Judson College to be repurposed to reshore pharmaceutical production to the United States

April 20, 2026 – MARION, Ala. – Callen JMB formally launched it's plans to turn the shuttered Judson College campus into a hub for pharmaceutical manufacturing.

Waynne Williams is the CEO of Callan JMB.

"Atlas Complex positions Callan JMB at the center of pharmaceutical onshoring and domestic supply chain expansion," said CEO Williams. "We are developing a top of the line, scalable campus that enables global companies to establish U.S.-based operations more efficiently, while capturing multiple long-term revenue streams aligned with important national supply chain priorities. This facility will allow large multi-national companies to reach their US government mandated onshoring goals, and provide a template for future Callan JMB projects."

On July 31, 2021, Judson stopped holding classes and the Board of Trustees voted to close the all-women's college permanently. The BOT began Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings at that time. The campus has essentially been abandoned from the moment in time. English Ivey had grown over the top of some buildings, and the roof is visibly caved in on at least one building. Whatever efforts that were taken to find a new tenant for the campus were unsuccessful until Williams and his wife purchased the campus.

Williams explained that they will lease it back to his company. The company is presently in negotiations with pharmaceutical makes in Inda, South Korea, and other countries about moving their production to Judson. Williams said that dozens of workers will begin immediately cleaning up the campus and making the necessary repairs. The old student dormitories will be repurposed into one-bedroom apartments to house the pharmaceutical workers.

Judson College has a 150-acre campus in Marion where the college has a nearly 200-year-old history educating young women.

Williams said that most pharmaceutical production had moved overseas, but the COVID-19 global pandemic and the resulting global trade shutdown showed the nation how dangerous that could be.

According to World-O-Meter nearly 112 million Americans (1 in 3) contracted COVID, and 1,219,487 died from the virus. That is more deaths than the population of the Birmingham – Hoover metro area – 1.19 million).

Williams said that this project is part of President Donald J. Trump's Whitehouse initiative to bring pharmaceutical production and the production of pharmaceutical components back to this country.

Williams said that Callan JMB believes that The Atlas Complex at Judson will capture significant pharmaceutical onshoring for this country, Alabama, and the Blackbelt.

The company has announced the completion of a partnership agreement with Walker's Pharmaceuticals of India, Walker's is the first company to establish an on-site partnership with Callan and they hope that more companies are coming on board.

Callan JMB said in a release that it expects to lead the activation, commercialization, expansion and ongoing management of the site in partnership with Monarch Property Management.

They hope to have the site designated as a Foreign-Trade Zone ('FTZ') subzone. This could enhance certain international trade efficiencies and operational flexibility for the participating companies.

Only approximately 10% of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) used in U.S. prescription drugs are currently produced domestically.

Marion Mayor Dexter Hinton said that this project, "Brings long-term economic opportunity to Marion while contributing to broader national efforts to strengthen domestic supply chains."

State Senator Bobby Singleton praised the community for landing "The kind of strategic investment that strengthens both our local communities and Alabama's broader economic position."

Troy University Chancellor Dr. Jack Hawkins announced that Troy will be partnering with Atlas Complex in developing the workforce for the project.

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