Talking Points

Academic Success

  • The University of Alabama set a new enrollment record for fall 2025 welcoming 42,360 students, a 3.7% increase. (Date added: 9/15/25)
  • The freshman class boasts a record 362 National Merit Scholars, a 37.1% increase, reinforcing the University’s status in the state and nation as a destination for high-achieving students from across the country. (Date added: 9/15/25)
  • UA saw a more than 4% increase of in-state students, demonstrating UA’s role as the state’s flagship institution and a vital contributor to the state’s workforce. (Date added: 9/15/25)
  • UA’s commitment to student success begins before students even step foot on campus, as demonstrated by a 30.8% rise in in-state Early College enrollment. (Date added: 9/15/25)
  • UA enrollment in the Graduate School surpassed 6,200, another new record. (Date added: 9/15/25)
  • With students from every Alabama county, all 50 states, the District of Columbia and 99 countries, UA is educating and graduating more students than any college in the state, awarding more than 9,500 degrees over the past year. (Date added: 9/15/25)
  • The Fulbright Program selected 15 UA students for various awards for the 2025-2026 academic year. (Date added: 6/10/25)
  • UA was named a Top Producing Institution of Fulbright U.S. Students, a distinction that UA has now earned eight times in the last 10 years.  (Date added: 2/25/25)
  • Sixty-nine students have been named Goldwater Scholars. (Date updated: 4/1/25)
  • UA has produced a total of 17 Rhodes Scholars, 16 Truman Scholars, 45 Hollings Scholars and 21 Boren Scholars. (Date updated: 7/9/25)

University Rankings and Impact

  • UA named the College of Engineering in honor of Lee J. Styslinger Jr., following a $25 million gift commitment from his wife, Catherine Styslinger. (Date added: 10/17/25)
  • The Capstone College of Nursing ranks No. 22 on U.S. News & World Report's list of Best Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) Programs. (Date added: 9/23/25)
  • The Culverhouse College of Business ranks No. 31 among public universities on U.S. News and World Report’s list of Best Undergraduate Business Programs. (Date added: 9/23/25)
  • UA made Forbes’ lists of America's Best Employers By State, America's Best Employers for Women and Best Employers for New Grads, as well as America's Top Colleges 2026. (Date updated: 8/26/25)
  • The Inclusive Higher Education Accreditation Council awarded full accreditation to the CrossingPoints Tier 3 Program, making it the first accredited program of its kind in the Southeastern Conference and the state of Alabama. (Date added: 7/17/25)
  • Dr. M.N.V. Ravi Kumar was selected for the Fulbright-Nehru Scholar Award that will allow him to conduct vital research at the National Institute of Nutrition in Hyderabad, India. (Date added: 7/17/25)
  • UA’s surge of philanthropic giving under President Stuart R. Bell has propelled the Rising Tide 2.0 capital campaign past its $1.8 billion goal. (Date added: 6/10/25)
  • Alumnus J. Frank Barefield Jr. has made a $35 million gift commitment to UA to name the College of Arts and Sciences. (Date added 6/6/25)
  • UA is ranked among the top 2.4% universities in the world according to the Global 2000 list by the Center for World University Rankings. (Date added: 6/2/25)
  • More than 1,500 people made gifts to UA during the eighth annual Bama Blitz fundraising campaign. (Date added: 4/23/25)
  • PRWeek listed the College of Communication and Information Sciences’ public relations program among the top five in the nation for the 11th time.
  • The journalism and creative media program ranks No. 15 among 2024 Top Winning Film and Video Programs by Broadcast Education Association.
  • U.S. News and World Report ranked the School of Law No. 12 among public universities on its list of Best Law Schools. The law school also ranked No. 5 among public universities for Law Schools with the Most Graduates in Federal Clerkships. (Date added: 4/8/25)
  • U.S. News and World Report ranked the UA Manderson Graduate School MBA Program is ranked No. 27 among public business schools on the list of best business graduate schools. (Date added: 4/8/25)
  • The library and information studies program ranks No. 21 on U.S. News and World Report’s list of the Best Library and Information Studies Programs. (Date added: 4/8/25)
  • UA is among eight universities in the nation and the only flagship public university to receive an A rating on the Anti-Defamation League’s 2025 Campus Antisemitism Report Card. (Date added: 3/4/25)
  • The Princeton Review listed UA among its Best Online Masters of Public Health for 2025. (Date added: 2/12/25)
  • The Capstone College of Nursing boasts a 100% National Council Licensure Examination pass rate among its 2024 graduates, as reported by the Alabama Board of Nursing. (Date added: 2/5/25)
  • UA appeared on 14 U.S. News and World Report lists ranking the Best Online Programs. UA ranked in the top 10 of the Best Online Master’s in Nursing Programs for Veterans (No. 2), Best Online Bachelor’s in Business Programs (No. 5), Best Online Master’s in Nursing Programs (No. 6), Best Online Master’s in Nursing Administration Programs (No. 7) and Best Online Master’s in Nursing Education Programs (No. 7). (Date added: 1/21/25)
  • UA made TIME magazine’s list of Best Colleges for Future Leaders 2025. (Date added: 11/21/24)
  • UA is listed among Fortune magazine’s Best MBA Programs for 2025. (Date added: 11/20/24)
  • UA achieved another record-breaking year in fundraising for the fiscal year, with more than $261 million in charitable gifts and pledges from over 60,000 donors. (Date added: 10/24/24)
  • Travel + Leisure magazine listed Tuscaloosa among its 25 Best College Towns and Citiesin the U.S. (Date added: 10/24/24)
  • The UA School of Social Work master's program ranks No. 17 among public universities on U.S. News and World Report's list of Best Schools for Social Work as part of its Best Graduate Schools rankings. (Date added: 4/9/24)
  • Total statewide economic impact of UA: $3.333 billion; 14,505 jobs; and $151.6 million in income and sales taxes, according to 2022-2023 Economic Impacts of UA. (Date added: 2/10/25)

