On Wednesday, Congresswoman Terri Sewell announced that Birmingham-Southern College (BSC) had been awarded $500,000 in federal funding for an experiential learning and civic engagement student initiative. Sewell was joined by BSC President Daniel Coleman and members of the student body for the funding announcement.
“I was so proud to present a check for half a million dollars in federal funding to Birmingham-Southern College for experiential learning and student support,” said Rep. Sewell. “My team and I fought hard to ensure that funding for this project was included in this year’s government funding package so that students can benefit from high-impact internships and jobs during their time at BSC and beyond. Birmingham-Southern is a pillar of our community, and I urge our partners at the state and local level to do what they can to support this cherished institution and its students during this critical time.”
At Wednesday’s press conference, Sewell presented a check for $500,000 to President Coleman and members of the student body. This funding is part of the $42.8 million Sewell helped secure in the Fiscal Year 2023 government funding package for local projects in Alabama’s Seventh Congressional District.
The $500,000 in federal funding will strengthen the institution’s ability to facilitate placement in high-impact internships and jobs through multiple offerings of the Krulak Institute for Leadership, Experiential Learning and Civic Engagement on campus.
Birmingham Southern College has recently made headlines over its well-documented financial difficulties. President Coleman has asked the Legislature, as well as the City of Birmingham and Jefferson County, for a substantial financial bailout. The small private college has been a fixture in Birmingham for over a century and has a broad alumni base.
“Those efforts continue daily — even hourly — and have been encouraging enough to keep us moving forward with the plan,” BSC President Coleman said recently. “While we all wish we had a final (and positive) answer by now, the simple truth is that when public funds are involved, there are many, many moving parts and decision-makers. So we are working closely with our allies in Montgomery and statewide, and we expect to know something more definitive by the time the Alabama Legislature convenes on March 7, if not before.”
The State Legislature will likely take up appropriating the ARPA money early in the Alabama regular legislative session that begins in less than two weeks.
Sewell is in her seventh term representing Alabama’s Seventh Congressional District. She has been supportive of BSC and its efforts to seek taxpayer assistance to remain open.
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