AAMU officials confirm $52 million offer to purchase Birmingham Southern College

Archie Snowden
·1 min read

NORMAL. Ala. (WHNT) — Officials at Alabama A&M University have confirmed that they have made a $52 million offer to purchase the Birmingham-Southern College campus (BSC).

If granted, the campus would operate as a standalone, independent campus.

Alabama A&M offers Birmingham Southern $52 million for campus

AAMU has long sought to be more of a presence in the Jefferson County area for quite some time, while the staple of north Alabama has served as an academic and athletic destination for millions of students for more than a century.

“Our largest alumni chapter is in Birmingham Jefferson County. We have more Alabama A&M graduates in the Jefferson County and Birmingham area than any place in the country,” said Shannon Reeves of Government Affairs at AAMU.

According to Reeves, the AAMU offer would secure all financial responsibility from BSC which failed to secure state funding to stop its closure. Supporters of the campus say they hoped to keep the century-old college open.

“We’ve made a commitment to retire and resolve all debt that the college has and then make an investment of about 30 million above that,” Reeves explained.

Alabama A&M preparing to extend offer to purchase Birmingham-Southern College

BSC officials noted that no historically black college or university has ever bought a predominantly white institution in the South.

“For us to have a full-time presence in Birmingham really is a big deal for us and we think it’s a great investment,” said Reeves. “10 percent of our students already come from Birmingham and we’re not in the city so, imagine what a full-time presence means, and we’re excited about it, so get ready.”

Reeves noted that a lot of the existing staff at BSC have already have jobs elsewhere, but they hope to retain the remaining faculty.

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