In the News: Why Alabama Needs BSC

Several Birmingham-Southern alumni and faculty members have weighed in on the future of the College in recent news articles, featured below. For more information on how you can help support, visit BSC Forward.

Jared Weinstein, an Alabama native who spent time in government in Washington and as a venture capital investor in New York, writes an open letter to Gov. Kay Ivey about the wisdom of investing in President Coleman and BSC. Weinstein was an advisory council member of the Alabama Innovation Commission which led to the establishment of the Innovation Corporation.

Neal Wade, managing partner of the Advanced Economic Development Leadership Program, writes this guest op-ed on how it might cost Alabama more in the long run, if legislators don’t help support the future of BSC.

Birmingham city councilors Carol E. Clarke and Hunter Williams co-author this guest-op piece on why Birmingham can’t afford to lose BSC.

Entrepreneurs who lead 24 tech-based companies from Huntsville to Mobile signed a letter on March 17 to the Alabama Innovation Commission in support of BSC. Read more here. See the segment on WVTM13 here.

Graham Spencer ’16 and his wife Ashley Spencer ’15 live in New York City, where he works for an educational advisory firm for colleges and universities across the country. Read his op-ed piece here.

Trussville resident Dr. Mark Rupright is an associate professor of physics at Birmingham-Southern College. Read his op-ed piece here on how BSC is a good investment for Alabama.

Vicki VanValkenburgh ’88 is on the BSC Board of Trustees, and is a Realtor with VanValkenburgh & Wilkinson Properties, Inc. She is a member of the Historic Huntsville Foundation Board of Directors, the North Alabama Land Trust, and First United Methodist Church of Huntsville. Read her op-ed piece here.

This op-ed written by Thornton Muncher ’22 was published in the Feb. 25-26 weekend edition of the Daily Mountain Eagle. Muncher is lifelong resident of Walker County, Alabama. He is currently pursuing a Master of Divinity at Vanderbilt Divinity School in preparation for doctoral research and ordination in the United Methodist Church.

Bush Hills Community Leaders Voice Support for BSC: A guest op-ed written by Walladean Streeter, president of the Bush Hills Neighborhood Association, and Joanice Thompson, president of Bush Hills Connections, a non-profit dedicated to fostering partnerships that will revitalize the historic Birmingham neighborhood.

U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell visited the BSC campus last Wednesday afternoon to deliver a federal check for student interns. She also expressed support for public investment in the College. Read more here.

Why BSC is a good investment for Alabama, written by state Sen. Rodger Smitherman and state Sen. Jabo Waggoner ’60.

BSC President Daniel Coleman writes a guest op-ed on how the College benefits Alabama.

“Wherever you find a BSC graduate, you find hope for a better Alabama.” – Rev. Dr. David R. Saliba ’03, senior pastor at First United Methodist Church of Dothan. Read more here.

Dr. J. Kevin Tucker ’86, Vice President for Education at Mass General Brigham and Assistant Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School writes about empathy and other lessons learned during his time at Birmingham-Southern. Read more here.

Kendal Weaver ’66, a retired Associated Press correspondent and state editor, shares his thoughts about “how the prosperity of greater Birmingham and Alabama has been enhanced by BSC” in a guest column for the Montgomery Advertiser.

Kyle Whitmire ’02 is the state political columnist for the Alabama Media Group, 2020 winner of the Walker Stone Award, winner of the 2021 SPJ award for opinion writing, and 2021 winner of the Molly Ivins prize for political commentary. He is also author of the newsletter “Alabamafication.” Read his piece here about how BSC’s future is linked to the health of corporate business in Birmingham.

Read his history of BSC’s financial crisis here.

George E. Bradford, Jr., a musician, writer and ethicist currently living in Atlanta, Ga., writes about the impact Birmingham-Southern College had on his family. His father is a 1961 graduate of BSC. Read more here.

Joelle Phillips ’89, Vice Chair of Trustees at Birmingham-Southern College and President of AT&T Tennessee, shares how her BSC experience prepared her for the future — and why the College is crucial to the future of Alabama. Read more here.

Wayne Morse, Jr. ’72 is an Alabama trial and appellate lawyer, and a Fellow of the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers. In this guest opinion column for AL.com, he provides answers about the need for the public bailout.

Dr. Natalie Davis is the Howell T. Heflin Professor Emerita of Political Science at Birmingham-Southern, and owns two consulting firms. Davis and Associates does public opinion research while Voir Dire is a jury consulting firm, specializing in juror research and mock trials. Here she writes about how BSC is a valued asset for Birmingham and the state of Alabama.