On October 1, 1974 RISE was funded by the U.S. Office of Health, Education and Welfare as a demonstration program designed to serve young children with physical disabilities from birth to five years of age. The Rural Infant Stimulation Environment Program was led by Dr. Loreta Holder Brown and was one of the first 15 early intervention programs granted federal funding across the country. Located in one room of a house on the campus of The University of Alabama, RISE served six young children with a staff that consisted of a teacher, a teacher assistant and a family service coordinator. After three years of federal funding, The University of Alabama assumed funding for the program in 1977. At this time, the RISE program expanded to three classrooms and served 24 children. The focus of the program also expanded to include a more diverse population. In addition to serving children with physical disabilities, RISE began serving children with Down syndrome and other developmental disabilities. Additional services were added to the program including consultants for speech, physical and occupational therapy. The program also began using an integrated therapy approach. In 1978, the program moved to Wilson Hall and the converted women’s dormitory housed RISE for the next 16 years.

By 1986, the program had expanded to include 60 children. Dr. Martha Cook assumed leadership in the late 80’s and the program began to change dramatically in scope. The curriculum changed to reflect a blending of recommended practices of early childhood special education, early childhood education and child development. The program expanded to become a more complete unit on campus, addressing not only the mission of service, but also teaching and research. The funding of the program became a combination support from the University, state contracts, grants, fundraisers and private donations.

In 1991, a special employment program at RISE was initiated that provided employment to adults with disabilities. In 1992, The University of Alabama initiated a capital campaign to build a new facility for the RISE program. As the campaign began, Coach Stallings led the football program to the national championship and received the Bryant trophy as the National Coach of the Year. Shortly afterwards, the RISE program met its capital campaign goal and the new home of RISE, The Stallings Center, opened on November 20, 1994. The program expanded to include six classrooms and served over 80 children. In this state-of- the-art facility, the staff size increased to 34 individuals.
Over the next 20 years, RISE Center continued to thrive and be recognized as a leader in the field of early childhood education and early childhood special education.  In 2017 RISE expanded to include a program for families on the waiting list that had children in need of therapeutic services.  The RISE and SHINE playgroup is supported yearly by the Nick’s Kids Foundation and serves approximately 25 families per year.  The playgroup meets every other week for an hour per session.

Identifying a need for additional space for the therapeutic playgroup and to meet the needs of children with sensory challenges within the program, in 2019 the Mason Garmany Sensory Suite was added to the RISE building.  This addition included a state of the art sensory room, Therasuite, and an additional infant classroom.  As a result, the program expanded to seven classrooms serving over 90 children per year in the five day per week program and continued serving families in the RISE and SHINE Playgroup.
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RISE continues to gain national prominence by:
  • Offering tuition at no cost to families with children receiving therapy services
  • Accommodating numerous visitors from around the country each year
  • Serving as a placement for experience learning opportunities, practicum and internship sites for over 400 students enrolled at The University of Alabama and other colleges and universities
  • Contributing to published research regarding early childhood education, child development and recommended practices of early childhood special education
  • Maintaining National Association for the Education of Young Children accreditation
  • Serving as a model for the development of similar programs across the country committed to an inclusive model of learning