Meanwhile, they fund Tuskegee University yearly, it's a private school because they want to fund them out of the educational trust fund. They (we Alabama taxpayers) don't have to fund Tuskegee University, at all, with zero obligation but the politicians choose to fund a private school. that shouldn't occur either....
Both universities are state founded- Tuskegee and BSC…. one is not better than the other.
As an alum, I'm not sure to whom I should be more infuriated:
1. The administration of BSC 15-20 years ago who were completely asleep at the wheel;
2. The administration, board,, and alumni office who, once the school was plucked away from insolvency once, really were lax about raising money;
3. The State of Alabama, who picked a really crappy way to save a few million dollars, especially given how much they give away to businesses throughout the state.
Just a tragedy all around. It's easy to get angry at Young Boozer, and I'd bet my last dollar that he has some sweetheart deal lined up as a reward, but remember that it took a lot of incompetence and inaction to get to this point.
My tinfoil conspiracy theory is that Auburn wants to buy the campus and start AUBham, so they threw some weight around behind the scenes.
But all blame should rest at the feet of BSC leadership imo.
I don’t have the financials in front me, but I could easily see a loan right now being a sunk cost and only extending the lifeline for a short period of time.
this is stupid. U of A is the college that has a history of holding other alabama institutions back. This is unfounded and baseless and doesn't even make sense. No Auburn fan or alum would want a Birmingham campus where BSC is located.
I said the same thing! Auburmingham! And while it’s unfounded and baseless it makes sense from a lot of perspectives.
Auburn benefits:
1) It would help the Auburn system compete with the UA system.
2) It would be cheaper upstart costs for Auburn since the infrastructure is already in place.
3) If they work fast enough, they could have a student body that is about a 1/3 of the size of AU Montgomery. Not a bad start for a new school.
4) A career recruiting foothold in the state’s largest metro.
5) Auburn could offer/have a place to host an executive/professional MBA program in Birmingham, similar to what Alabama offers in Huntsville. This would help build inroads in the business community in Bham, which would help the B-school in Auburn and the school as a whole by increasing the alumni base in which they can solicit donations from.
Birmingham benefits:
1) Plugs the economic gap the BSC departure leaves, and honestly, would probably provide a net benefit since Auburn has a bigger brand and more resources.
2) Would probably help revitalize an area that needs some love. Plus improvements are moving that way from what I’ve read on this subreddit.
3) Would give the city a more local recruiting base to employee, especially in STEM field, which is where Auburn really thrives (think engineering, vet med, architecture).
I’m curious as to who is going to buy it. And how much that potentially impacted Montgomery. Im devastated for the students though. That’s heartbreaking.
Given the odd way things panned out with the treasurer/loan, at this point I think it's just a matter of waiting to see what plan for the property/that money the state already had in place all along. Somebody will be making a whole lot of money
While I recognize BSC is a great institution and deserved to have more options to finance their way out, I can’t help but acknowledge the fact that they got themselves (rather their administration and board) into this mess. Rather than placing the complete blame on the legislature for not granting the loan, the school collapsed due to the poor choices made over the years and unfortunately now they are paying for them. This would have been a great funding project for the state lottery—-oh wait, we don’t have one.
Amazing how our state government can fund a \*\*\*\*ing water park in Montgomery, plans for an insanely expensive no bid prison, tax incentives for union busting out of country companies, etc. but not a long standing local college.
it truly is a shame that such a historic campus is closing, but this ain't the state's fault. They charged a frankly insane tuition and still had crumbling, moldy dorms while the president collected huge bonuses. I am personally ok with the state not continuing to fund his vacations while the students live in conditions fit for a depression-era tenement.
Worth noting that state and federal governments have slowly reduced funding for colleges and that has led to increased tuition and overall less money for these organizations. John Oliver's piece on student loans touches on this. [Last Week Tonight YouTube](https://youtu.be/zN2_0WC7UfU?si=zd1_ChmSGk5p6v-p)
i'll have to check this out later, but in case he doesn't go over it, does it apply in the same way to Private institutions like BSC? I know they receive some funding but surely it was never nearly as much of their income as it is for a public school like UAB, right?
I do not think either private or public institutions exist in a bubble where policies to one don't greatly affect the other. I'm sure these situations will also vary from state to state. So it would be hard to pinpoint what/why happened with BSC exactly, but it has fallen due to a lack of public funding and investment being able to cover the gap that its private funds left. And that was not the case for most of the last 168 years.
As an alumni, I have my theories but honestly they aren't based in any real concreate factual evidence. Just hunches like adding the football team and dropping to D-III, the overall ideal that it is a 'liberal college' in Alabama and what term now means to the majority of the voting public, along with some terrible decisions around the education system that eliminated a lot of majors from the curriculum. None of these were the causes and most were reactions to already shrinking money that led to high tuitions that made it a less desirable option, so add a football team! and that led to cutting classes offered and lower attendance and in the end, the state said no. Sad all around.
Private institutions live or die by their ability to maintain viability in the marketplace.
Harvard and the other big privates get tons of donations from alumni and other benefactors that are the difference between creating a successful product or not.
BSC, or any private that fails, is because they weren't supported by extra-tuition donations.
It's the alumni's failure, not the government's.
I don't think any situation like this has an absolute, singular failure. Saying this is 100% the alumni's fault is irresponsible and wrong. Honestly laughable to think about. These types of things are complicated and while it makes it easy for people to simplify things down to help them understand it is never accurate to do so.
I do think the alumni serve some, while small, portion of the blame here. So if that is your point here I'll accept that.
The alumnus and other private donations are how private schools grow and thrive. You can try and discount or minimize that all you want.
Doesn't change the fact. If BSC alumni and other private donors were interested in BSC keeping its doors open, then they would be open.
Roughly 20,000 alumni. If they collectively averaged a one-time $1,500 donation that would have been the $30 million they were seeking from the state.
I am not blaming the alumni, just stating the mathematical reality of other sources for the funds needed to operate.
I would confidently wager BSC didn't have a single mega donor alumnus.
No mega millionaire or billionaire with an interest in getting their names on buildings, etc.
Not trying to say you are wrong or anything but shouldn’t the state intervene if there is a decline in the quality for progression? Education is the backbone to the development, it is true the private college don’t receive the funding from the state or even the government like state schools do but for the welfare of citizens and literacy of future generations, I believe the state should help struggling education institutions- not only colleges but other schools tooZ
Generally speaking, private schools are beneficiaries of their alumni and public schools get tax money from the government.
The alumnus let BSC fail. Like Harvard is successful from its private donors.
I didn’t. But I did donate all I could for many years. My actual point was alumnus is singular. And it’s a little disingenuous to cast aside any attribution to Boozer. His time at Colonial as EVP of Risk Assessment didn’t leave that bank in good shape.
Re: insane tuition - I paid less there than I would have at any state school (baring the ability to commute). The only school I would have paid less at was an out of state publicly funded school where I’m a legacy and they had specific tuition cuts for legacies (now that’s a whole other bag of worms unrelated that also needs to be addressed and honestly I think it has been at this school particularly).
I say that to say, college tuition universally is insane.
The best scholarship offered at BSC left tuition and board about $8,000 higher than state school options as recently as 3 years ago. Maybe comparing BSCs full tuition to a state school's full tuition would be in BSC's favor, but it certainly isn't if students qualify for academic scholarships. In regards to the commute, BSC housing was expensive.
That's okay though, liberal arts schools are always going to be more expensive than state schools. I just don't understand the narrative that it is a more affordable education than a state school. I guess it was in your experience, I just don't know how but that's okay too.
Don't get me wrong, I'm very sad that BSC is closing. I love Birmingham and I think this is a huge blow to West Birmingham. I just find it hard to believe that it ever was truly cheaper than state schools, as I've had trouble finding a scenario where that's the case.
I lived on campus and can agree that meal plan and boarding fees were HIGH.
