Tech leaders urge support for Birmingham-Southern College

Letter to Innovate Alabama endorses college’s request for funding

A group of 24 founders of technology-related companies in Alabama have signed a letter to the board of Innovate Alabama urging support for Birmingham-Southern College in its quest for a one-time investment of bridge funding.

The letter talks about workforce development issues and the need for Alabama to have more candidates for jobs.

“We have increasingly had to look outside the state for many of our key hires,” the letter says. “Since relocation is often an obstacle to hiring, we have lost out on recruiting talent as well.”

Innovate Alabama is a public-private partnership focused on entrepreneurship, technology and innovation.

BSC is asking for a one-time investment of $37.5 million from the State of Alabama, City of Birmingham and Jefferson County.

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Under the leadership of President Daniel Coleman, BSC expanded its tech-related offerings to include a 12-week data science program open to both BSC- and non-BSC students. The college has been approved to launch a master’s degree in data science in fall 2023, with three more master’s programs to follow over the next three years.

Those who signed the letter to Innovate Alabama include Bill Smith, founder and CEO of Landing; Sanjay Singh, partner in CS Equities and founder/advisor of the Alabama Capital Network; Shegun Otulana, founder and CEO of Harmony Venture Labs; and William Roark, CEO of Starfish Holdings.

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