Miles College has a deal to buy Birmingham-Southern College’s 192-acre campus for an undisclosed amount.
Trustees for Miles, a private, historically Black institution in Fairfield, Alabama, voted unanimously to approve the purchase agreement.
The deal follows a letter of intent Miles submitted to Birmingham-Southern shortly after the college shuttered in May.
Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
For Miles, the Birmingham-Southern campus acquisition “will allow academic programs, research, and innovation to thrive in a collaborative environment with local and global partnerships,” the college said in the announcement.
“This opportunity is a significant next step in our vision to lift our college, campus, and community,” Miles President Bobbie Knight said in a statement.
Birmingham-Southern President Daniel Coleman noted in a statement that the sale is “for the physical property — acreage and buildings — but not the College itself.”
The land and buildings owned by Birmingham-Southern amounted to $2.2 million and $147.4 million respectively on its balance sheet as of May 2023, according to the college’s latest financials. Other property improvements were valued at $20.3 million.
Just five miles away from each other, Birmingham-Southern and Miles both have histories extending back more than a century. Birmingham-Southern’s fall headcount stood at 975 in 2022, down 24% from five years prior. Miles’ fall enrollment also dropped at roughly the same rate during that period, falling to 1,258 in 2022.
Birmingham-Southern shuttered in late May amid long-running financial woes. After Alabama lawmakers passed a law that looked like it might keep the college afloat, Birmingham-Southern’s application for a $30 million loan was denied by the state’s treasurer, Young Boozer. The college’s trustees voted unanimously to close the college following Boozer’s contentious decision.
Birmingham-Southern continues to exist as a corporate entity during the wind-down process. According to Coleman, that includes “wrapping up a range of business matters.”
Left for Birmingham-Southern to do is work with the Alabama attorney general’s office, once the campus sale closes, to create a plan for the future of the college’s endowment. Any plan will require court approval, and the entire process could take months or even years to complete, Coleman said.
Knight and Coleman will “work together to position the legacy of Birmingham Southern and the future of Miles College,” the colleges said.
The Birmingham-Southern campus remains closed in the meantime until further notice, according to the release.
