TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The University of Alabama will celebrate the 175th anniversary of its founding at a Founder’s Day Program and birthday party Wednesday, April 12 at 3:30 p.m. on the UA Quad in front of Gorgas Library. The public is invited.

The program will feature remarks by UA President Robert E. Witt and two of UA’s 15 Rhodes Scholars – Dr. Dwight Eddins and Brad Tuggle. Tuscaloosa Mayor Walt Maddox will present a proclamation from the City of Tuscaloosa and a representative of Gov. Riley’s office will present a proclamation from the governor.

While the University is marking its 175th anniversary with events and activities throughout 2006, April 12 is its true anniversary date. Inaugural ceremonies for the University were held on April 12, 1831. The first students were enrolled on April 18, 1831, at a campus consisting of just seven buildings: two faculty houses, two dormitories, a laboratory, a hotel (now Gorgas House) and the Rotunda. Today, the University is home to more than 21,000 students from Alabama and around the world.

Eddins and Tuggle represent UA’s rich academic tradition. Eddins, professor of English at UA, was a UA student when he was named a Rhodes Scholar for 1961. A 2001 Rhodes Scholar, Tuggle is UA’s most recent student to receive the prestigious award.

After earning his bachelor’s degree at UA, Eddins completed his master’s degree at Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar and his doctorate at Vanderbilt University. He joined the UA faculty in 1966. He is the author of three books, including most recently “The Gnostic Pynchon,” published by Indiana University Press, and numerous poems and articles. He received the UA National Alumni Association’s Outstanding Commitment to Teaching Award in 1988.

A native of Decatur, Tuggle graduated from UA in 2001 and earned his master’s at Oxford in 2003. He is currently a Ph.D. candidate in English language and literature at the University of Virginia, where his dissertation examines the ethical import of Renaissance English epic poems and plays by Edmund Spenser, William Shakespeare and John Milton.

A festive birthday party will follow the Founder’s Day program.

UA will continue to celebrate its 175th anniversary in the coming months with lectures, speakers, concerts and arts events. The anniversary year will culminate with a special event at commencement in December 2006 including the unveiling of a permanent campus marker commemorating the anniversary.

For more information on the 175th anniversary, contact Dr. Samory Pruitt, UA vice president for community affairs, at 205/348-8376 or go to www.ua.edu/175.