U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell visited the Birmingham-Southern College campus on Wednesday afternoon to deliver a federal check for student interns and she also threw her support behind a public bailout for the college.

Sewell challenged Alabama, Birmingham and Jefferson County officials to step up and do what it takes to keep the college open.

“This is a private college, but it has a lot of public benefit,” Sewell said. “It has also been an economic engine for the city of Birmingham and Jefferson County.”

Sewell (D-Ala.) secured $500,000 in federal funding for Birmingham-Southern College for experiential learning and civic engagement with internships through the Krulak Institute on campus, as part of the 2023 omnibus government funding package.

Birmingham-Southern College President Daniel Coleman said the college is in danger of closing this year without a government bailout.

The private liberal arts college, founded in 1856, is asking for $30 million in funding from the State of Alabama, $5 million from the City of Birmingham and $2.5 million from Jefferson County.

Sewell said they should do it. She noted that her district has already lost two private religious colleges in the past five years.

The Lutheran-affiliated Concordia College, established in 1922 in her hometown of Selma, closed in 2018. The Alabama Baptist-affiliated Judson College, one of the oldest women’s colleges in the country, closed down in Marion in 2021.

“I’ve seen what happens when higher education closes in our district,” Sewell said. “Our district can ill-afford to lose another institution of higher learning of the caliber and quality of Birmingham-Southern.”

Birmingham-Southern College formed from a 1918 merger of Southern University, dating to 1856, and Birmingham College, dating to 1898, both founded by the Methodist Church.

“I believe it’s important that we continue to let an institution like this thrive, not just survive,” Sewell said. “I know how much Birmingham-Southern College does to go out and recruit public school folks from the community of Birmingham and Jefferson County. That is another valuable service that it offers to us.”

The state legislature goes into session in March and holds the possible key to survival for BSC.

“I’m very hopeful,” Coleman said.

He said BSC has been running deficits every year and draining its endowment. It has gone from a $48 million endowment in 2012 to between $20 million and $25 million in endowment now. “We’ve had to drain more than a sustainable amount,” he said.

The college’s debt has been reduced from $68 million in 2012 to about $27 million now.

The future of the 200-acre campus hangs in the balance as he awaits action from state and local leaders.

“It’s like Jesus with the loaves and fishes,” Coleman said. “We’re running out of fishes.”

See also: Birmingham-Southern College touts its value in economic impact statement