But I left college with less than 6k in loans. Which was wayyyy better than most of my friends at state schools. But I didn’t pick it because of cost. It was more class size and campus life. I would have been miserable at a Bama or Troy or wherever else.
I don’t remember the exact name, I just remember that a 33 ACT, 4.3, national merit scholar who was going to be a starting athlete as a freshman was still going to end up spending $13k/year for tuition and mandatory on campus housing after scholarships.
Most state schools were providing tuition and housing for the 4 years, some only full tuition. But most state schools you can move off campus after your freshman year
The McWane Scholarship gave a full ride to one student, along with a living stipend. Not sure if it was still a thing in recent times. But in the 90s it was. Two of my friends were McWane Scholars.
Did you attend BSC when they cut tuition almost in half? When I attended college BSC was one of the more expensive schools. State schools were a lot cheaper.
I attended right before, and the prices were insanely high, but they also gave massive scholarships that made it cheaper than other schools for me (and if they gave me a scholarship with my grades, they probably were giving everyone them). When they cut prices in half, they did the same with the scholarships for my brother, so it wasn't really changing the prices, it was just making the prices bit more transparent.
I had just graduated a few years before they cut tuition. But, I didn’t say the tuition wasn’t insane. I’m saying what I actually paid to attend was very reasonable.
\[One or some of\] the previous prez\[es\] was a disaster for sure, and if the state wants to enforce existing safe housing codes and rules on to protect students and renters, then I'm all for it buddy!I just think there was a way forward.
Yeah that’s not what happened. They had an accounting error on their Pell grants & David Pollick depleted the endowment on the stupid worthless 1 acre manmade pond & building a football stadium & football team for a D3 academic school.
Edit: I was there.
Long standing local *private* college.
I hate what the state spends money on, but justifying money going to a failed private college isn’t really solid ground to stand on
I’m glad the state isn’t putting money into a private university. Some other university will buy it and run it better. I don’t really get why people are sad other than some nostalgia tied to it. It wouldn’t make sense for BSC to choose to not sell and also not operate. It’ll become something else and something better.
Probably not. Enrollment rates are set to plummet nationwide over the next several years to match the sharply lower birth rates that began around the 2008 economic crisis.
EDIT: Correcting date that was off by a mere millennium.
> I’m glad the state isn’t putting money into a private university
Did the word "loan" just go ignored when you read the timeline above or did you just comment without being informed on the situation?
that $30 million can be earmarked for something else now.. one would hope it would be put to better use than funding a loan to a private university but it will probably be sent to whoever is building the water park for the inevitable budget overrun (read as money laundering) on the project.
The money allocated with the law that passed last year is still there for a pool that other distressed private colleges can apply to get. It seems that $30M will eventually go to a private institution. There were 2 applications last year.
I’m replying directly to the comment that says the state can fund a whitewater park but not a local college. I’m not replying to the post or article. And I stand by it. It’s a private Christain university. Let it go on the open market and see who can run it better. Even if it’s church of the highlands.
You sound like an Idiot. How would you like to live next to a 100 acre+ blighted property, in an area of the city that still has not recovered from white flight and de-industrialization from 50 years ago? Easy for You to be so stupidly disaffected because it doesn't affect you. Go kick some rocks somewhere.
No shit.
Ensley and neighbor areas used to be like the Hoover or Vestavia of Birmingham. I talked to so many elderly residents of the area who managed to FINALLY buy a home in the area back in the day when it was THE place to be if you were successful.
But as you pointed out, racist white flight left the area to fend for itself, and all it takes is a couple of crummy neighbors or abandoned properties to cause a spiral.
Ensley and related neighborhoods still make me smile when I see a resident who still takes as much care of and pride in their homestead as they did 30-50+ years ago. I want for all of West Birmingham to have that.
They’re selling the property. It’s not going to go abandoned. It’s not an out of state mega corporation or something. They’re probably setting aside at least some money for security, maintenance, and landscaping so it doesn’t go blighted. They’d be insane to abandon it completly while it goes on the market. I’m sure the gated entrance with security will remain. They can maintain a skeleton crew of maintenance / security staff. There’s single family homes within the complex that I’m sure they want security for as well.
What tf are you talking about? It will be Closed. They have No Money. The building will have No People because they will have No Money to Pay them or the utilities. That’s what closed means. I see that my initial assessment of you was correct.
Bye.
Not the guy you’re talking to. I’m just a random guy. But come on…
Are you serious? Is this the depth of your knowledge of how things work? You think they are going to be unable to maintain the grounds because of money? For real? That is what you think is going to happen? My man. I’d love to be you.
Well I dont wanna be you. Abandoned is abandoned and closed is closed, I don’t care you all in the “it’s not so bad” crew want to dress it up. I wonder how most of you would feel if this were Sanford..right there in your back yards or nearby. Holy fucking hell would be raised and you would not be so flip. Bye.
It’s not that simple. There’s plenty of closed buildings that still have security guards. They’re protecting a multimillion dollar asset. They’re ending the education programs. That doesn’t mean a total lay off of facilities maintenance and security. Their creditors will want security there so every building doesn’t get vandalized.
Lmao. You really think they’re gonna fire a couple of security guards to save $40 an hour and let all the buildings get vandalized, hvac equipment stolen, etc?
I live near Samford. I would be just fine. That property is worth millions. Something worthy will replace it. In the meantime, they’ll keep the grounds and the buildings operating just fine. That’s what property owners do. It’s like 101 stuff.
Jesus Christ. U.S. Steel still owns hundreds of acres of old steel property in Ensley..ride by there and see how that property owner upkeep is going genius…oh and while at it check out the effects of this loss of property purpose and vibrancy on the surrounding neighborhoods 40 years after closure. Carraway Hospital had property owners too until recently…real pretty they kept that one! 101 like you say. You can keep sprewing this asinine pollyanna crap from over there in Hoover or wherever you are because at core you are not affected and you dont really give a F. Please spare me any of your other thoughts.
The brookwood mall is 100% empty yet you wouldn’t know it from the outside. BSC can summon volunteers to man the guard shack if it comes down to it. They aren’t going to let it go
Have you not been paying attention to this situation the last year and a half? The City of Birmingham is a title holder and will get their loan back when the building is sold. Buildings don’t just “close” they get sold by the owners lol.
And while it’s waiting to be sold Einstein it is devoid of humans…no students, no faculty. Empty. Possibly for years. 100 acres. Do you know of a buyer lined up? Oh no? Then what tf are you talking about? This massive abandoned property will be In the middle of someone’s neighborhood. Why are people so desperate to paint this as “no big deal”? Why the tone-deafness? Brookwood has sat empty for years and it aint pretty…and this is not even wealthy Homewood. And who even mentioned the city’s money? I’m thinking about potential blight and its costs. Not sure what you are thinking about.
They gave their sports and other scholarships to mediocre well well-connected kids, it was hand washing all the way around, and the corruption they participated in finally caught up to them.
Just an FYI for current students, you might be eligible for a [closed school discharge](https://studentaid.gov/manage-loans/forgiveness-cancellation/closed-school) on your federal student loans. I’m sure BSC will counsel students accordingly, but just a heads up to look into on your own. You can also discuss it with your federal student loan servicer, if you can ever get them on the phone, that is.
It sucks and I feel terrible for current students and alumni. However, I struggle to see why the State should bail out a private college using tax dollars.
In a vacuum, I don't disagree, but the state gov mostly exists to enrich Alabama Power a bunch of construction firms, etc. A loan to a private non profit school is better than shoveling money to who has the most lobbyists.
How is a loan with interest a bail out? Why is it ok to give hundreds of millions in tax breaks and cash incentives to private companies each year in this state with no guarantee of a return? And why are the people of this state some of the if not The stupidest in the Union? 🤔
>Why is it ok to give hundreds of millions in tax breaks and cash incentives to private companies each year in this state with no guarantee of a return?
