University of Alabama in Huntsville
Encyclopedia
The University of Alabama in Huntsville (also known as UAHuntsville or UAH) is a state-supported, public
, coeducation
al research university, located in Huntsville
, Alabama
, United States
, is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools
to award baccalaureate
, master's and doctoral degrees, and is organized in five colleges: business, engineering, liberal arts, nursing and science.
UAH is one of three members of the University of Alabama System
, which includes the University of Alabama at Birmingham
and the University of Alabama
in Tuscaloosa. All three institutions operate independently, with only the president of each university reporting to the Board of Trustees of the system. The university enrollment is approximately 7,500, and has a distributed ratio of 49:51, women to men. Incoming freshmen have an average score of 25 on the ACT
, which is one of the best among Alabama's public universities.
The genesis for a publicly funded institution of higher education in Huntsville
was many years in the making. Begun in January 1950 as an extension of the University of Alabama
and known as the University of Alabama Huntsville Center, classes were first taught at West Huntsville High School
. UAH's first undergraduate degrees were awarded in May 1968 as part of the spring commencement ceremony at The University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, (although a "cap and gown" ceremony was held in Huntsville).
One year later, the University of Alabama System Board of Trustees voted to make UAH an independent and autonomous campus. Dr. Benjamin Graves, a graduate of the University of Mississippi
in 1942, who was president of Millsaps College
in Jackson, Mississippi
was tapped as UAH's first president in 1970. He returned to faculty status in 1979 and retired in 1989.The first degree awarded for work completed entirely on the UAH campus was awarded to Julian Palmore in 1964. Mr. Palmore was at the time a United States Navy
ensign
assigned to NASA
's Research Projects Division. The first official on-campus graduation ceremony at UAH was in June 1970. The first woman to earn a Ph.D.
from UAH was Virginia Kobler in 1979, in Industrial Engineering
.
UAH's second president, Dr. John Wright was Vice Chancellor
of the West Virginia University
and began his service in 1979. Wright's term ended in 1988 and Dr. Louis Padulo became UAH's third president.
Huntsville leader Joseph Moquin took over the UAH presidency on an interim basis in 1990. Dr. Frank Franz, who was then provost
at West Virginia University
, was chosen as UAH's fourth president. His wife, Dr. Judy Franz, accompanied him and was granted full professorship in the physics faculty. Her renown in the scientific community was reaffirmed when she was named executive officer of the American Physical Society
in 1994. At the beginning of the 2006-2007 academic year, Frank Franz announced his plan to step down as president after that year. http://www.uah.edu/News/newsread.php?newsID=334.
On July 1, 2007, Dr. David B. Williams, formerly a professor of materials science and engineering and the vice provost
for research at Lehigh University
, began serving as UAH's fifth president. http://www.uah.edu/News/president/.
-trained neuroscientist
, was taken into custody. Bishop was charged with one count of capital murder.
, Engineering
, Liberal Arts
, Nursing
, and Science
. Nursing is UAH's largest single major, although Engineering is the largest college.
Not surprisingly given Huntsville's technology-based economy, UAH is known for engineering and science programs, including astrophysics, atmospheric science and aerospace engineering. UAH scientists managed the first "commercial," non-government rocket programs (Consort and Joust) in the U.S., the first "high-temperature" superconductor
was discovered at UAH and the first U.S. experiment flown aboard the Soviet Mir space station was from UAH. UAH is a Space Grant
university, and has a history of cooperation with NASA
at the Marshall Space Flight Center
, and the U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command at Redstone Arsenal
. In conjunction with helping NASA reach its goals, UAH makes NASA's research and technology available to all of Alabama's colleges and universities. The National Space Science and Technology Center
is on the UAH campus.
The UAH Propulsion Research Center ([PRC]) is a research center that promotes interdisciplinary research opportunities for graduate and undergraduate students. Popular Science cited the PRC as the third "most awesome" college lab in the United States. The PRC was founded by Dr. Clark W. Hawk in 1991 and has since provided support for NASA, the Department of Defense, and the Department of Energy. Research topics explored include air-breathing propulsion, solid, liquid & hybrid propellent combustion, magnetoinertial fusion, electric propulsion, high temperature materials, and space and terrestrial power systems.
