Miles College President Bobbi Knight, like many, is intrigued about the future of the hilly, 192-acre site in west Birmingham that will be vacated on May 31 when Birmingham-Southern College shuts its doors after the small, private college was unable to secure a loan from the state.

She would not commit to seeking to move the HBCU, located in Fairfield, to the property should it become available.

Nor did she rule it out.

“At this time, we do not have a formal plan to pursue the BSC campus,” Knight said.

“As a Miles College community made up of faculty, students, and families, our primary focus has been to support and address the needs of the BSC community.”

On Thursday, the college tweeted that it was adjusting its application deadlines for BSC students who may be looking to transfer.

“Now that a resolution has been reached regarding BSC,” Knight added, “we look forward to a dialogue regarding the future of the campus.”

Miles, founded in 1898 and affiliated with the Christian Methodist Church, is – like BSC – a private institution. Its website states Miles is “strong financially, and in 2006 purchased a new 41-acre campus adjacent to the existing campus. Previously ‘landlocked,’ this acquisition enabled Miles to double the land size of the College.”

In 2021, the school announced it would cancel $3.9 million in federal student loans for all full-time students enrolled in the Spring 2022 semester.

The current location, however, has its challenges, due largely to the City of Fairfield’s long-standing financial strains.

The city of just under 10,000 residents filed for bankruptcy in 2020, with $28 million in unpaid debts to just 26 of 210 creditors. Among the group is nine former city employees, government agencies, companies, and other creditors.

Because the city cannot afford to support public transportation, Miles students without cars are often unable to access services beyond the city limits.

Last week, the Birmingham Jefferson County Transit Authority donated two 40-foot buses to Miles.

BJCTA Executive Director/CEO Charlotte Shaw called them “really good buses” that had outlived their official lifespan for the agency. “I can’t keep them in useful life for a long time,” she told the Birmingham Times. “[Because of federal regulations], I can do only 700,000 miles or 15 years, whichever comes first. And, of course, most of the time I meet my miles first. … I had two really good buses, and I wanted [Miles] to have them.”

“If you go to Miles College and don’t have a car you can’t get around,” Knight said. “Fairfield is a food desert. There’s not a Walmart. There’s nowhere to go for toiletries and shopping. We can also [use the buses for] student trips downtown to the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute or the Birmingham Museum of Art, or even if we want to take them to see the baseball team play a [nearby school like the University of Montevallo].”

Miles College has 135 faculty members, according to its website. At least 30%, it says, are from Asia and African countries.