Alabama A&M University is preparing to acquire the soon-to-be-closing Birmingham-Southern University campus.

University officials have been exploring the possibility of purchasing it for more than a year, according to Shannon Reeves, vice president for government and external relations at Alabama A&M University.

Reeves said A&M's top officials are involved in the evaluation stages of a possible acquisition of the BSC campus west of Birmingham. As things stand, with failed attempts in the 2023 and 2024 legislative sessions, the BSC campus and facilities will not host students beyond the current spring semester and the campus will remain dormant.

A&M's BSC acquisition initiative could be serving 1,000 students as early as the fall 2025 semester, with a goal of serving more than 3,500 within five years, Reeves said.

“A&M is the largest HBCU (historically black college or university) in the state. We have over 6,600 students, we welcomed the largest class of freshmen in the university's history this year, and we now have over 2,000 freshmen. We have 3,300 beds in the dorms on campus,” he said in an interview. Yellow Hummer News. “Due to increasing demand and student numbers, the number of applicants has outstripped the capacity of on-campus housing, so the Student Affairs Department is currently leasing three apartments to house approximately 1,000 students.

“Alabama A&M University is on the move and the demand is high.”

Considering that about 10 percent of A&M's student population is from Birmingham and Jefferson County is the largest base of A&M alumni, Reeves said the connection between the local community and A&M's vision to build an independent campus there is obvious.

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“I think the fact that we have what we're trying to do and the ability to do it from where we are right now is important,” Reeves said. “I think it speaks to the strength we have as an organization right now.”

The acquisition will also provide a variety of economic development opportunities that will revitalize BSC's campus and the surrounding area in a way that is unique from the vibrant campus student population.

“Imagine teaching full time in Jefferson County,” Reeves said, “and I repeat, right now 10 percent of our students are from Birmingham. And we're here. Imagine having that campus, being in that market, building relationships with high schools year-round, hosting AAU tournaments on campus, hosting STEM camps on campus, introducing kids to science, nighttime adult education classes, certification programs to help people get certified so they can better fit into the local workforce.”

“Birmingham Southern College is in discussions with multiple parties regarding the sale of the campus,” according to a statement from BSC.

With the Alabama Senate set to debate the fiscal year 2025 Education Trust Fund budget this week, and just five days remaining in the 2024 state legislative session, lawmakers will likely have a hard time solidifying a key step toward Alabama A&M University, or any other public university, acquiring the BSC campus during this year's budgeting process.

But Reeves said Alabama A&M University administrators and stakeholders have done their due diligence to communicate their intentions to lawmakers, and the conversation will continue as long as the university continues to assert that it is best positioned to create value for all involved.

Grayson Everett is the state and politics editor for Yellow Hammer News. You can follow him on Twitter. Grayson