Dr. Archie Wade, University of Alabama’s First Black Faculty Member, Dies at 80

By Williesha Morris | wmorris@al.com Dr. Archie Wade, The University of Alabama’s first Black faculty member, died Monday. He was 85. Dr. Wade, a Tuscaloosa native, was born in Big Cove in Madison County on Oct. 2, 1939 and attended Stillman College. He went on to coach basketball and baseball there, before going on to play professional baseball and beginning a distinguished teaching career at the University of Alabama. “Dr. Archie Wade’s passing is a profound loss for The University of Alabama,” said UA president Stuart Bell in a news release. “As UA’s first Black faculty member, his leadership and vision created opportunities that continue to benefit future generations.” In 2021, UA renamed one of its buildings in his honor—Moore Hall, which houses the department of kinesiology, became “Archie Wade Hall.” In 1964, together with Joffree Whisenton and Nathaniel Howard, and at invitation of President Frank Rose, Wade integrated the football stadium at the Alabama vs. Georgia football game. Wade spent two years as a recruiter for coach Paul “Bear” Bryant while teaching and working on his doctorate degree at UA. He became the University of Alabama’s first Black faculty member in 1970 and taught there for 30 years. In...