This is a guest opinion column

Recently, a 1982 Southern graduate had published a guest opinion with the title, “Birmingham-Southern College alum asking hard questions about public bailout.” The piece was a study in the art of omission advocating for Birmingham-Southern’s closure or merger with a public college. Invoking the names of two Birmingham-Southern professors, the author wrote that the College stresses independent thinking. It also emphasizes preparation and homework. How the College reached this point is the subject of overly belabored analysis and has been answered in myriad documents available to alumni and the public.

We must focus on the future instead of the past. The reasons the State of Alabama should save Birmingham-Southern with a one-time lifeline are multiple and independent.

· The State of Alabama has a long tradition of funding private schools consistent with government’s policy of supporting education. Birmingham-Southern graduates contribute significantly to the Alabama economy. A grant will ensure continuation of that revenue and growth.

· For too long Birmingham-Southern had an unwieldy, bloated, and dysfunctional Board of Trustees easily manipulated by past presidents. The mismanagement was not as much the fault of Board members as it was an archaic charter. Today’s Board is a manageable size consisting of intelligent, independent, and indefatigable members. President Daniel Coleman, a financier, is made for the moment.

· The College has created an independent foundation with a separate Board to manage the endowment, to provide a sound financial footing, and to ensure that the seed money is not misspent.

· Failure to fund Birmingham-Southern will result in an educational void for the State of Alabama, more brain drain to other States, and financial loss to thousands of Birmingham-Southern students and employees, the City of Birmingham, and the State of Alabama. Birmingham-Southern’s annual economic impact is estimated to exceed $200 million. If bridge funding is not provided, the campus buildings and other assets will likely suffer the same fate as other abandoned places in Birmingham and become a liability instead of a revenue source.

Education is widely considered to be a governmental responsibility. According to Milton Friedman in Capitalism and Freedom:

A stable and democratic society is impossible without widespread acceptance of some common set of values and without a minimum degree of literacy and knowledge on the part of most citizens. Education contributes to both. In consequence, the gain from the education of a child accrues not only to the child or to his parents but to other members of the society; the education of my child contributes to other people’s welfare by promoting a stable and democratic society.

The State of Alabama has put this truth into action for decades by supporting private schools. The 2023 Education Trust Fund Budget is estimated at $8.38 billion. Tuskegee University is expected to be the beneficiary of $13,151,435, and Talladega College and Southern Preparatory Academy will receive $1,069,239 and $389,327 respectively.

Birmingham-Southern graduates are solid citizens. They are physicians, teachers, preachers, lawyers, judges, educators, and business leaders. They engage civically, are reliable taxpayers, and are proof of Dr. Friedman’s axiom. Considering the State’s allocations to other private schools for many years and the contribution of Southern and its graduates to the economy and social fabric, a single lifeline is an excellent investment and equitable.

Since inception and until recently, Birmingham-Southern had a Board that hindered effective governance and enabled autocratic administrators. The Board was controlled equally by two United Methodist Church Conferences which never met jointly. The Board ballooned and was stacked with loyalists to Presidents. When novel bookkeeping became the norm, the administration kept the practice from Board members because of management style. Little, if any, information and detail were presented to the Board. If a Board member asked hard questions, he or she was isolated or asked to leave.

Questions as to why Board members did not speak up must be directed to members individually. Being on the Board was an honor which most members did not want to lose.

To prevent future mismanagement, President Coleman has established a foundation separate from the College with an independent Board of Trustees adding an extra layer of governance. Should someone wish to spend the endowment, which is strictly designated for the future operation of the school, the foundation’s Board can prevent it.

If Birmingham-Southern is allowed to fall, several voids will be created. Educationally, Alabama students lose the opportunity for a unique, superior education which instills values. At Birmingham-Southern, classes are small. The faculty knows students’ names, backgrounds, abilities, and plans. When students graduate, they have learned how to think critically, know the importance of lifetime learning, and are confident of their future.

The College’s annual economic impact is estimated to exceed $200 million. It serves Birmingham and Jefferson County with jobs, student involvement, and cultural events. The positive economic impact spreads to vendors and to others serving persons who visit the campus.

Closing the College means financial loss to students, faculty, administrators, employees, and vendors. The College is a significant economic engine in Birmingham, perhaps the main source of tax revenue between Downtown and Midfield. What becomes of the campus buildings and other assets? For the answer, look at Birmingham’s abandoned schools and hospitals.

Many well-meaning persons have suggested a merger with another college. The reason Birmingham-Southern’s community wishes to avoid merger is obvious: There will be a loss of values, identity, and culture.

What is needed now is not continued dissension and criticism of past acts. The College should not be forsaken because of the sins of the Eighties and Nineties. Board members, and especially the officers, deserve full and heartfelt appreciation. They have acted with great sacrifice to their careers and family. President Coleman is owed a special show of gratitude. He is uniquely qualified for this moment, for financial management, and has worked tirelessly. It is an elementary leadership principle to acknowledge that Coleman and Board leaders are in charge for a reason. There is no question that Birmingham-Southern is worth saving, and that saving it is best for Birmingham, Jefferson County, and Alabama.

Wayne Morse, Jr. is a Birmingham-Southern College graduate, an Alabama trial and appellate lawyer, and a Fellow of the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers.