Future $64.5 million UAB Science and Engineering Building slated for Southside

Stage I approval has been secured from the University of Alabama System Board of Trustees. Now plans move ahead for a new science and engineering complex on UAB’s urban campus in Birmingham.

The Details

• Academic disciplines that will call the new UAB science and engineering complex home: the departments of biology, physics and chemistry within the College of Arts and Sciences, as well as the College of Engineering.
• Location: 14th Street South between University Boulevard and 10th Avenue South in Birmingham (the site of UAB’s current Education Building.)
• Size: 115,000 square feet for classrooms, labs and admin space
• Cost: $64.5 million

“As our programs in science and engineering continue to grow, it is important that we provide facilities to support their educational and research efforts. The new complex will enhance facilities to support strategic initiatives around education, research, innovation and economic development, as well as community engagement.”

Pam Benoit, UAB provost

Staying Competitive Globally

UAB already kills it in rankings nationally and worldwide. In 2018, the Center for World University Rankings, the largest academic ranking of global universities, listed UAB 191st out of 18,000 universities worldwide.

Continual upgrades to campus, like the future science and engineering complex, help UAB keep its competitive edge—and that’s good for Birmingham, too. The following UAB facilities have either recently opened, are under construction or are planned for the future.

• Collat School of Business, which celebrated the grand opening of its new facility in August 2018.
• Hill Student Center
• Police and Public Safety Headquarters
• School of Nursing
• LEED-certified buildings to be completed by 2020, including the science and engineering complex, a new residential hall and a new Honors College building.

“This new science and engineering complex will serve as an engine that will transform education and provide new economic development opportunities for UAB, the city of Birmingham and the state of Alabama.”

Robert Palazzo, dean of the UAB College of Arts and Sciences