World-Class Health Care • Forty-nine UAB physicians are listed in the most recent edition of The Best Doctors in America, a highly selective directory that includes only one percent of all physicians in the country. • In the 2004 rankings by U.S. News & World Report, 14 specialties at UAB Hospital were listed among the best in the nation—cancer cardiology and cardiac surgery, gynecology, hormonal disorders, kidney disorders, orthopedics, otolaryngology (ear, nose, and throat), and rheumatology. Additionally, 2004 marked the 13th consecutive ranking for rheumatology and the ninth for cardiology. • The UAB School of Nursing is one of only 11 World Health Organization collaborating cen- ters for international nursing in America and one of only 36 in the world. • UAB is a national leader in organ transplantation. Its organ survival rates are among the best in the nation, patient survival rates exceed the national average, and waiting time for transplant is among the shortest nationally. • In UAB’s School of Health Related Professions, the surgical physician assistant program is one of only three such programs in the country, and the radiation therapy program is one of just 10. • UAB Kirklin Clinic is a state-of-the-art, full-service clinic that furnishes a full range of adult outpatient care. Housing more than 30 specialties and more than 600 specialists under one roof, UAB Kirklin Clinic conveniently provides in-house diagnostic testing, surgery services, a pharmacy, and educational seminars. • The School of Medicine at UAB is among the nation’s best according to the 2005-06 U.S. News & World Report ranking of medical schools. UAB is ranked third in the research category, two spots higher than the previous ranking in 2004. In the primary-care category UAB was named the fourth best school in the country. • Five medical specialties at UAB are also ranked in the top 20 nationally by the magazine: AIDS (No. 4), women’s health (No. 8), internal medicine (No. 8), geriatrics (No. 19), and pediatrics (No. 19). A Leader in Science and Research • UAB students routinely receive prestigious scholastic awards, currently one of the best in translating including Goldwater, Truman and Rhodes scholarships. Rounding research findings into patient treat- out the UAB experience are UAB Blazer athletics. ments. • In funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), UAB • The UAB Health System (UABHS) again ranks No. 20 overall with five schools in the Top 20: Health joined “Healthcare’s 100 Most Wired Related Professions (No. 1), Optometry (No. 4), Public Health Hospitals and Health Systems” in 2005, (No. 10), Nursing (No. 17) and Medicine (No. 16). named by Hospitals and Health Net- works. • A world-renowned research powerhouse, UAB houses more than 80 centers working to protect the environment, revitalize inner • Through the CIREN (Crash Injury Research and Engineering cities, develop treatments for cancer, and much more. Network) Center, Mercedes-Benz and UAB are partnering to ana- lyze and prevent automobile accidents among the elderly. • UAB’s Comprehensive Cancer Center was one of the nation’s first such centers designated by the National Cancer Institute. It is • UAB is one of only two academic institutions available nationwide receiving requests for Crew Robotics and Vehicle Equipment (CRAVE) for the International Space An Education with Station, space shuttles, and beyond. Lee Moradi, CRAVE program manager in the Center for Biophysical Science and Engineering, says UAB will design, test, and manufacture Experience high-precision research instruments and thermal carriers, • The UAB Department of Philosophy’s Center for the Study of he also foresees additional work to develop extravehicular Ethics and Values in the Sciences is the only one of its kind activity and robotics equipment, crew health and condi- tioning systems, and environmental control and life-sup- in America to explore ethical issues related to the general port technology. practice of science. • The first program of its type in America, the UAB Center for Educational Accountability researches, designs, and imple- ments models that measure the effectiveness of K-12 schools and higher education. • The UAB Health Education program ranks first in the nation for faculty mentoring and seventh overall, according the American Journal of Health Education. • The Alys Stephens Center is UAB’s world class performing arts center with a 1,330-seat concert hall, intimate recital hall and state-of-the-art theatre. It is also the new home for Theatre UAB, featuring a new costume studio, action studio, stage combat room, design studio, new computer lab and black-box theatre. • Engineering students create and present design proposals for public projects, ranging from highway interchanges to Birmingham’s VisionLand theme park. • UAB is located just blocks from Alabama’s financial, corporate, and economic