Research in nanotechnology and microfabrication is administered by the Nano and Micro Devices Center
.
At least eight departments or programs also hold accreditation from professional associations, including the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology
, the American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business, the American Chemical Society
, the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education
, the Computing Sciences Accreditation Board, and the National Association of Schools of Music
.
and fields 13 varsity teams at the Division II level and one (ice hockey) in Division I. The UAH Division I mens ice hockey team was denied entry into the CCHA in 2009.
Its ice hockey
team won the NCAA Division II national championship in 1996 and 1998 and now competes in Division I (NCAA). UAH houses the only NCAA ice hockey program south of the Mason-Dixon Line
. In 2012, UAH will host the NCAA
Hockey Frozen Four championship finals, which will play at the St. Pete Times Forum
in Tampa, Florida
. UAH was selected as host of the "Frozen Four", as being the closest collegiate hockey program to Florida. In 2007, UAH won the College Hockey America Tournament in a win over Robert Morris University
. The victory granted them an automatic bid to the NCAA Division I Tournament as the 16th seed. They were pitted against first seed Notre Dame
, losing 3-2 in a double overtime heartbreaker; it was one of the longest games in NCAA Tournament history. On March 13, 2010, UAH defeated Niagara 3-2 in overtime to claim its second CHA Conference Championship and an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
Basketball
and hockey games are regularly scheduled as part of alumni returning for homecoming
, and carpets are rolled out on the rink between periods for the homecoming court walk.
UAH also sponsors soccer (men's and women's), women's volleyball
, cross country
(men's and women's), basketball
(men's and women's), tennis
(men's and women's), men's baseball
and women's softball
at the Division II level as a member of the Gulf South Conference
. UAH competes in track and field
(men's and women's) as an independent member of Division II. Although this is a new part to UAH, it has become one of the most competitive UAH sports.
UAH's men's cross country team won its first Gulf South Conference championship in 2007 and qualified to the NCAA Division II National Championship in 2007 and 2008. The women's team won conference titles in 1999, 2003 and 2004 and made its last appearance at the national championships in 2007.
.
The pep band has claimed to have the "World's Longest Cheer", which consists of the crowd being directed to repeat each letter of the university's formal name, including spaces between words ("The University of Alabama in Huntsville", which consists of 34 letters and five spaces). After this, the cheer continues with "Now say it like a marketing major!" (to which the response is "UAHuntsville") and concludes with "Now say it like an engineer!" (the response being "UAH", which is then repeated several times). Not surprisingly, it is common for this cheer to be interrupted by some event (such as a score), and in such an event, the pep band will resume where it left off after playing the fight song.
to cheer for the UAH Ice Hockey team as they compete against Niagara University
.
Campus Housing originated with the construction of South East Housing. These suites were originally built by the late Dr. Benjamin Graves, the first President of UAH, with the assistance of the late Alabama Senator John Sparkman
.
and Recycled Percussion.
construction competition team, and is the current record holder with five national titles in 1993, 1994, 1996, 1998, and 2001. The National Concrete Canoe Competition is sponsored annually by the American Society of Civil Engineers
.
The UAH ASME (American Society of Mechanical Engineers) also competes in the annual NASA Great Moonbuggy Race hosted by Marshall Space Flight Center
in Huntsville, Alabama. The UAH ASME chapter currently holds two championship titles.
The SSC recruits university students for its PASS (Peer Assisted Study Sessions) program, in which students sit in on courses that they have already succeeded in, and offer class-specific study sessions outside of class, usually 3 hours per week. Historically difficult freshman courses are targeted for PASS, including Calculus, Chemistry and Economics.
Recently, the SSC has absorbed the Cooperative Education program.
Dr. Mustafa Abushagur is a former professor at UAHuntsville.
State university system
A state university system in the United States is a group of public universities supported by an individual state, or a similar entity such as the District of Columbia. These systems constitute the majority of public-funded universities in the country...
