dean

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Roger Hanson – Division Director, NS&M

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Departments within Division of NS&M

NS&M

BY CHEM MATH PHYS

Dagg Levedahl Rayl Bauman

Roger Hanson

Division Director

Departments

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When I interviewed here on November 20 1967 Dean G. W. Campbell and Dr. Roger Hanson were on my schedule, in the Engineering building

I arrived June 1, 1968

I was applying for a research position in the Medical Center, but I had enjoyed teaching physics and wanted to continue. When I told George Campbell this, his face lit up!

Bob Bauman offered me a secondary appointment in Physics and I volunteered to teach Introduction to Modern Physics in the Fall Quarter 1968.

8:00 – 10:05pm Tuesdays and Fridays

No Good Deed Shall Go Unpunished!

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June 16, 1969 Governor Albert Brewer announced that effective September 1970 the various operations of the University of Alabama would be organized as a three-campus system . . .

Joe Volker became President of UAB

each campus would be autonomous within the context of a system and each would have its own president reporting to the UA Board.

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UAB

We would now award our own degrees

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PLUS: We had our own President

PLUS: We would award our own degrees

MINUS: No more football tickets!

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1969 1979

Undergrad: 3,800 9,000

Grad: 520 4,000

CGS Faculty was also expanding – in NS&M:

1969: Agresti, Young, Stocks

1970: Rosen, Watkins

1971: Marion, Hutchison

1972: Summerlin

1973: Shealy, Wills, Bearce

A decade of rapid student growth began:

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In 1969 there were only two buildings, “CGS” and Engineering . . .

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…but in 1970-71, under the urban renewal program, we inherited the Bell-Ullman and WBHM buildings

and broke ground for 4-building cluster.

Building 2 was completed July 1972.

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Fall 1971: At a convocation in the Engineering Building

President Volker announced a change in the name of

The College of General Studies

to

University College

Later experience showed that the name was unfortunate! (misunderstood and hurt recruiting)

George Campbell became VP for University College

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Reorganization Fall 1971

UnivCollege

Bus Admin

Engr Arts & Sciences

Hum

Educ

SocSciNS&M

Schools

Deans

Divisions

Campbell VP

Fred Conner

Interim dean

Division directors: Conner Hanson Passey

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In Fall 1971 reorganization Fred Conner reluctantly became Interim Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences.

By August 1972 Conner wrote Volker in no uncertain terms that (a) as a person with long experience in arts and sciences education, he viewed the UAB unit as too cumbersome and administratively unnecessary; and (b) he would be resigning from the arts and sciences dean post.

Volker formed a planning group to assess the organizational structure for arts and sciences: Campbell, Brann, French and John Munro.

Apart from Campbell, none had ever had experience in high-level arts and sciences education.

They urged Volker to stick with the “revered” organizational structure, a School of Arts and Sciences “all under one roof”

But Volker went with Conner’s recommendation.

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Reorganization June 7 1973

UnivCollege

Bus Admin

Educ Engr S&BSNS&MHum

Hanson

Schools with deans

Campbell, VP

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More Buildings!

► 1975: UAB bought Medical Center Plaza building (aka Henry Building) and renamed it Building 4

► Occupants included Math Department (earlier in WBHM building).

► 1978: Campbell Hall opened, two floors only, occupants Biology and Psychology

► West half of Campbell Hall ground floor was Student Affairs

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Campbell Hall dedication, 1978

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Campbell Hall with only two stories

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Still More Buildings!

► c1986: two floors added to Campbell Hall; Math & Physics moved in.

► c1983: HUC opened, Student Affairs moved out of Campbell Hall

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Memo to Registrar: For Spring Quarter 1971, list the following five courses:

CS 1 Introduction to Computing – Barnard

CS 51 Computers and Programming – Reilly

CS 144 Analog and Hybrid Computing – Macy

CS 161 Information Retrieval – Hutchison

CS 221 Computer Architecture – Reilly and Barnard

Within a couple of years we had taught the entire curriculum and had the only comprehensive computer science instructional program in Alabama.

Meanwhile, a few blocks east, a small group of faculty associated with the Information Sciences Department saw the newly-published computer science curriculum and said

Yes We Can!

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A cluster of graduate programs for the Biophysical Sciences Division was approved in 1972 and we began admitting students to the Information Sciences Department.

1975-76 Annual Report showed cumulative total of 133 admitted, 66 active that year, 14 graduated with MS.

All but 4 of these students were employed full-time; few of them

were interested in medical applications.

Graduate Students

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Undergraduate Students

As a Medical Center Department there was no way we could propose a CS undergraduate major, but . . . .

Special Degree Programs► Undergraduates with career objectives, if they couldn’t find an

existing relevant major, could design their own.

► Required approval by a Dean.

About 30 students working towards a non-existent CS major!

► Roger Hanson was willing to sign.

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We were a Medical Center Department, bootlegging these undergraduate and graduate CS degree programs!

An uncomfortable, unsustainable situation!

By 1976 we were operating the only comprehensive computer science degree programs in Alabama with respectable numbers of students.

GOOD:

BAD:

CONCLUSION:

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In June 1976 Joe Volker was promoted to Chancellor of the three-campus system.

The following February Dick Hill was appointed UAB President.

With Roger Hanson’s encouragement, I drafted a memo for Dick to sign, transferring the Information Sciences Department to NS&M and changing the name to Computer and Information Sciences.

Dick signed it!!

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The un-natural science

in the School of Natural Sciences

and Mathematics!

So, in the summer of 1977 CIS became . . .

and the crown

jewel of NS & M

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CGS

Bus Admin

Educ EngrSocSci

HUMAlliedHealth

NS&M

UnivCollege

Bus Admin

Engr Arts & Sciences

Hum

Educ

SocSciNS&M

UnivCollege

Bus Admin

Educ Engr S&BSNS&MHum

1966

1971

1973History repeats itself, first as tragedy, second as farce.

Karl Marx

“too cumbersome and administratively unnecessary”

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