1820
On Dec. 18, 1820 during the second session of the General Assembly, the “seminary of learning” is officially established and named The University of the State of Alabama. The University opens its doors to students in 1831. By the 1860s, it has officially become known as The University of Alabama.
1844
The Normal Department (known today as the College of Education) is established with course of study that is “substantially that of the regular college course, adapted to the varying conditions and wants of individuals, together with particular instruction in the art and business of a teacher.”
“The faculty procured books and pamphlets relating to the subjects from the North and Europe, arranged a general course of study, and advertised that they would be ready to receive pupils in that department on the 22nd of April,” said second UA President Basil Manly in his report to the UA Board of Trustees on Dec. 20, 1844.
No further mention of the Normal Department is made in the school catalog until the University reopens in 1871 after being damaged during the Civil War.
1848
According to the UA Board of Trustees meeting minutes for Dec. 16, 1843, “It is ordained by the President and Trustees … that a department … is hereby created for the education of teachers of primary and preparatory schools in this state. The course of instruction … shall be regulated by the faculty until this Board shall otherwise direct. [A]s a prerequisite to admission each of such students shall file a declaration in writing … that it is his intention to prepare himself for a teacher and devote himself to that vocation in this state. [E]ach county in the state shall be authorized to send one student to the Normal Department free of charge for tuition; in other cases the price of tuition in that department shall be thirty dollars for the collegiate year.”
1871
For admission into the Normal Department, “the applicant must be at least sixteen years of age, and must pass a satisfactory examination on the elementary principles of Arithmetic, Geography, and English Grammar. The course of study requires three years for its completion.”
The 1871 catalog notes that “twenty-one students have entered this Department, beside others who have taken special studies therein.”
In 1873, the Normal Department is renamed the Normal School and located in the Department of Professional Education.
1901
The Normal School is reorganized as the School of Pedagogy and Psychology then renamed the School of Psychology, Logic, and Pedagogy in 1901. History of Education and Methods of Teaching are added to the curriculum. In 1902, it is again renamed as the School of Philosophy and Education.
1903
James Harris Fitts of Tuscaloosa, a 1949 UA alumnus, attorney and founder of what became the First Alabama Bank, establishes the first University scholarship by endowing $5,000. Recipients “must be, or propose to become, a teacher by profession.”
1904
The Summer School for Teachers, the Capstone’s first summer instruction, begins during the summer months of 1904 with several hundred teachers, mostly from Alabama’s elementary schools. This is the precursor of the two-session summer school that the University now observes.
1909
Under the leadership of UA President John Abercrombie, professor of school administration and former state superintendent of education, the School of Education is founded to meet the increased demand for trained teachers after the reorganization of education at all levels in the state.
1925
Carmichael Hall is built as the first Gorgas Library
The original Amelia Gayle Gorgas Library building (now Carmichael Hall) is constructed in 1925 to serve as a temporary library until the University secures funds to erect a larger structure. The structure is similar in scale and design to Nott Hall, which is located directly across the Quad. The two upper levels house the library, which has a capacity of about 60,000 books in stacks kept closed to students. The general reading room occupies the whole front section of the third floor.
The Amelia Gayle Gorgas Library moves to its new quarters in 1940. The building is then converted into the administrative headquarters for the University. Prior to that, only the lower floor was used for administration. It serves this purpose until the construction of Rose Administration Building in 1969.
McLure Library is erected
McLure Library is originally built as the University’s post office and supply store by Miller, Martin and Lewis. In the late 19th century, the former is operated out of one of the lower floor rooms in the Gorgas House by Postmistress Amelia Gayle Gorgas and is later moved to the first floor of Woods Hall.
McLure’s “new” post office and soda fountain in the supply store are popular meeting places for students in the 1920s and 30s. The basement of the structure houses a large student cafeteria that takes over the functions of the old dining room in Woods Hall.
During the 1952-53 academic year, Dean John Rankin McLure says he considers the committee’s work on the plans to repurpose the student cafeteria as a library to be the single most important activity of the College. The plans include a main reading room, a periodical room, a graduate reading room, a cataloging room and a five-floor stack room with a book capacity of 100,000 volumes. The basement is to house the curriculum laboratory, and the top floor is slated for the Department of School Library Service.
