The
University of Montevallo is one of Alabama's most cherished institutions. For
more than a century it has served the state in a distinctive and distinguished
role. For decades it was known as Alabama College, evolving form its founding in
1896 as a statewide educational institution for women into Alabama's
coeducational public liberal arts university. The University has developed from
its beginning as a girls' school with a curriculum covering high school
subjects, special work in commercial courses, normal training, music and
domestics arts to a university granting undergraduate and graduate degrees.
Degree offering include bachelor of arts, bachelor os science, bachelor of
business administration and bachelor of fine arts; and graduate degrees of
master of arts, master of science, master of education, master of music,
educational specialist and Class AA certification.
The
University's mission, unique in higher
education in Alabama, is "to provide to
students from throughout the state an
affordable, geographically accessible,
'small college' public higher educational
experience of high quality, with at strong
emphasis on undergraduate liberal studies
and with professional programs supported
by a broad base of arts and sciences,
designed for their intellectual and
personal growth in the pursuit of
meaningful employment and responsible,
informed citizenship. "Affirmed by the
Board of Trustees in 1978, 1989 and again
in 1996 in conjunction with the Report of
the Second Century Commission, the mission
statement is incorporated into state
statutes.
Dr.
Robert McChesney, the University of
Montevallo's 13th president, is a true
champion of UM's legislatively mandated
mission. "Our steadfast emphasis on
high-quality instruction, our tradition of
academic excellence and our undying belief
in the liberal arts and sciences have
ensured our distinctive niche as Alabama's
only public liberal art university," he
said.