University of Alabama President Judy Bonner presented the UA Institutional Presentation to the Board of Trustees on Friday, which outlined an overview of her first year in office and detailed ‘success agendas’ for students and faculty.
Bonner recapped some of the year’s pivotal events including the Through the Doors celebration of 50 years of University integration, the death of former UA Athletics Director Mal Moore and the success following continuous open bidding for Panhellenic sororities.
“We have one of the most beautiful campuses in America, but the asset we have that makes this university the capstone of higher education is our people,” Bonner said. “Going forward, we are going to focus more sharply on creating a culture of success for our students, for our faculty and staff and for our community and state.”
Bonner said the University will continue to “aggressively recruit the best and brightest students” for the incoming freshman classes and cited the large progress made in enrollment and academics over the last five years.
“Over the last five years The University of Alabama has increased its freshman class by 1,304 students,” Bonner said. “Collectively, the 13 public universities in our state have increased the first time, full time students by 1,504. In other words, The University of Alabama has contributed 87 percent of the new students studying at our public universities.”
This year’s profile of the freshman class included 6,478 students with an average ACT score of 25.8 and a 3.6 average high school GPA. Twenty-seven percent of the class scored a 30 or higher on the ACT and 1,768 had a 4.0 high school GPA.
Over the last five years, the University has increased the number of degrees granted by 2,000, or by 42 percent. For the 2012-2013 school year, UA offered $100,494,977 in scholarship support to students, an increase of more than $16 million from the year before and a $64 million increase since 2008.
The University also employs almost 6,000 students, ranging from undergraduate federal work-study to graduate programs. For the 2012-13 school year, student employee earnings totaled $32,863,259.
The presentation also detailed collaboration between the College of Engineering and College of Commerce and Business Administration, which includes programs such the STEM pathway to the MBA, IDEALab and The Edge.
Bonner also outlined faculty progress at the University with a faculty success agenda.
“If we are going to be successful, we’ve got to have the best and brightest faculty to mentor the best and brightest students,” Bonner said. “We’ve got to ensure that we provide an environment that provides an opportunity for them to be successful.”
Faculty employment for both part time and full time has increased by 300 since the 2009-10 school year. Of the 300, 142 faculty members are full time, and 158 are part time. In 2012, UA faculty received $72.8 million in awards. Additionally, four departments in the College of Arts and Sciences, five departments in the College of Engineering, and four other colleges have had on average $2 million granted in awards annually for the last five years.
“Going forward, this university will foster an environment where our faculty can be successful in taking their ideas and their innovation to commercialization,” Bonner said. “I am so proud of the fact that over the last five years, our faculty have filed 316 patents and received 68 patents. This will be an emphasis as we move forward.”
Bonner closed her presentation thanking UA System Chancellor Robert Witt and the Board for their support and guidance during her first year in office as president of the University.
“We can create an environment that fosters success and if we work together and do our best, this University can do anything,” she said. “We will be the capstone of higher education with the culture of success.”
