The University of Montevallo opened in October 1896 as the Alabama Girls’ Industrial School (AGIS), a women-onlytechnical school that also offered high school-level courses. AGIS became the Alabama Girls’ Technical Institute in 1911, further adding "and College for Women" in 1919. The school gradually phased into being a traditional degree-granting institution, becoming Alabama College, State College for Women in 1923.
The school's supporters lobbied the Alabama Legislature which passed a bill on January 15, 1956 that dropped the designation "State College for Women", effectively making the school coeducational ( though its student body still maintains a 7:5 ratio of women to men). The first men entered the school that same month. In 1965, the board of trustees authorized President D. P. Culp to sign the Certificates of Assurance of Compliance with the Civil Rights Act of 1964.[2] In the fall of 1968, three African American women, Carolyn Buprop, Ruby Kennbrew, and Dorothy (Lilly) Turner, enrolled in the university.[2] On September 1, 1969, Alabama College was renamed the University of Montevallo.
Montevallo is located in the geographic center of the state of Alabama in an area rich with Civil War history. With slightly over 3,000 students, the university generates a significant economic impact on the surrounding communities in Shelby County.
Many of the buildings on campus predate the founding of the college, including King House and Reynolds Hall. The King House is reserved for special guests of the campus, and Reynolds Hall is still used by the Theater Department and alumni relations. King House was reportedly the first home in Alabama to receive pane glass windows.
Montevallo's campus is considered an architectural jewel. Its appearance is more in line with private, elite institutions. The central part of campus is a National Historic District, listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The main portion of the campus was designed by the Olmsted Brothers firm, who also designed theBiltmore House grounds in North Carolina. Frederick Law Olmsted designed Central Park in New York.
[edit]Courses of study
[edit]College of Arts and Sciences
- Biology - BS
- Chemistry - BS
- Education of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing - BS
- English - BA
- Foreign Languages
- History - BA, BS
- Mathematics - BA, BS
- Political Science - BA, BS
- Psychology - BA, BS
- Social Sciences - BA, BS
- Social Work - BA, BS
- Sociology - BA, BS
- Speech-Language Pathology - BS
[edit]Michael E. Stephens College of Business
- Accounting - BBA
- Finance - BBA
- Management - BBA
- Management Information Systems - BBA (Will not be offered as a major after the fall 2009 semester)
- Marketing - BBA
[edit]College of Education
- Early Childhood - BA, BS
- Elementary - BA, BS
-
Family & Consumer Sciences - BA, BS
- Concentration in Child & Family Studies
- Concentration in Dietetics
- Concentration in Family & Consumer Sciences Education
- Concentration in Interior Design
- Concentration in Retail Merchandising
-
Kinesiology - BS
- Concentration in Health Promotion
[edit]College of Fine Arts
-
Art - BA, BS, BFA
- BFA Concentration in Ceramics
- BFA Concentration in Drawing
- BFA Concentration in Graphic Design
- BFA Concentration in Painting
- BFA Concentration in Photography
- BFA Concentration in Printmaking
- BFA Concentration in Sculpture
- BFA Concentration in New Media
- Communication Studies - BA, BS
- Mass Communication - BA, BS
-
Music - BA, BM
- BM Concentration in Composition
- BM Concentration in Instrumental Performance
- BM Concentration in Elementary/Secondary Music Education—Choral
- BM Concentration in Elementary/Secondary Music Education—Instrumental
- BM Concentration in Organ Performance
- BM Concentration in Piano Pedagogy
- BM Concentration in Piano Performance
- BM Concentration in Vocal Performance
-
Theatre - BA, BS, BFA
- BFA Concentration in Acting/directing
- BFA Concentration in Design and Technology
- BFA Concentration in Musical Theatre
[edit]The Graduate School
- Counseling - M.Ed.
- Educational Administration - M.Ed.
- Educational Leadership - Ed.S
- Elementary Education - M.Ed.
- English - M.A.
- Preschool to 12th Grade Education (P-12) - M.Ed.
- Master of Business Administration - MBA - Fall 2010
- Secondary Education (6-12) - M.Ed.
