Understanding UAB Part 4: What UAB Is

By Ralph Harbison

Hopefully, you have started to understand the particulars of the UAB situation. We have a story to tell that runs against the common belief system and has no ties to it, other than location.

After the second and third parts, you should understand why the UAB Family has a hard time getting others, especially the highly indoctrinated Alabama fan, to understand the UAB Brand.

Basically, UAB is not the University of Alabama in any way, shape, or form and does not ever wish to be. It is in our differences that we find our greatest strength as an institution and a family.

Now, it is time to see exactly what UAB is, to read the brand as it is written by members of the UAB Family. While I am the one putting these thoughts on paper, please understand that I have not created them from whole cloth, as much as I would like to claim it. No, I have compiled this message from countless conversations with UAB students, alumni, faculty, staff, patients, and fans.

This is our story. This is our brand.

UAB is a place of learning, from the undergraduate part of the university, through the medical side of campus, in every sense of the word, UAB is about learning. We learn from each other, lessons about life, love, academics, and everything else. We learn from the finest faculty, trained in both the best university settings and in the real life experiences of the world.

UAB is a place of teaching, in every way. We educate each other, both inside and outside of the classroom. We are invested in each other, and we show that by helping others learn, from students looking for knowledge to patients looking for answers. And we teach life beyond the classroom.

UAB is a place of dreams, from the incoming freshman with ambitions, to the researcher seeking for the next promising drug, to the parents of a newborn thinking about tomorrow as the child sleeps in their arms, to the patient closing his or her eyes for the last night on earth, UAB is the place that ties them all together.

UAB is a place of reality, from the class work to the research and in the hospital, we stay grounded in our thoughts, focusing on the here and now and how we can do more.

UAB is a place of the future of the world, from students who will change the lives of others to the newborns in the hospital, UAB is working towards and focused on tomorrow.

UAB is a place of life in all of its phases, from the vibrant student to the physically ill, from those just starting life to those reaching its end, all aspects of life are present and part of the UAB experience.

UAB is more than a commuter school or medical center. UAB has student life for those who want to be involved. UAB has well respected faculty in all majors, from accounting to zoology. To ignore that is to deny reality.

UAB’s College of Arts and Sciences, often forgotten amid the medical end, is a confluence of 19 departments, 300 faculty and 40 different degree programs, including some of the best in journalism, English, history, art, music and many others. Our faculty and students are among the best anywhere. And have the accolades to prove it.

UAB is a place of inclusion, where people from all parts of the world, all aspects of life, find what they need, from education to healthcare. UAB sees no class, race, creed, or color, only humanity.

UAB is a part of Birmingham, from the slopes of Red Mountain where the campus sits to the suburbs where so many of the faculty and staff live, UAB is this metro area.

UAB is the engine of the state in economics as a major employer to education as one of the top 150 schools in the world, to healthcare, where it treats the state’s citizens to research where it makes the world better. UAB powers Alabama.

UAB is part of the world as it contributes educated citizens and life changing research. UAB is more than a local or regional school.

UAB is a place of magic for those who look. It is a place that can and should be all things to all people, and it is when we control its fate.

UAB is part of me, forever, and I cannot express that part only through words. Those who share that part understand. Those who do not share it, we only ask that we be left to have what is ours in peace.

Ralph Harbison is a business consultant and personal, business, and wellness coach based in Birmingham. Ralph is also a co-founder and chairman of Dragon PAC, a state political action committee dedicated to education transformation in Alabama. For more about Ralph, visit ralphharbison.com and to help Dragon PAC, visit dragonpac.org.

Understanding UAB Part Three: What the UAB Story is Not

By Ralph Harrison

Before we resume the series on “Understanding UAB,” I want to pause to congratulate Coach Bill Clark on his much deserved new contract. I also want to thank the UAB Administration for doing the right thing in this case and listening to the UAB Family. Also, a HUGE thank you to the undergraduate students who voted overwhelmingly to support the return of the programs and those who helped get out the vote!

Welcome to the third part of Understanding UAB. For a quick review of the first two parts, we start with an understanding of what branding is. Branding is telling your story so that others have a desire to be part of it. UAB has not been allowed to write her own story freely but has done as much as possible.

The UAB brand that the UAB Family promotes is different from the UAB brand that the UA System wishes to promote, and the Family’s brand has been a stronger, more influential story. That brand functions within a state where the indoctrination, what people are taught to believe about a subject, works against it, but it has relied on a powerful form of enculturation on campus to create new members of the UAB Family. UAB was created to serve a purpose, but it has, instead, created an alternative to the status quo. It is a small challenge, but it is a challenge none the less. Now, we will discuss what the UAB story is not.

Understanding what something is not can be more important than understanding what something is. The negative description (as in “what it is not” not “a description that includes bad points only”) often helps people grasp why something is different without a side-by-side comparison. While this understanding does not give the reasons that someone would love UAB, it does show why so many people in the state of Alabama have no real understanding of why the UAB Family does love UAB.

Throughout this list, you will see reasons that UAB stands out from the typical thought process of many Alabamians. This is not meant to imply that UAB is inherently better. The statements are only to show the differences.

First, UAB is not part of the antebellum, Civil War, Reconstruction Era, or Early 20th century history of Alabama. In this state, this is a major blow to its appeal. Alabamians love the good old days. UAB cannot participate in that at all. So, unlike the University of Alabama, which tells stories of its students going to fight for Robert E. Lee, or Auburn, which tells the story of the first War Eagle, a survivor of the Battle of the Wilderness, UAB doesn’t really start its own story until man walked on the moon.

Those of a nostalgic nature find UAB to be lacking. Part of the reason is that Birmingham as we know it did not exist until the 1880s, so even the city itself cannot harken back to the glorious ancient days.

Second, UAB has no real significant ties to the desegregation fight or the Civil Rights Movement, despite being located in Birmingham. This is actually an amazing fact, but it is one that has both positive and negative connotations. For those who seek a return to the “Good Old Days,” UAB holds no appeal. For those who want to escape the mention of them at all, UAB has that. BUT, because UAB is located in Birmingham, the Civil Rights Movement permeates everything to some degree, if for no other reason than how far UAB has come.

Third, UAB is not in a college town. It does not have a traditional campus. UAB students are not the typical college student, either. Although the typical student is closer to the traditional than ever before, it is not quite there. UAB students tend to be slightly older than the traditional. UAB students tend to work while in school. UAB students tend to gravitate toward the biomedical field and science.

Unlike Auburn, which is the town of Auburn, or the University of Alabama, which dominates Tuscaloosa, UAB does not control the majority of the city of Birmingham proper or the metro area. While the school and medical center is the dominant industry, it is not the only one. UAB is also in an urban area, in the center of the largest metro area in the state and one of the 50 largest in the country. It is not in a sleepy college town and does not have that appeal.

Finally, UAB is not dominated by the college experience. UAB is first and foremost a research medical center and major research university. While every other aspect of university life is present at UAB, those aspects are ancillary to the main functions of the university: education and research. That does not mean that you must be interested in research to attend UAB, or even interested in medicine.

