Birmingham-Southern College receives $25,000 grant from ATT Alabama

For Immediate Release
Jun. 29, 2018

Pictured (l to r) are Terri Williams, regional director of legislative and external affairs at AT&T Alabama; BSC Provost Dr. Bradley Caskey; hutchens; and Eberhardt.

Birmingham-Southern College received a $25,000 check from AT&T Alabama on June 27 to enhance ongoing efforts to improve student success, especially for first-generation and at-risk students.

The grant funds will support the college’s Southern Exposure program, a special pre-orienteering session for incoming students who are the first in their families to attend college.

“We are honored to have received this generous grant,” said Dr. David Eberhardt, vice president of student development at BSC. “The opportunity their funds provide to build a strong foundation for these students is invaluable to the participants and to us as an institution.”

Southern Exposure, which was first launched in 2016, is held for several days each June. The grant funds will support next summer’s session.

During the program, students interact with faculty and staff who were themselves first-generation students, receiving advice on pathways to academic and broader student success. They also meet with academic advisors and become familiar with the support network that will be there to guide them from the beginning of their college life. Participants also socialize on campus and around Birmingham, visiting Vulcan Park and Museum and taking in a Birmingham Barons baseball game—among other fun activities—to help them find a sense of belongings and build the early friendships that are critical for all students.

In addition to Southern Exposure, BSC is making a special effort to reach out to first-generation and other underrepresented students; separate grants from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and the Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham are also providing support. In addition to the special orientation session, the college is hiring an advisor focused on those students and building out curricular offerings and other measures.

Commitment to community is a guiding principle for AT&T. From 2014-16, the AT&T Foundation and employees contributed more than $16.7 million through giving programs in Alabama, and AT&T Alabama employees and retirees dedicated more than 65,000 hours of personal time in Alabama to community outreach activities.

“At AT&T, we are committed to helping people connect with their world and opportunities and resources that make life more fulfilling,” said Wayne Hutchens, ’89 MPPM and president of AT&T Alabama. “Our community and state are fortunate to have Birmingham Southern College’s leadership in offering opportunities for tomorrow’s leaders, and we are proud to support BSC’s Southern Exposure program, providing mentoring to first-generation college students as they strive to meet their educational goals.”