BIRMINGHAM — It’s been circulating for a minute, but the news of famed institution Birmingham-Southern College closing its doors forever on May 31 after 168 years of operation still doesn’t seem real.
The college has been facing an uphill battle over the last decade, with a poor financial situation being at the center of most of its problems.
Those in the higher education realm saw this coming a long time out. Like watching a family member succumb to a long illness, I’ve heard.
It still doesn’t make it any easier to its deep alumni base.
168 years. 168. It’s as old as Auburn, almost double as old as its citymate UAB. And now, it’s gone. An Alabama—and specifically a Birmingham— institution, both literally and figuratively, is gone.
“The Hilltop” as it was known, was a beautiful campus in a very complex part of Birmingham. Standing in the shadows of legendary football stadium Legion Field, the area was once a bustling place-to-be but has fallen on hard times. Not unlike the college itself, which struggled the last decade and a half to stay afloat financially.
Despite the best efforts of the powers that be—hiring Gen. Charles Krulak, who helped keep the BSC alive even longer, re-introducing a football program similar to what Huntingdon College in Montgomery did, among others—in the end, it became impossible to justify keeping the doors open. And so, the Class of ‘24 becomes its last.
We could focus on what led to the demise. We can examine how state funding that looked so promising never happened. We could look at the sociological juxtapositions of said dying esteemed private school and its neighborhood. We can look at lifelines that were thrown, then withdrawn.
But who really cares about all that? What’s done is done. We can analyze until the cows come home, but unless those cows produce gold, BSC will fade into the past. An ember of a flame that once burned deep, now losing in its rage against the dying of the light, to borrow from Thomas.
No, instead, my heart goes out to its alumni, faculty, and staff. It’s an unfair situation, and I’m sure it’s a helpless feeling.
I did not go to Birmingham-Southern. I have only passed the campus once. But my favorite teacher of all time, the late, great Teri Richburg, thought highly enough of it to try and suggest that I go there. It didn’t happen, but I have had high esteem for it since.
I cannot fathom what BSC alumni are going through; the ones I know are wonderful people who love their alma mater deeply and are heartbroken that it will be no more.
I went to a school that could be considered a mirror image of BSC: small, liberal arts, a beautiful campus in the Birmingham area. The only difference? It’s a public institution, and thus receives state money to keep it afloat.
If I received notice that Montevallo was shutting down, I’d grieve too. So much of who I am and where I am today is tied to that campus. And the memories I made there.
It came down to numbers and sense (and cents) to a board whether or not to keep going. But college campuses are more than buildings to keep lights. Much like a theater, music hall, or an old stadium/ballpark, an institution is about the people that come together on its hallowed grounds. The lessons learned there, both in the classroom and out of it. The growth experienced walking its halls, staying in its dorms, and embracing long lazy days on its quads.
The essence of an institution is palpable, yet not concrete. You feel it in corners of libraries, tucked in books that haven’t been opened in decades. You see it in the architecture of century-old buildings. You hold it in the embrace of going from classmates to soulmates. There is something weighty to the term Alma Mater; it’s not just a place you went, it’s a period of your life that forever changes you, and its price, if done right, is a small piece of your heart you can never get back.
You may not remember what you studied in calculus, but you’ll never forget homecoming.
And maybe that’s the one shining positive here, BSC alums. They can take your campus, but they can’t take your memories. You’ll always have those. And much like the passing of a beloved family member, Birmingham-Southern College is gone, but you carry the impact it had on you for the rest of your life. And you still can be an incredible, proud ambassador of it. And carry what BSC was and meant long after this closing. Like your baseball team did so well. It deserves that, and you deserve that.
May you keep moving, despite this loss.
Forward ever.
(Photo Credit: Birmingham-Southern College)
The Kudzu 