The building later becomes the education library in 1953 and is named in honor of Dean McLure.
1927
Supervised teaching is established as a requirement for prospective high school teachers.
The same year, UA President George H. Denny and Dean James J. Doster ask then-Professor John McLure to assist with the plans for expanding and reorganizing the School of Education. McLure is largely responsible for the creation of the College of Education we know today.
1929
The School of Education officially becomes the College of Education, and the Department of School Library Service is created. This is done to address the new library standards established by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools and to train school librarians. In 1997, the department becomes part of the College of Communication.
The Department of Elementary Education is established with elementary education pioneer Danylu Belser as chair.
Autherine Lucy Hall officially opens
The three-storied brick, stone and slate structure of Autherine Lucy Hall (formerly Bibb Graves Hall) is completed. Originally named in honor of former Alabama Gov. Bibb Graves, the building officially opens June 21, 1929, following a dedication address from George Drayton Strayer, professor of educational administration.
In August 1928, the newly created College of Education breaks ground for construction of the academic building. The project is led by Dean James J. Doster, who holds the shovel, and UA President George H. Denny, who holds the pick. Then-Professor John McLure works with Professor Ralph W. Cowart on the hall’s design with the assistance of architectural firm Warren, Knight and Davis.
The main entrance of the hall sits on the corner of the University Boulevard and Colonial Drive intersection. Visitors enter the building at ground level through a massive engaged portico of ionic columns. Above the entablature and cornice is a stone attic in the style of a Roman triumphal arch that, at McLure’s suggestion, bears an inscription from the Ordinance of 1787: “Religion, morality, and knowledge being necessary to good government and the happiness of mankind, schools and the means of education shall forever be encouraged.”
The auditorium wing is later added to the original 60,000-square-foot structure in 1939.
The building undergoes major renovations in 2006, becoming home to regular classrooms, technology classrooms and science laboratories. It also houses the programs and faculty offices for curriculum & instruction, special education, educational leadership, policy and technology studies as well as counselor education.
1935
Elementary education majors are now required to conduct “practice” teaching.
Wade Hall is constructed
Wade Hall, the home of the Department of Kinesiology, is built as an addition to Little Hall. The two are connected by a short portico.
Constructed in 1915 as a “great gymnasium,” Little Hall is named after William Gray Little, the student who introduces football to UA students in 1892, according to the Crimson White in 1909.
1942
Professor John McLure becomes dean of the College of Education, a position he holds until 1959.
1945
The College begins to offer four-year degree-granting programs for preparing secondary school teachers.
1948
The American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education is founded. The College of Education is a charter member of this association, which is the forerunner of the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education later established in 1952.
1950
The College begins to offer programs leading to a Doctor of Philosophy and Doctor of Education degrees. It confers its first EdD degrees to Adolph B. Crew and Richard E. Bullington and its first PhD degree to Jesse S. Burbage in 1953.
1959
Ralph W. Cowart becomes interim dean upon Dean John McLure’s retirement. M.L. Roberts Jr. then serves as acting dean in July and August of 1960. Robert L. Hopper assumes the position until 1963 when he takes a leave of absence after being appointed executive secretary to the House Committee on Research in Washington, D.C.
The Special Education program begins its initial training efforts to prepare special education teachers at the master’s level under the direction of Jasper Harvey.
1960s
The Department of Health and Physical Education (now the Department of Kinesiology) is established during the 1960s.
1961
The Department of Special Education and the Department of Curriculum Study and Research develop a cooperative EdD degree with an emphasis in special education. In 1963, the first doctorate is awarded under this cooperative arrangement to Tommy Russell.
Mid 1960s
Robert E. Bills becomes dean until 1969. His deanship is marked by rapid changes in the size, quality and number of programs in the College. In comparison with 250 regional institutions, it ranks second in the number of graduate degrees conferred, fifth in undergraduate secondary education degrees, fifth in advanced degrees and certificates then fourth in total undergraduate degrees.
1965
Teacher training in vocational education is established in the College under the direction of Oliver T. “Doc” Hulsey.
The Department of Health and Physical Education combines the men’s and women’s physical education programs. Courses such as golf and tennis become coeducational.
