3 South Carolina HBCUs Awarded $3M For Campus Renovations

Three South Carolina-based HBCUs will be getting some much-needed TLC, thanks to a generous grant.

The National Park Services is gifting Allen University, Benedict College, and South Carolina State University grants worth $3 million to be split to help with some on-campus preservation and restoration projects, WLTX reports.

Supported by U.S. Congressman James Clyburn (D-SC), the money was sponsored by Congress in 2022 through NPS’ Historic Preservation Fund.

“I am pleased to see another round of essential funding coming to South Carolina’s HBCUs,” Clyburn said. “I applaud the National Park Service for supporting these preservation and rehabilitation projects. This continued support will help future generations remember the legacy of HBCUs.”

Clyburn advocated passing this important piece of legislation in 2003 and 2019.

Allen, Benedict, and SC State are just a few of the schools awarded grants through the program. A total of $9.7 million were permitted to fund 14 projects in 10 states, according to ABC News 4. Thirty percent of the funding went to South Carolina, the only state to get funding for numerous projects.

Each school is using the money to renovate and preserve different campus staples. Benedict, in Columbia, will use $750,000 for phase three of the Morgan Hall Preservation extension project. Built in 1895, Morgan Hall is the oldest building on campus and was used as the home of five Benedict College presidents. Antisdel Chapel, built in 1932, will also receive some renovations.

South Carolina State will work on a full rehabilitation of Wilkinson Hall Pathway. The 16,000-square-foot building was constructed in 1938 and is a landmark on the Orangeburg campus.

Lastly, Allen, also in Columbia, received $750,000 for the Coppin Hall Preservation Project, named after Bishop Levi Jenkins Coppin. Accordig to documents obtained by WLTX, the foundation of Coppin Hall was laid in 1906 and the building was completed in 1907, for only $22,000.