60th Anniversary Timeline: 2000s
Posted on December 13, 2023 by USA Marketing and Communications
The Mitchell Cancer Institute, created to combine cutting-edge research and treatment, hires its first director in 2002. In 2008, MCI gets a high-tech, 125,000-square-foot home that serves patients in Alabama and along the Gulf Coast. In 2005, Hurricane Katrina devastates New Orleans and the Mississippi Gulf Coast; South Mobile County also is hit hard, but damage to South is minimal. Technology revolutionizes how students interact. Social media companies Facebook, Twitter and MySpace launch; the iPhone appears in 2007.
2001
Sculptures Celebrate Children
SOUTH DEDICATES the Geri Moulton Children’s Park at USA Health Children’s & Women’s Hospital. Bronze sculptures celebrate children and families.
2002
Growing by Degrees
The University awards its 50,000th degree. Today, the number exceeds 109,000.
2003
Friendly Competition
The Intramural Sports Complex and Fieldhouse opens with 16 acres for basketball, sand volleyball, softball, soccer, football and other turf sports. The space eventually gives way to Hancock Whitney Stadium, and a new complex is created nearby.
2005
Getting Around Gets Easier
JagTran, the $6.2 million campus transportation system, begins rolling.
2006
Campaign Raises Millions
SOUTH LAUNCHES its first big fundraising campaign, with a $75 million goal. It ends up raising $93.5 million. The money goes to, among other projects, scholarships, healthcare facilities, and Moulton Tower and Alumni Plaza.
2008
Cancer Fighters
South dedicates the $135 million USA Mitchell Cancer Institute building, helped by a $22 million gift from the Mitchell family of Mobile.
2009
Football Kicks Off
South starts its football program with a 30-13 win over Hargrave Military Academy
at Ladd Peebles Stadium. The Jaguar Marching Band also debuts, with more than
140 members.