In 1936, UA established an extension center in Birmingham, and the University of Alabama School of Medicine moved there in the same year.

Its mission is to advance the intellectual and social condition of the people of the state through quality programs of teaching, research and service.

[3] UAB is a vital economic engine of the state of Alabama with an estimated $7.15 billion annual impact.

UAB is currently the state's largest employer with more than 24,000 faculty and staff and over 64,000 jobs at the university and in the health system.

This university is organized into five colleges: business, engineering, the liberal arts, nursing, and the sciences.

The Chancellor also provides linkage between the System and various components of state and federal governments, as well as other educational groups and organizations.

The makeup of the board is dictated by the Constitution of the State of Alabama which requires that the board be made up of three members from the congressional district that contains the Tuscaloosa campus and two members from every other congressional district in Alabama.