, coeducation
Coeducation
Mixed-sex education, also known as coeducation or co-education, is the integrated education of male and female persons in the same institution. It is the opposite of single-sex education...
al research university, located in Huntsville
Huntsville, Alabama
Huntsville is a city located primarily in Madison County in the central part of the far northern region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Huntsville is the county seat of Madison County. The city extends west into neighboring Limestone County. Huntsville's population was 180,105 as of the 2010 Census....
, Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools
Southern Association of Colleges and Schools
The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools is one of the six regional accreditation organizations recognized by the United States Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation...
to award baccalaureate
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
, master's and doctoral degrees, and is organized in five colleges: business, engineering, liberal arts, nursing and science.
UAH is one of three members of the University of Alabama System
University of Alabama System
The University of Alabama System consists of three public universities in Alabama, USA: The University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa , The University of Alabama at Birmingham , and The University of Alabama in Huntsville...
, which includes the University of Alabama at Birmingham
University of Alabama at Birmingham
The University of Alabama at Birmingham is a public university in Birmingham in the U.S. state of Alabama. Developing from an extension center established in 1936, the institution became an autonomous institution in 1969 and is today one of three institutions in the University of Alabama System...
and the University of Alabama
University of Alabama
The University of Alabama is a public coeducational university located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States....
in Tuscaloosa. All three institutions operate independently, with only the president of each university reporting to the Board of Trustees of the system. The university enrollment is approximately 7,500, and has a distributed ratio of 49:51, women to men. Incoming freshmen have an average score of 25 on the ACT
ACT (examination)
The ACT is a standardized test for high school achievement and college admissions in the United States produced by ACT, Inc. It was first administered in November 1959 by Everett Franklin Lindquist as a competitor to the College Board's Scholastic Aptitude Test, now the SAT Reasoning Test...
, which is one of the best among Alabama's public universities.
History
Huntsville, Alabama
Huntsville is a city located primarily in Madison County in the central part of the far northern region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Huntsville is the county seat of Madison County. The city extends west into neighboring Limestone County. Huntsville's population was 180,105 as of the 2010 Census....
was many years in the making. Begun in January 1950 as an extension of the University of Alabama
University of Alabama
The University of Alabama is a public coeducational university located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States....
and known as the University of Alabama Huntsville Center, classes were first taught at West Huntsville High School
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
. UAH's first undergraduate degrees were awarded in May 1968 as part of the spring commencement ceremony at The University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, (although a "cap and gown" ceremony was held in Huntsville).
One year later, the University of Alabama System Board of Trustees voted to make UAH an independent and autonomous campus. Dr. Benjamin Graves, a graduate of the University of Mississippi
University of Mississippi
The University of Mississippi, also known as Ole Miss, is a public, coeducational research university located in Oxford, Mississippi. Founded in 1844, the school is composed of the main campus in Oxford, four branch campuses located in Booneville, Grenada, Tupelo, and Southaven as well as the...
in 1942, who was president of Millsaps College
Millsaps College
Millsaps College is a private liberal arts college located in Jackson, Mississippi. Founded in 1890, the college is recognized as one of the country's best private colleges dedicated to undergraduate teaching and educating the whole individual. Affiliated with the United Methodist Church, Millsaps...
in Jackson, Mississippi
Jackson, Mississippi
Jackson is the capital and the most populous city of the US state of Mississippi. It is one of two county seats of Hinds County ,. The population of the city declined from 184,256 at the 2000 census to 173,514 at the 2010 census...
was tapped as UAH's first president in 1970. He returned to faculty status in 1979 and retired in 1989.The first degree awarded for work completed entirely on the UAH campus was awarded to Julian Palmore in 1964. Mr. Palmore was at the time a United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
ensign
Ensign (rank)
Ensign is a junior rank of a commissioned officer in the armed forces of some countries, normally in the infantry or navy. As the junior officer in an infantry regiment was traditionally the carrier of the ensign flag, the rank itself acquired the name....
assigned to NASA
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
's Research Projects Division. The first official on-campus graduation ceremony at UAH was in June 1970. The first woman to earn a Ph.D.
Ph.D.