1966
A new Educational Specialist degree is developed and available in 12 fields in the College. The EdS program is established to meet the demand for junior college instructors throughout Alabama.
1967
The College sponsors intramural programs for University women prior to 1967 when the responsibility for university-wide intramural programs is assigned to William F. Clipson. The College manages these programs until the 1980s when the Office of Student Life assumes responsibility for them.
1970
Dresslar Hall is destroyed during a fire. Formerly the men’s physical education building, it is vacated when Dean Robert Bills acquires Moore Hall for the College’s Department of Health and Physical Education.
1971
The former Amelia Gayle Gorgas Library building is renamed Carmichael Hall in honor of UA President Oliver Cromwell Carmichael.
1972
Dean Paul Orr establishes the Office of International Programs to provide an international and global dimension to the College’s teacher and administrator preparation programs. Under Carrel M. Anderson’s leadership, the program expands to include more than 25 cities in Latin America and the Caribbean as well as Tehran, Iran, and Madrid, Spain.
1973
The Consortium for Overseas Student Teaching (COST) is formed as a voluntary pact of mutual understanding among a group of colleges and universities acting through their schools, colleges or departments of education to provide opportunities for quality student teaching placement and supervision in a setting outside the U.S.
1974
The Capstone Education Society is organized, providing a means to which alumni, faculty, students and friends can support the efforts of the College of Education to achieve first-rate, nationally recognized teacher education programs, the highest academic standards among its students and excellence at all levels of education through the state.
1977
The Summer Enrichment Workshop (SEW), a summer learning program for gifted and talented students in grades 1-8, is created and directed by Dr. Carol Schlichter. SEW provides hands-on educational and creative activities for students in a variety of disciplines that are designed to keep them engaged. The workshop is hosted each year by the Multiple Abilities Program.
1983
After only having three computers in 1982, the College secures the resources to establish its first computer lab for students and faculty the following year. By the close of 1988, it has more than 100 computers available for faculty and student use.
1984
The Alabama Legislature establishes 11 teacher inservice centers, one of which is the UA/UWA Regional Inservice Center (formerly the University of Alabama/Livingston University Teacher In-Service Center). These centers offer an extensive summer professional development program in critical needs areas.
1986
Moody Music Building is built
To ease the burden of elementary and secondary teacher shortages in Alabama in 1986, the College reinstates a nontraditional fifth-year program originally developed during the 1960s, which allows students holding undergraduate degrees in other disciplines to meet teacher certification requirements and earn a master’s degree in roughly one year.
The School of Music has long outgrown its quarters in the Music and Speech Building when the plans for the new Frank Moody Music Building are first envisioned. It originally is intended to be built in the northwestern section of campus as part of the liberal arts grouping of buildings proposed by the 1961 Greater University Development Plan. But with the acquisition of land on the east side of campus in the 1970s, a new site is selected and construction begins on the building in 1986.
The Moody Music Building houses the music education program, consisting of both the choral and instrumental music programs. It is named after Frank Moody, a prominent Tuscaloosa banker and benefactor of the University. Woollen, Molzan and Partners of Indianapolis as well as Fitts and White Associates of Tuscaloosa serve as the architects with the assistance of Lawrence Kirkegaard, a nationally known acoustic consultant.
The building’s unusual design is a departure from the traditional Classical Revival style of the central campus and the modern style of the UA Student Center and Law Center. Architects used the campus buildings as their source of inspiration, freely interpreting such elements as steeply pitched gables, unusual window shapes and Victorian asymmetry.
1987
The Innovative Leadership Program, a principal preparation program, is initiated with a grant from the Danforth Foundation. The grant is designed to help the University collaborate with local school districts to develop a program that will produce visionary principals capable of leading schools with diverse student populations.
1990s
The Department of Health and Physical Education is officially renamed the Department of Kinesiology to better reflect the broadened spectrum of degree tracks, including exercise science, sport pedagogy and physical education.
1992
The Clinical Master Teacher Program is created. The program trains and empowers outstanding regular and special education public school teachers to fulfill the traditional roles of both the campus-based college supervisor and the public school-based cooperating teacher.