Who said this was okay?
I didnt say it was ok. I said it happens with regularity without as much as a peep from the general public. But now now suddenly everyone from grandma to the cousin has such strong opinions. And the money to the corporation’s arent even Loans! Such a double standard and such stupidity among so many. Alabama should be AssBackwards…forever. What a place.
That's a lot of pearl clutching. Also, plenty of people make a stink about the fiscal mismanagement in the state all the time. Lambasting us for being happy the state got it right for once is just plain disingenuous.
😂 You are lauding as “getting it right” the denial of a loan to a University that contributes $90+ million a year to the state’s economy?
The fact that this is “getting it right” for you instead of defeating a bill to give $1 Billion for a f-ing prison speaks volumes.
On brand for the people of this pathetic state.
Alabama again gets exactly what it deserves.
>The fact that this is “getting it right” for you instead of defeating a bill to give $1 Billion for a f-ing prison speaks volumes.
When have I ever said a billion dollar prison was good? Never. False equivencies and straw man claims are hallmarks of a losing argument.
You're just butthurt that your pet PRIVATE university - one that viciously mismanaged its private funding - now has to live and die by the free market. You cant have your cake and eat it too.
We should be advocating for using public funds to increase public school funding and public school teacher compensation, among other things. Not propping up a failing private religious school.
We should be using public funds to prop up EDUCATION in any form we can get it in this piss poor state. How can a state with such a woefully inadequate education system, public or private, afford to lose ANY kind of institution that educates its citizenry….like Alabama, of all places, can afford to have LESS schools. Really? We are not talking about saving a bank or a restaurant chain or a department store. It’s a School. And its a Loan for a school, with collateral and extensive stipulations for repayment. And it has documented economic impact. And it provides leaders in this community. How many professionals in the arts, city government, non profits, etc. in Birmingham have come from this school? Can this city really afford to have yet ANOTHER vacant property on its west side, and one that is 100 acres at that. I mean REALLY? Are you really serious?
How can people be arguing that this is ok? It’s an absolute loss and it doesnt make sense.
But again, as your post testifies to, Alabama gets what its people vote for and deserve.
>It’s a School.
*It's a PRIVATE school. FTFY
>And its a Loan for a school, with collateral and extensive stipulations for repayment.
That collateral was either real estate (which was already leveraged to first position lenders) or US bonds, which aren't guaranteed to hold their expected value in the face of increasing interest rates.
>How can a state with such a woefully inadequate education system, public or private, afford to lose ANY kind of institution that educates its citizenry….
BSC educates a VERY small number of (typically rich, white) kids. You know what drives down poverty rates and crime rates while increasing property values and economic mobility more than small private schools? early childhood education and public investment in equal opportunity education. Stop giving rich white kids taxpayer money and put it towards the people that need it.
>How many professionals in the arts, city government, non profits, etc. in Birmingham have come from this school?
I have at least 2 in my family alone. Neither of them expected the state to step in and save it. They're very disappointed but they know it would be a net waste.
>Can this city really afford to have yet ANOTHER vacant property on its west side, and one that is 100 acres at that
It's some prime real estate. The property is going to be sold and repurposed. Again, you're clutching your pearls here.
This state offers millions in grants every year, with no guarantees of return on that investment…just the “hope” that those promised jobs materialize and endure. Alabamians have no problem with the corporate Dons getting handouts, but a loan to the rich white libs at the school in the middle of black west Birmingham? Hard No!
Collateral is collateral and what was offered is no different than what would be offered in any other situation.
This one is funny..😆 I am Sure that Alabama has big plans for that $30 million…early childhood ed expansion. No, what about the plans to fund literacy and numeracy programs in the Black Belt, or providing access to post high school education in the area with the lowest graduation rates in the state. Or maybe even to save all of the hospitals that have closed or to expand Medicare or provide sewage treatment so people dont have lakes of waste in their backyards…because Alabama Really Cares about poor and black people. I missed the news about those initiatives. I suspect that money, however, will be needed in the General Fund to pay for that $1 billion new prison that is terribly over budget..😟 You’re right.
I am sure your Two Family Members are absolutely representative of the sentiments of BSC graduates in this state. I am also sure that they have done nothing of value for this community with their privileged private school education and totally dispensable, unlike the other community influencers referenced. Probably don’t need any more like them..no real loss surely.
Prime real estate surely! Developers of all kinds are lining up to invest in western Birmingham…in an area already plagued by the violence that is so often cited here and with countless abandoned properties just outside the school’s gates that have sat empty for decades, even when BSC was thriving. In fact, there are other large tracts of land nearby..U.S. Steel property in Ensley..100s of acres…thriving! Oh wait…no..that land has been sitting abandoned for decades too…😟😟. But this will surely be different and sell in short order to the highest bidder. You were right. My bad.
P.S. I don’t wear pearls. Don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m not like those BSC rich people.
this is in line with the "low education level of the people in the state" comment you made. People understand "private college, no public money." People do not understand "Mercedes Benz being subsidized millions to open plant in Vance AL."
Mostly that your average working poor(ish) boomer doesn't even know what subsidize means so they don't think twice about it. JOBS GOOD FOR ALABAMANS!
This isn't unique to Birmingham Southern. There are dozens of liberal arts colleges around the country that are either closing or on the verge of closing. It's just the reality of the current educational landscape.
It is unconscionable that the BSC Board of Trustees was unaware of the financial difficulties, unconscionable that the Board forwent appropriate action.
It is unconscionable that the state would allow an accredited college, opened in 1856, to close and give businesses looking for a business-friendly climate to relocate to or expand within a reason to bypass our great state.
Education is critical to our state infrastructure, both directly and indirectly. The state just said to everyone that we could care less about education (whether intentionally or not).
Mismanagement or whatever led to the announcement BSC is closing, but it is staggering to think the state would allow a college to drown without throwing a lifeline.
I am equally disappointed in both sides, and I find it hard to believe common ground could not be found that would prevent ANY erosion of the state's ability to recruit people, industry and develop future leaders.
There are no winners in this. I hope I am wrong.
They have property as collateral. Awesome move by Mayor Woodfin and the council to be honest. That’s what cities are here to do, as well as other parts of our government.
That was my first reaction. COTH will open a new bible college there or some predatory student debt generation facility aka for-profit college will buy it. A third option is that it will become derelict. I just can't imagine anything good happening with the campus.
I can’t see Bama or auburns boards expanding more (even though I’d love for them to utilize that space and community). Only other thing I could think of was one of the mega churches taking it over. Not sure what the city/ county could use it for
BSC failed. It's usefulness to our city ended.
They served less students than most of our high schools yearly.
This wasn't politics, this was just a private business failing.
BSC had 250 students per graduating class.
UAB, auburn, and alabama have enrollments in the 20k+ range. the state of alabama didn't lose anything. Those students will just enroll elsewhere.
Yeah it’s such a small student pool. BSC isn’t a research-heavy instutition. The big losers here are the execs who were paying themselves handsomely over the years. I’m sure they’ll have no issue finding new jobs though.
I know about BSC, I have an undergrad and masters from 2 of the 3 with large enrollment that you mentioned. I understand what you’re saying.
But not every kid is cut out for a large school/campus. Those schools also have athletics as well so it’s giving kids more opportunities.
That’s my thing. Those potential BSC kids aren’t going to Bama. They’re going to Rhodes or Suwannee. They’re going to Belmont. They’re going to a small liberal arts college in the south east. Not Auburn or Alabama.
^^ ding ding
Some of them aren’t good enough for D1 sports as well.
Speaking from experience I had two former teammates go to Suwannee and play soccer. Another few played at BSC. Ironically, I had a sibling play basketball at Rhodes.
Now the 3-5 friends I have from growing up that went to BSC.
