University of Alabama

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The University of Alabama (also known as Alabama, UA, or colloquially as 'Bama) is a public coeducational university located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Founded in 1831, UA is the flagship campus of the University of Alabama System. In Alabama, it is commonly known as the Capstone.

Having been written in the Alabama state constitution, UA is the senior doctoral university in the state. Today, it is one of the three major research universities in the state, along with academic and athletic rival Auburn University and the much younger University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB).

UA grants bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees in 12 academic divisions. The only publicly-supported law school in the state is here. (The Cumberland School of Law at Samford University in Birmingham is the state's only other ABA-accredited law school.) Other academic programs unavailable elsewhere in the state include doctoral programs in anthropology, library and information studies, music, Romance languages, and social work.

As of fall 2004, Alabama had an enrollment of more than 20,000 students. The current president of UA is Dr. Robert Witt.

History

In 1818, the federal government authorized the 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 added to the grant. On December 18, 1820, the seminary was officially established and named "The University of the State of Alabama." It was set up in Tuscaloosa in 1827 (then the capital of Alabama), and opened its doors to students on April 18, 1831.

During the Civil War, the school served as a military school for the Confederacy. The campus was burned down in 1865 by Union troops (though this was unrelated to Sherman's March to the Sea). Only seven building survived the burning. The university reopened in 1871.

The university was officially opened to women in 1893 after much lobbying by Julia Tutwiler to the Board of Trustees, but would remain racially segregated for seven more decades.

On June 11, 1963, George Wallace, the Governor of Alabama, stood in front of a schoolhouse door at the University of Alabama in an attempt to stop desegregation of that institution by the enrollment of two African-American students, Vivian Malone and James Hood; when confronted by federal marshals, Wallace stepped aside. Later in life he apologised for his opposition at that time to racial integration.

Academic Divisions

The eight divisions of the University granting undergraduate degrees are:

• College of Arts and Sciences
• Culverhouse College of Commerce and Business Administration
• College of Communication and Information Sciences
• College of Education
• College of Engineering
• College of Human Environmental Sciences
• Capstone College of Nursing
• School of Social Work

Graduate degrees in those eight divisions at the master's, specialist, and doctoral level are awarded through the Graduate School.

The School of Law offers J.D. and LL.M. degree programs. The College of Community Health Sciences provides advanced studies in medicine and related disciplines and operates a family-practice residency program in association with the University of Alabama School of Medicine (though UASOM is in acutality a division of UAB).

Finally, the College of Continuing Studies provides correspondence courses and other types of distance education opportunities for non-traditional students. It offers a distance education facility in Gadsden.

Campus

Denny Chimes on the Quad

UA is composed of a singular campus of 1,000 acres (4.05 km²). It is notable for its abundance of buildings built in Greek Revival style. Campus landmarks include the President's Mansion, the Amelia Gayle Gorgas Library, and Denny Chimes, the campanile (equipped with a 25-bell carillon), all of which on located on or near the Quadrangle (Quad for short), the main green area on campus.

The campus is roughly centered around the Quad. To the east of the Quad lie buildings housing most of science and math departments, as well as the College of Nursing. To the northeast lies Engineering Row, housing the departments of the College of Engineering. To the north and northwest lie building housing arts and humanaties departments of the College of Arts and Sciences. The the west lie the buildings of the colleges of Commerce and Education. Finally, buildings housing the College of Communication, the College of Human Environmental Sciences, and the School of Social Work flank the Quad to the south.

Cultural facilities on campus the Paul W. Bryant Museum, the Alabama Museum of Natural History, the Sarah Moody Gallery of Art, and the Frank M. Moody Music Building, which houses the Tuscaloosa Symphony Orchestra [1]. UA also maintains an arboretum in eastern Tuscaloosa and the Dauphin Island Sea Lab on Dauphin Island.

Demographics

Of the 20,969 undergraduate, professional, and graduate students currently enrolled at UA:

• 75% come from Alabama
• 21% come from elsewhere in the United States
• 4% are international students, who come from 79 countries

• 47% are men
• 53% are women

• 12% are African-American
• 1% are Hispanic-American
• 1% are Asian-American

Student life

Student life at the school is marked by a division between students who are members of traditionally white social fraternities and sororities and students who are not.

