Office of Advancement Case Statement

CREATING LIVES OF SIGNIFICANCE

Members of each incoming class spend a day of orientation conducting service projects around Birmingham. Here, the Class of 2019 and student leaders gather at Railroad Park.

BIRMINGHAM-SOUTHERN COLLEGE’S MISSION IS TO PREPARE MEN AND WOMEN FOR LIVES OF SIGNIFICANCE. The College fosters intellectual and personal development through excellence in teaching and scholarship and by challenging students to engage their community and the greater world, to examine diverse perspectives, and to live with integrity. A residential, baccalaureate liberal arts institution, Birmingham-Southern honors its Methodist heritage of informed inquiry and meaningful service.

At Birmingham-Southern College, we have honed the craft of preparing learned professionals for 160 years. In this residential setting, students from all walks of life earn degrees that will open doors to their future.

They are challenged by top-notch faculty in the classroom and pushed to apply what they learn in the real world. They build a community on the campus and in the city that surrounds it. They encounter new ideas, explore their passions, and learn the tools to succeed. And once they graduate, they go on to make the world a better place.

This becomes even more important as our world changes. We must provide cutting-edge opportunities for our students to grow and reach their potential. To do so, we require the financial resources to attract and retain high-potential students by providing unique learning experiences and by recruiting the student-centered faculty to lead them. We must adapt while remaining true to our history, as expressed by William Wightman, Birmingham-Southern College’s first president, who told his students in 1861:

“The great point to be considered is not so much what you will get as what you will become—what you shall do to bless your generation.”

Priyanka Patel ’16 presents chemistry research conducted with Blondin Bioscience at a poster session.

STUDENT EXPERIENCE

BSC provides a 360-degree educational experience to equip students for a changing world Ranked as one of the best liberal arts colleges in the country by U.S. News and World Report, BSC offers a rigorous course of academic study with 27 majors and 25 minors. Our curriculum is designed to make sure that every student, whether a scientist, artist, or entrepreneur, masters five key tools: creative problem solving, effective communication, the ability to connect ideas, civic engagement, and self-directed learning.

Those are the skills Fortune 500 and other employers seek.

We know that students learn best by doing—by applying what they learn in the classroom in real-world settings: • Senior Capstone projects allow each student to demonstrate mastery within their major and work in collaboration with a faculty member.

• The rise3 initiative offers courses and faculty-directed independent study in which students conduct research, complete internships, engage in service-learning, and then reflect on what they learned.

• A unique four-week January Exploration Term provides a time for students to travel, pursue an internship, explore a single topic in depth, or try something completely outside their major.

Areas to designate support: • The Krulak Institute for Leadership, Experiential Learning, and Civic Engagement, which includes programs focused on leadership studies, advocacy, service-learning, community partnerships, study abroad, the January Exploration Term, collaborative research, and internships.

• Undergraduate research • BSC entrepreneurial programs

LEARNING BEYOND THE CLASSROOM

WILLIAM HEATH ’17 “I got to spend the January of my junior year shadowing an orthopedic surgeon—which is exactly what I hope to become. It was an unbelievable opportunity to get clinical time while I’m still an undergrad! This hands-on experience, along with all of the advising I’ve received from faculty, has me confident about applying to medical school next year.”

Dennise Armas ’17, the recipient of the Cora Boyle Irwin Memorial Scholarship, meets with local accounting firms.

SCHOLARSHIPS

The best and brightest students should have access to a BSC education Thanks to the loyal support of our donors, more than 90% of our students receive scholarship packages to provide this life-changing experience. In fact, according to the Department of Education’s scorecard, BSC costs students an average of just $2,000/year more than our states’ flagship public university after financial aid is factored in. And our Explorations curriculum and one-on-one advising help students complete their degree within four years.

Average annual cost of attendance at area institutions, factoring in federal financial aid:

Making the best affordable

Auburn UA BSC Samford

BSC freshmen receiving need-based aid

$17,541 $20,916 $22,994 $24,093

More than 90% of BSC students get some kind of financial assistance.

52%

BSC freshmen receiving merit-based awards

92%

Source: al.com

BSC provides more than $20 million in scholarships each year; in fiscal year 2015-16, $2.5 million came from endowed scholarships, $1.1 million from the Forward Ever Fund, and the remainder from the college’s operating budget. Our donors help close the gap.

Additional resources would make Birmingham-Southern available to even more students of promise and allow us to recruit the best and brightest from around the globe.

Areas to designate support: • Endowed scholarships • The Forward Ever Fund, BSC’s annual giving campaign • Merit- and need-based scholarships for admitted students

THE INVESTMENT OF A LIFETIME

MERSEDES ENGLE ’18 “Birmingham-Southern was an investment in my future. I know I’ll see the returns, because I’m not just graduating with a degree, I’m graduating with the skills I need for life. But there is no way my family and I could do it alone. I am so grateful for the generous donors who have made it possible for me to come to BSC all the way from Oregon—I just cannot imagine being anywhere else.”

Professor of Chemistry Dr. Laura Stultz has been recognized nationally for her innovative teaching and for working collaboratively with undergraduate students in her research lab, where they explore the cancer-fighting properties of heavy metals.

