1928-2017
Albert Preston Brewer was an Alabama governor and Samford University law professor who founded the Public Affairs Research Council of Alabama (PARCA). He was a progressive who was recognized for achieving much-needed reforms and new programs for Alabama. He taught at Samford's Cumberland School of Law for more than two decades.
Brewer served as governor from 1968 until 1971. He practiced law in Decatur, Alabama, before and after his service as governor. He joined Samford in 1987 as Distinguished Professor of Law and Government and worked to establish PARCA as a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that studied issues of public interest affecting state and local government in Alabama.
Brewer's administration as governor produced the largest appropriations increase for public schools in state history. He created the Alabama Development Office and introduced measures to economize the operation of state government.
"He was the only governor we had who ever came close to being a 'New South' governor," said noted historian Wayne Flynt.
Albert Preston Brewer was inducted into the Alabama Men's Hall of Fame in 2019.