A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
from UAH was Virginia Kobler in 1979, in Industrial Engineering
Industrial engineering
Industrial engineering is a branch of engineering dealing with the optimization of complex processes or systems. It is concerned with the development, improvement, implementation and evaluation of integrated systems of people, money, knowledge, information, equipment, energy, materials, analysis...
.
UAH's second president, Dr. John Wright was Vice Chancellor
Chancellor (education)
A chancellor or vice-chancellor is the chief executive of a university. Other titles are sometimes used, such as president or rector....
of the West Virginia University
West Virginia University
West Virginia University is a public research university in Morgantown, West Virginia, USA. Other campuses include: West Virginia University at Parkersburg in Parkersburg; West Virginia University Institute of Technology in Montgomery; Potomac State College of West Virginia University in Keyser;...
and began his service in 1979. Wright's term ended in 1988 and Dr. Louis Padulo became UAH's third president.
Huntsville leader Joseph Moquin took over the UAH presidency on an interim basis in 1990. Dr. Frank Franz, who was then provost
Provost (education)
A provost is the senior academic administrator at many institutions of higher education in the United States, Canada and Australia, the equivalent of a pro-vice-chancellor at some institutions in the United Kingdom and Ireland....
at West Virginia University
West Virginia University
West Virginia University is a public research university in Morgantown, West Virginia, USA. Other campuses include: West Virginia University at Parkersburg in Parkersburg; West Virginia University Institute of Technology in Montgomery; Potomac State College of West Virginia University in Keyser;...
, was chosen as UAH's fourth president. His wife, Dr. Judy Franz, accompanied him and was granted full professorship in the physics faculty. Her renown in the scientific community was reaffirmed when she was named executive officer of the American Physical Society
American Physical Society
The American Physical Society is the world's second largest organization of physicists, behind the Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft. The Society publishes more than a dozen scientific journals, including the world renowned Physical Review and Physical Review Letters, and organizes more than 20...
in 1994. At the beginning of the 2006-2007 academic year, Frank Franz announced his plan to step down as president after that year. http://www.uah.edu/News/newsread.php?newsID=334.
On July 1, 2007, Dr. David B. Williams, formerly a professor of materials science and engineering and the vice provost
Provost (education)
A provost is the senior academic administrator at many institutions of higher education in the United States, Canada and Australia, the equivalent of a pro-vice-chancellor at some institutions in the United Kingdom and Ireland....
for research at Lehigh University
Lehigh University
Lehigh University is a private, co-educational university located in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, in the Lehigh Valley region of the United States. It was established in 1865 by Asa Packer as a four-year technical school, but has grown to include studies in a wide variety of disciplines...
, began serving as UAH's fifth president. http://www.uah.edu/News/president/.
February 2010 shooting
At 3:59 on Friday, February 12, 2010, a shooting at the university's Shelby Center for Science and Technology killed three people and wounded at least three others, one hospitalized for three months. Amy Bishop, a Harvard UniversityHarvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
-trained neuroscientist
Neuroscientist
A neuroscientist is an individual who studies the scientific field of neuroscience or any of its related sub-fields...
, was taken into custody. Bishop was charged with one count of capital murder.
Academics
UAH offers 67 degree-granting programs, including 31 bachelor's degree programs, 21 Masters' degree programs, and 15 Ph.D. programs through its five colleges: BusinessBusiness
A business is an organization engaged in the trade of goods, services, or both to consumers. Businesses are predominant in capitalist economies, where most of them are privately owned and administered to earn profit to increase the wealth of their owners. Businesses may also be not-for-profit...
, Engineering
Engineering
Engineering is the discipline, art, skill and profession of acquiring and applying scientific, mathematical, economic, social, and practical knowledge, in order to design and build structures, machines, devices, systems, materials and processes that safely realize improvements to the lives of...
, Liberal Arts
Liberal arts
The term liberal arts refers to those subjects which in classical antiquity were considered essential for a free citizen to study. Grammar, Rhetoric and Logic were the core liberal arts. In medieval times these subjects were extended to include mathematics, geometry, music and astronomy...
