October 18, 2002

BIRMINGHAM, AL — A quarter century ago, Dr. S. Richardson (Dick) Hill was named the second president of the University of Alabama at Birmingham. The university honored him today, placing a statue bearing his likeness in the UAB Mini Park, alongside a sculpture of the first UAB President Joseph Volker.

“It is fitting that we should honor one of the men who carries a tremendous amount of responsibility for creating the foundations of this world-class institution,” said current UAB president Carol Z. Garrison. “I remember when Dr. Hill was named president of the university and the energy he brought to campus. His drive and emphatic ‘can do’ attitude continue to permeate this institution.”

Hill was named president of UAB in 1977, having served as vice president for health affairs since 1968. He originally came to UAB in 1954 as the first director of the Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism in the Department of Medicine and was named dean of the School of Medicine in 1962.

Throughout his tenure at UAB, Hill’s main priority was to bring the best and the brightest intellectual talent to UAB.

“If we were to compete in the national and international arenas, UAB had to attract bright young people and develop a reputation for excellence,” Hill said. “We wrote grant applications, published papers, submitted abstracts to be presented at national meetings. It did not matter whether you were a faculty member, a student, a resident, a fellow or an intern. We all had to contribute in order to compete successfully. The outcome included some outstanding research discoveries that were published in peer reviewed national publications.”

The result of these efforts is a world-renowned university with more than $370 million annually in research funding. UAB currently is ranked 29th in the nation in federal research and development funding, and 20th in the nation in funding from the National Institutes of Health, with nine departments ranked among the top 10 (including microbiology at the #1 spot).

“Dick Hill and Joseph Volker (UAB’s first president) set the tone for how this university would function and how high we would reach,” said Charles A. (Scotty) McCallum, UAB’s third president. “It was very easy to follow their direction, while extremely difficult to live up to the standards each man established. Dick Hill truly moved this university forward and created something that all of us who have any association with UAB should be extremely proud of.”

The bronze statue was created by Ira Chaffin of Watson, Alabama. One of his most well-known pieces is the bust of Joe Lee Griffin in the American Cancer Society Building.

Several of Hill’s longtime friends conceived the idea of honoring this visionary. Through their generous gifts, the statue now looks out over University Boulevard and the Hill University Center, which is named for Hill.