On the contrary, UAB has amazing departments in engineering and business as well as the science departments. What it means that typical UAB students do not come to be Greek first, or because their dream is to watch a game from the student section, but because they value the educational opportunity that UAB affords.

So, if you want a school with a long history, strong ties to the old South, involvement in segregation, in a sleepy little town, and that places more emphasis on the college experience than the college education, UAB is not for you. That is not our story. That is not understanding UAB. And that is why UAB is not understood. Part of the indoctrination of the citizens of Alabama has been that a university includes those things, and if they do not exist, that school is diminished. Ironically, not a single one of those criteria has anything to do with why a university exists in the first place.

Next time, the final part of Understanding UAB: What UAB Is.

Ralph Harbison is a business consultant and personal, business, and wellness coach based in Birmingham. Ralph is also a co-founder and chairman of Dragon PAC, a state political action committee dedicated to education transformation in Alabama. For more about Ralph, visit ralphharbison.com and to help Dragon PAC, visit dragonpac.org.

Understanding UAB, Part One

By Ralph Harbison

Through all of the trials and tribulations faced by UAB, not just the recent ones but all of them from the founding of the school as an extension center, to the transition of the medical college from Tuscaloosa to Birmingham, to the current situations faced under the Watts administration, there has been one constant: UAB have seldom been allowed to write her own story.

UAB is supposed to be an autonomous institution, charting her own course, under the oversight of the University of Alabama System Board of Trustees. What has been the case, however, is that UAB has been allowed to work under the ceiling created by the board that limits her growth and keeps her held to a standard that will not allow for the school to reach her fullest potential. One of the best tools used to limit UAB has been through branding.
In my professional life, branding is a key part of what I do. Not only do I use branding to promote my business, I also help other groups, companies, organizations, and people develop and use branding to reach their highest potential.

Branding, for those who are not in that part of the business world, developed over the 20th century, leading to the point where the “brand” was seen as more than the product or item itself but also the entire experience, including the company, the advertizing, the marketing, and the customers’ interactions with the product and the company. That gave rise to concepts such as brand value, brand management, and even the understanding that branding can apply to anything and everything in existence. We understand branding as more than the description of the product.

Branding is the story, written by the brand owner, that tells of the DNA of the product, and in doing so, it should invite others to join in that story, writing their own parts to it. Good branding does just that: it brings people in to participate in the product. Excellent branding causes those people to tell the story to others, inviting them to add their pages, too. Poor branding either does not invite others to invest in the brand OR it creates a situation where the customer experience is different than the image painted in a negative way, generally to an extent that the person regrets adding to the story and will discourage others from doing the same.

Branding includes marketing but is not marketing (telling the public of the product and inviting some action) and branding is not advertising but includes advertising (instructing the public to participate in an action related to the product, usually a purchase). Good branding is the living, expanding tome containing everything about the product and those who invested in it.
While they were not business men, and did not understand branding and brand management like we do today, the earliest visionaries at UAB were involved in amazing brand creation and management. Men like Roy Kracke, Joseph Volker, and S. Richardson Hill were doctors, men of science and vision, but they envisioned a story that could be written. A story of hope and progress, of enriching minds and saving lives that could become a beacon to the world of the brilliance of the people of Birmingham specifically and the Alabama population as a whole.

This story, the UAB BRAND, was completely unique in Alabama history. At no other point in time, save perhaps the people in Huntsville connected with UAH, has any group of people seen the need for Alabama to be more than a fiefdom for the wealthy and elite, both foreign (read “Yankee”) and domestic (read “rich, white pseudo-aristocracy”). And the brand that they created is exactly that. And it was beautiful branding. It invited others, such as Gene Bartow and Scottie McCallum, to add entire volumes. It invited others who added chapters, paragraphs, sentences, and at times, just a word or two, but the brand expanded.

At the same time, however, the University of Alabama Board of Trustees has tried to limit that brand’s growth. From the repeated use of the term “commuter college,” which holds connotations of a school designed for the unworthy and different, to the creation of a joke of a mission statement (which will be another post in this series about understanding UAB) to direct and indirect attacks on the institution itself, the Board has tried to act as a group of book-burning demagogues hell-bent on ridding the world of the story, the brand, the UAB organism, once and for all.

Yet the story is still being written, partially by those who fight for that beacon for the world to see, invoking the potential of Birmingham and Alabama, partially by those of us who have long since wrote our parts but are called back into service to the school that holds part of our hearts, and partially by those who have no other interest in the brand other than believing that UAB is needed in some way beyond the vision of those trapped in the past.

One of our challenges is that the telling of the story, the paid voice for the school, is a hand-picked University of Alabama alumnus and former basketball player who has no real desire in telling the true story, our story, our brand, to the world. That is not acceptable, but it is the situation that we now face. Any student of history, however, knows that there have always been those storytellers willing to tell the truth, brave bards, idealistic troubadours, old men and women with no other job but spinning tall tales and legends that always contain a measure of truth willing to continue to spread the story. And until the University of Alabama Board of Trustees and Mr. Bakken realize that this story, the UAB BRAND, is more important to the world to be purged from the earth, we shall invite, no, compel others to invest in the story and add their part.

Next time, we will talk about how these brands act in the formation of the students. Trust me, it is WAY more exciting than it sounds. Please share this with those who do not understand UAB and our struggles to form a #FreeUAB

Ralph Harbison is a business consultant and personal, business, and wellness coach based in Birmingham. Ralph is also a co-founder and Chairman of Dragon PAC, a state political action committee dedicated to education transformation in Alabama. For more about Ralph, visit ralphharbison.com and to help Dragon PAC, visit dragonpac.org.

More Ray Watts Shenanigans

By Ralph Harbison

Friday, Aug. 14, 2015, UAB released a demand that the initial payment on pledges to restore UAB football, rifle, and bowling, shortsightedly killed by Dr. Watts, be made by Sept. 1, 2015, and the 2016 and 2017 payments be made as soon as possible.

Basically, UAB supporters were given a three week notice, at the time of the year when most households are paying for the “back to school” time, to put up the first payment and an additional nine months to pay the next two years. This was in opposition to the original promise deadline of Dec. 31, 2015. Before we get into this issue, let me say that needing an accurate accounting of the money before the start of the fiscal year is logical and required. I cannot fault that. I can however find many serious issues with this letter and, as always, the way UAB is handling this entire event.

First, while I have no issue granting the need to have the money for the budgeting, why was the announcement made when it was made? In the world of public relations (looking at you, Mr. Bakken) a press release like this is made on a Friday so that it will be lost and ignored. This was not done on a day when it could be discussed by the media. And why was it done three weeks before the deadline? Why was it not announced on June 2, when the announcement was made that the sports would be returned? This reeks of an attempt to design failure.

Second, what is the amount needed? How much has been raised? What are the goals? Where did the numbers come from? Are these critical questions ignored for a reason?