FACULTY EXCELLENCE

BSC professors are engaged teachers with passion for their disciplines In much of higher education, faculty members focus either on educating students or academic research. At BSC, professors do both; they are engaging in the classroom and dedicated beyond it. With a student-faculty ratio of 13:1, our professors know their students as individuals. They act as academic advisors, professional mentors, research collaborators, and travel leaders. They are advocates who support not just academic achievements but also guide student organizations and cheer at the playing field.

Faculty data: Number of full-time faculty: 99 Faculty with the highest qualifications in their field: 100 percent Student-faculty ratio: 13:1 Average class size: 16

Our faculty’s commitment to expanding the bounds of global knowledge opens doors for BSC students. Together, they delve into the biochemistry of cancer, the ins and outs of politics and the economy, and the deepest thoughts of poets and philosophers. We can list the square footage of our buildings and the fineness of our facilities, but the true measure of our excellence lies in the people who guide our students to reach their potential. Gifts are crucial for recruiting and retaining professors of this caliber and giving them the tools to teach.

In turn, a highly regarded faculty enriches the academic environment and attracts the brightest young minds to BSC.

Areas to designate support: • Endowed professorships • Professional development funds • Laboratory facilities, classroom technology, and equipment

PUTTING STUDENTS FIRST

DR. BERT MORROW “As a BSC professor, one of my great joys is working closely with undergraduates and providing them real-world experiences that complement their liberal arts education.

Recently, I took three students to rural Uganda to conduct research on farmer attitudes toward joining a proposed agriculture cooperative, with financial assistance from the Joseph S. Bruno Fund. The students got to see that not everyone behaves as the rational economic man portrayed in many textbooks. Now Patrick Joyce, one of the Stump Entrepreneurship Scholars who accompanied me, is considering a career in international business or development. That tells me we’re really making an impact.”

Cliff Bell ’15 and Demarious Cole ’15 tour the Bank of New York during January Exploration Term.

OUR LEGACY

We leave the world a better place Our graduates populate the courtrooms, boardrooms, and classrooms of our state; they lead banks and businesses and contribute to the arts scene across and beyond the South. Odds are good that your local physician, pastor, or nonprofit leader displays a BSC diploma on their wall.

Birmingham-Southern alumni contribute around the globe. They are fearlessly creative, boldly entrepreneurial, and deeply rooted. They engage their communities and live with integrity; they remain true to BSC’s history of meaningful service; they live lives of significance. And we are certain that our city, our state, our country, and our world would be a poorer place without them.

Other institutions may measure their success by their alumni’s overall earnings. But we measure our success by President Wightman’s wisdom— that our graduates should matter for what they do, not what they get.

Driving the state:

64% of our alums remain in Alabama— of those who remain in Alabama, 56% remain in Birmingham.

health care 26.0%

4 5

sales and marketing 7.6%

6

5,638 in metropolitan Birmingham

higher education 9.5%

3

2

1

9,976 alumni in Alabama

Local impact BIRMINGHAM-AREA ALUMNI REPORT PROFESSIONS IN:

education 26.15%

church ministry or support 5.99%

banking and finance 24.7%

BSC was lauded as just one of 40 schools nationwide “outdoing the lvy League schools and the major universities in producing winners,” according to the book Colleges That Change Lives.

“The curriculum emphasizes one of the college’s long-standing assets: experiential learning in the form of independent studies, student-faculty research, service learning, and study away.”

CHANGING LIVES EVERY DAY

JUDGE TERESA TANNER PULLIAM ’80 “Coming to BSC was one of the most important decisions that I have ever made, and certainly one that I will always be proud of. My experience at the college—the relationships I formed with my professors—taught me that giving back is the right way to live your life. Now, as a circuit judge in Jefferson County’s criminal division, my work profoundly affects lives on a daily basis. And everywhere I go, I find BSC graduates giving back by making significant contributions in all areas of our community.”

Donors to Birmingham-Southern College

• provide an unparalleled educational experience,

• offer access to all students, whatever their need,

• foster a faculty that is devoted to changing lives,

• and help create lives of significance.

Whatever your priorities, you can count on us to find a way to express your own passions and goals and to steward your gift with care.

WHY I GIVE

Erin Stephenson ’01 Vice President for Development, Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham “My time at BSC equipped me to engage in dialogue with diverse people in diverse contexts. Moreover, my exposure to service-learning projects both close to home and around the globe led me to my profession. I want more students from our state—and from around the world—to have the same opportunity to broaden their own horizons through service and a top-notch liberal arts education.”

WHY WE GIVE

Bernard ’04 and Stephanie Mays ’04 Assistant Controller, Books-A-Million and Shareholder, Maynard Cooper Gale “We give because from day one we’ve had a profound appreciation for the way BSC transforms lives. As alumni we benefit from a great education, but it’s the intangibles that make BSC a special place. The emphasis on leadership, service, and community are things that stay with you long after you leave the campus. We want other students to share in that great experience and make their own mark.”

BSC

Birmingham-Southern College OFFICE OF ADVANCEMENT 900 Arkadelphia Road Box 549003 Birmingham, AL 35254 (205)226-4909 www.bsc.edu