Nearly a dozen top executives of Birmingham-area businesses sent letters Friday to lawmakers representing Jefferson County in Montgomery, urging the legislators to support a bailout of Birmingham-Southern College using state money.

“We urge you, as a member of the Birmingham-area legislative delegation, to affirm to your colleagues in the legislature and to other state government officials the value of BSC as an institution and your willingness to support state government involvement to secure the College’s future,” 11 executives wrote in a letter to the state lawmakers, according to a copy of the letter provided by the financially-strapped college to AL.com.

The letter was signed by Birmingham Business Alliance Chairman Greg Curran; president of Spire’s Alabama, Gulf Coast and Mississippi utilities Joe Hampton; Drummond Company, Inc. President and Chief Operating Officer Richard Mullen; Bradley LLP Managing Partner J. Andrew Robison; Altec Industries, Inc. Co-Chairman Lee Styslinger III; EBSCO Industries Chief Executive Officer David Walker; Dunn Investment Company, Inc. Chairman William D. French; Vulcan Materials Company Chairman and CEO J. Thomas Hill; O’Neal Industries Inc. Chairman and CEO Craft O’Neal; Warrior Met Coal, Inc. CEO and Director Walter J. Scheller III; and Encompass Health President and CEO Mark Tarr.

The letter goes on to say that whether the legislators support a state bailout of BSC is expected to be discussed in Montgomery, and that while the college doesn’t expect the lawmakers to develop a position before receiving final details on what a bailout would look like, “your immediate commitment to finding a solution to save BSC will send a strong message to your legislative colleagues and other leaders in Alabama as these deliberations continue.”

Financial problems at Birmingham-Southern emerged in 2010 when David Pollick, who had been president since 2004, resigned after a controversy over accounting errors, overspending and increasingly dire budget deficits.

The executives’ letter alluded to the problems, but said the school’s current leadership has a “sound plan” to keep the school afloat should it receive public funding.

“To be clear, Birmingham-Southern made missteps at times in the past 20 years that led to its current financial situation,” they wrote. “But under the capable leadership of current president Daniel Coleman, BSC has made necessary governance changes and has a sound plan to put the College on solid financial footing in the years ahead.”

BSC officials are asking for $37.5 million from state and local funds to replenish their endowment, which they say will be enough to get the college back on track.

Birmingham-Southern says it has raised $45.5 million in commitments toward a $200 million endowment fund goal and says it’s on track to meet that goal by 2026, but needs public funding to stabilize its finances in the meantime.

The executives’ letter pointed to a study released last month from Alabama economist M. Keivan Deiravi showing that BSC creates an economic impact of $92.7 million a year to the state as a reason to support the college’s effort for state funding.

BSC’s alumni have made an impact both at the executives’ companies and throughout the Birmingham metropolitan area, the business leaders wrote.

“Beyond our corporate workforce, BSC graduates are engaged in charitable and community service that makes Birmingham and Alabama a better place for all of us,” they wrote. “It is this impressive commitment to professional and personal impact that has led to national recognition for the College on many occasions – both as an institution and through its distinguished alumni.”