1994
The Multiple Abilities Program, or MAP, is implemented. It combines mild learning and behavior disorders (K-6), elementary education (1-6) and early childhood education (K-3) into one Class B certification. MAP is designed to prepare educators to teach students with average and above average abilities as well as those with mild learning or behavior disorders.
1995
Administrative offices move to Carmichael Hall
Following extensive renovations, Carmichael Hall becomes the home of the College of Education Dean’s Office, which is located on the second floor. The Office of Financial Affairs, College and Alumni Relations, Office of Development and the Capstone Education Society are also housed on this floor. The third floor is home to the educational and school psychology and educational research programs while the Office of Student Services, the Office of Clinical Experiences, and Office of Research and Service are located on the first floor of the three-storied building.
1997
The Special Education program develops the Collaborative Teacher Program to conform to new Alabama State Department of Education certification requirements. This program, the first of its kind to be approved in the state, prepares special educators to work with other teachers and community agency representatives to provide an appropriate education for students with cognitive, behavioral, physical and/or multiple disabilities.
1999
With a goal of achieving 100% literacy among Alabama public school students, the State Department of Education initiates the Alabama Reading Initiative. Since summer 2000, the UA/UWA Regional Inservice Center has administered all Alabama Reading Initiative summer training programs.
2000
The Alabama Community College Leadership Academy is developed to prepare community college leaders by enhancing their leadership and management skills for an environment of change and to promote active partnership within postsecondary education.
2002
The University of Alabama Superintendents’ Academy is a collaborative effort between the Instructional Services Division of the Alabama State Department of Education, The University of Alabama and the College of Education’s Department of Educational Leadership, Policy and Technology Studies and Education Policy Center.
The CrossingPoints Program is founded by Drs. Kagendo Mutua and Dr. Marcie Rock as a collaboration between the Department of Special Education, Tuscaloosa City Schools and Tuscaloosa County School System. It serves as a a multi-tiered comprehensive transition program for college-aged students with intellectual disabilities. CrossingPoints creates authentic transition connections among individuals with disabilities, their families and the community, fostering partnerships that ensure the achievement of enviable lifestyles through ongoing self-determination and empowered decision-making.
2003
The Alabama Adapted Athletics program is founded by Drs. Brent Hardin and Margaret Stran. The program starts with the women’s wheelchair basketball and grows to include men’s wheelchair basketball, wheelchair tennis and, most recently, para track and field. The program has earned more than 25 national championships overall.
2006
The Executive EdD program’s inaugural class commences. The new and innovative program is designed for experienced professionals who have served in high-level positions in higher education and related industries.
2007
Autherine Lucy Hall (then Bibb Graves Hall) reopens after a major renovation that took it down to the bare bones of the building. The first renovation since the hall was built in 1929 enables a new generation of teachers to have the best learning environment to acquire the art and skills necessary to become outstanding educators. UA President Robert Witt stated, “The University of Alabama does not have a higher priority than training the next generation of teachers.”
2014
College of Education acquires Tom Barnes Hall
In 2014, the College acquires Tom Barnes Hall after the University purchases the historic Peter Bryce main campus.
The UA/UWA Regional Inservice Center, Multiple Abilities Program, CrossingPoints Program and the UA Reading Clinic are currently housed in the hall.
The hall is named for Tom Barnes, an aide to Alabama Sen. Richard C. Shelby who left to work in Washington in 1990, rising from an intern to full staff member in just six months. In 1992, Barnes is murdered at age 25. He is remembered as “a young man who came to Washington filled with hopes of helping to make a better country… he had the ordinary desires and needs shared by so many of us: music, coffee, warm clothes for winter. Through his wallet, presented in evidence by the prosecution, [he] carried a quote from John Adams: ‘Teach your sons war and politics so that theirs might learn mathematics and medicine so that their children can study art, poetry, music and philosophy.’”
2016
Hillard Building houses areas of CrossingPoints,
the Alabama Behavior Support Office
The Hillard Building begins housing the Alabama Behavior Support Office as well as areas of the CrossingPoints Program.