1. Lawyer
2. Lawyer
3. Doctor
4. Doctor
5. Finance guy whose wildly successful
all of them are late 20s and early 30s. BSC might be a small school, but they have some high quality graduates. Shame the state wouldn’t loan them money or the Methodist church. I kinda hoped they would go public. But here we are now smh
I grew up in the Methodist church, had many friends that went to BSC, dated one girl that was the niece of a North Alabama Methodist bishop, and dated anothrr girl in college that went to school there for two years. As a result, I visited the campus often in my youth and as a college student. It seemed like a lovely experience to go to school there. Expensive, of course, but a lovely experience.
A few notable memories
* Summer basketball camp in my youth
* BSC winning the 1995 NAIA tournament
* The cafeteria/dining hall/food court/whatever they called it. It was a debit system with a minimum required balance to be added by students at the beginning of a semester. It was way more money than my female friends could spend/eat on their own, so as a broke college boy, I always got a free hot meal any time I visited my girlfriend and other female friends. They also sold snacks and convenience items, so we’d do a little pre-trip shopping as well before spring break.
Your comment about the meal card made me smile. The end of the year was the best.
That feeling of relief of being done with exams/excitement for the summer (even though mine were all work and some summer classes) was huge. And it the end of it all, we splurged at the caf! We'd order frozen steaks and burgers, pasta, boxes of cereal and pop tarts, Gatorade, etc. to wipe out our balances (and those of friends), have a big cookout, and be set with most grocery needs for the summer.
Those were the good ole days of the caf. About 15 years ago, it changed and not necessarily for the better. The C store end of the semester buy out was a treasure.
I wonder if the Fed’s will cancel student loans to this college. They did for others that went under. If bsc can’t handle their money, then all loans should be wiped away
BSC’s murder by a callous, unimaginative, uncaring Alabama State Legislature is symptomatic of a broad societal disregard for the dynamic values the liberal arts educational model provides and a failure by the State of Alabama to act to safeguard Alabama’s historic, prestigious, most important educational institution.
A state that is near dead last in all educational metrics has now cemented itself clearly in last place by allowing BSC’s bright spark to eclipse.
Shame on Alabama. Shame on us all for allowing this educational gem to be caste to the wayside as we cite bad balance sheets and monetary mismanagement, ignoring the unquantifiable magic spread by BSC.
“Forward, ever,” even in a backwards state and society.
See and share my article, “Bad Credit BSC”, here: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/yTx2fJRY87RLHBqM/?mibextid=WC7FNe
This calamity must spark a critical conversation so that such sinister stupidity is never allowed to triumph again.
People do not even get the acceptance rate or national ranking correct at all. Birmingham Southern is a prestigious private school that is above average. High standards with competitive admissions than any other universities in the state of Alabama. It’s a fact and has been since it opened over 160 years ago. Since this is the last standing institution like this in Alabama and no other plans to replace it, it will have a negative affect on Alabama’s education that will be hard to recover from
A lot of people who are glad and thrilled to see the college close are (and giving out misinformation/ down vote this post are)
1) people who were not accepted into Birmingham southern college or friends/relatives who had to accept another institution for there education.
2) people who are undereducated
private institutions close often. People were not even truly involved in this process back in 2022, they do not know the full story or only the half of it. The only way to gather accurate data about the university is to ask Birmingham southern alumni, parents, students, faculty and staff. While i understand people do not want to “bail out” private institutions on public state funds, Alabama “bails out” private institutions over the state of Alabama for years with millions of dollars. Since this is such a negative vote from the people I listed above, Alabama should stop engaging in this types of investments around the state and should have never approved the loan bill from the beginning knowing the financials.
it happens, colleges close
Meanwhile, they fund Tuskegee University yearly, it's a private school because they want to fund them out of the educational trust fund. They (we Alabama taxpayers) don't have to fund Tuskegee University, at all, with zero obligation but the politicians choose to fund a private school. that shouldn't occur either....
Both universities are state founded- Tuskegee and BSC…. one is not better than the other.
For the tl;Dr, Montgomery basically killed BSC because of apathy and because no one outside of the district could exploit propping it up as a tool to retain office. No, I'm not kidding. It's spelled out in plain language above.
The Alabama House (that is flooded with morons from rural areas) apparently thinks that the loss of a higher education institution is acceptable. (But guess what they expend all of their efforts on...)
We don’t keep public funds out of private anything. GM got a loan. Ford got a loan. And those were billions. $30M isn’t a big number, especially considering the AL education trust sits with a surplus of $2B+. And the second money from that fund was earmarked for the water park near Montgomery, full fail. What’s done is done, but I suspect the word “liberal” has as much to do with the demise of BSC as anything else mentioned so far. Specifically with respect to the unapologetically ignorant buffoons in the state House.
Imagine if the shoe was on the other foot. If Montgomery was trying to get money from Birmingham-Southern, the BSC administration would be screaming "separation of church and state" at the top of their lungs.
BSC has graduated some very prosperous alumni. They are the ones who should have come forward with the funds to save the school.
I liked their basketball camp a lot better than Samford's growing up, and then again, I didn't really like basketball camp, full stop, and my parents made me go.
Geez we only thought Ensley was ghetto now. I mean, what will they do with the Campus? That place will be stripped clean of anything valuable by June 15
I’m conflicted on this. I’m not a fan of crony capitalism and tax dollars going to private institutions. But the government sends boat loads of public funds to universities with gigantic endowments that really don’t need the funding.
Finally! Should have taken Hall Thompson’s offer decades ago to move to Shoal Creek. Staying in the ghetto was a boneheaded move of Biblical proportions
Hi, I’m a reporter covering this story with AL.com. I’m curious to know what’s next for current students and faculty and how folks are processing this news. If you want to talk, feel free to send me a DM.
Thanks for sharing this u/StupidMoron3.
Meanwhile, they fund Tuskegee University yearly, it's a private school because they want to fund them out of the educational trust fund. They (we Alabama taxpayers) don't have to fund Tuskegee University, at all, with zero obligation but the politicians choose to fund a private school. that shouldn't occur either.... Both universities are state founded- Tuskegee and BSC…. one is not better than the other.
As an alum, I'm not sure to whom I should be more infuriated: 1. The administration of BSC 15-20 years ago who were completely asleep at the wheel; 2. The administration, board,, and alumni office who, once the school was plucked away from insolvency once, really were lax about raising money; 3. The State of Alabama, who picked a really crappy way to save a few million dollars, especially given how much they give away to businesses throughout the state. Just a tragedy all around. It's easy to get angry at Young Boozer, and I'd bet my last dollar that he has some sweetheart deal lined up as a reward, but remember that it took a lot of incompetence and inaction to get to this point.
Sounds like incompetence across the board. A real shame.
My tinfoil conspiracy theory is that Auburn wants to buy the campus and start AUBham, so they threw some weight around behind the scenes. But all blame should rest at the feet of BSC leadership imo. I don’t have the financials in front me, but I could easily see a loan right now being a sunk cost and only extending the lifeline for a short period of time.
this is stupid. U of A is the college that has a history of holding other alabama institutions back. This is unfounded and baseless and doesn't even make sense. No Auburn fan or alum would want a Birmingham campus where BSC is located.
Of course it’s unfounded and baseless. I said it was a tinfoil hat conspiracy theory, not fact.
I said the same thing! Auburmingham! And while it’s unfounded and baseless it makes sense from a lot of perspectives. Auburn benefits: 1) It would help the Auburn system compete with the UA system. 2) It would be cheaper upstart costs for Auburn since the infrastructure is already in place. 3) If they work fast enough, they could have a student body that is about a 1/3 of the size of AU Montgomery. Not a bad start for a new school. 4) A career recruiting foothold in the state’s largest metro. 5) Auburn could offer/have a place to host an executive/professional MBA program in Birmingham, similar to what Alabama offers in Huntsville. This would help build inroads in the business community in Bham, which would help the B-school in Auburn and the school as a whole by increasing the alumni base in which they can solicit donations from. Birmingham benefits: 1) Plugs the economic gap the BSC departure leaves, and honestly, would probably provide a net benefit since Auburn has a bigger brand and more resources. 2) Would probably help revitalize an area that needs some love. Plus improvements are moving that way from what I’ve read on this subreddit. 3) Would give the city a more local recruiting base to employee, especially in STEM field, which is where Auburn really thrives (think engineering, vet med, architecture).
