Miles College, founded in 1898, is a premier liberal arts institution located in metropolitan Birmingham within the corporate limits of the City of Fairfield. The noble founders of the institution saw educated leadership as the paramount need in the black community. Miles, which is fully accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools and accredited by Commission on Colleges for the awarding of Baccalaureate Degrees, is the only four-year institution in historic Birmingham, Alabama designated as a member of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU). The College is one of only 39 HBCUs to have the designation of a United Negro College Fund (UNCF) institution. Miles College has as its brand civic engagement and activism. As a matter of fact, during the planning stages of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), when members were deciding what test city to implement the Civil Rights Movement, it was proposed to go to Birmingham, Alabama because the students at Miles College were already engaging in civic protests and boycotts against segregated public facilities. In essence, the Civil Rights Movement, in-part came to Birmingham Alabama, because of the activism of students at Miles College, helping to make Birmingham, Alabama the Civil Rights Capital of the world. The College offers baccalaureate programs with majors such as Accounting, Biology, Business Administration, Chemistry, Communications, Computer and Information Sciences, History, Language Arts, Criminal Justice, Early Childhood/Elementary Education, English, Mathematics, Political Science and Social Work. In sum, Miles offers 28 Bachelor Degree programs in six academic divisions to an enrollment of approximately 1,700 students. We attribute the success of our students to diligence and academic seriousness as well as to the faculty members who immerse themselves into the holistic education of students. Faculty members not only teach students inside of the classroom; but, are part of their external classroom lives as well. Miles College has 135 faculty members who are visibly committed to higher learning and professional development. Faculty members are diverse and bring professional and personal experiences from over twenty countries. At least 30% of the faculty members are from Asia and African countries. Under the leadership of President Bobbie Knight, Miles College is strong financially, and in 2006 purchased a new 41-acres campus adjacent to the existing campus. Previously “landlocked,” this acquisition enabled Miles to double the land size of the College. Miles College is centrally and ideally located. The City of Birmingham lies at the cross points of I-20, I-65, I-59, I-22 (Old U.S. Highway 78), linking the cities of Atlanta, Georgia; Jackson, Mississippi; Memphis, Tennessee; New Orleans, Louisiana, Huntsville, Alabama; and Montgomery, Alabama, all of which have major HBCU institutions and a large number of majority colleges and universities. Furthermore, the majority of HBCUs are located in the South; and the state of Alabama, which has 15 HBCUs, leads all other states in terms of the number of HBCUs within its boundaries.
