Explore UAB

“We’ve exceeded our expectations the last two years,” said Ray Watts, President of UAB. “We continue to estimate that we will grow by about 500 students a year.”

On Oct 30, Watts addressed the state of the university in the Hill Student Center alumni theatre. The speech touched on subjects such as the emergence of new buildings, retirement of old ones and plans for more green space near campus.

Watts said that masters programs have grown in enrollment by five percent over the past year.

With a yearly budget from the state of roughly 270 million dollars a year, Watts said that UAB has lots of plans to further the growth of the university.

Watts touched on many development plans for campus buildings in the future, with some buildings eventually be repurposed. For instance, Watts said that Campbell Hall is set to eventually become a building for teaching and student services.

Watts said that there are also plans to build new facilities entirely. Some buildings are set to replace older facilities, like the Edcuation Building eventually being torn down and replaced with a newer facility.

“We have plans to build a new residence hall to accommodate our growth with a 300 seat dining facility in it,” Watts said.

There are also plans to build a new science building and a new proton radiation facility.

In addition to building updates, Watts said that UAB also plans to update outdoor spaces.

Watts said that there are plans to build a Dragonfly Park on the south border of campus near Ramsey High School. According to Watts, the idea behind this park is to be able to bring together UAB and the surrounding Birmingham community.