, Nursing
Nursing
Nursing is a healthcare profession focused on the care of individuals, families, and communities so they may attain, maintain, or recover optimal health and quality of life from conception to death....
, and Science
Science
Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...
. Nursing is UAH's largest single major, although Engineering is the largest college.
Not surprisingly given Huntsville's technology-based economy, UAH is known for engineering and science programs, including astrophysics, atmospheric science and aerospace engineering. UAH scientists managed the first "commercial," non-government rocket programs (Consort and Joust) in the U.S., the first "high-temperature" superconductor
Yttrium barium copper oxide
Yttrium barium copper oxide, often abbreviated YBCO, is a crystalline chemical compound with the formula YBa2Cu3O7. This material, a famous "high-temperature superconductor", achieved prominence because it was the first material to achieve superconductivity above the boiling point of liquid...
was discovered at UAH and the first U.S. experiment flown aboard the Soviet Mir space station was from UAH. UAH is a Space Grant
Space grant colleges
The space-grant colleges compose a network of 52 consortia, based at universities across the United States, for outer space-related research. Each consortium is based in one of the 50 states, the District of Columbia or Puerto Rico and consists of multiple independent institutions, with one of the...
university, and has a history of cooperation with NASA
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
at the Marshall Space Flight Center
Marshall Space Flight Center
The George C. Marshall Space Flight Center is the U.S. government's civilian rocketry and spacecraft propulsion research center. The largest center of NASA, MSFC's first mission was developing the Saturn launch vehicles for the Apollo moon program...
, and the U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command at Redstone Arsenal
Redstone Arsenal
Redstone Arsenal is a United States Army base and a census-designated place adjacent to Huntsville in Madison County, Alabama, United States and is part of the Huntsville-Decatur Combined Statistical Area...
. In conjunction with helping NASA reach its goals, UAH makes NASA's research and technology available to all of Alabama's colleges and universities. The National Space Science and Technology Center
National Space Science and Technology Center
The National Space Science and Technology Center is a joint research venture between NASA and the seven research universities of the state of Alabama, represented by the Space Science and Technology Alliance. The aim of the NSSTC is to foster collaboration in research between government,...
is on the UAH campus.
The UAH Propulsion Research Center ([PRC]) is a research center that promotes interdisciplinary research opportunities for graduate and undergraduate students. Popular Science cited the PRC as the third "most awesome" college lab in the United States. The PRC was founded by Dr. Clark W. Hawk in 1991 and has since provided support for NASA, the Department of Defense, and the Department of Energy. Research topics explored include air-breathing propulsion, solid, liquid & hybrid propellent combustion, magnetoinertial fusion, electric propulsion, high temperature materials, and space and terrestrial power systems.
Research in nanotechnology and microfabrication is administered by the Nano and Micro Devices Center
Nano and Micro Devices Center
The Nano and Micro Devices Center is a research center located at the University of Alabama in Huntsville. The center forms the backbone of nanotechnology research in the university...
.
At least eight departments or programs also hold accreditation from professional associations, including the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology
Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology
ABET, Inc., formerly the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology, is a non-profit organization that accredits post-secondary education programs in applied science, computing, engineering, and technology...
, the American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business, the American Chemical Society
American Chemical Society
The American Chemical Society is a scientific society based in the United States that supports scientific inquiry in the field of chemistry. Founded in 1876 at New York University, the ACS currently has more than 161,000 members at all degree-levels and in all fields of chemistry, chemical...
, the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education
Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education
The Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education is an autonomous nursing education accrediting agency that contributes to the improvement of the public's health. The CCNE is recognized by the U.S...
, the Computing Sciences Accreditation Board, and the National Association of Schools of Music
National Association of Schools of Music
The National Association of Schools of Music is an association of post-secondary music schools in the United States and the principal U.S. accreditor for higher education in music...
.
Athletics
UAH is a member of the National Collegiate Athletic AssociationNational Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association is a semi-voluntary association of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States...
and fields 13 varsity teams at the Division II level and one (ice hockey) in Division I. The UAH Division I mens ice hockey team was denied entry into the CCHA in 2009.
