Our fall semester is in full swing and the momentum is building in the College and across the university. Of course UAB Football is back—with over 44,000 people attending first game—and the Marching Blazers, led by our new director, Dr. Sean Murray, look fantastic in their new uniforms. Read more about Sean.

Our students continue to excel, winning major national and international awards and scholarships. And our faculty and our professional advising team are starting to see the fruits of their advisory efforts, as our student retention in the College is now almost 90% and climbing. These successes improve our overall reputation and rankings and make us a competitive, attractive place for prospective students and faculty.

Also worth celebrating: Women are accelerating the pace as students, faculty, and alumnae. In this issue, you’ll see several stories on many of our successful female graduates, new department chairs, and faculty and students. We are lucky to have such strong and accomplished women in the College family. 

We celebrated alumnus David Sandlin's increcible show at Abroms-Engel Institute for the Visual Arts (with some of the highest attendance we've ever had for an AEIVA exhibit), and we hosted the long-awaited groundbreaking for our new academic building, which we plan to enter for the fall 2019 semester. Along with the AEIVA, this is our second building in the past five years, and discussions are already underway for the next project.

Undergirding all of this is our strong College community— a group of people who love UAB and love and respect each other. Perhaps there’s no better example of that than Sol Kimerling and his late wife Rita. You can read more about their relationship and their generosity. They are shining examples for all of us.

Come home to campus, we will be here to greet you. We would love to see you during Homecoming Week, October 1-7—or anytime.

Thank you for all you do for the College, and Go Blazers!           
R.E. Palazzo, Dean