Facility Excellence and Expansion

  • The Psychology Buildingopened following a major renovation and addition to what was formerly known as Searcy Hall along Peter Bryce Boulevard. Renovations included the installation of a large lecture hall, classrooms, labs and office space to support the psychology department’s relocation from Gordon Palmer Hall. (Date added: 8/25/25)
  • McLure Library reopened after extensive renovations to provide additional space and modern updates to offer a new home for the School of Library and Information Studies and better serve the College of Education. (Date added: 8/19/25)
  • With renovations to its spaces complete and several new, leading-edge instruments installed, the Alabama Materials Institute bridges the gap between the University and partners in industry and government. (Date added: 8/6/25)
  • UA was recognized as a Tree Campus USA by the Arbor Day Foundation for the 10th consecutive year. (Date added: 4/1/25)
  • The UA Board of Trustees gave final approval for the plans to build the new High Performance Computing and Data Center on the eastern edge of campus. The project is scheduled for completion in late 2026. (Date added: 11/12/24)

Research Success

  • Dr. Tricia McElroy, associate professor in the department of English, is the new executive director of the nation’s largest and most prominent professional organization devoted to the study of Shakespeare. With her appointment, the Shakespeare Association of America will move its headquarters to UA. (Date added: 9/25/25)
  • UA is the headquarters of a tri-state initiative that will create a premier research and development hub for research-enabled mobility innovation that drives economic and workforce development. (Date added: 8/27/25)
  • Scientists at UA have developed a bio-engineered molecule that uses a natural compound to both target and treat inflammation. (Date added: 8/14/25)
  • In a study funded by the National Science Foundation, UA researchers developed a new model designed to help these communities develop more effective wildfire evacuation plans. (Date added: 7/8/25)
  • The Alabama Materials Institute will aid the Air Force Research Laboratory in developing technology related to a new satellite propellant. The AFRL-developed Advanced Spacecraft Energetic Non-Toxic propellant is less toxic and burns hotter than current satellite-based propellants, resulting in greater efficiency. (Date added: 6/18/25)
  • UA was again listed among the National Academy of Inventors' Top 100 U.S. Universities Granted U.S. Utility Patents. (Date added: 4/17/25)
  • Dr. M.N.V. Ravi Kumar was selected as UA’s recipient of the 2025 Southeastern Conference Faculty Achievement Award. (Date added: 2/24/25)
  • The UA research enterprise marked 10 years of continuous growth in fiscal year 2024, with gains in overall funding, new awards and the number of proposals submitted. New awards classified as research grew by nearly 21% compared to the previous fiscal year. In total, the University received $269.9 million in sponsored awards, marking an all-time high in external funding. (Date added: 12/17/24)
  • Forty-one current UA faculty have received NSF CAREER Awards, one of the nation’s most prestigious recognitions of top-performing young scientists, in disciplines ranging from nanoscience and engineering to biological sciences. (Date added: 7/22/24)
  • The Carnegie Foundation lists The University of Alabama among the top doctoral research universities in the United States. UA is included among R1: Very High Spending and Doctorate Production status in the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education. (Date updated: 2/17/25)

Student Success

  • UA junior Camila Lopez was one of 100 in the nation awarded the Obama Foundation’s Voyager Scholarship that recognizes college students with a passion for public service. (Date added: 10/14/25)
  • The Million Dollar Band was selected to perform at the 100th Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in 2026. (Date added: 10/7/25)
  • Aidan Meyers, a student in the department of biology and a Blount Scholar, received a Summer Student Fellowship from the Parkinson’s Foundation earlier this year to support research on a gene that appears to be related to Parkinson’s Disease. Meyers was one of only 12 students worldwide, including medical students, to receive the grant. (Date added: 9/25/25)
  • UA’s McCollough Institute for Pre-Medical Scholars program once again celebrated a class earning 100% acceptance rate for medical and graduate school. (Date added: 8/5/25)
  • UA's chapter of Tikkun Olam Makers, a student organization dedicated to engineering low-cost, open-source assistive devices, was the only U.S. university to win a grand prize at the TOM Global Innovation Challenge — and one of only two U.S. schools to earn multiple awards. (Date added: 7/8/25)
  • Zachary Griffith and Jesse Park were selected for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Ernest F. Hollings Undergraduate Scholarship. (Date added: 7/9/25)
  • Four UA students were offered Critical Language Scholarships to study overseas this summer. (Date added: 5/27/25)
  • Bennett Ogle was selected for a Boren Scholarship for the study of languages in world regions critical to U.S. interests and underrepresented in study abroad. (Date added: 5/15/25)
  • Ian Brunetz, Emily Gokie, Gabrielle Kowkabany and Blake Yuenger were selected as Goldwater Scholars for 2025-2026. (Date added: 4/1/25)
  • UA Miracle raised $223,725 for Children’s of Alabama during its latest annual fundraising efforts. (Date added: 2/17/25)
  • UA students raised 431,120 pounds of food during the 31st annual Beat Auburn Beat Hunger food drive. (Date added: 11/22/24)
  • Kate Herndon was among 32 in the nation to receive the Rhodes Scholarship, the most prestigious academic award for American college graduates and the oldest award for international study. (Date added: 11/18/24)