Its ice hockey
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
team won the NCAA Division II national championship in 1996 and 1998 and now competes in Division I (NCAA). UAH houses the only NCAA ice hockey program south of the Mason-Dixon Line
Mason-Dixon line
The Mason–Dixon Line was surveyed between 1763 and 1767 by Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon in the resolution of a border dispute between British colonies in Colonial America. It forms a demarcation line among four U.S. states, forming part of the borders of Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, and...
. In 2012, UAH will host the NCAA
National Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association is a semi-voluntary association of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States...
Hockey Frozen Four championship finals, which will play at the St. Pete Times Forum
St. Pete Times Forum
The St. Pete Times Forum is an arena in Tampa, Florida, that has been used for ice hockey, basketball, and arena football games, as well as concerts....
in Tampa, Florida
Tampa, Florida
Tampa is a city in the U.S. state of Florida. It serves as the county seat for Hillsborough County. Tampa is located on the west coast of Florida. The population of Tampa in 2010 was 335,709....
. UAH was selected as host of the "Frozen Four", as being the closest collegiate hockey program to Florida. In 2007, UAH won the College Hockey America Tournament in a win over Robert Morris University
Robert Morris University
Robert Morris University is a private, coeducational university in suburban Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1921, the school was named for Robert Morris, who signed the Declaration of Independence, and helped finance the ensuing war with the British.-History:Robert Morris...
. The victory granted them an automatic bid to the NCAA Division I Tournament as the 16th seed. They were pitted against first seed Notre Dame
University of Notre Dame
The University of Notre Dame du Lac is a Catholic research university located in Notre Dame, an unincorporated community north of the city of South Bend, in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States...
, losing 3-2 in a double overtime heartbreaker; it was one of the longest games in NCAA Tournament history. On March 13, 2010, UAH defeated Niagara 3-2 in overtime to claim its second CHA Conference Championship and an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
Basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
and hockey games are regularly scheduled as part of alumni returning for homecoming
Homecoming
Homecoming is the tradition of welcoming back alumni of a school. It most commonly refers to a tradition in many universities, colleges and high schools in North America...
, and carpets are rolled out on the rink between periods for the homecoming court walk.
UAH also sponsors soccer (men's and women's), women's volleyball
Volleyball
Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.The complete rules are extensive...
, cross country
Cross country running
Cross country running is a sport in which people run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open country, and include hills, flat ground and sometimes gravel road...
(men's and women's), basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
(men's and women's), tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
(men's and women's), men's baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
and women's softball
Softball
Softball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of 10 to 14 players. It is a direct descendant of baseball although there are some key differences: softballs are larger than baseballs, and the pitches are thrown underhand rather than overhand...
at the Division II level as a member of the Gulf South Conference
Gulf South Conference
The Gulf South Conference is a College Athletic Conference which operates in the southeastern United States. It participates in the NCAA's Division II.-History:...
. UAH competes in track and field
Track and field
Track and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...
(men's and women's) as an independent member of Division II. Although this is a new part to UAH, it has become one of the most competitive UAH sports.
UAH's men's cross country team won its first Gulf South Conference championship in 2007 and qualified to the NCAA Division II National Championship in 2007 and 2008. The women's team won conference titles in 1999, 2003 and 2004 and made its last appearance at the national championships in 2007.
Pep band
UAH also has an athletic pep bandPep band
A pep band is an ensemble of instrumentalists who play at functions or events with the purpose of entertaining and "pepping" up a crowd. Often members of a pep band are a subset of people from a larger ensemble such as a marching band or a concert band. Pep bands are generally associated with...
.
The pep band has claimed to have the "World's Longest Cheer", which consists of the crowd being directed to repeat each letter of the university's formal name, including spaces between words ("The University of Alabama in Huntsville", which consists of 34 letters and five spaces). After this, the cheer continues with "Now say it like a marketing major!" (to which the response is "UAHuntsville") and concludes with "Now say it like an engineer!" (the response being "UAH", which is then repeated several times). Not surprisingly, it is common for this cheer to be interrupted by some event (such as a score), and in such an event, the pep band will resume where it left off after playing the fight song.