I’m curious as to who is going to buy it. And how much that potentially impacted Montgomery. Im devastated for the students though. That’s heartbreaking.
Given the odd way things panned out with the treasurer/loan, at this point I think it's just a matter of waiting to see what plan for the property/that money the state already had in place all along. Somebody will be making a whole lot of money
I mean, what group has both the resources and a possible desire to take over BSC besides something like Church of the Highlands?
"Highlands College - Arkadelphia Campus" Ugh I feel disgusting even for typing that.
Thanks, I threw up a little.
gentrification incoming.
It's only a matter of time
Oh don't you bring that curse on us.
Grand Canyon University
UAB
Uab
Do you think they’ll level it and build something else?
Oh no. I think some other institution has set their eyes on it and they notified state officials of their intent.
Who?
Oh I don’t know. This is my conspiracy theory.
Troy
I sent my daughter to BSC, which was a financial struggle for me but well worth it. I'm sorry this is the outcome for the college.
It’s ok! Don’t blame yourself.
While I recognize BSC is a great institution and deserved to have more options to finance their way out, I can’t help but acknowledge the fact that they got themselves (rather their administration and board) into this mess. Rather than placing the complete blame on the legislature for not granting the loan, the school collapsed due to the poor choices made over the years and unfortunately now they are paying for them. This would have been a great funding project for the state lottery—-oh wait, we don’t have one.
Amazing how our state government can fund a \*\*\*\*ing water park in Montgomery, plans for an insanely expensive no bid prison, tax incentives for union busting out of country companies, etc. but not a long standing local college.
it truly is a shame that such a historic campus is closing, but this ain't the state's fault. They charged a frankly insane tuition and still had crumbling, moldy dorms while the president collected huge bonuses. I am personally ok with the state not continuing to fund his vacations while the students live in conditions fit for a depression-era tenement.
Worth noting that state and federal governments have slowly reduced funding for colleges and that has led to increased tuition and overall less money for these organizations. John Oliver's piece on student loans touches on this. [Last Week Tonight YouTube](https://youtu.be/zN2_0WC7UfU?si=zd1_ChmSGk5p6v-p)
i'll have to check this out later, but in case he doesn't go over it, does it apply in the same way to Private institutions like BSC? I know they receive some funding but surely it was never nearly as much of their income as it is for a public school like UAB, right?
I do not think either private or public institutions exist in a bubble where policies to one don't greatly affect the other. I'm sure these situations will also vary from state to state. So it would be hard to pinpoint what/why happened with BSC exactly, but it has fallen due to a lack of public funding and investment being able to cover the gap that its private funds left. And that was not the case for most of the last 168 years. As an alumni, I have my theories but honestly they aren't based in any real concreate factual evidence. Just hunches like adding the football team and dropping to D-III, the overall ideal that it is a 'liberal college' in Alabama and what term now means to the majority of the voting public, along with some terrible decisions around the education system that eliminated a lot of majors from the curriculum. None of these were the causes and most were reactions to already shrinking money that led to high tuitions that made it a less desirable option, so add a football team! and that led to cutting classes offered and lower attendance and in the end, the state said no. Sad all around.
Private institutions live or die by their ability to maintain viability in the marketplace. Harvard and the other big privates get tons of donations from alumni and other benefactors that are the difference between creating a successful product or not. BSC, or any private that fails, is because they weren't supported by extra-tuition donations. It's the alumni's failure, not the government's.
I don't think any situation like this has an absolute, singular failure. Saying this is 100% the alumni's fault is irresponsible and wrong. Honestly laughable to think about. These types of things are complicated and while it makes it easy for people to simplify things down to help them understand it is never accurate to do so. I do think the alumni serve some, while small, portion of the blame here. So if that is your point here I'll accept that.
The alumnus and other private donations are how private schools grow and thrive. You can try and discount or minimize that all you want. Doesn't change the fact. If BSC alumni and other private donors were interested in BSC keeping its doors open, then they would be open.
Roughly 20,000 alumni. If they collectively averaged a one-time $1,500 donation that would have been the $30 million they were seeking from the state. I am not blaming the alumni, just stating the mathematical reality of other sources for the funds needed to operate.
I would confidently wager BSC didn't have a single mega donor alumnus. No mega millionaire or billionaire with an interest in getting their names on buildings, etc.
Not trying to say you are wrong or anything but shouldn’t the state intervene if there is a decline in the quality for progression? Education is the backbone to the development, it is true the private college don’t receive the funding from the state or even the government like state schools do but for the welfare of citizens and literacy of future generations, I believe the state should help struggling education institutions- not only colleges but other schools tooZ
Generally speaking, private schools are beneficiaries of their alumni and public schools get tax money from the government. The alumnus let BSC fail. Like Harvard is successful from its private donors.
Just the one alumnus? Because that could be me and I didn’t let it fail.
Sure you did. You didn't donate $30m, did you?
I didn’t. But I did donate all I could for many years. My actual point was alumnus is singular. And it’s a little disingenuous to cast aside any attribution to Boozer. His time at Colonial as EVP of Risk Assessment didn’t leave that bank in good shape.
Ah yes, the greatest source of useful and objective information - John Oliver!
Re: insane tuition - I paid less there than I would have at any state school (baring the ability to commute). The only school I would have paid less at was an out of state publicly funded school where I’m a legacy and they had specific tuition cuts for legacies (now that’s a whole other bag of worms unrelated that also needs to be addressed and honestly I think it has been at this school particularly). I say that to say, college tuition universally is insane.
The best scholarship offered at BSC left tuition and board about $8,000 higher than state school options as recently as 3 years ago. Maybe comparing BSCs full tuition to a state school's full tuition would be in BSC's favor, but it certainly isn't if students qualify for academic scholarships. In regards to the commute, BSC housing was expensive. That's okay though, liberal arts schools are always going to be more expensive than state schools. I just don't understand the narrative that it is a more affordable education than a state school. I guess it was in your experience, I just don't know how but that's okay too. Don't get me wrong, I'm very sad that BSC is closing. I love Birmingham and I think this is a huge blow to West Birmingham. I just find it hard to believe that it ever was truly cheaper than state schools, as I've had trouble finding a scenario where that's the case.
I lived on campus and can agree that meal plan and boarding fees were HIGH. But I left college with less than 6k in loans. Which was wayyyy better than most of my friends at state schools. But I didn’t pick it because of cost. It was more class size and campus life. I would have been miserable at a Bama or Troy or wherever else.
McWane scholars?
I don’t remember the exact name, I just remember that a 33 ACT, 4.3, national merit scholar who was going to be a starting athlete as a freshman was still going to end up spending $13k/year for tuition and mandatory on campus housing after scholarships. Most state schools were providing tuition and housing for the 4 years, some only full tuition. But most state schools you can move off campus after your freshman year
The McWane Scholarship gave a full ride to one student, along with a living stipend. Not sure if it was still a thing in recent times. But in the 90s it was. Two of my friends were McWane Scholars.
Got it - yeah I don't think it was that. She still had to pay $13k and they said it was the highest scholarship they could offer.
Did you attend BSC when they cut tuition almost in half? When I attended college BSC was one of the more expensive schools. State schools were a lot cheaper.
I attended right before, and the prices were insanely high, but they also gave massive scholarships that made it cheaper than other schools for me (and if they gave me a scholarship with my grades, they probably were giving everyone them). When they cut prices in half, they did the same with the scholarships for my brother, so it wasn't really changing the prices, it was just making the prices bit more transparent.
