The U.S. Coast Guard held its first graduation ceremony Friday at the former Birmingham-Southern College campus, marking the beginning of the federal agency’s use of the property as a training center.
Twenty-nine Coast Guard members graduated from the service’s Leadership and Management School after completing the first course held at Training Center Birmingham-Southern.
The Coast Guard began operating at the former college campus in June after the federal government acquired the property in March.
The 192-acre campus is being converted into a Coast Guard training facility. Coast Guard officials said the service is currently using between 10 and 15 buildings on the property, with additional work planned as the training center expands.
The service expects the site to support additional courses and personnel. Planned improvements include additional classroom space, as well as housing and dining facilities.
The Leadership and Management School prepares enlisted Coast Guard members for increased leadership responsibilities. The inaugural class spent a week completing the program before Friday’s ceremony.
The graduates also participated in a ceremony incorporating part of the campus’s history. Following the graduation, the class rang the bell traditionally used by Birmingham-Southern graduates.
The Coast Guard’s arrival followed the May 2024 closure of Birmingham-Southern, a private college that had operated in Birmingham for 168 years.
The college’s closure left the campus’s future uncertain. The federal government ultimately acquired the property for Coast Guard use, giving the site a new purpose as a federal training installation.
U.S. Representative Terri Sewell, D-Alabama, whose congressional district includes the campus, has promoted the Coast Guard’s presence as an opportunity for continued investment in the property and the surrounding community.
The Coast Guard has not yet completed the conversion of the former college campus, and additional construction and development will be required before the installation reaches its planned capacity.