Student life and activities
Student government
The UAH Student Government Association is the primary recipient of student activity funding. With the exceptions of ACE and the campus newspaper The Exponent, all student organizations must be chartered with the SGA. The SGA hosts a number of events including Frosh Mosh, an annual event that welcomes incoming freshman the weekend they arrive on campus. Events have included a hypnotist, live music, and the highly anticipated foam party. The SGA also charters two buses to allow approximately 80 UAH students to make an annual trip to Niagara, New YorkNiagara, New York
Niagara is a town in Niagara County, New York, United States. As of the 2010 census, the town had a total population of 8,378. The town is named after the famous waterfall Niagara Falls....
to cheer for the UAH Ice Hockey team as they compete against Niagara University
Niagara University
Niagara University is a Catholic university in the Vincentian tradition, located in the Town of Lewiston in Niagara County, New York. Originally founded by the Congregation of the Mission in 1856 as Our Lady of Angels Seminary, it became Niagara University in 1883. The University is still run by...
.
Residence halls
UAH has five residence halls: Central Campus Residence Hall (CCRH), Frank Franz Hall, North Campus Residence Hall, Southeast Campus Housing, and Charger Village. CCRH is reserved for first-time freshman students. Frank Fanz Hall is reserved for first time students as well as Honor Program students whereas upper class students have option of living at the other residence halls.Campus Housing originated with the construction of South East Housing. These suites were originally built by the late Dr. Benjamin Graves, the first President of UAH, with the assistance of the late Alabama Senator John Sparkman
John Sparkman
John Jackson Sparkman was an American politician from the state of Alabama. A conservative Southern Democrat, Sparkman served in the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate from 1937 until 1979. He was the Democratic Party's nominee for Vice President as Adlai Stevenson's running mate in...
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Greek life
UAH is home to the following fraternities and sororities. Each Greek organization rents a fraternity or sorority house from the University. Each of these houses were built in 2006. The construction of these houses were made possible thanks to the generous benefactors Mark and Linda Smith and Jim and Susie Hudson.Sororities
- Alpha Kappa AlphaAlpha Kappa AlphaAlpha Kappa Alpha is the first Greek-lettered sorority established and incorporated by African American college women. The sorority was founded on January 15, 1908, at Howard University in Washington, D.C., by a group of nine students, led by Ethel Hedgeman Lyle...
- Delta Sigma ThetaDelta Sigma ThetaDelta Sigma Theta is a non-profit Greek-lettered sorority of college-educated women who perform public service and place emphasis on the African American community. Delta Sigma Theta Sorority was founded on January 13, 1913 by twenty-two collegiate women at Howard University...
- Delta ZetaDelta ZetaDelta Zeta is an international college sorority founded on October 24, 1902, at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. Today, Delta Zeta has 158 collegiate chapters in the United States and over 200 alumnae chapters in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada...
- Kappa DeltaKappa DeltaKappa Delta was the first sorority founded at the State Female Normal School , in Farmville, Virginia. It is one of the "Farmville Four" sororities founded at the university...
- Chi OmegaChi OmegaChi Omega is a women's fraternity and the largest member of the National Panhellenic Conference. Chi Omega has 174 active collegiate chapters and over 230 alumnae chapters. Chi Omega's national headquarters is located in Memphis, Tennessee....
, (silent) - Alpha Omicron PiAlpha Omicron PiAlpha Omicron Pi is an international women's fraternity promoting friendship for a lifetime, inspiring academic excellence and lifelong learning, and developing leadership skills through service to the Fraternity and community. ΑΟΠ was founded on January 2, 1897 at Barnard College on the campus...
Fraternities
- Alpha Phi AlphaAlpha Phi AlphaAlpha Phi Alpha is the first Inter-Collegiate Black Greek Letter fraternity. It was founded on December 4, 1906 at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. Its founders are known as the "Seven Jewels". Alpha Phi Alpha developed a model that was used by the many Black Greek Letter Organizations ...