Third, and this one is longer term, why should we trust UAB under Ray Watts with the 2016 and 2017 money so far in advance? Will the money be set into a trust? Are we creating the UAB Athletic Department Endowment Fund? What if the department has a budget over-run or shortfall? Will the money for future seasons be raided to sustain the current years? If football winds up not being restored, will the donations be refunded?

Fourth, why are pledges not good enough to figure the budget? That is how the rest of the university and all of the universities in the world work. In fact, everything works by budgeting based on projected income, not on current holdings. Even your personal household budget assumes that you either keep your current job or maintain the current income level. That is why most families are three missed paychecks from bankruptcy. I understand that Dr. Watts has spoken with the authority of Paul Bryant Jr. himself that no more university money can be used, I do, but this change is counter to everything that exists in the world today, and particularly counter to how things work on every other public college campus.

All of that said, the attempt to hide the demands, the lack of a goal or current progress towards it, the fact we are still waiting on a contract for Coach Bill Clark that demonstrates the University is moving forward in good faith, the requirement that we trust the untrustworthy with money in advance, and the new love for cash in hand budgeting, we have no choice but to donate as much as we can now.  Send something now and send more later. This is a call for all of those who support UAB. We must play by the rules of those who seek to destroy us.

For now.

UAB administration again proves it is incompetent and full of liars

Once again, the UAB Adminstration has proved to be liars and thieves. Football supporters were asked to make pledges over three years to support the return of UAB Football, with the first payment due by Dec. 31 of this year. We did that. Now, we are being told those three-year pledges need to be honored within nine months, with the first payment due by Sept. 1. Don't believe me? Here's the letter, delivered by email late Friday. Aug. 14, 2015:


To the UAB community, alumni and friends,

As we announced on June 1, unprecedented pledges of support from private individuals, corporations and government entities have enabled the university to work toward restoring our rifle, bowling and football programs.

We are firmly committed to this process and greatly appreciate the community's support, because as we also announced, UAB's substantial investment in Athletics cannot be increased but will be maintained.

We now are finalizing budgets for our upcoming year, which begins October 1. Prior to that date, we must have a balanced budget proposal for each part of the university, including Athletics.

We now must get pledge payments in hand. We are already working with many of our donors and supporters so we can cover the expenses associated with the restoration of the three sports on schedule. As indicated at the news conference in June, the necessary funding for these programs is critical to support multi-year commitments to our student athletes and coaches. We'd like to get ahead of the curve and stay there. Specifically, we request that donors make initial payments on their pledges by September 1, 2015. In addition, we will be seeking advance pledge payments on January 15, 2016, and July 1, 2016, for those who are able to help us stay ahead of the curve.

We are grateful for the City of Birmingham's efforts to move forward with honoring its commitment of $500,000 to support restoration of these programs at UAB. We will be asking the many municipalities that also passed resolutions of support last spring to join the City in making a financial commitment.

We have made good progress since June 1, working with Conference USA to ensure we remain in that competitive league and with the NCAA to nail down return dates for each sport's seasons, with rifle coming back this year, bowling next and football in 2017. We also are working on a contract with Coach Clark to ensure he continues leading our football team to winning seasons.

To continue this progress, the time is now. A member of the fundraising team will be or may already have reached out to those individuals who have made pledges. For those of you who have not yet made a contribution, please consider a gift. These pledges are above your current level of Blazer Boosters annual support. You may contact UAB Athletics at (205) 996-9969.

Your enthusiasm, loyalty, pride and support are what make this University great.

Go Blazers,
Hatton Smith
Hatton Smith,
Chair, UAB Athletics Campaign Committee

Mark Ingram
Mark Ingram,
UAB Director of Athletics

Ray Watts
Ray Watts, M.D.,
UAB President

Once again, UAB has proved its leadership is monumentally incompetent, and cannot be trusted. By anyone.

The F Word at UAB isn't what you think

By Ralph Harbison
Mr. UAB 1992

In my last post, I introduced many of you to the fact that UAB was named one of the top 150 universities in the world, and the strange truth that the UAB administration is making no efforts to promote that fact. To recap, using a system that factored in accomplishments by faculty and alumni, UAB was ranked as better than 99.4 percent of the universities world-wide.

Fewer schools are ranked between UAB and Harvard (the No. 1 school) than between UAB and the next closest school in the state (the University of Alabama ranked just out of the top 400). The administration has ignored this fact, as has the illustrious University of Alabama Board of Trustees.

The director of public relations for UAB is a University of Alabama alumnus and basketball letterman and is 100 percent loyal to his alma mater and the UA Board of Trustees, to the detriment of UAB. Now, from this starting point, I want to introduce you to the F word and another part of why those in charge are not proud of this ranking.

Forward.
This word, as it is used by the UAB administration, is as vile and reprehensible a word as is any in the English language not related to a racial, sexual, or other epiteth. Before you dismiss this as a tad too much hyperbole, let me explain the rational for this statement in both what is meant and what should be.

UAB Forward, as it is used by the UAB administration, is a designed plan to shift as many students as possible to online classes. These students will pay extra fees for online access and require less student services and student activities. Take note: This is not a plan to maintain or increase on-campus enrollment while at the same time increasing online enrollment.

The plan to is move students from brick and mortar classrooms to virtual classrooms to reduce the need for campus services, all while charging more for a diminished product. As the on-campus student base shrinks, there will be less need for tenured faculty. To be blunt, non-tenured and non-tenured-track faculty do little to no research, have fewer, if any, peer review articles, and are cited less in other research. For a research-heavy campus, this is a kiss of death.

Slowly, one of the top 150 schools in the world will be reduced to a small, local or regional school, a Troy with a medical school at best, a West Alabama with a medical school at worse. The student enrollment might actually increase greatly during this program, and that will be hailed as proof of its success, as the undergraduate side of campus becomes an online degree mill, losing the characteristics that made UAB one of the best values in education. UAB Forward, in a nutshell, is a deLorian with a flux capacitor, ready to go Forward to the Past, when UAB was an extension center for those unworthy of Tuscaloosa for financial or sociological and ethnic reasons.

And as UAB goes, so goes the Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Area. As the Birmingham-Hoover Metro Area goes, so goes the state. The end result of UAB Forward will be a crushing blow to the economy of central Alabama and the state as a whole. One of the poorest states in the Union will hit the bottom and start to dig.

Now, please, for one minute, cast your memory back to the early 1960s. If you were alive then and can remember, please play along, if not, invoke your knowledge of American history or just imagine for a minute. The United States had the post-World War II high flow into the 1950s, the time of “Leave it to Beaver” as the Baby Boomers passed through childhood. Americans were at the top of the world as far as they were concerned. Life was a Norman Rockwell Painting and it was a good one (note: exaggerated for a reason, again, play along).

Suddenly, a small piece of Soviet equipment started pinging from orbit, and we learned that the USSR had been able to put a satellite in space, then a dog and a monkey. They had developed nuclear weapons a decade before. According to some, they were poised to put nuclear missiles on the moon and end the amazing dream of the American Founding Fathers.