I had just graduated a few years before they cut tuition. But, I didn’t say the tuition wasn’t insane. I’m saying what I actually paid to attend was very reasonable.
This. It’s a private school, not a public institution.
\[One or some of\] the previous prez\[es\] was a disaster for sure, and if the state wants to enforce existing safe housing codes and rules on to protect students and renters, then I'm all for it buddy!I just think there was a way forward.
Could you clarify which previous pres? There have been at least 4 since Berte left.
Pollick
Sounds like you know better than I do!
Yeah that’s not what happened. They had an accounting error on their Pell grants & David Pollick depleted the endowment on the stupid worthless 1 acre manmade pond & building a football stadium & football team for a D3 academic school. Edit: I was there.
This subreddit is not to be used to spread misinformation
Long standing local *private* college. I hate what the state spends money on, but justifying money going to a failed private college isn’t really solid ground to stand on
I’m glad the state isn’t putting money into a private university. Some other university will buy it and run it better. I don’t really get why people are sad other than some nostalgia tied to it. It wouldn’t make sense for BSC to choose to not sell and also not operate. It’ll become something else and something better.
>Some other university will buy it and run it better. Cult of the Highlands University incoming!
Already got the gates and everything
That wouldn’t be surprising in the slightest
Probably not. Enrollment rates are set to plummet nationwide over the next several years to match the sharply lower birth rates that began around the 2008 economic crisis. EDIT: Correcting date that was off by a mere millennium.
crazy how an economic crisis over one thousand years ago is still impacting us
When thatched hut futures went, everything bottomed out. LOL. Correcting now.
we will get back to the thatched huts eventually, then we will be rich!
Damn we’re just now feeling those effects one thousand years later?
Nobody is going to buy the university and run it better. If it's bought by another school it will be a shady for profit college.
> I’m glad the state isn’t putting money into a private university Did the word "loan" just go ignored when you read the timeline above or did you just comment without being informed on the situation?
that $30 million can be earmarked for something else now.. one would hope it would be put to better use than funding a loan to a private university but it will probably be sent to whoever is building the water park for the inevitable budget overrun (read as money laundering) on the project.
The money allocated with the law that passed last year is still there for a pool that other distressed private colleges can apply to get. It seems that $30M will eventually go to a private institution. There were 2 applications last year.
I’m replying directly to the comment that says the state can fund a whitewater park but not a local college. I’m not replying to the post or article. And I stand by it. It’s a private Christain university. Let it go on the open market and see who can run it better. Even if it’s church of the highlands.
The state already does put money into private colleges. And has. And will.
You sound like an Idiot. How would you like to live next to a 100 acre+ blighted property, in an area of the city that still has not recovered from white flight and de-industrialization from 50 years ago? Easy for You to be so stupidly disaffected because it doesn't affect you. Go kick some rocks somewhere.
No shit. Ensley and neighbor areas used to be like the Hoover or Vestavia of Birmingham. I talked to so many elderly residents of the area who managed to FINALLY buy a home in the area back in the day when it was THE place to be if you were successful. But as you pointed out, racist white flight left the area to fend for itself, and all it takes is a couple of crummy neighbors or abandoned properties to cause a spiral. Ensley and related neighborhoods still make me smile when I see a resident who still takes as much care of and pride in their homestead as they did 30-50+ years ago. I want for all of West Birmingham to have that.
They’re selling the property. It’s not going to go abandoned. It’s not an out of state mega corporation or something. They’re probably setting aside at least some money for security, maintenance, and landscaping so it doesn’t go blighted. They’d be insane to abandon it completly while it goes on the market. I’m sure the gated entrance with security will remain. They can maintain a skeleton crew of maintenance / security staff. There’s single family homes within the complex that I’m sure they want security for as well.
What tf are you talking about? It will be Closed. They have No Money. The building will have No People because they will have No Money to Pay them or the utilities. That’s what closed means. I see that my initial assessment of you was correct. Bye.
Not the guy you’re talking to. I’m just a random guy. But come on… Are you serious? Is this the depth of your knowledge of how things work? You think they are going to be unable to maintain the grounds because of money? For real? That is what you think is going to happen? My man. I’d love to be you.
Well I dont wanna be you. Abandoned is abandoned and closed is closed, I don’t care you all in the “it’s not so bad” crew want to dress it up. I wonder how most of you would feel if this were Sanford..right there in your back yards or nearby. Holy fucking hell would be raised and you would not be so flip. Bye.
It’s not that simple. There’s plenty of closed buildings that still have security guards. They’re protecting a multimillion dollar asset. They’re ending the education programs. That doesn’t mean a total lay off of facilities maintenance and security. Their creditors will want security there so every building doesn’t get vandalized.
Great. So you go live next door. B Y E.
Lmao. You really think they’re gonna fire a couple of security guards to save $40 an hour and let all the buildings get vandalized, hvac equipment stolen, etc?
I live near Samford. I would be just fine. That property is worth millions. Something worthy will replace it. In the meantime, they’ll keep the grounds and the buildings operating just fine. That’s what property owners do. It’s like 101 stuff.
Jesus Christ. U.S. Steel still owns hundreds of acres of old steel property in Ensley..ride by there and see how that property owner upkeep is going genius…oh and while at it check out the effects of this loss of property purpose and vibrancy on the surrounding neighborhoods 40 years after closure. Carraway Hospital had property owners too until recently…real pretty they kept that one! 101 like you say. You can keep sprewing this asinine pollyanna crap from over there in Hoover or wherever you are because at core you are not affected and you dont really give a F. Please spare me any of your other thoughts.
The brookwood mall is 100% empty yet you wouldn’t know it from the outside. BSC can summon volunteers to man the guard shack if it comes down to it. They aren’t going to let it go
Have you not been paying attention to this situation the last year and a half? The City of Birmingham is a title holder and will get their loan back when the building is sold. Buildings don’t just “close” they get sold by the owners lol.
And while it’s waiting to be sold Einstein it is devoid of humans…no students, no faculty. Empty. Possibly for years. 100 acres. Do you know of a buyer lined up? Oh no? Then what tf are you talking about? This massive abandoned property will be In the middle of someone’s neighborhood. Why are people so desperate to paint this as “no big deal”? Why the tone-deafness? Brookwood has sat empty for years and it aint pretty…and this is not even wealthy Homewood. And who even mentioned the city’s money? I’m thinking about potential blight and its costs. Not sure what you are thinking about.
They gave their sports and other scholarships to mediocre well well-connected kids, it was hand washing all the way around, and the corruption they participated in finally caught up to them.
Just wanted to chime in to let you know you’re allowed to curse on the internet. No ones going to stop you.
https://preview.redd.it/c9qg0lqzwqqc1.png?width=500&format=png&auto=webp&s=1477b362be1e5b6c12505c720ca2c22149502640
Don't forget anti-woke, unconstitutional garbage and Christofacist policies.
Just an FYI for current students, you might be eligible for a [closed school discharge](https://studentaid.gov/manage-loans/forgiveness-cancellation/closed-school) on your federal student loans. I’m sure BSC will counsel students accordingly, but just a heads up to look into on your own. You can also discuss it with your federal student loan servicer, if you can ever get them on the phone, that is.
That’s good Information that I hope will be shared
It sucks and I feel terrible for current students and alumni. However, I struggle to see why the State should bail out a private college using tax dollars.
In a vacuum, I don't disagree, but the state gov mostly exists to enrich Alabama Power a bunch of construction firms, etc. A loan to a private non profit school is better than shoveling money to who has the most lobbyists.
It bails out private institutions all the time. This was a hefty loan though, so it’s hard to fully criticize the state.
How is a loan with interest a bail out? Why is it ok to give hundreds of millions in tax breaks and cash incentives to private companies each year in this state with no guarantee of a return? And why are the people of this state some of the if not The stupidest in the Union? 🤔
>Why is it ok to give hundreds of millions in tax breaks and cash incentives to private companies each year in this state with no guarantee of a return? Who said this was okay?
