A Small College Tried and Failed to Convince Lawmakers to Save It. Now It’s Closing.

Birmingham-Southern College, a private liberal-arts institution plagued by more than a decade of financial problems, will close its doors at the end of May, the college announced Tuesday. The announcement follows an unsuccessful 18-month effort to keep the college afloat through a state loan program. The Board of Trustees voted unanimously to close the 168-year-old college after the institution exhausted efforts to secure a $30-million loan through a state program that was created in June 2023 as a result of the institution’s advocacy, said Daniel B. Coleman, the college’s president.