- Speech-Language Pathology - M.S.
- Teacher Leader - Ed. S.
[edit]Campus resources
[edit]The James Wylie Shepherd Observatory
The James Wylie Shepherd Observatory at the University of Montevallo had its first light ceremony in November, 2009. It comprises a 20 inch telescope in a 20 foot dome located 3 miles from campus.[3]
[edit]Ebenezer Swamp Ecological Preserve
The University of Montevallo’s Ebenezer Swamp consists of approximately 60 acres (240,000 m2) of wooded wetlands, and is located on near the headwaters of Spring Creek, approximately 6 miles (9.7 km) northeast of the University in central Alabama. Spring Creek and Ebenezer Swamp form a portion of the headwaters for the ecologically diverse and environmentally sensitive Cahaba River Watershed. The Cahaba is the longest remaining free-flowing river, has more species of fish per mile than any river in North America, and is one of eight river biodiversity hotspots in the U.S.
UM is creating the Ebenezer Swamp Wetlands Interpretive and Research Center (ESWIRC) to focus greater research on wetland ecology and to increase educational opportunities for high school and middle school students from across the state of Alabama. Research goals center on: establishing and maintaining an inventory of plant, animal, and fungal species; monitoring water quality, rainfall, and stream flow rates, and future studies of wetland ecological processes and the effects of encroachment along the swamp margin. Education goals center on raising the profile of the ecologic importance of wetlands to high school and middle school students, while simultaneously providing them with a sound introduction to the underlying principles of biology.
[edit]Greek Life
[edit]Interfraternity Council
Alpha Kappa Lambda (Gamma Delta, 1995)
Alpha Tau Omega (Eta Omega, 1972)
Delta Chi (Montevallo, 1972)
Lambda Chi Alpha (Sigma-Epsilon, 1972)
Pi Kappa Alpha (Theta Beta, 1974)
[edit]Panhellenic Council
Alpha Delta Pi (Zeta Delta, 1971)
Alpha Gamma Delta (Gamma Upsilon, 1972)
Chi Omega (Tau Kappa, 1971)
Delta Gamma (Zeta Nu, 1991)
Phi Mu (Kappa Chi, 1972)
[edit]National Pan-Hellenic Council
Alpha Kappa Alpha (Mu Mu, 1978)
Alpha Phi Alpha (Nu Tau, 1978)
Delta Sigma Theta (Nu Omicron, 1977)
Kappa Alpha Psi (Xi Upsilon, 1995)
Zeta Phi Beta (Tau Pi, 1998)
[edit]Athletics
The University of Montevallo fields 10 NCAA Division II athletic teams that currently compete in the Peach Belt Conference. Men's athletics include:baseball, basketball, soccer, golf. Women's athletics include: basketball, soccer, golf, cross-country, tennis and volleyball.
The university announced in September, 2009 their intention to reinstate Men's cross country [4] in 2010, raising the number of varsity sports offered to 11.
[edit]Men's basketball
- 2004 GSC Champion
- 2005 GSC Champion
- 2006 NCAA South Region Champions
- 2006 NCAA Elite Eight Quarterfinalists
- 2007 GSC Champion
- 2007 NCAA South Region Champions
- 2007 NCAA Elite Eight Quarterfinalists
[edit]Men's baseball
[edit]Men's soccer
- 1999 GSC Champions
- 2004 GSC Champions
- 2007 NCAA South Region Champions
- 2007 Final Four
- 2010 PBC Champions
[edit]Notable faculty and staff
- William Sledge Cobb, the university's writer-in-residence for 13 years, is a critically acclaimed novelist and short-story writer whose works includeComing of Age at the Y, A Walk through Fire (nominated for the 1992 Pulitzer Prize), Harry Reunited, and A Spring of Souls. He is the 2007 recipient of the Alabama Writers' Forum's Harper Lee Award for a Distinguished Alabama Writer.
- Eugene Bondurant Sledge, PhD, recounted his experiences in the Pacific theater of World War II in the book With the Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa. He is portrayed in the HBO miniseries "The Pacific". He was a professor of biology and a specialist in ornithology at the university until his death in 2001.