The Academic Affairs and Student Affairs Committee of the University of Alabama System on April 4 recommended approval of 37 action items spanning the system's three universities, including new degree programs, departmental reorganizations and several endowed appointments.

The committee moved the items to the board with unanimous committee votes after presentations from system and campus academic leaders. Tonjanita Johnson, senior vice chancellor for Academic and Student Affairs, presented system-level items; James Dalton, UA executive vice president and provost, and provosts from UAB and UAH presented campus proposals.

The recommendations include final and initial program approvals, departmental establishment, the creation and appointment of endowed chairs and professorships, and routine administrative requests. Committee members voiced no substantive opposition before votes were taken; meeting minutes record the chair calling for the ayes and declaring the items approved.

Votes at a glance (committee recommendation sent to the board):
- Master of Science in Translational Science and Medicine (UA): recommended for approval. James Dalton described the program as research‑heavy and designed to prepare students for careers in biomedical and pharmaceutical research and for further graduate or medical study. Outcome: recommended to the board (committee vote: approved).
- Establish Department of Hospitality and Sport Management (UA): requested implementation by fall 2027 to separate hospitality and sport management from the department housing nutrition programs. Outcome: recommended to the board (committee vote: approved).
- Three endowed positions at UA and one endowed chair appointment: Robert and Laura Abernathy Endowed Chair in Medicinal Chemistry; Christopher Edward Dietrich Endowed Professorship (Culverhouse College of Business); Alan Pizzatola Endowed Marketing Professorship (Culverhouse College of Business); appointment of Dr. Carla L. Atkinson as the Howard Gray and Lois Boozer Douglas Endowed Chair in Biological Sciences. Outcome: recommended to the board (committee vote: approved).
- UAB: Final approval (previously granted initial approval 11/08/2024) for a Bachelor of Science in Esports Performance Management and Coaching (title revised to remove “Kinesiology”), plus initial approvals for a Master of Science in Applied Nutrition and a Bachelor of Science in Medical Laboratory Sciences. UAB presenters said the programs respond to workforce demand; UAB agreed to post‑implementation reviews and interim reporting where required. Outcome: recommended to the board (committee vote: approved).
- UAB administrative items (24 items presented as a group): establishment of a Division of Global and Rural Health in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology; multiple endowed professorships and lectureships; closure of three centers (Center for Advanced Surgical Aesthetics; UAB Cleft and Craniofacial Center; UAB HudsonAlpha Center for Genomic Medicine); renaming requests including a name change tied to a $5,000,000 commitment (Killian Center) and other conversions/renamings; multiple faculty appointments to endowed positions. Outcome: recommended to the board (committee vote: approved).
- UAH: Final approval of a Bachelor of Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies (initial approval 11/08/2024); initial approvals for a Bachelor of Science in Cyber Operations Technology and a Bachelor of Science in Game Design (both presented as workforce‑oriented programs); and approval of the appointment of Dr. George J. Nelson as the inaugural Ashok K. Singhal Endowed Chair in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering. Outcome: recommended to the board (committee vote: approved).

Why it matters: the approved items add to the system’s mix of applied and research‑oriented programs aimed at workforce needs (cybersecurity, medical laboratory sciences, translational medicine, esports management), reposition academic units for visibility and partnerships (new department at UA), and secure philanthropic support through named chairs and professorships that can influence hiring and research capacity.

What presenters said: James Dalton called the proposed UA master’s program “an exciting, new master’s program” with a heavy emphasis on research experience and industry partnerships. UAB leaders noted added post‑implementation monitoring steps for the Esports program and framed the new applied nutrition and medical laboratory programs as responses to state and national workforce shortages.

Details and follow up: many approvals were contingent on previously agreed post‑implementation reporting (for example, UAB’s Esports program will submit an interim review after three years). Where programs will reassign or rename existing coursework, presenters said no new campus resources were required; where new departments or endowed appointments are involved, implementation dates and search/appointment details were included in committee materials submitted in advance.

The committee also heard system information items such as notice of a National Center for Education Statistics zip code update requested by the Alabama Commission on Higher Education to align inventory codes for similar certificate programs at UAB and UAH, and a post‑implementation status report that recommended discontinuation of UAH’s Bachelor of Science in Individualized Science after low enrollment. Those information items were presented for committee awareness rather than formal committee action.

Next steps: the committee’s recommendations were submitted to the full Board of Trustees for final action. Where interim reviews or teach‑out plans were noted, campuses must complete the specified post‑implementation reporting or teach‑out steps to satisfy regulatory or accreditor requirements.