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The College of Community Health Sciences at The University of Alabama
was established as a college in 1972 in response to the Alabama Legislature’s
mandate to solve the critical need for health care in rural Alabama. In the
same year, the College was designated as a branch campus of the University
of Alabama School of Medicine to provide clinical training to medical students.
Dr. William Willard was recruited to be the College’s first dean following
his retirement from The University of Kentucky. Dean Willard was known as
the father of family medicine for his national role in establishing the field
of family medicine. He soon began recruiting the initial faculty and staff,
and the first full-time students entered the program in 1974.
Since that time, the College has educated over 345 residents who are now
working in medical practices, hospitals and universities throughout the United
States and have been leaders in national and state medical associations.
The University of Alabama School of Medicine, Tuscaloosa Campus, has educated
over 580 medical students who have been competitive in obtaining entry to
prestigious residencies across the country in family medicine and a variety
of specialties including anesthesiology, psychiatry, neurology, and surgery.
Today, the College of Community Health Sciences is located in a state-of-the-art
77,000 square-foot facility which houses University Medical Center, Rural
Health Institute for Clinical and Translational Sciences, educational facilities,
and the College administration. In the three years since moving into this
beautiful new facility, the College has seen improved efficiency in our clinical
operation, enhanced recruitment of students, residents, faculty and patients,
and increased visibility on the University of Alabama campus and the West
Alabama Community.
In addition, the College administers the University of
Alabama Student Health Center in a new adjacent facility. This new facility
has been embraced by the students, and we are working hard to meet the demands
as the student population is rapidly growing.
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