In 2008 the University of Alabama at Birmingham silently set a goal to reach one billion dollars in donations only to go public with the said goal in 2013. According to the university website they ultimately reached their goal in 2018. Most recently The University of Alabama at Birmingham has received a $100 million donation for its Medical School from Marnix E. Heersink a renowned eye doctor. Dr. Heersink notes, “In just five years, the UAB School of Medicine grew its National Institutes of Health research portfolio by $100 million, making it one of only eight schools in the country to do so. This growth catapulted the School of Medicine’s NIH ranking from No. 31 in 2014 to No. 21 among all schools and the top 10 for public medical schools. In addition, 12 departments ranked among the top 20”. The funds would involve expanding not only the UAB School of Medicine but the construction of Marnix E. Heersink Institute of Biomedical Innovation and the Mary Heersink Institute for Global Health, the Insititue for Global Health would be named after Dr. Heersink’s wife.
“The pledge also intends to establish and name a new, first-of-its-kind biomedical institute and an associated endowed support fund — the Marnix E. Heersink Institute of Biomedical Innovation and the Marnix E. Heersink Institute for Biomedical Innovation Endowed Support Fund — as well as name the Marnix E. Heersink Institute for Biomedical Innovation Conference Center. The institute will focus on entrepreneurial health care innovation initiatives that foster and facilitate health care and socioeconomic transformation.” The expansion and improvement of the University of Alabama at Birmingham saw an increase in businesses both corporate and small and an increase in migration to Jefferson County; according to the US Census from 2015-2019, 32,304 people moved to Jefferson County alone. Perhaps an even greater impact from the migration and expansions is the political makeup of Jefferson County.
Alabama is a historically Republican state and remains so to this day, however, a closer look at the counties themselves notates a shift in political ideologies amongst Jefferson County residents over the last decade. According to the Alabama Secretary of State in 2012, the county voted on a ratio of 73/27 percent in favor of the Republicans in the General Election for President of the United States. In 2016 the voters flipped entirely going 73/27 in favor of Democrats. Finally, in the most recent election 2020, the split was 82/18 in favor of the Democratic candidate. Strictly looking at Jefferson Counties' statistics as this is the county that the University resides in, it is worth noting the impact the economic expansion of the University has had on the political climate of the City of Birmingham.
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Alabama is a historically Republican state and remains so to this day, however, a closer look at the counties themselves notates a shift in political ideologies amongst Jefferson County residents over the last decade. According to the Alabama Secretary of State in 2012, the county voted on a ratio of 73/27 percent in favor of the Republicans in the General Election for President of the United States. In 2016 the voters flipped entirely going 73/27 in favor of Democrats. Finally, in the most recent election 2020, the split was 82/18 in favor of the Democratic candidate. Strictly looking at Jefferson Counties' statistics as this is the county that the University resides in, it is worth noting the impact the economic expansion of the University has had on the political climate of the City of Birmingham.
Additional Information:
Author
Joe Donohue is an English Major at the University of Alabama Birmingham. Born and raised in the Empire State, Joe moved to Birmingham four years ago. He has published ghost writing for a novel and will be graduating with his Bachelor’s degree in Summer 2022.
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