The United States elected a young war hero and senator from New England as president. In April of 1961, the Soviets had a man orbit the earth, and the United States followed with a man in sub-orbit. We were way, way behind and not even close. That young president, in 1961, stood before the American people and stated, no, proclaimed, that it would be the unified goal of the United States to put a man on the moon and safely return him to earth BEFORE THE END OF THE DECADE. We were not ready for this challenge, but it did not matter. Mr. Kennedy had set the bar high, very high, and challenged the people to answer his call.

They did. In July of 1969, the United States had men walk the face of the moon and return safely. This was leadership. This was vision. This was what “Forward” SHOULD mean.  The era under JFK as president was known as Camelot, the mythical kingdom under King Arthur, where it never rained until after sundown and there was no better place for “happy ever aftering.”

The city of Birmingham is on the verge of its own Camelot. The city proper is actually growing in population for the first time since the 1960s. We hosted the Dali Lama. The metro area is surging as well. We have more attractions than ever, from a revitalized water park to a world-class race track, world class dining in categories other than deep fried and barbecue (although we still have that), and every other indulgence your heart could want from music to art and more. To be honest, there is a chance that the Birmingham-Hoover Metro area could reclaim best city in the south from whoever has it today.

UAB, too, should be riding that wave, surfing on the combined crest of that resurgence and the recent events that have galvanized the #UABFamily in ways that we have never seen before. This is what UAB Forward should be. We invest in student life. We invest in the best faculty in the world. We expand on-campus offerings. Yes, we also expand on-line learning, but not at the cost of our ranking.

If UAB had true leadership, a JFK of its own, that president would proclaim, loudly and without compromise, that by 2025, UAB will be one of the Top 100 Schools in the World.

In the next stage, by 2050, UAB would be one of the Top 50 Schools in the World. By 2075, UAB would be one of the Top Ten Schools in the world. That is what UAB Forward SHOULD BE. That is the desire of the #UABFamily. That is what the state of Alabama needs. That is what the world needs. We must demand that from the UA Board of Trustees. We must demand that from UAB. WE MUST HAVE UAB ALWAYS PUSHING TO BE MORE THAN ORDINARY.

I want to address the University of Alabama Board of Trustees directly. Right now, there is at least one member of the Board who has donated to UAB. That is a rarity. I know for a fact that there are Board members who are heavily invested in the Birmingham-Hoover Metro Area. I ask of them: why are you not encouraging UAB to strive to be better? What is it in UAB that prevents you from standing up and making UAB reach its full potential? Take that stand. I will back you. All of us will. The #UABFamily will welcome you and stand with you, side by side.

If I could, if I had the power, I would stop Watts and his owners from using UAB Forward. I would ensure that UAB Forward would be associated with another F Word: FREE.

The Shocking (to some) Truth About UAB Academics

By Ralph Harbison
Mr. UAB 1994

It is assumed by many that UAB is not nearly as good a school as the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa or Auburn University. After all, the enrollment is a lot lower at UAB and has not changed as much over the last two decades as it has at the other two schools. Plus, if UAB was a better academic school, UAB would have a better football team that was supported by the fans.

According to many, that is 100 percent fact. UAB needed to drop football and focus on academics and research, per several members of the illustrious University of Alabama Board of Trustees and many of its sycophantic followers.

At UAB, we (students, faculty, staff and alumni; not necessarily administrators) value academics. More than that, we value the ability to research and separate fact from fiction. In doing some research and separating the fact from fiction, one of the multitude of #UABFAMILY on Twitter shared a link to the Center for World University Rankings for 2015.

According to its system, UAB is ranked 146th in the WORLD. Consider that for a minute. There are only 145 universities in the world ranked higher. To put that into other terms, if universities were companies, UAB is a Fortune 150 firm. That is a HUGE deal. The much higher quality schools in Tuscaloosa and Auburn were 409 and 549 respectively. Again, those are not bad rankings, but it does show how wonderful a degree from UAB actually is.

An excellent question is why is UAB not blowing the roof off of the urban myth of UAB being a second class institution? Since the UAB director of media relations is a University of Alabama graduate, letterman in basketball, and sits on of the advisory board of one of the schools at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, I know the reason and now you do, too.

The ranking was based upon several criteria, which are listed below from the CWUR website:

CWUR uses eight objective and robust indicators to rank the world's top 1,000 universities:

1. Quality of Education, measured by the number of a university's alumni who have won major international awards, prizes, and medals relative to the university's size [25%]
2. Alumni Employment, measured by the number of a university's alumni who have held CEO positions at the world's top companies relative to the university's size [25%]
3. Quality of Faculty, measured by the number of academics who have won major international awards, prizes, and medals [25%]
4. Publications, measured by the number of research papers appearing in reputable journals [5%]
5. Influence, measured by the number of research papers appearing in highly-influential journals [5%]
6. Citations, measured by the number of highly-cited research papers [5%]
7. Broad Impact, measured by the university's h-index [5%]
8. Patents, measured by the number of international patent filings [5%]

These criteria are actually a fair way to look at the schools. First, the schools are judged by the readiness of the graduates to perform in the world and to excel. Second, faculty are judged both by peer recognition and by output of research. This means that a school that is research heavy (like a UAB) is not judged only by the business school and a school known as a business school (like the University of Alabama) isn’t hurt by its lack of research. Yes, it does favor schools that do both, such as Harvard, Yale, and Oxford, but is there really any doubt that those are among the best schools in the world, anyway?

This is a huge deal for a school like UAB, a school that is abused and mistreated by its Board of Trustees and unappreciated in its home state. By the criteria used here, which are fair criteria, UAB is an excellent institution and provides an amazing opportunity, and a far better academic experience than either Tuscaloosa or Auburn.

But the UAB administration is not interested in letting people know that, especially the members of the Board of Trustees. The fact that the director of public relations is not on every news network and posting on every website about this is particularly telling. Does he not care about UAB’s reputation as an undergraduate university? Does he have an interest that lies elsewhere that prevents him from promoting UAB to the fullest level? Can we trust him to “sell UAB” at all times and in all ways?

Dr. Ray Watts and his owners were correct about one thing: there is a school that needs to stop worrying about football and focus on academics. They were incorrect about which school it is.

New page added, includes links to prior coverage of death of UAB football, fallout

I've added a new page to the site. It contains links to any and all media coverage regarding the death of UAB football, rifle and bowling and the fallout. I will update it as stories become available and time permits. You can see it here:

http://www.fireraywatts.com/p/prior-media-coverage-of-freeuab.html

There's also a link in the right sidebar to the main FireRayWatts.com site.

Ray Watts does it again, this time lies to School of Medicine Faculty

CBS Sports report shows Ray Watts lied about everything

This report is damning in every respect. If anything says this decision was corrupt, it's this investigative piece by CBS Sports. Thank you, Jon Solomon, for not letting this story die in the national press:

http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball/writer/jon-solomon/24913760/death-of-uab-football-anger-remains-but-study-banks-on-healing.

The full CarrSports report is here.

Some excerpts:

The more detailed report includes assumptions consultant Bill Carr made in his work, no financial model for what happens if UAB must leave Conference USA as expected, and UAB's hope to reduce the money it owes for canceled football games by finding new opponents for the impacted teams.