hub. Special contacts and partnerships with local businesses open doors of opportunity for students. Athletic Achievements • Blazer football earned its first postseason bowl appearance with the the UAB women captured the C-USA regular berth in the 2004 Sheraton Hawaii Bowl. The Blazers have finished as season title. Conference USA runner-up in three of the six seasons UAB has been com- peting as a football-playing member of the league. UAB has C-USA's third- • Former UAB men’s golfer Graeme McDowell best overall record since becoming a football member. was the nation’s No. 1-ranked collegiate golfer in 2002 and won the Fred Haskins Award. The • In 27 seasons of competition, the Blazer men’s basketball team has men’s golf team has advanced to the NCAA enjoyed 24 winning seasons, has made 19 trips to postseason tournaments Championship three of the past four seasons. (12 NCAA, 8 NIT), and has won seven conference championships. UAB advanced to the NCAA’s Sweet 16 in 2004, knocking off tournament No. 1 • The Blazers field 17 intercollegiate teams as seed Kentucky in the second round. a Division I member of the NCAA and a found- • The women’s tennis team has won four conference titles in the past 13 ing member of Conference USA. seasons. Also, in 1997, a team member became the first UAB player to win an NCAA Grand Slam event and later became the top-ranked female ama- • Vonetta Flowers (right), a former UAB track teur player in the country. & field All-American, made history in February of 2002 when she won a Gold Medal at the • The men’s soccer team advanced to the NCAA Championships in three of Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City. the last four years and a fourth time overall in 2001. The team won the Flowers became the first Winter Olympics Gold 1999 C-USA Championship and advanced to the NCAA Final 8. Medalist ever from Alabama when she teamed with Jill Bakken to capture the two-woman • The UAB women's soccer team won the 2004 Conference USA Tournament bobsled competition. championship to earn its first NCAA Tournament berth. A season earlier, www.uabsports.com Dr. Carol Garrison, President Dr. Carol Z. Garrison was named president of the University of Alabama at Birmingham in July 2002. She had served as acting president at the University of Louisville where she had served as provost since 1997. As provost she was both chief academic and chief operating officer, responsible for the oversight of all depart- ments and divisions, including the medical center. Dr. Garrison, a native of Montclair, N.J., earned her bachelor’s degree at the University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill. She received her master’s degree from the School of Nursing at UAB in 1976 and earned a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner Certificate from UAB in 1978. From 1976-78, she was an assistant professor of nursing at UAB. In 1982, she earned a Ph.D. in epidemiology from the University North Carolina - Chapel Hill, where she was an assistant professor. She joined the faculty at the University of South Carolina in 1982, was named professor and chair of epidemiology and biostatis- tics in 1992, and in 1994 became associate provost and dean of the graduate school. In 1997, she joined the University of Louisville as provost. In addition to her skills as an administrator, Dr. Garrison is a respected researcher and educator. During her career, Dr. Garrison has received more than $5.9 million in federal research funding. She is a member of Phi Beta Kappa, Delta Omega and Sigma Xi and was twice honored as the Carolina Distinguished Professor. As UAB’s sixth president, Dr. Garrison oversees Alabama’s largest employer, with nearly 16,000 faculty and staff and an operating budget of $1.4 billion. UAB attracts some 16,000 students from around the nation and the world to its six liberal arts and sciences schools and six health-professional schools. With nearly $400 million in sponsored research, UAB is among the top 20 universities in the country in funding from the National Institutes of Health. Watson Brown, Athletics Director Now in his 10th season directing UAB’s football fortunes, Watson Brown added an additional role to his list of responsibilities two years ago — and an important one at that — assuming the position of Director of Athletics for the Blazers. Named as AD in November of 2002, Brown has been working fast and furious to keep the Blazers’ athletic program moving forward, in addition to his usual duties at the helm of UAB football. There’s no doubt the progress of UAB football has been impressive. Having competed at the NCAA Division I- A level only since 1996, the Blazers have been bowl-eligible three of the past five seasons, finishing 7-4 in 2000 and 6-5 in 2001. The Blazers earned their first bowl invitation last season with their appearance in the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl.