Centers of Excellence

Dreaming Big Dreams: The University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Medicine

Authors: Laura A. Mansfield

Abstract

We would do Birmingham a great disservice if we dreamed too little dreams.Joseph F. Volker, DDS, PhD, UAB president, 1969–1976 During the height of World War II, there was a growing movement in the South, especially in Alabama, to upgrade medical education opportunities. With that as a backdrop, Alabama Governor Chaucy Sparks announced in his 1943 inaugural address that he intended to establish a 4-year medical school within the state. By the summer of 1945, the 4-year University of Alabama School of Medicine had been established in Birmingham at the 17-story Jefferson Hospital. This school provided the 2-year basic science program, originally available in Tuscaloosa, as well as the final 2 years of medical training that had not formerly existed within the state, which comprised the seed that would grow into the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB).

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References

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