Carr assumed a 20 percent drop in Blazer Club and Champion Club donations for 2015-16. By 2016-17, the study projects a 10 percent increase in Blazer Club donations for 2016-17 when reseating occurs at men's basketball games, followed by 5 percent annual increases. Champions Club giving is expected to increase by 4 percent beginning in 2016-17.

Carr's report to UAB in November uses the same projected subsidy numbers with and without football. The report projects that 79 percent of UAB's athletic department will be subsidized by the university or student fees starting next year, up from 67 percent in 2014-15.

Student fee revenue was $5 million in 2012-13 and is estimated to reach $6.4 million in 2018-19. (UAB has said student fees for 2016 and beyond have not been set yet.) Direct and indirect institutional support is projected to be $14.9 million per year without football.

UAB is projected to lose roughly $2 million per year in NCAA and Conference USA revenue starting in 2015-16. That includes $900,000 in C-USA TV revenue, $800,000 from the College Football Playoff, and $40,000 in C-USA bowl money.

CBSSports.com also requested from UAB all emails discussing the football program's future among four key stakeholders over the past two years, and documentation showing Mackin's new job description and any compensation change since he resigned last month as athletic director to become special assistant to the university president for athletics. A university spokesman said, "There are no emails pursuant to your request, and there is not a document regarding Brian's reassignment."

It's this last one that bothers me the most. No emails whatsoever? Who's hiding what? And no document regarding Mackin's reassignment? Again, that smacks of lies and corruption.

Mama called, and I had to answer

By John A. Knox

In the three weeks since UAB President Ray Watts abruptly terminated the football, bowling and rifle programs without due process, I have logged thousands of miles traveling back and forth to the Magic City.

Why go to so much trouble, some ask?

Because mama called.

You might recognize the phrase. It was uttered by my boyhood hero, Alabama football coach Paul “Bear” Bryant.

When he said it in 1958, the Bear meant “mama” in the sense of “alma mater”—his university. Bryant had had great gridiron success as head coach at Kentucky and Texas A&M. But the team at the University of Alabama, where Bryant had starred as an end in the 1930s, had fallen on hard times. Alabama alumnus “Ears” Whitworth had led the Crimson Tide to only four wins in three seasons, including an 0-10 debacle of a season in 1955. The once-great Tide was shut out eleven times in those three years, twice by Auburn. Instead of embracing mediocrity or abandoning football altogether after these lean years, however, the Alabama faithful reached outward and upward, to someone who could take their program and their university to new heights.

Bryant heard mama’s call, accepted it, and the rest is college football history.

Much later, Bryant used the phrase in reference to his deceased mother, in a famous South Central Bell TV ad: “Have you called your mama today? I sure wish I could call mine.”

I mean this phrase in the same two senses as my hero.

The mama’s cry I have heard from my university, the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), has been muffled. It sounds like a suffocated scream. The dynamic, ambitious university I knew, led by some of the best university administrators I have ever met, is in a chokehold. The dreams and visions I heard, in face-to-face conversations with its leaders from Joe Volker through Ann Reynolds, are being scaled back—drowned in page after page of consultant-speak and stymied in vision and mission statements that carefully omit any mention of the undergraduate part of UAB.

This is not the university that Joe Volker founded, and I loved.

But the fingers around the throat of UAB are not only Watts’s. From all corners of the university, and at a level above the UAB president, the message I hear is that this is not just about football, or about sports. The message is consistent: the very survival of the 11,679-student-strong undergraduate component of UAB as we know it is at stake.

You can’t try to kill off that big a university without a struggle that leaves marks. And the fingerprints on the neck of the “West Side” of UAB—Watts’s contemptuous phrase for the undergraduate part of UAB that he studiously avoids—correspond to those who pull Watts’s strings. We will learn more about them in the coming months.

Even with so many fingers around her neck, mama gasped out a cry. And, as the Bear said back in 1958, “when mama calls, you just have to come runnin’.”

And so I have.

And so have thousands of others: 11,283 UAB supporters comprise one social media page alone, with the total growing daily.

Because, as Alabama proved back in the 1950s, you don’t just fold up the tent and close the tailgate after a few bad seasons. Sometimes you get stuck with an Alabama alum who just can’t coach worth a lick, instead of a national championship-caliber coach. In 24 years of football at UAB, the Blazers never had a year as miserable as Alabama had in 1955 under Ears Whitworth. Not even when UAB was prevented from hiring Jimbo Fisher and ended up with Neil Callaway, an Alabama alum with a worse head coaching record (.300 lifetime winning percentage) than even ol’ Ears himself (.338)! If Alabama could make it through those lean seasons and emerge on top with Bear Bryant, then UAB could do the same.

Unless, that is, those in high places wanted UAB to fail.

But “mama called” is only half of the reason I’m sitting here in Birmingham right now, instead of spending time with relatives far away.

The other reason is my mom, who died four years ago tonight.

My mom grew up in Kentucky, where a young Bear Bryant made his start as a head coach in the 1940s. Our family relocated to Birmingham in the momentous year of 1963, and followed Alabama football religiously while falling in love with a city that had so much potential buried beneath so much baggage. When UAB landed Gene Bartow and began its athletics program, we became instant fans of Birmingham’s team. Mom’s favorite memories were of UAB beating Kentucky in basketball in the NCAAs, more than once. She loved Blazer football, too, and made sure we all had Hawaii Bowl T-shirts. She would have been so excited about the UAB-Kentucky football matchup in 2016 that was slated to happen… that is, until Ray Watts decided to save money by spending millions on broken contracts.

The night she died, Mom listened to the miraculous UAB win over Final Four-bound VCU in Bartow Arena. I still wonder if that breathtaking comeback—UAB was down 19 points with 13:15 to go in the game—stole the very last breaths out of her.

Like the Bear, I sure wish I could call my mom tonight. But I know in my heart what she’d say. She’d say that miracle comebacks are part of the DNA at UAB, and the city of Birmingham, too. A Presbyterian pastor’s wife with Baptist fire in her, and a partner in our family’s newspaper in Kentucky to boot, she’d tell me to fight like hell for UAB.

And I will. Because this isn’t just about football, or sports. It’s about academic integrity, and the autonomy of a university and a city in the clutches of its bitter foes. It’s about dreams deferred.

In the memories of Joe Volker and Dick Hill and Gene Bartow and my mom, I fight.

John Knox is an associate professor of geography at the University of Georgia in Athens, GA and the 2014 CASE/Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching Professor of the Year for the state of Georgia. He is a 1988 summa cum laude graduate of UAB in mathematics, with honors in interdisciplinary studies. He earned a Ph.D. in atmospheric sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and was a post-doctoral fellow at Columbia University in New York City.

