http://uasystem.edu/news/2020/02/chancel...ch-center/
The UA System is seeking a $50M special contribution from the state towards the construction of a genomics research facility at UAB.
From the article:
"Chancellor St. John said securing this “transformational investment” from the State is the Board of Trustees’ highest priority in 2020. He added that U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby has already secured a commitment for federal funding to help establish the UAB research center.
If we do not seize this opportunity now, someone else will. If we do seize it, generations will thank us,” he said, comparing the UAB’s research center’s catalytic potential to that of NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, the Mercedes-Benz auto assembly plant, and the Port of Mobile.
Ron Gray, President Pro Tempore of The UA System Board of Trustees, said that, with state funding, this facility and the intellectual talent at UAB will establish Birmingham and Alabama as the epicenter of personalized medicine in the U.S. and the world.
“Not Boston. Not Minneapolis. Not San Francisco. But Birmingham,” Gray said at the Trustees’ meeting.
I know the BOT's support of the research/medical side of UAB has never been in question, but I think it's good to see them being so vocal pushing to get this project funded and establishing it as their top priority. It could have a massive impact on Birmingham's economy.