There are no plans of any sort for Alabama State University’s Southern Normal Campus in Brewton, school officials confirmed.
The property was padlocked in June, and since then, locals have wondered about the property’s future.
Southern Normal School, a junior and senior high boarding school, was founded in 1911 by James Dooley. The school was operated under the Board of Domestic Missions of the Reformed Church in America as one of its permanent projects in 1919.
At its peak, the school enrolled nearly 350 students from across the state, Florida, Georgia and Louisiana. Until 1969, it was the only school in Brewton that educated African-Americans.
In 1997, it became known as the Southern Normal Academy of Alabama State University. Since that time, the campus had served as a off-campus degree location where students could earn an accelerated bachelor’s of science degree in psychology and an assortment of degrees in the education field; however, ASU officials confirmed that no students were being serviced at the campus, which prompted the closure.
Of the site’s three employees, none are currently employed with the university.
When asked if there was a plan in the works to deed the property to the City of Brewton or any other local non-profit or organization, school officials said, “No.”