UAB Faculty Senate Resolution No. 2: A vote of no confidence in President Ray Watts

This resolution, the second of two drafted by the UAB Faculty Senate at its Dec. 9, 2014, regular meeting, will be presented to the entire senate for approval at a January 2015 meeting:

WHEREAS, shared governance is central to the ability of the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) to achieve its teaching, research, and service missions, and

WHEREAS, the UAB Faculty Handbook, as approved by the President, Provost, and Board of Trustees states, “the principle of shared governance is essential for ensuring a culture of trust, collaboration, and mutual accountability.” (Section 1.2.2.1.) and

WHEREAS, the UAB Faculty Senate Constitution, as approved by the President and Provost, states, the Senate represents “faculty viewpoints on matters of general interest and concern to the faculty and the University to the President and to advise the President, other administrative officers of the University, and members of the Board of Trustees on such matters.” (Article V.1.) and

WHEREAS, the UAB Faculty Senate Constitution further states, “Whenever possible, the President, the Provost, and the appropriate administrative officials must notify the senate of pending policy decisions and other matters of interest and concern.” (Article V.3.) and

WHEREAS, the UAB Faculty Senate Constitution further denotes one power of the Senate as, “sharing responsibility with the President and the Administration for strategic planning” (Articl
V.1.) and

WHEREAS, the Manual of the Board of Trustees of the University of Alabama System states, senior administrators “hold positions of public trust of high order, requiring unquestioned confidence in their professional integrity by all the institution's constituencies.” (Section 106) and

WHEREAS, UAB reports, in the 2005 SACS-COC compliance certification, that “policies and procedures affecting faculty cannot be changed without a rigorous review by the faculty.” (Comprehensive Standard 3.7.4) and

WHEREAS, During President Watt’s 22 month tenure, he has failed to apply principles of shared
governance, including decisions related to:
1. Selection of University administrative officers.
2. Disbanding of athletic programs.
3. Changes in academic operations.
4. Changes in faculty benefits.

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that recent decisions by President Ray Watts were exercised in a manner that demonstrates no respect for, or commitment to, shared governance.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the UAB faculty has no confidence in President Ray Watts and his ability to lead the University going forward.

UAB Faculty Senate Resolution No. 1 demanding full, transparent review of decision to end football, rifle, bowling

This resolution, one of two drafted by the UAB Faculty Senate at its Dec. 9, 2014, regular meeting, will be presented to the entire senate for approval at a January 2015 meeting:


WHEREAS, the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) has established itself as one of Alabama’s fastest growing universities, with enrollment increases in recent years, and

WHEREAS, the recent strategic plan for athletics was not performed in a transparent or comprehensive fashion.

WHEREAS, UAB students have reflected an ever-increasing interest in living on campus, being involved in campus life, and expanding the University’s extra-curricular and athletic offerings, and

WHEREAS, in recent years UAB has made dramatic strides in student life through program and infrastructure improvements including the campus green, enhanced on-campus housing, greater athletic offerings, an advanced student recreation center, and a new student center soon to be completed, and

WHEREAS, UAB’s alumni family have expressed their support for athletic programs, specifically citing football’s ability to unify and provide a catalyst for fellowship among alumni and a greater permanent connection to their alma mater, and

WHEREAS, many University constituencies, including city and county leaders, have expressed their support of UAB Athletics and have offered their assistance in facilitating it, anticipating UAB Athletics’ potential to further enrich area entertainment opportunities and provide economic stimulus, and

WHEREAS, the UAB faculty believes that Athletics plays an important role in achieving the mission of UAB and acknowledges that the Athletic Department and all student athletes contribute to the University in positive ways, and

WHEREAS, the NCAA FAR Handbook denotes the need to involve a faculty viewpoint in the administration of intercollegiate athletics program (pg 9) and further states that the FAR should be a senior advisor to matters related to intercollegiate athletics (pg 19.), and

WHEREAS, the strategic plan for UAB Athletics was implemented without the benefit of input from faculty, students, alumni, or the NCAA Faculty Athletics Representative (FAR), and 

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that UAB Faculty fully support NCAA-sanctioned athletics, including football, rifle, and bowling, and all student athletes that participate, and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that UAB Faculty request a comprehensive analysis of UAB Athletics that is transparent and includes consideration of campus-wide impact for discontinuation of any athletic program.

UAB Faculty Athletics Representative Frank Messina's statement to Faculty Senate

Dr. Frank Messina Faculty Athletics Representative (FAR) Statement to the Faculty Senate, Dec. 9, 2014:

As the endowed Alumni & Friends Professor of Accounting and a Certified Public Accountant (CPA), I am entering my 22nd year on the faculty of UAB.

Last Wednesday, December 3, 2014, in an email entitled, “Shared Governance,” I received a request from the Faculty Senate asking in my role as Faculty Athletics Representative (FAR), if I was included in the discussions regarding the recent decision to eliminate sports at UAB.

I responded by email to the Faculty Senate Executive Committee, providing a timeline outlining the extent of my involvement as FAR over the course of the last year in meetings with Carr Sports, a consulting group that I understood was retained to review the performance of the athletics program at UAB and propose strategies for improvement. I give permission to the group for that email to be distributed.

Thank you for this opportunity as UAB’s FAR to formally answer this request. I would like to give you a brief background on my duties as UAB FAR. Much of the initial information I am about to go over is taken directly from the NCAA’s Faculty Athletics Representative Handbook.

As a member of the NCAA, each University is required to have a FAR (NCAA Constitution 6.1.3). Faculty voices and influence have been present in the NCAA for as long as the NCAA has been in existence.

The term “faculty athletics representative” derives from NCAA usage and denotes the perceived need on the part of the NCAA to involve a faculty viewpoint in the administration of intercollegiate athletics programs.

I was officially appointed FAR by President Carol Garrison on October 1, 2008. A partial list of my documented UAB duties as FAR are as follows:

• The faculty athletics representative provides oversight and advice in the administration of the University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics’ programs and plays a strategic role to ensure athletic integrity, institutional control of intercollegiate athletics, and enhancement of the student-athlete experience,
• Provides advice to the President and Provost that reflects the traditional values of the faculty, and which is rooted in the academic ethic of UAB,
• Promotes a balance between academics, athletics and the social lives of student athletes, and
• Serves as a bridge between the academic and athletic components of the university working to more fully integrate athletics into the overall educational mission of the university.

In my first meeting with President Watts in February, 2013, I provided him with a listing of FAR duties and a handout from the Faculty Athletics Representatives Association (FARA) entitled, “What College Presidents and Chancellors Need to Know – Faculty Athletics Representative.” Included in the FARA document that I gave to President Watts - it states that the FAR should be an integral part of decision making on athletics though “inclusion in discussions with the president and athletic administrators on important athletic matters.”

In that meeting we together went through my list of duties along with this handout. I wanted to make sure that President Watts fully understood the important role the FAR plays in athletic administration. He stated that he understood and was excited to be working with me as FAR. Since that time, I have continued to meet with President Watts on a regular basis to discuss with him various issues related to UAB athletics.

