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State of the University Garrison addresses UAB’s challenges and success

Posted on Oct 26, 2009 in News

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President Carol Garrison gave her annual State of the University speech in Margaret Cameron Spain Auditorium Thursday, Oct.22.

During the address, she announced the provost had received several nominations for an interim dean of the upcoming College of Arts and Sciences and that a selection would be made in early November.

Garrison said this year saw a 27 percent decrease in state funding, which equals a loss of about $100 million for the university. This is a struggle that many universities are facing.

“We are in a good place because we have planned for this,” she said. “We have worked hard to create a strong, prioritized budget.”

She ended this portion of speech by saying the budget would probably look the same next year but that “UAB is no stranger to challenges. We have a long tradition of success, and that will continue.”

Garrison spent the rest of the speech outlining 40 reasons to believe in UAB. She outlined some of the many triumphs of UAB in the past year. Many of these accomplishments focused on the university’s outreach to the community.

Garrison called 2009 the “most successful fundraising year ever” as more than $96 million were raised for the university. She added that almost $850 million had been raised in the last 10 years.

She outlined many projects that UAB is currently involved with in the state, country and around the world.

“We want to build a communiversity,” said Garrison. “We want to give back to the community that supports us.”
UAB raised $960,000 for United Way and $300,000 for the Minority Health and Health Disparities Research Center (MHRC). The MHRC Gala saw several high profile guests including poet and autobiographer Maya Angelou.
Garrison also outlined partnerships with programs that focused on education and diversity in Alabama such as Cultivating Leaders for Inclusive, Diverse Environments (CLIDE), the Greater Birmingham Mathematics Partnership (GBMP) and Girls Engaged in Math and Science (GEMS).

Garrison expressed pride in the growing body of students and alumni. A total of 16,874 students enrolled in the fall semester, an increase of 220 students from last year.

“Our campus is vibrant, lively and home to over 2,000 students,” she said.

Garrison credited the increase in student numbers to the addition of the Campus Green. She also lauded UAB’s increased student retention rate, which is 81 percent, an increase from 75 percent two years ago.

UAB received multiple awards and praise from around the world this year. US News rated UAB as one of its “Best Graduate Schools” as well one of the state’s “Best Hospitals.” The UAB Theatre was given a competitive accreditation, UAB was ranked one of the “Top Five Places to Work in Academia” by The Scientist Magazine, and the university was ranked third by The Princeton Review for diversity. |

“Our faculty continues to set the pace nationally in research and appointment awards,” said Garrison.

She mentioned Richard Whitley’s work with the H1N1 vaccine; Lisa Guay Woodford’s winning the Kaplan Prize in Nephrology and Sheri Spaine Long being awarded a National Honor for Leadership in Foreign Language.

“These are just a few examples of the awards and recognitions our faculty has received in the past year,” explained Garrison.

Garrison ended the speech by looking toward the future.

“I know there is some anxiety about the realignment, and there will probably continue to be anxiety, but we are confidant that this will allow UAB to have another 40 years of success and breakthroughs.”

Email: news@insideuab.com




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