University of Mobile Revenue and Competitors

en the final brick was set into place, a massive three-story building stood on a red dirt mound surrounded by hundreds of acres of dogwoods, oaks, and azaleas. That building - the University of Mobile's first classroom and administration facility - represented a dream come true. For thousands of Alabama Baptists, as well as other church and civic leaders in Alabama, the opening of the liberal arts college was the result of a decade of hopes, hard work, and prayer. The first building represented the great things that could be accomplished when a community and denomination joined hands for a common goal - higher education in the Christian tradition. Chartered in 1961 as Mobile College, the institution celebrated decades of growth and success in 1993 by changing its name to the University of Mobile. The story of the university began in 1952, when the Mobile Baptist Association appointed a committee to study the feasibility of starting a Baptist-affliated college in Mobile. In 1959, the Alabama Baptist State Convention agreed to build and operate a college if the Mobile community would raise $1.5 million within two years. Only one year later, area churches, businesses, and industries pledged more than $2 million to the effort.