- Alpha Tau OmegaAlpha Tau OmegaAlpha Tau Omega is a secret American leadership and social fraternity.The Fraternity has more than 250 active and inactive chapters, more than 200,000 initiates, and over 7,000 active undergraduate members. The 200,000th member was initiated in early 2009...
- Delta ChiDelta ChiDelta Chi or D-Chi is an international Greek letter college social fraternity formed on October 13, 1890,at Cornell University, initially as a professional fraternity for law students. On April 29, 1922, Delta Chi became a general membership social fraternity, eliminating the requirement for men...
- Kappa Alpha PsiKappa Alpha PsiKappa Alpha Psi is a collegiate Greek-letter fraternity with a predominantly African American membership. Since the fraternity's founding on January 5, 1911 at Indiana University Bloomington, the fraternity has never limited membership based on color, creed or national origin...
- Phi Beta SigmaPhi Beta SigmaPhi Beta Sigma is a predominantly African-American fraternity which was founded at Howard University in Washington, D.C. on January 9, 1914, by three young African-American male students. The founders A. Langston Taylor, Leonard F. Morse, and Charles I...
- Pi Kappa AlphaPi Kappa AlphaPi Kappa Alpha is a Greek social fraternity with over 230 chapters and colonies and over 250,000 lifetime initiates in the United States and Canada.-History:...
- Sigma NuSigma NuSigma Nu is an undergraduate, college fraternity with chapters in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. Sigma Nu was founded in 1869 by three cadets at the Virginia Military Institute in Lexington, Virginia...
ACE
The Association for Campus Entertainment (ACE) is a student run and operated organization that plans weekly events throughout the school year. Events include, but not limited to, comedians, musicians, movie nights. Seasonal events include a trip to The MAiZE on Halloween and Springfest, when nightly events are scheduled during the first week of spring. Notable guests include Daniel ToshDaniel Tosh
Daniel Dwight Tosh is an American stand-up comedian and host of the Comedy Central television show, Tosh.0.-Personal life:...
and Recycled Percussion.
Clubs and organizations
Team UAH is internationally renowned for its award-winning concrete canoeConcrete canoe
A concrete canoe is a canoe made of concrete, typically created for an engineering competition.In spirit, the event is similar to that of a cardboard boat race—make the seemingly unfloatable float...
construction competition team, and is the current record holder with five national titles in 1993, 1994, 1996, 1998, and 2001. The National Concrete Canoe Competition is sponsored annually by the American Society of Civil Engineers
American Society of Civil Engineers
The American Society of Civil Engineers is a professional body founded in 1852 to represent members of the civil engineering profession worldwide. It is the oldest national engineering society in the United States. ASCE's vision is to have engineers positioned as global leaders who strive toward...
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The UAH ASME (American Society of Mechanical Engineers) also competes in the annual NASA Great Moonbuggy Race hosted by Marshall Space Flight Center
Marshall Space Flight Center
The George C. Marshall Space Flight Center is the U.S. government's civilian rocketry and spacecraft propulsion research center. The largest center of NASA, MSFC's first mission was developing the Saturn launch vehicles for the Apollo moon program...
in Huntsville, Alabama. The UAH ASME chapter currently holds two championship titles.
Student Success Center
The Student Success Center (SSC) (formerly known as the Academic Resource Center (ARC)) offers tutoring for nearly all freshman and sophomore level courses offered at UAH. Additional tutoring is available for math courses online and in person.The SSC recruits university students for its PASS (Peer Assisted Study Sessions) program, in which students sit in on courses that they have already succeeded in, and offer class-specific study sessions outside of class, usually 3 hours per week. Historically difficult freshman courses are targeted for PASS, including Calculus, Chemistry and Economics.
Recently, the SSC has absorbed the Cooperative Education program.
Cooperative education
UAH offers numerous cooperative education opportunities for its students, many of which lead to post-graduation employment.The Exponent
The Exponent is the name of UAH's newspaper, which is printed weekly and is available at locations around campus free of charge.Notable alumni and Faculty
The current Deputy Prime Minister in LibyaLibya
Libya is an African country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west....
Dr. Mustafa Abushagur is a former professor at UAHuntsville.