Several times in the past week I have been questioned about my involvement in the decision that was announced on December 2, 2014, to eliminate certain sports programs at UAB. The only way I know how to answer that question honestly and completely is to summarize the various meetings and discussions I have had since February 2013 regarding the future of UAB athletics:

• When President Watts became President in February 2013, we had a brief discussion regarding the viability of the football program, which was struggling at that time under Coach McGee. We did not discuss, nor was it proposed, that the football program should be eliminated. Since the arrival of Coach Clark, however, I have expressed to President Watts on many occasions that I believed that the football program was moving in the right direction and that with University support and Coach Clark’s leadership, excellence was achievable.
• In early 2014, I participated in three strategic planning sessions with Carr Sports (which were large group meetings). It was my understanding that the purpose of those sessions was to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the athletics programs at UAB and what it would take to improve them. There were no discussions during those sessions of eliminating any sports programs. It was my understanding that Carr Sports was going to prepare a strategic plan based on the discussions.
• In August 2014, I asked Athletic Director Brian Mackin about the status of the Carr Sports Strategic Plan and he informed that it had been delayed because of the changing governance structure taking place within the NCAA, which would apparently impact some financial aspects of the report.
• During my regular meetings with President Watts this year we did not discuss the possibility of eliminating any sports programs nor was I asked my opinion on such a topic. During my meeting with President Watts on November 13, 2014, I specifically asked him about the rumors regarding the elimination of the football program. President Watts informed me that the University was evaluating the Carr Sports Strategic Plan and that no decisions had been made regarding the elimination of any sports. I expressed my opinion at that meeting that all of our sports programs were very valuable to the University and asked to be involved in any decision to eliminate any of them.
• On Saturday, November 29, 2014, while at the football game with the University of Southern Mississippi, I asked AD Mackin about the Carr Sports Strategic plan, to which he replied that he had “done all he could do.” He would not elaborate further.
• Concerned about AD Mackin’s comments, I emailed President Watts and Allen Bolton, Vice President-Financial Affairs and Administration, indicating that as FAR I was receiving inquiries from faculty, staff, students and alumni regarding the athletics programs and that I would like to be a part of the process. VP Bolton emailed me back and indicated that I should be prepared to meet in the next day or two.
• On December 2, 2014 at 9:00 am, I met with VP Bolton, who informed me that for financial reasons, several sports, including football, were being eliminated and that a press conference would be held later that day. During that meeting, I expressed my opinion that eliminating these programs would have a significant impact on the faculty, staff, and students, as well as the City of Birmingham, and offered some alternatives. VP Bolton told me that he would express my opinions to President Watts.

As FAR, I have been entrusted by the faculty of our University to represent them in the administration of athletics. Based on my understanding of the duties and responsibilities outlined in the FAR Letter of Agreement – Projected Responsibilities, and based on my substantial experience and dealings with the past presidents, I anticipated being directly involved in any meetings and discussions involving the possibility of eliminating any sports program at UAB. Regrettably, that was not the case in this instance.

I hope that I have addressed your question to your satisfaction. I believe that it is an important part of my role as your FAR to respond honestly to questions presented to me by the faculty about my duties. Through my statement here today, as well as the email I sent to the Faculty Senate Executive Committee last week, I have attempted to do that by providing you with my understanding of the facts regarding my involvement as FAR in the decision that was announced last week.

I trust that my efforts to fulfill my duties as FAR by responding truthfully to the faculty’s questions will not be viewed negatively by any of my colleagues at UAB. I plan to continue in my role as Faculty Athletics Representative to the best of my abilities and look forward to continuing to represent you, the faculty, our student-athletes and our University’s best interests.

The Fire Ray Watts support continues to grow

Today marks two weeks since UAB President Ray Watts announced his decision -- and apparently his decision alone, with no support or input from anyone at UAB -- to kill UAB football, rifle and bowling. Since that time, the voices calling for him to step down, step aside and/or revisit his decision have grown exponentially.

Watts, however, refuses to budge and continues to double-down on his decision. He was a colossal embarrassment at Saturday's graduation ceremonies, refusing to fulfill is mandated role as University president, and despite being listed as a participant in the programs, sat with his head hung in shame while surrounded by body guards. Hell, he didn't even show up for the doctoral ceremony at noon. If that's not the sign of a spineless leader, I don't know what is.

That said, here's a partial list with links to people condemning Watts and/or demanding his resignation:

UAB Faculty Senate considers no confidence vote for President Ray Watts

Past USGA presidents call for Watts to resign

19 past Mr. and Ms. UAB winners say Ray Watts' decision will destroy UAB

Nursing students call for vote of no confidence

Taking a stand on UAB - again: Birmingham City Council passes another resolution, councilwoman rips Watts

UAB decision reflects troubling secrecy trend at universities

Developers concerned over UAB football decision

Elements of Guile: Ray Watts tells UAB that 'mistakes were made'

Hoover mayor, council call for continuation of UAB football program

UAB Champion Club: Ray Watts lied point-blank regarding fundraising

A letter to Ray Watts from the members of the UAB Champion Club, posted at the UABStrong Website, reprinted with permission:

December 8, 2014
Dr. Robert E. Witt
Chancellor
The University of Alabama System
500 University Boulevard East
Tuscaloosa, Alabama 35401
Dear Dr. Witt,
For many years, the members of the Champion Club have been one of the primary sources of charitable giving to UAB Athletics. We have been involved in countless endeavors to strengthen our programs, facilities, and our institution. The Champion Club has been a driver of funding necessary to elevate UAB Athletics and it has been an honor to do so.
This past Saturday, UAB released information regarding Dr. Ray Watts decision to dissolve UAB football.  Although we disagree with his decision and the assertions included in the rationale, there are two points in particular that are simply not true.  In fact, they are disingenuous, especially to those who have worked so hard for, and care so deeply about, UAB and its impact on our students and greater community.
Below are the excerpts we wish to bring to your attention from UAB's website:

“We met with our biggest donors before we made this decision, and also studied past and current giving. The financial support was simply not there.”
“Suggestions that there existed sufficient philanthropic and community support to maintain football are simply not true. To be clear, we did not turn down a single donation, nor did we receive tangible gifts or written commitments.”

Please be advised that none of us were contacted by Dr. Watts, Brian Mackin or any UAB staff member regarding the alleged deficit reported in the Carr Report. In fact, the vast majority of our members learned of the Carr Report results through the media following Dr. Watt's announcement of abandoning football last Tuesday.  It is important to note that Dr. Watts "officially" had the study for two weeks before notifying the public.  In that interim period, if his intentions were genuine, why would he not make contact with UAB's leading donors and business leaders seek our help and resources in working towards a solution?
This situation is extremely disappointing and has called into question the leadership of UAB. At a minimum, students, faculty, alumni, donors, and most importantly, the players of all impacted sports, deserved a transparent and honest process which would have provided an opportunity to analyze the Carr Report and create a framework that would have saved and elevated UAB athletics and the university.  If Tulane University, who mirrors UAB in so many ways, could work to galvanize and unite their community in saving its football program, surely UAB could have made an authentic attempt to do the same.
To hear Dr. Watts say that he never turned down a single check is also disingenuous because all of us would have made major investments to save UAB Football; however, as with the UAB Football Foundation, the City of Birmingham, and our community at large, we were never given that opportunity.
We want to know why. 

