UAB’s strategic plan, presidential strategic initiatives, and institutional priorities work together to guide the university’s direction, strengthen our community, and accelerate progress across our mission areas. Together, these efforts represent UAB’s most ambitious, high impact commitments to collaboration, innovation, and improving lives across Birmingham, Alabama, and beyond. Aligning campuswide strategy, investment, and partnership, they support research excellence, student success, data informed decision making, community well being, and transformative institutional improvement.
Institutional Priority Initiatives
Strategic Plan
UAB’s strategic plan, Forging Ahead, outlines our mission, vision, values, peers, foundations, and pillars. It also outlines goals for each school, college, and unit across the institution.
Strategic Investment Fund (SIF)
The SIF provides one-time support for strategic projects that benefit the entire institution. This targeted funding empowers the UAB community to shape the future of the university.
Key Strategic Initiatives
Research Strategic Initiative
UAB continues to strengthen its research enterprise through coordinated investments in people, infrastructure, and streamlined processes, strengthening its position as a national leader in discovery and innovation.
The ‘SUCCESS’ Initiative
The Strategic and Unifying Campus Collaboration that Empowers Students to Succeed (SUCCESS) Initiative unifies enrollment strategy, student support, and coordinated services to enhance every stage of the student journey from first interest through graduation.
Igniting Data Insights Initiative
Igniting Data Insights is creating a secure, integrated data environment that improves access to reliable information and enables timely, insight driven decisions across the institution.
Other Institutional Priorities
Campus Engagement Survey
Regular campus engagement surveys provide crucial insights into the employee experience, guiding improvements in communication, professional development, recognition, and workplace culture. Results from the 2025 survey continue to shape meaningful actions and reinforce UAB’s standing as a Great Colleges to Work For® institution.
Community Engagement
UAB engages the community through meaningful, mutually beneficial partnerships that advance the public good. Using platforms like BlazerPulse, students, faculty, staff, nonprofits, and community partners connect through volunteerism, service learning, and civic engagement. These efforts including partnerships with local organizations and support through the UAB Benevolent Fund strengthen the Birmingham region and promote a campuswide culture of service.
Grand Challenge
As UAB’s inaugural Grand Challenge, Live HealthSmart Alabama leads a comprehensive, statewide effort to improve health by tackling policy, systems, and built‑environment barriers. Selected from 77 proposals, it partners with communities to increase access to nutrition, prevention, physical activity, and education, expanding across Alabama to make healthy living simple and sustainable.