BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — UAB, the University of Alabama at Birmingham, is now the only school in the state that belongs to the Association of American Universities, after accepting an invitation this week to join the group of top research institutions.
Formed in 1900, the AAU picks members by scoring a long list of numbers that track the reach and quality of a campus’s research and teaching. It had not added anyone since 2023. UAB and Georgetown University were invited together, bringing the association to 73 members, with 71 in the U.S. and two in Canada. Current members include Vanderbilt, Duke, Purdue and Johns Hopkins.
The growth of UAB’s research budget is the core of its case. When Ray Watts took over as president in 2013, the university spent $379 million a year on research. That figure now tops $915 million.
The university is also the largest employer in Alabama. More than 37,000 people work across the campus and its health system, which runs 15 hospitals, among them the fifth-largest hospital in the country. UAB offers more than 180 degree programs and has enrolled its biggest freshman class two years running.
Watts thanked the faculty, staff and partners behind the research growth, along with the trustees who govern the UA System, and AAU President Barbara R. Snyder welcomed both new schools.
Sid J. Trant, who leads the UA System as chancellor, said the jump in research spending reflects work that improves and saves lives, and he praised the students, staff and backers who helped raise the school’s profile. For Birmingham, the membership puts its largest institution in the same research circle as many of the best-known campuses in the country, a label that can help when recruiting faculty, students and grant dollars.
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