Birmingham Southern College - Southern Accent Yearbook (Birmingham, AL)

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Birmingham-Southern College has been an integral part of Birmingham ' s growth for most of the city ' s short but rich history. Birmingham College was estab- lished on the Hilltop in 1898. In 1 918 the school merged with Southern University, another Methodist institution founded 1856 in Greensboro, Alabama. Birmingham- Southern College, as the oldest higher education institu- tion in the city, has a rich history due to its location and its record of teaching and learning, BSC President Neal R. Berte says. That history is inextricably tied to the growth of the city of Birmingham. Until the 1970 ' s, the steel-related industries provided much of the impetus for Birmingham ' s physical and eco- nomic growth. Since the mid- 1970 ' s, however, steel ' s con- tribution to the economy has fallen drastically, forcing the business community to shift emphasis to new areas. The city also needed to leave behind its past of racial violence and segregation. Birmingham has experienced a remark- able transition in many areas in recent years, Berte says. We have shifted from a heavy-industry to a service based economy, and we have formed a more racially balanced city government, and there has been an infusion of con- struction activity in the downtown area.