Nick And Miss Terry Visit Montgomery To Back Saban Center

STEM education is critical for the future, with jobs in these fields projected to grow by 10.4% between 2023 and 2033—more than double the rate of non-STEM occupations. That reality is a large part of what has propelled the development of Tuscaloosa's Saban Center.

Yesterday, the center's namesakes, Miss Terry and Nick Saban, met with Gov. Kay Ivey in her office at the state capital. As a former teacher, the governor has been a backer of the Saban Center since early on and has provided $25 million in legislative appropriations for the center’s development.

Get our free mobile app

The governor posted on her X (formerly Twitter) account how pleased she was at having Miss Terry and the former Alabama head football coach visit.

“It was great to have Coach and Ms. Terry Saban in my office. They have always taken the time and energy to invest in young people and their futures. I look forward to Alabama students soon immersing themselves in STEM education and the arts at the Saban Center."

The Sabans also visited the statehouse to meet with lawmakers and urge additional state support for Alabama's 1st-of-its-kind STEM education operation.

“We have spent the last four years developing this plan for the Saban Center,” Terry Saban told the governor.  “We travelled all over the United States seeing what’s the best way to do this and talking to those who have built similar projects.

“We’ve raised $100 million to build this fabulous building – but the heart and soul is going to come from the programming." she added. "We need teachers to teach, we need strong programming and we need the state to help us with that."

State Superintendent Eric Mackey accompanied the Sabans and praised their vision for the project and noted, "Every single activity in the Science Museum will be related to one of our reading, math or science standards."

According to the Saban Center website, it will offer hands-on learning experiences for students and educators. The campus aims to foster curiosity, confidence and leadership skills. The Saban Center’s innovative campus will house the State of Alabama STEM Hub, the Tuscaloosa Children’s Theatre and IGNITE, formerly the Children’s Hands-On Museum.

The Saban Center broke ground in August of last year and is expected to open in 2027.