No place for a Steel Magnolia: known for her bold appointments and steadfast support of diversity, Dr. Ann Reynolds is forced out of UAB - Faculty Club - Special Report: Recruitment & Retention - Cover Story - University of Alabama - Statistical Data Included

Black Issues in Higher Education, Oct 25, 2001 by Kendra Hamilton

Reynolds agrees that higher education is in a period of flux regarding the issues that are dearest to her heart. Absent a commitment in the courts or in the halls of government to correcting systemic and historic inequalities, "individuals will have to be deeply committed because the public schools are more segregated today than they were at the time of Brown vs. the Board of Education," says Reynolds.

But she thinks she can remain effective even without the bully pulpit of the UAB presidency.

"I'm ordering a book today -- the second installment of the life of W.E.B. DuBois," she says. "It touched and interested me how much he achieved alone, especially after the age of 60. He did not work well in big organizations, but he wrote wonderfully, and he was very determined, and he accomplished a great deal alone. So that's got me resonating to the idea of the role of individuals."

Reynolds, meanwhile, remains unfailingly gracious in her public comments about the university. "I've worked with some outstanding people here, and I'm very grateful to all of them," she says.

Indeed, she gives the impression that she's far too busy to brood over the hand that's been dealt her. She's maintaining her regular schedule of meetings and public events. "I was with our football team at Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg ... where unfortunately we lost by three points," she says, adding, "As my staff will tell you, I'm still working flat-out for UAB, and I've got a very busy year ahead of me."

Asked if she will return to UAB after her sabbatical as a member of the biology faculty, Reynolds pauses. "I'm a little undecided about what I would like to do next."

She says, however, that she has been asked to stay on in Birmingham to work with CORD -- the Center for Outreach and Development, which has pioneered science program in the Birmingham City Schools for both teachers and students. But she hasn't yet made a decision.

"To be honest, I've never actively looked for a job. Things have kind of emerged -- opportunities have come up," Reynolds explains. "I will put it this way though: As has been my career path since 1982, anything I do next would continue to be something that has a heavy minority involvement.

"If individuals are really going to have to make this a crusade, I want to continue to be one of those individuals, and I think that's been and will be my legacy."

UAB at a Glance

FALL 2001
Total freshman enrollment:    1,305
White:                          710
Black:                          489
Asian:                           61
Hispanic/Latino:                  7
Did not specify:                 38

FALL 2000
Total freshman enrollment:    1,301
White:                          718
Black:                          447
Asian:                           73
Hispanic/Latino:                 26
Did not specify:                 38

BLACK FRESHMAN ENROLLMENT
In 2001                         37%
In 2000                         34%
In 1999                       31.5%

EMPLOYMENT AT UAB FOR 2000
Full-time Black faculty:       4.5%
    (78 of 1,750 full-time faculty)
Black administrators:          8.6%
                        (22 of 256)

From Fall 1989
to Fall 1999,
Black faculty
increased by
68%

Source: University of Alabama at Birmingham.