The divide among students often shows up during the school's annual Student Government Association (SGA) elections, which are dominated by white greek candidates backed by a secretive group called the Machine, which is the local chapter of the secret society Theta Nu Epsilon, which is similar to the infamous Skull and Bones at Yale University. According to newspaper accounts and a documentary produced by the university shown on public television, the Machine has a long tradition at the university, dating back to its founding in 1914 by the late Senator Lister Hill, who also founded the Jason's Mens Senior Honorary and who served as the first president of the SGA. Initially, only select fraternities were members; sororities were not offered membership until the 1970s - to this day, not all greek letter organizations have been offered membership, and it is believed that over the years, some fraternities and sororities that were members have had their memberships revoked. It is believed that 90% of those who are put up for SGA office by the Machine go on to political careers in Alabama, Mississippi, or Louisiana. Members include former Alabama Lt. Gov. Bill Baxley, former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman, and current U.S. Sen. Richard C. Shelby.

SGA elections have been marred by violent assaults and death threats in the past, resulting in an FBI investigation, and turnout among so-called "independents" remains low because of apathy. A Machine candidate is guaranteed several thousand votes, thus ensuring victory. Machine-backed candidates have won all but seven races for the SGA presidency since 1914, including wins against former Alabama Gov. George Wallace (a non-Machine candidate).

Gamma Phi Beta, a member of the white sorority system -but rumored to not be a member of the Machine- admitted its first black member in fall 2003. There are several greek letter organizations for blacks, as well as a multi-cultural sorority, none of which are believed to be members of the Machine.

The university in recent years has developed an image as a "party school," thanks to rankings from The Princeton Review and other publications that cited lots of drinking and drug use on and near campus. University officials responded by starting a series of late-night, on-campus entertainment programs and successfully pushing for a citywide limitation on bar hours, moving from no specified closing times to a scheduled closing time every day but Friday.

Athletics

Alabama's athletic teams are known as the Crimson Tide. The school fields teams in 11 varsity sports in the NCAA's Division I and is a member of the competitive 12-member Southeastern Conference. The school's athletic teams compete at the highest level, often contending for conference and NCAA titles. Athletic facilities on campus include the 83,818-seat Bryant-Denny Stadium, named after legendary football coach Paul "Bear" Bryant and former UA President George Denny, and the 15,043-seat Coleman Coliseum.

Alabama maintains athletic rivalries with Auburn University and the University of Tennessee. The rivalry with Auburn is especially instense as it encompasses all sports. The annual Alabama-Auburn game is nicknamed the Iron Bowl and it is considered one of the most intense games in all of college football. The Alabama-Auburn basketball game is often called "Iron Ball."

While the rivalry with Tennessee is for the most part centered on football, there is no shortage acrimony here, especially given the recent history between UT Coach Phil Fulmer and the NCAA probation. There are also comparatively less intense rivalries with Louisiana State University (football}, Mississippi State University (men's basketball), and the University of Georgia (women's gymnastics).

Football

The Tide's football team, started in 1892, is one of the oldest in the country. It has brought national attention to the state in recent decades, winning 21 SEC titles, and a total of 12 national championships: in 1925, 1926, 1930, 1934, 1941, 1961, 1964, 1965, 1973, 1978, 1979, 1992. These are the years the NCAA Official record book recognizes the Tide as being the national champion. There are also 5 additional years in which the Crimson Tide is recognized as being the national champion: 1945, 1962, 1966, 1975, and 1977. The team has played in 51 bowl games (29 wins, 19 losses, and 3 ties), has 17 hall-of-famers, and 91 All-Americans honored 101 times.

Recent History

Following the Tide's last national championship in 1992 against the Miami Hurricanes, the Alabama football program has faced difficult times. The program has been hit with NCAA sanctions twice in the last decade, most recently in 2001. The team has had five different head coaches. Though some success has come, for the most part, the program has not been what it was in the 1960's and 1970's.

