Joseph F. Volker, (1913–1989) was the first chief executive of the University of Alabama at Birmingham, serving in that capacity from 1966 to 1976. Afterwards, he was the first Chancellor of the UA System, from 1976 to 1982. [1]
Volker served as dean of the Birmingham-based Alabama School of Dentistry from 1948 to 1962, except for a one-year break in 1961 as director of the Arizona Medical School Study. He became vice president for Health Affairs in 1962. In 1966, the University of Alabama Medical Center and the College of General Studies (formerly the Birmingham Extension Center) were merged as the University of Alabama in Birmingham. Volker became head of the merged institution as "Vice President of Birmingham Affairs," reflecting that UAB was still treated as an offsite department of the main campus in Tuscaloosa. With the creation of the University of Alabama System in 1969, UAB became a fully autonomous four-year institution, and Volker's title was changed to "president." [2]
As the first president of UAB he is remembered for his statement "We would do Birmingham a great disservice if we dream too-little dreams.", [3] [4]
Volker earned his DDS degree from Indiana University and his MS and PhD degrees in biochemistry from the University of Rochester, [5] where he conducted groundbreaking studies on the use of fluorides in the prevention of dental decay". [6]
The University of Alabama System is a public university system in Alabama that coordinates and oversees three research universities: University of Alabama (UA), University of Alabama at Birmingham, and University of Alabama in Huntsville. These universities enroll more than 70,000 students. The system employs more than 45,000 employees at its three campuses and health system making it one of the largest employers in the state.
The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) is a public research university in Birmingham, Alabama. Founded in 1969 and part of the University of Alabama System, UAB has grown to be the state's largest employer, with more than 24,200 faculty and staff and over 53,000 jobs at the university. The university is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity".
Lurleen Burns Wallace was an American politician who served as the 46th governor of Alabama for 16 months from January 16, 1967, until her death on May 7, 1968. She was the first wife of Alabama governor George Wallace, whom she succeeded as governor because at the time the Alabama constitution forbade consecutive terms.
Alabama State University is a public historically black university in Montgomery, Alabama. Founded in 1867, during the Reconstruction era, it was one of about 180 "normal schools" established by state governments in the 19th century to train teachers for the rapidly growing public common schools. It was one of 23 established to train African Americans to teach in segregated schools. Some of the 180 closed but most steadily expanded their role and became state colleges in the early 20th century and state universities in the late 20th century. ASU is a member-school of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund.
Patrick Joseph Sullivan was an American professional football player and college coach. An All-America quarterback for the Auburn Tigers, he won the Heisman Trophy in 1971 and then played six seasons in the National Football League (NFL) with the Atlanta Falcons and Washington Redskins. Sullivan was a head football coach at Samford University, a position he held from 2007 to 2014. He was previously the head football coach at Texas Christian University (TCU) from 1992 to 1997 and the offensive coordinator at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) from 1999 to 2006. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a player in 1991.
The University of Alabama at Birmingham Marnix E. Heersink School of Medicine is the medical school of the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) located in Birmingham, Alabama, United States with branch campuses in Huntsville, Montgomery, and Tuscaloosa. Residency programs are also located in Selma, Huntsville, and Montgomery. It is part of the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) and the UAB Health System, one of the largest academic medical centers in the United States.
The Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame (AJHF) is an organization and museum in Birmingham, Alabama, United States. It was founded in 1978, and opened as museum on September 18, 1993, with a mission "to foster, encourage, educate, and cultivate a general appreciation of the medium of jazz music as a legitimate, original and distinctive art form indigenous to America. Its mission is also to preserve a continued and sustained program of illuminating the contribution of the State of Alabama through its citizens, environment, demographics and lore, and perpetuating the heritage of jazz music."
Brasfield & Gorrie, LLC, headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama, is one of the United States' largest privately held construction firms, providing general contracting, design-build, and construction management services for a wide variety of markets. Founded in 1964, Brasfield & Gorrie has 12 offices and approximately 3,500 employees. Its 2022 revenues were $5 billion. Engineering News-Record ranks Brasfield & Gorrie 21st among the nation’s “Top 400 Contractors” for 2022. Modern Healthcare ranks the company No. 1 among healthcare general contractors in the nation.
Bruce Richard Korf is a medical geneticist at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. In April 2009, he began a two-year term as president of the American College of Medical Genetics (ACMG), a professional organization.
Don Logan is an American media executive from Hartselle, Alabama who lives in Birmingham. A retired Time Warner media chairman, Logan owned the Birmingham Barons minor-league baseball team until 2023. In May 2011, he was inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame.
Oliver Leon Robinson Jr is a retired American basketball player who played shooting guard for the NBA's San Antonio Spurs.
Elizabeth Caroline Crosby was an American neuroanatomist. Crosby received the National Medal of Science from President Jimmy Carter in 1979 "for outstanding contributions to comparative and human neuroanatomy and for the synthesis and transmission of knowledge of the entire nervous system of the vertebrate phylum." Her "careful descriptions" of vertebrate brains - especially reptiles - helped "outline evolutionary history" and her work as a clinical diagnostic assistant to neurosurgeons resulted in "the correlation of anatomy and surgery."
Nancy E. Dunlap is a physician, researcher and business administrator focused in the area of pulmonary and critical care medicine. She is now an emeritus professor at the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Medicine.
Max Dale Cooper, is an American immunologist and a professor at the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine and the Emory Vaccine Center of Emory University School of Medicine. He is known for characterizing T cells and B cells.
Ray Lannom Watts is an American physician-researcher in neurology, educator and university administrator. Watts has served as the seventh president of the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) since February 2013 and is the longest-serving president in UAB history.
James Somerville McLester was an American physician, nutritionist and writer.
Robert Regier Rich is professor of medicine, microbiology and medical education, and dean emeritus at the University of Alabama School of Medicine. He served as the editor-in-chief of the Journal of Immunology from 2003 to 2008, and was elected a Fellow of AAI in 2019.
Selwyn Maurice Vickers is an American gastrointestinal surgical oncologist. He is the President and CEO of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, starting in September 2022. Previously, he was the senior vice president for Medicine and Dean of the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Medicine and the CEO of both the UAB Health System and the UAB/Ascension St. Vincent's Alliance.
Gail Houston Cassell is an American microbiologist whose research focuses on Mycoplasma species and multidrug-resistant tuberculosis. She is vice president of TB drug development at the Infectious Disease Research Institute. In 1994 she was the president of the American Society for Microbiology (ASM).