The Alabama Positive Behavior Support Office is a statewide technical assistance and research agency focused on preventing challenging behavior, improving school climate and student outcomes as well as supporting students who have or at risk for developing disabilities. It provides technical assistance through: 1) initial and booster training in schoolwide positive behavior interventions and supports, or PBIS; 2) Tier 2 PBIS training; 3) Tier 3 PBIS training; 4) three-tiered coaching and ongoing support; and 5) PBIS, discipline and school climate data collection and analysis.
2017
Capital Hall becomes hub for educational
neuroscience, other research initiatives
Capital Hall houses the educational neuroscience faculty and the Institute for Educational Neuroscience as well as Office of Evaluation Research and School Improvement.
The Institute for Educational Neuroscience includes the Center for the Study of Ethical Development, the Embodied Learning Design and Educational Neuroscience Lab, the Education & Cognitive Science Lab, the Neuromodulation Processes and Virtual Reality Lab, and the Social, Emotional and Educational Neuroscience Lab.
The Office of Evaluation Research and School Improvement’s mission is to provide high-quality evaluation services to improve translation into practice. The office provides comprehensive monitoring, evaluation and measurement services to determine the impact of education, training and community programs across the state and nation to inform and improve decisions and policy.
Acclaimed Alabama artist donates collection for Nall Gallery
Fred “Nall” Hollis, an acclaimed multimedia artist from Troy, donates a collection of his artwork to the College in 2017. Hollis, known professionally as Nall, donates pieces valued at more than $540,000 to the College of Education to be displayed in the Nall Gallery on the third floor of Carmichael Hall. More of his artwork can be viewed throughout the second floor as well.
Nall earns a bachelor’s degree in art at UA in 1970, moving to Paris, France, a year later to study at its École des Beaux-Arts de Paris. He travels across Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Mexico, learning different mediums under the tutelage of Spanish surrealist artist Salvador Dalí. Nall develops a reputation as a multimedia artist with works displayed in museums and art fairs across the world.
In 1999, Nall returns to UA for an artist-in-residency in 1999 and, a year later, helps bring Alabama’s arts community to national notoriety through his traveling exhibit and book “Alabama Art,” both of which feature a collection of portraits of 12 Alabama artists and their works. After spending a great part of his career in Paris, he moves to Fairhope, Ala., where one of his foundations, Nature Art and Life League (N.A.L.L.) Art Association, offers artistic training to artists of all callings.
Nall passes on Sept. 14, 2024, at age 76, leaving behind an impressive legacy as an internationally renowned surrealist painter, sculptor, mosaicist and engraver.
2018
Stran-Hardin Arena officially opens
Stran-Hardin Arena, the $10 million multi-purpose facility that houses the Alabama Adapted Athletics program, officially opens. It is named for Drs. Brent Hardin and Margaret Stran, the founders of the program. The arena includes an NCAA-regulation game venue for wheelchair basketball, locker rooms, an athletic training room, a strength and conditioning room, team meeting rooms and study halls. Stran-Hardin Arena becomes the largest facility in the world dedicated to adapted athletes and the first collegiate facility in the U.S. specifically designed specifically for adapted athletics. The building is located along the south façade of the UA Recreation Center, east of the main entrance.
2021
Grand opening of Parker-Haun Tennis Facility
Adapted Athletics officially opens the Parker-Haun Tennis Facility, the only collegiate tennis facility in the nation for adapted student-athletes, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Oct. 1, 2021.
Named in recognition of a $500,000 gift from the Parker and Haun families, the new 3,835-square-foot tennis facility is located immediately adjacent to the student recreation courts managed by University Recreation. The space includes locker rooms, restrooms, a trainer’s room and offices for the coaching staff. In addition to the gift from the Parker and Haun families, the facility also receives an additional $370,000 in gifts from 21 donors.
2022
Given the need to provide superior education, training for the next generation of nurses and the need for qualified nursing faculty, the Capstone College of Nursing and the College of Education partner to offer an EdD in instructional leadership for nurse educators to prepare nurses for the role of nurse educator.
Graves Hall renamed Autherine Lucy Hall
Bibb Graves Hall is rededicated and renamed Autherine Lucy Hall in honor of Dr. Autherine Lucy Foster’s leadership also recognizing her life as a dedicated educator.
2025
McLure Library reopens after extensive renovations, becoming the home of the College’s new state-of-the-art Laboratory for Innovative Technology in Education.