Following Gene Stallings' retirement in 1996, defensive coordinator Mike Dubose was named head coach. He proved to be an excellent recruiter of defensive linemen, though as a head coach he wasn't as effective. He benefited tremendously from the leadership of Shaun Alexander and Chris Samuels, winning the SEC championship in 1999. Expectations quickly rose for the Tide, which started the season as high as No. 3 in some polls. The Tide quickly lowered, ending up 3-8 in a season exemplified by a last-second loss to Central Florida. Dubose was quickly fired and replaced by an up-and-coming coach from TCU, Dennis Franchione.

The media-savvy Franchione was gained popular quickly with his coaching style and media-friendly press conferences. He led Alabama to two winning seasons from 2001-2002, going 7-6 and 10-3, respectively. After NCAA sanctions hit in 2002, Coach Fran was rumored to be interested in other jobs, including the University of Kansas opening. One year later, under a pile of media scrutiny, Franchione left for Texas A&M University. After the well-documented Mike Price fiasco, in which the former Washington State University coach was hired and subsequently fired without coaching a game, Miami Dolphins quarterbacks coach Mike Shula received his first head coaching job. Shula went through many first-year pains, ending up 4-9.

Men's Basketball

Alabama's men's basketball program has for the most of the its history been overshadowed by football. However as the football program has drifted in recent years, the men's basketball program has risen in stature nationally. Though still not quite at level of schools like the University of Kentucky, UA has achieved recent success. Under head coach and former point guard Mark Gottfried, the Tide has advanced to post-season play every year for the past six years, culmunating with the team's advancement into the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament for the first time in school history in 2004, losing to eventual champion UConn in the Phoenix Regional Final.

Women's Gymnastics

UA's women's gymnastics team, like the basketball teams, competes in Coleman Coliseum. Coached by Sarah Patterson, the team regularly competes for the NCAA National Championship, having won four, the latest in 2002.

Notable Alumni

Art and Humanities

• Mark Childress, author of Crazy in Alabama
• William Christenberry, artist
• Winston Groom, author of Forrest Gump
• Harper Lee, Pulitzer Prize-winning author for To Kill a Mockingbird
• Gay Talese, author and journalist

Athletics

National Football League

• Joe Namath, Super Bowl champion quarterback for the New York Jets
• Bart Starr, Super Bowl champion quarterback for the Green Bay Packers

National Basketball Association

• Jason Caffey, ??
• Robert Horry, San Antonio Spurs
• Antonio McDyess, Detroit Pistons
• Derek McKey, ??
• Latrell Sprewell, Minnesota Timberwolves

Business and Economics

• Winton M. Blount, chairman of Blount International and former Postmaster General
• W. W. "Foots" Clements, longtime CEO of the Dr Pepper Company

Entertainment

• Jim Nabors, Actor
• Sela Ward, Actress

Government, Politics, and Social Activism

• Hugo Black, Supreme Court Justice (1937-1971)
• Morris Dees, civil rights attorney, founder of the Southern Poverty Law Center
• Joe Scarborough, former Representative from Florida (1995-2001) and television talk show host
• George Wallace, Governor of Alabama (1963-1967, 1971-1979, 1983-1987)

Science and Engineering

• E.O. Wilson, entomologist known for work on evolution and sociobiology; Pulitzer Prize winner
• Timothy Leary, Psychologist, writer and drug activist

External links

• Official Homepage
  • College of Arts and Sciences
  • Culverhouse College of Commerce and Business Administration
  • College of Communication and Informations Sciences
  • College of Community Health Sciences
    • University of Alabama School of Medicine at UAB
  • College of Continuing Studies
  • College of Education
  • College of Engineering
  • The Graduate School
  • College of Human Environmental Sciences
  • School of Law
  • Capstone College of Nursing
  • School of Social Work
• Alabama Crimson Tide Athletics Homepage
• The Crimson White (Student Newspaper)
• Alabama Museum of Natural History
• Bryant Museum Celebrating Crimson Tide Athletics
• Dauphin Island Sea Lab
• The Princeton Review Profile of UA
• Search for UA in the news
• A Crimson White story detailing "Denny Chimes Guy" and the day-to-day operation of of Denny Chimes

Southeastern Conference:   Eastern Division: Florida | Georgia | Kentucky | South Carolina | Tennessee | Vanderbilt   Western Division: Alabama | Arkansas | Auburn | LSU | Mississippi | Mississippi State