Illustration by Corey BrightAaron Stuber - Opinions Columnistabstuber@uab.edu
With homecoming week having just ended, it seems like as good of a time as any to reflect on what it means to be a Blazer. While this homecoming might serve as a painful reminder that the University of Alabama Board of Trustees uprooted our football program, it also reminds us that the UAB community is proud to stand-up and defend itself in the face of adversity. Even as the option of returning the football team seemed bleak, the student body, faculty and Birmingham community alike fought to have the team return. As fate would have it, we were successful, just like everything else Blazers do.
Many might be hesitant about attending UAB because it doesn’t fit the “normal” college idea. There isn’t really a “UAB only” campus like many schools have, but that is what makes us unique. We currently cover over 88 city blocks, and as UAB is constantly growing, it is constantly changing. This change is symbolic of the student body we have here at UAB. This growth has allowed UAB to remain as the number one employer in the state of Alabama.
However, UAB isn’t all about sports and employment. Being a Blazer is about discovery. UAB students and faculty alike are responsible for advancing knowledge and solving real-world problems. UAB remains one of the best funded research institutions in the U.S. Currently, UAB has over $430 million dollars of research fund support across its 10 schools and 24 research centers.
UAB has become the center of innovation, and it pushes its students towards success. As a founding partner to the Innovation Depot, UAB and its students have had an opportunity to participate in one of the largest tech incubators in the Southeast. Referencing Fall 2016, there were 15 students who were pursuing business start-ups at UAB’s Innovation Lab which has a collaboration with the UAB Collat School of Business.
And let us not forget to mention UAB’s world class hospital system. UAB hospital ranks as the third largest public hospital in the nation, with over 1,100 medical staff. With a staff this large it comes as no surprise that UAB can offer unique services to Alabama as well as house the largest neonatal intensive care unit in the Southeast region.
So if you’re ever wondering if UAB was the right choice for you, just remember that there were UAB engineers who designed freezers that are now being used on the International Space Station. Remember that over 100 countries are represented here. Remember that the city life of Birmingham is rich with culture and is a rising food hot spot.
The next time someone asks you what it means to be a Blazer, be sure to tell them it means someone who is always looking towards the next level. Someone who is willing to make a change. Someone who wants to be innovative. Someone who strives to contribute to society in the best way possible. It’s in our nature. #goblazers.
