The Birmingham City Council on Tuesday approved $5 million in city loans for Birmingham-Southern College to stay open.

“It’s an important step in the right direction,” BSC President Daniel Coleman said after the council meeting. “We’ve been working on this closely with the councilors and the mayor’s office for some time.”

With the city’s funding, the college should be able to open in fall of 2024, he said.

He said he’ll next approach the Jefferson County Commission looking for a similar package of support.

“Next, I think we need to engage with the county commission to see if they have the appetite to help us,” he said. “I hope they do.”

Coleman appeared before a committee of the Birmingham City Council on Nov. 21, where Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin presented the plan for two $2.5 million loans from the city to the college from the city’s $289 million general reserve fund.

The first loan would be forgiven if Birmingham-Southern College reopens with classes in the fall. The second loan would be repayable over 20 years, secured by the campus property, which would make the city a lienholder on a second mortgage if the college closes.

The city had previously pledged $5 million contingent on the state loaning the college $30 million, but State Treasurer Young Boozer denied the college’s loan request.

“We’re always open to engaging with the state,” Coleman said. “We hope the county and state will be involved and will enable us to make it through the next three years as we rebuild our endowment. Rebuilding our endowment will enable us to be around for another 167 years.”

BSC’s private fundraising drive has raised $45 million in pledges to help rebuild the endowment, Coleman said.

“Over time we hope to have $150-to-$200 million,” he said. “That money’s set aside. We will draw about five percent plus or minus a year to pay for scholarships, pay for all kinds of resources that the college needs to educate people.”

BSC has about 700 students and 292 employees.

Birmingham-Southern College plans to expand its graduate programs for workforce training, offering master’s degrees in data science, computer science, cybersecurity and information systems.

The new master’s programs would be gradually implemented, with the first next fall, to accommodate 1,000 graduate students over the next four years.

“We’re really focused on next year,” Coleman said. “We have record applicants, but I think it will be really, really important for high school seniors to see a stable college as they make their decisions in April.”

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