This is a guest opinion column

The stories began appearing soon after Birmingham-Southern College shared our plan to put the College back on sound financial footing. In letters to the editor and social media posts, alumni shared their experiences. Their emotional impact was undeniable.

• A former math major, now in civil engineering, said BSC is, “The place where I came in a boy and left a man.”
• A non-profit leader who has helped revitalize our state’s largest city said, “I took what BSC poured into me, and I poured it into downtown Birmingham.”
• A student with a sight-robbing eye disease who found the support she needed here wrote, “I’m scared to think how I would have gotten here without the help of Birmingham-Southern.”
• An award-winning journalist described how, in 1903, the College took his then 18-year-old grandfather from loading cotton sacks and set him firmly on a path to a distinguished career in education, changing the family’s fortunes forever thereafter.
• Another graduate, who now happens to be our head soccer coach, expressed pride in the good works our students regularly perform. “I see our current students mentor elementary students in the West End neighborhood and my soccer players hold clinics in neighboring Fairfield.”

From the many who were the first in their family to graduate from college to the current student who counts more than a dozen BSC alumni in her extended family, they all insist on one thing: Birmingham-Southern played an outsized role in making them the successful and engaged members of society they are today.

Often, it bent the arc of history for an entire family toward the fulfillment of the American Dream.

Each of these stories and the hundreds of others that have been shared are deeply meaningful. Not to just the families involved, but to our city, state, and world. They represent the many powerful intangible benefits that Birmingham-Southern has provided for the past century and a half.

Although I fully understand the importance of these unquantifiable benefits and remain truly grateful for them, I want to focus today on the tangible benefits the College provides.

Because even if we put aside for a moment the moving and poignant stories and focus solely on the hard, cold economic facts of the matter, we find that Birmingham-Southern’s contributions to the prosperity of our region and state more than justify public support to help it regain its financial resilience.

Let’s start with the annual economic impact. A recent study by a respected economist shows BSC generates $97.2 million in economic impact each year in Alabama, with $70.5 million of that in Jefferson County. In addition, the study measured the impact of the BSC alumni who live in Alabama – all 67 counties – at $211.5 million.

The impact of 300 direct and another 100 indirect jobs is felt first within the West Birmingham neighborhoods where our campus is located. Bush Hills and College Hills would suffer significantly if the economic activity generated by the College – essentially the neighborhood’s anchor tenant — goes away.

But the economic pain would not end there. The sudden loss of $97.2 million per year would ripple across the city, county, and state at the very time the economy shows signs of softening.

Is it worth a one-time contribution of $30 million from the State of Alabama (along with $5 million from the City of Birmingham and $2.5 million from Jefferson County) to avoid the profound loss of $97.2 million every year for decades to come? Is it in the public interest to expend public funds for such a purpose?

We believe the answer is self-evidently, “Yes.”

That’s not only because of the economic impact. It’s also because BSC has made major contributions to the civic, business, and charitable life of our city and state for the last 165 years—motivating generations of young people to provide community leadership in every county in Alabama.

Consider, too, that the positive influence of BSC graduates has radiated beyond the borders of our state. Our alumni have helped the Carter Center nearly eradicate guinea worm. They managed cyber-security for the largest news network in the U.S., served as state presidents for AT&T, and been rector at the largest Episcopal parish in the country, to cite but a few examples.

A 1935 graduate wrote one of the best-loved holiday songs of the 20th Century and won numerous Tony Awards for composing some of Broadway’s most memorable shows. A 1966 BSC graduate was the manager of one of the best-selling groups in music history. (And his father, a 1941, is remembered as the organizer of the CIA in the Middle East.)

Surely, as a people, we can afford to help an institution that has given so much. The real question may be whether we can afford not to.

So, as you contemplate in your own mind whether the public sector should support a private institution—as it does every year, by the way—please be sure to factor in the tangible as well as the intangible benefits.

As one graduate wrote recently of the BSC motto, “‘Forward, Ever’ is more than a clever or profound phrase, it is an invitation to become the best version of yourself that has led me to the person I am today.”

With this support, Birmingham-Southern College can also help our city and state reach their full potential.

For a full discussion of our financial plan—including how we got here and how we plan to meet the challenge—please visit bsc.edu.

Daniel B. Coleman is president of Birmingham-Southern College