Sincerely,

UAB Champion Club Members
Harold Ripps
Don Hire
Adam Cohen
Justin Craft
Charlie Nowlin
Roy Berger
Craft O’Neal
Jimmy Filler
Barney Ireland
David Cockran Jr.
Michael Putt
Don Huey

Watts support is non-existent on campus

As this post is being written, the UAB Faculty Senate is meeting in a packed auditorium. Based upon news media reports on Twitter (@JohnArchibald, @UABKscope, @WaronDumb), not one member of the faculty or member of the audience has spoken in favor of Ray Watts remaining as president, or in favor of his actions as president. As the meeting transpires, plane is circling campus pulling a banner that says #FireRayWatts.

Multiple faculty members have stated in the meeting that's Watts actions last week have vastly damaged the university's image. His continued actions have not helped. How can this man remain as president and UAB succeed?

Fire Ray Watts is the only vote the senate can take.

How to save UAB $1 million a year

Dear President Watts,

Given the fact that UAB is in the middle of a billion-dollar capital campaign, I wanted to swim against the tide, so to speak, and make a contribution.  See attached for my contribution.  I believe it would be worth, all told, at least $1 million per annum.

John Knox

Garrick McGee knew, when he left, UAB football would be shut down

I just dropped a nuke on the UAB Administration and I copied Ray Watts, Mayor William Bell, and Governor Bentley.

I present to you evidence that former UAB football coach Garrick McGee knew that UAB football was going to be shut down before he left UAB last year, that he was prepared to speak out, and that somebody contacted his agent to tell him to keep quiet. The shutdown of UAB football needs to be investigated…

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/veys2b0qe95npiw/AAAT0h27nij8LQtgGUlfIBsxa?dl=0

Elliott Brindley
UAB Class of 2001

School of nursing students vote no confidence in Watts

To the Faculty Senators and Alternate Senators for the UAB School of Nursing: 

We are writing to you as a UAB Nursing students, Blazer fans, and advocates for the University.

We are writing in regards to the Faculty Senate meeting scheduled for Tuesday, December 9, 2014. In light of the events that have occurred this week, we respectfully ask that you consider showing a vote of no confidence in our current President, Dr. Ray Watts. We request this with heavy hearts, but see this as something that should be considered under the current circumstances.

We are confident that Dr. Ray Watts came in as President of the University with the best intentions. We have already seen tremendous growth with our new slogan "Knowledge That Will Change Your World". In addition, we have seen great strides in the Campaign for UAB and the growth in areas such as the new Collat School of Business. Although these strides are great, UAB deserves more.

UAB is a unique school. In the heart of a great city, we come from a beginning different than most schools. What started as an extension grew into a great University. Under the great leadership of Dr. Carol Garrison we doubled undergraduate enrollment and grew as passionate students and Blazer fans. This past year the students have thrived and taken new hope in our football team under the amazing leadership of Coach Bill Clark. But this is not only about UAB Football. This is about the University and the City of Birmingham. We believe this week, Dr. Ray Watts has lost sight of what UAB can be. This is not solely based on the cut of the UAB Football, Bowling, and Rifle teams. This is based off the lack of leadership in the way the situation was handled.

We as students desire to trust our President and support his decisions. We desire a leader who values open communication and seeks the best for the University and the City. We are afraid Dr. Watts is not this leader. From the beginning of the Strategic Plan, Dr. Watts failed to communicate the possible outcomes of this plan. Leadership requires communicating step by step through the entire process, not just waiting to speak up once the rumors have to be addressed. Honesty is necessary to gain trust. After the lack of communication, leadership, and honesty surrounding this situation, we are unsure if Dr. Watts can come back from this. It seems as though he has lost the respect of most students, alumni, and the community.

We support a vote of no confidence because we do not believe Dr. Watts can continue to lead in a setting where he has lost the respect of the people he leads.

In no way is Dr. Watts the enemy in this situation. We should consider where he comes from. He comes from years of practicing medicine and leadership in the UA School of Medicine. Is it possible that all he has seen of UAB is the medical side? Is it possible he has missed the growth of the undergraduate community, the forming of new traditions, and the role sports played in all of this? UAB is finally a school where people have a chance to excel in all areas, including sports, yet that vision seemed to be lost this week. When a vision is established for this University, that vision should not be limited to academics. It should be applied to every area of this University. When establishing the vision for UAB, not only did Dr. Watts fail to include the athletic programs as part of his vision, but he also failed to consider the student athletes involved. Failure for Dr. Watts to envision the potential and the growth for UAB under Coach Bill Clark shows a lack leadership for UAB and a lack of concern for the effects on this City.

His goal to do a Strategic Plan was clearly one where he intended the best for the University. There is no doubt he could be absolutely correct in the decision he made. But, it was not the plan itself, yet the way it was done that lost our trust. There was no warning. We did not hear first from him. Rumors had to circulate for a month before it was ever addressed, and in one day the program Coach Clark worked so hard to rebuild was gone. What about the rest of the University? Email was the chosen method of communication.

So we do not call for a vote of no confidence in Dr. Watts because of merely the cut of three programs. We call for this vote because of the way he has gone through the entire process. The lack of vision, honesty, and communication resulted in a lack of respect and trust in our President. We need a leader that values the opinions of the students he leads. We want a leader who hears the voices of the students and community, and fights for us. We are afraid Dr. Watts failed us in that.

If this past week is an example of his method of leadership in carrying out his Strategic Plan during his term as President, we would be ignorant to think the rest of the University should not be on our toes. Just as a new coach with a new locker room and a great season was cut in one day, we can not trust that new dorms and buildings could stop a decision that is short sighted and more "fiscally responsible."

So we push for a vote of no confidence, because we cannot allow our President to lose sight of the possibilities for UAB and the City of Birmingham.

Sincerely, 
UAB Nursing Students
Kyndal Cheng, UABSON Class of 2016 
Margaret Lueck, Women’s Rifle, UABSON Class of 2016 
Kaitlyn Gough, UABSON Class of 2016 
Brooks Hinnant, UABSON Class of 2016 
Shannon Donnelly, UABSON Class of 2016 
Anna K. Alford, UABSON Class of 2016 
Kaitlyn Bailey, UABSON Class of 2016 
Erin Hoppens, UABSON Class of 2016 
Bailey Whitfield, UABSON Class of 2016 
Brian Haight, UABSON Class of 2016 
Michelle Tomme, UABSON Class of 2016 
Brandi Sivley, UABSON Class of 2016 
Kimi Wendland, UABSON Class of 2016 
Jillian Bridges, UABSON Class of 2016 
Abby Castleberry, UABSON Class of 2016 
Hannah Leopard, UABSON Class of 2016 
Adrienne Bolan, UABSON Class of 2016 
Jordan Rush, UABSON Class of 2016 
Elizabet Karst, UABSON Class of 2016 
Shivangi Argade, UABSON Class of 2016 
Jessica Stillabower, UABSON Class of 2016