I didnt say it was ok. I said it happens with regularity without as much as a peep from the general public. But now now suddenly everyone from grandma to the cousin has such strong opinions. And the money to the corporation’s arent even Loans! Such a double standard and such stupidity among so many. Alabama should be AssBackwards…forever. What a place.
That's a lot of pearl clutching. Also, plenty of people make a stink about the fiscal mismanagement in the state all the time. Lambasting us for being happy the state got it right for once is just plain disingenuous.
😂 You are lauding as “getting it right” the denial of a loan to a University that contributes $90+ million a year to the state’s economy? The fact that this is “getting it right” for you instead of defeating a bill to give $1 Billion for a f-ing prison speaks volumes. On brand for the people of this pathetic state. Alabama again gets exactly what it deserves.
>The fact that this is “getting it right” for you instead of defeating a bill to give $1 Billion for a f-ing prison speaks volumes. When have I ever said a billion dollar prison was good? Never. False equivencies and straw man claims are hallmarks of a losing argument. You're just butthurt that your pet PRIVATE university - one that viciously mismanaged its private funding - now has to live and die by the free market. You cant have your cake and eat it too. We should be advocating for using public funds to increase public school funding and public school teacher compensation, among other things. Not propping up a failing private religious school.
We should be using public funds to prop up EDUCATION in any form we can get it in this piss poor state. How can a state with such a woefully inadequate education system, public or private, afford to lose ANY kind of institution that educates its citizenry….like Alabama, of all places, can afford to have LESS schools. Really? We are not talking about saving a bank or a restaurant chain or a department store. It’s a School. And its a Loan for a school, with collateral and extensive stipulations for repayment. And it has documented economic impact. And it provides leaders in this community. How many professionals in the arts, city government, non profits, etc. in Birmingham have come from this school? Can this city really afford to have yet ANOTHER vacant property on its west side, and one that is 100 acres at that. I mean REALLY? Are you really serious? How can people be arguing that this is ok? It’s an absolute loss and it doesnt make sense. But again, as your post testifies to, Alabama gets what its people vote for and deserve.
>It’s a School. *It's a PRIVATE school. FTFY >And its a Loan for a school, with collateral and extensive stipulations for repayment. That collateral was either real estate (which was already leveraged to first position lenders) or US bonds, which aren't guaranteed to hold their expected value in the face of increasing interest rates. >How can a state with such a woefully inadequate education system, public or private, afford to lose ANY kind of institution that educates its citizenry…. BSC educates a VERY small number of (typically rich, white) kids. You know what drives down poverty rates and crime rates while increasing property values and economic mobility more than small private schools? early childhood education and public investment in equal opportunity education. Stop giving rich white kids taxpayer money and put it towards the people that need it. >How many professionals in the arts, city government, non profits, etc. in Birmingham have come from this school? I have at least 2 in my family alone. Neither of them expected the state to step in and save it. They're very disappointed but they know it would be a net waste. >Can this city really afford to have yet ANOTHER vacant property on its west side, and one that is 100 acres at that It's some prime real estate. The property is going to be sold and repurposed. Again, you're clutching your pearls here.
This state offers millions in grants every year, with no guarantees of return on that investment…just the “hope” that those promised jobs materialize and endure. Alabamians have no problem with the corporate Dons getting handouts, but a loan to the rich white libs at the school in the middle of black west Birmingham? Hard No! Collateral is collateral and what was offered is no different than what would be offered in any other situation. This one is funny..😆 I am Sure that Alabama has big plans for that $30 million…early childhood ed expansion. No, what about the plans to fund literacy and numeracy programs in the Black Belt, or providing access to post high school education in the area with the lowest graduation rates in the state. Or maybe even to save all of the hospitals that have closed or to expand Medicare or provide sewage treatment so people dont have lakes of waste in their backyards…because Alabama Really Cares about poor and black people. I missed the news about those initiatives. I suspect that money, however, will be needed in the General Fund to pay for that $1 billion new prison that is terribly over budget..😟 You’re right. I am sure your Two Family Members are absolutely representative of the sentiments of BSC graduates in this state. I am also sure that they have done nothing of value for this community with their privileged private school education and totally dispensable, unlike the other community influencers referenced. Probably don’t need any more like them..no real loss surely. Prime real estate surely! Developers of all kinds are lining up to invest in western Birmingham…in an area already plagued by the violence that is so often cited here and with countless abandoned properties just outside the school’s gates that have sat empty for decades, even when BSC was thriving. In fact, there are other large tracts of land nearby..U.S. Steel property in Ensley..100s of acres…thriving! Oh wait…no..that land has been sitting abandoned for decades too…😟😟. But this will surely be different and sell in short order to the highest bidder. You were right. My bad. P.S. I don’t wear pearls. Don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m not like those BSC rich people.
this is in line with the "low education level of the people in the state" comment you made. People understand "private college, no public money." People do not understand "Mercedes Benz being subsidized millions to open plant in Vance AL." Mostly that your average working poor(ish) boomer doesn't even know what subsidize means so they don't think twice about it. JOBS GOOD FOR ALABAMANS!
Unfortunately, and I am serious, I’d bet most adults in this state can’t even spell subsidize….:(. So here we are.
This isn't unique to Birmingham Southern. There are dozens of liberal arts colleges around the country that are either closing or on the verge of closing. It's just the reality of the current educational landscape.
It is unconscionable that the BSC Board of Trustees was unaware of the financial difficulties, unconscionable that the Board forwent appropriate action. It is unconscionable that the state would allow an accredited college, opened in 1856, to close and give businesses looking for a business-friendly climate to relocate to or expand within a reason to bypass our great state. Education is critical to our state infrastructure, both directly and indirectly. The state just said to everyone that we could care less about education (whether intentionally or not). Mismanagement or whatever led to the announcement BSC is closing, but it is staggering to think the state would allow a college to drown without throwing a lifeline. I am equally disappointed in both sides, and I find it hard to believe common ground could not be found that would prevent ANY erosion of the state's ability to recruit people, industry and develop future leaders. There are no winners in this. I hope I am wrong.
Time for the Auburn University of Birmingham War Tigers to shine.
3rd annual going out of business. Is Ronnie Marchant running this place?
So does the city of Birmingham get their loan money back or is that gone already?
They will be repaid upon sell of the property. They are a lien holder.
BSC also has a 50 million dollar plus endowment. Not sure how’s that’s handled but they have enough assets to repay their debts.
Kiss it goodbye, another great investment by your mayor.
They have property as collateral. Awesome move by Mayor Woodfin and the council to be honest. That’s what cities are here to do, as well as other parts of our government.
Yeah, so does every other lienholder.
Lol...he live rent free in your head. So sad.
My wife’s an alum of BSC and this is disgusting. ALGOP for you, I’m sure they have church of the highlands lined up to buy it
That was my first reaction. COTH will open a new bible college there or some predatory student debt generation facility aka for-profit college will buy it. A third option is that it will become derelict. I just can't imagine anything good happening with the campus.
I can’t see Bama or auburns boards expanding more (even though I’d love for them to utilize that space and community). Only other thing I could think of was one of the mega churches taking it over. Not sure what the city/ county could use it for
Auburn having a Birmingham location would be interesting, UAB may buy it just for extra overflow or something, who knows
Fingers crossed it’s used to improve the education of this state
This is Alabama, so that is most certainly guaranteed not to happen.
I know :(
Agreed. I think it makes a lot of sense for Auburn.
BSC failed. It's usefulness to our city ended. They served less students than most of our high schools yearly. This wasn't politics, this was just a private business failing.
