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
1
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
2
University of Alabama President Frank Rose
at the Extension Center Building
3
But on September 15, 1966 President Frank Rose invited all
faculty members in Birmingham to a meeting, where he said . . . .
4
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!
5
Extension Center changes to College of General Studies
6
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.
7
College of General Studies
December, 1966
CGS
George Campbell,
Dean
Allied
Health
Soc
Sci
Divisions
Bus
Educ
Admin
Engr
HUM
Four professional divisions, three others
NS&M
Hanson
The Fall 1966 planning group elected not to have a
conventional arts and sciences college.
8
Roger Hanson – Division Director, NS&M
9
Departments within Division of NS&M
NS&M
Roger Hanson
Division Director
Departments
BY
Dagg
CHEM
MATH
PHYS
Levedahl
Rayl
Bauman
10
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 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!
I arrived June 1, 1968
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!
11
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 . . .
each campus would be autonomous within the
context of a system and each would have its own
president reporting to the UA Board.
Joe Volker became
President of UAB
12
UAB
We would now award our own degrees
13
PLUS: We had our own President
PLUS: We would award our own degrees
MINUS: No more football tickets!
14
A decade of rapid student growth began:
Undergrad:
Grad:
1969
1979
3,800
9,000
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
15
In 1969 there were only two buildings,
“CGS” and Engineering . . .
16
…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.
17
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
George Campbell became VP for University College
Later experience showed that the name was unfortunate!
(misunderstood and hurt recruiting)
18
Reorganization Fall 1971
Campbell
VP
Schools
Deans
Bus
Admin
Univ
College
Educ
Divisions
Fred Conner
Engr
Arts &
Sciences
Hum
NS&M SocSci
Division directors: Conner
Hanson
Interim dean
Passey
19
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. 20
Reorganization June 7 1973
Univ
Campbell, VP
College
Schools with deans
Bus
Admin
Educ
Engr
Hum
NS&M
S&BS
Hanson
21
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
22
Campbell Hall dedication, 1978
23
Campbell Hall with only two stories
24
Still More Buildings!
► c1983: HUC opened, Student Affairs moved
out of Campbell Hall
► c1986: two floors added to Campbell Hall;
Math & Physics moved in.
25
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!
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.
26
Graduate Students
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.
27
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.
► Roger Hanson was willing to sign.
About 30 students working
towards a non-existent CS major!
28
GOOD:
By 1976 we were operating the only comprehensive
computer science degree programs in Alabama
with respectable numbers of students.
BAD:
We were a Medical Center Department, bootlegging
these undergraduate and graduate CS degree
programs!
CONCLUSION:
An uncomfortable, unsustainable situation!
29
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!!
30
So, in the summer of 1977 CIS became . . .
The un-natural science
in the School of Natural Sciences
and Mathematics!
and the crown jewel of
NS & M
31
1966
Bus
Educ
Admin
CGS
Engr
Allied
HUM
Health
Soc
Sci
NS&M
Univ
College
1971
Bus
Admin
Educ
History repeats itself, first as
tragedy, second as farce.
“too
cumbersome
and
administratively
unnecessary”
Engr
Arts &
Sciences
Hum
NS&M SocSci
1973
Univ
College
Karl Marx
Bus
Educ
Admin
Engr
Hum NS&M S&BS
32
33