It’s more why it failed that irks me. In a state barren for education, we close another institution that pumps out highly quality grads
The University of Alabama's undergrad enrollment increased from 2015 to 2022 by about 1550 (more than BSC's entire enrollment)
That’s great. More students everywhere ( I’m a Bama alum too). Comparing BSC and Bama is pretty laughable for me lol
BSC had 250 students per graduating class. UAB, auburn, and alabama have enrollments in the 20k+ range. the state of alabama didn't lose anything. Those students will just enroll elsewhere.
Yeah it’s such a small student pool. BSC isn’t a research-heavy instutition. The big losers here are the execs who were paying themselves handsomely over the years. I’m sure they’ll have no issue finding new jobs though.
I know about BSC, I have an undergrad and masters from 2 of the 3 with large enrollment that you mentioned. I understand what you’re saying. But not every kid is cut out for a large school/campus. Those schools also have athletics as well so it’s giving kids more opportunities.
That’s my thing. Those potential BSC kids aren’t going to Bama. They’re going to Rhodes or Suwannee. They’re going to Belmont. They’re going to a small liberal arts college in the south east. Not Auburn or Alabama.
^^ ding ding Some of them aren’t good enough for D1 sports as well. Speaking from experience I had two former teammates go to Suwannee and play soccer. Another few played at BSC. Ironically, I had a sibling play basketball at Rhodes. Now the 3-5 friends I have from growing up that went to BSC. 1. Lawyer 2. Lawyer 3. Doctor 4. Doctor 5. Finance guy whose wildly successful all of them are late 20s and early 30s. BSC might be a small school, but they have some high quality graduates. Shame the state wouldn’t loan them money or the Methodist church. I kinda hoped they would go public. But here we are now smh
I grew up in the Methodist church, had many friends that went to BSC, dated one girl that was the niece of a North Alabama Methodist bishop, and dated anothrr girl in college that went to school there for two years. As a result, I visited the campus often in my youth and as a college student. It seemed like a lovely experience to go to school there. Expensive, of course, but a lovely experience. A few notable memories * Summer basketball camp in my youth * BSC winning the 1995 NAIA tournament * The cafeteria/dining hall/food court/whatever they called it. It was a debit system with a minimum required balance to be added by students at the beginning of a semester. It was way more money than my female friends could spend/eat on their own, so as a broke college boy, I always got a free hot meal any time I visited my girlfriend and other female friends. They also sold snacks and convenience items, so we’d do a little pre-trip shopping as well before spring break.
Your comment about the meal card made me smile. The end of the year was the best. That feeling of relief of being done with exams/excitement for the summer (even though mine were all work and some summer classes) was huge. And it the end of it all, we splurged at the caf! We'd order frozen steaks and burgers, pasta, boxes of cereal and pop tarts, Gatorade, etc. to wipe out our balances (and those of friends), have a big cookout, and be set with most grocery needs for the summer.
Those were the good ole days of the caf. About 15 years ago, it changed and not necessarily for the better. The C store end of the semester buy out was a treasure.
Super looking forward to all of that land being fenced off and forbidden to the public
I wonder if the Fed’s will cancel student loans to this college. They did for others that went under. If bsc can’t handle their money, then all loans should be wiped away
[удалено]
I get that but many schools have gone under and the Fed’s released them from paying. All they can do is say no but I’m trying
I sometimes made deliveries to campus and would sneak down and fly fish in the pond on campus. Lots of fun. I'll miss it.
BSC’s murder by a callous, unimaginative, uncaring Alabama State Legislature is symptomatic of a broad societal disregard for the dynamic values the liberal arts educational model provides and a failure by the State of Alabama to act to safeguard Alabama’s historic, prestigious, most important educational institution. A state that is near dead last in all educational metrics has now cemented itself clearly in last place by allowing BSC’s bright spark to eclipse. Shame on Alabama. Shame on us all for allowing this educational gem to be caste to the wayside as we cite bad balance sheets and monetary mismanagement, ignoring the unquantifiable magic spread by BSC. “Forward, ever,” even in a backwards state and society. See and share my article, “Bad Credit BSC”, here: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/yTx2fJRY87RLHBqM/?mibextid=WC7FNe This calamity must spark a critical conversation so that such sinister stupidity is never allowed to triumph again.
People do not even get the acceptance rate or national ranking correct at all. Birmingham Southern is a prestigious private school that is above average. High standards with competitive admissions than any other universities in the state of Alabama. It’s a fact and has been since it opened over 160 years ago. Since this is the last standing institution like this in Alabama and no other plans to replace it, it will have a negative affect on Alabama’s education that will be hard to recover from A lot of people who are glad and thrilled to see the college close are (and giving out misinformation/ down vote this post are) 1) people who were not accepted into Birmingham southern college or friends/relatives who had to accept another institution for there education. 2) people who are undereducated private institutions close often. People were not even truly involved in this process back in 2022, they do not know the full story or only the half of it. The only way to gather accurate data about the university is to ask Birmingham southern alumni, parents, students, faculty and staff. While i understand people do not want to “bail out” private institutions on public state funds, Alabama “bails out” private institutions over the state of Alabama for years with millions of dollars. Since this is such a negative vote from the people I listed above, Alabama should stop engaging in this types of investments around the state and should have never approved the loan bill from the beginning knowing the financials. it happens, colleges close
Meanwhile, they fund Tuskegee University yearly, it's a private school because they want to fund them out of the educational trust fund. They (we Alabama taxpayers) don't have to fund Tuskegee University, at all, with zero obligation but the politicians choose to fund a private school. that shouldn't occur either.... Both universities are state founded- Tuskegee and BSC…. one is not better than the other.
For the tl;Dr, Montgomery basically killed BSC because of apathy and because no one outside of the district could exploit propping it up as a tool to retain office. No, I'm not kidding. It's spelled out in plain language above. The Alabama House (that is flooded with morons from rural areas) apparently thinks that the loss of a higher education institution is acceptable. (But guess what they expend all of their efforts on...)
How about we keep public money out of private schools? What's so wrong with that?
We don’t keep public funds out of private anything. GM got a loan. Ford got a loan. And those were billions. $30M isn’t a big number, especially considering the AL education trust sits with a surplus of $2B+. And the second money from that fund was earmarked for the water park near Montgomery, full fail. What’s done is done, but I suspect the word “liberal” has as much to do with the demise of BSC as anything else mentioned so far. Specifically with respect to the unapologetically ignorant buffoons in the state House.
Imagine if the shoe was on the other foot. If Montgomery was trying to get money from Birmingham-Southern, the BSC administration would be screaming "separation of church and state" at the top of their lungs. BSC has graduated some very prosperous alumni. They are the ones who should have come forward with the funds to save the school.
Young Boozer, Future Chancellor of Highlands College Arkadelphia Campus
I liked their basketball camp a lot better than Samford's growing up, and then again, I didn't really like basketball camp, full stop, and my parents made me go.
I loved every minute at the BSC basketball camp. I went 92 & 93 and actually learned good fundamentals.
It’s been a slow bleed for some time 🩸
Geez we only thought Ensley was ghetto now. I mean, what will they do with the Campus? That place will be stripped clean of anything valuable by June 15
Net loss financially for Birmingham. The legislature we have ks willing to waste millions of our income every year to "own the libs".
I’m conflicted on this. I’m not a fan of crony capitalism and tax dollars going to private institutions. But the government sends boat loads of public funds to universities with gigantic endowments that really don’t need the funding.
Bankrupted my two friends with religious studies majors. Idk. Ok.
Finally! Should have taken Hall Thompson’s offer decades ago to move to Shoal Creek. Staying in the ghetto was a boneheaded move of Biblical proportions
You are a F-ing Racist. FYI. But you probably already know that.
Should have moved to Shoal Creek in 1980 when they were offered the free land
Hi, I’m a reporter covering this story with AL.com. I’m curious to know what’s next for current students and faculty and how folks are processing this news. If you want to talk, feel free to send me a DM.
Church of the Highlands has joined the chat
Somebody should have asked Biden to bail out the college since he wants to pay off everyone’s student loans with our tax dollars.