Selma University Gets $750,000 National Park Service Grant

Selma University – Photo from WAKA 8

Selma University is getting a $750,000 grant from the National Park Service to help restore Pollard Hall.

The money is part of $9.7 million the National Park Service is granting to 14 projects in 10 states as part of the Historic Preservation Fund’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities grant program. It focuses on the repair of historic structures on the campuses of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs).

Pollard Hall at Selma University was built in 1916. Selma University was founded as the Alabama Baptist Normal and Theological School in 1878. It has served as an administrative center for visitors, a meeting place for major figures in Black education, such as Booker T. Washington, and a home for several university presidents.

The National Park Service says Pollard Hall would be part of a proposed Selma University Historic District. This grant project will help repair the roof, HVAC system, the electrical and plumbing systems and install an elevator. The university will also contribute $496,414 in matching funds.

“These grants enable historic educational institutions to preserve the story of African American education and the campuses where new experiences and stories continue to evolve today,” said NPS Director Chuck Sams. “Through the Historically Black Colleges and Universities grants program, the National Park Service supports our HBCUs in the preservation of their historic campus structures and history.”

Here is the full list of HBCU grant recipients:

Alabama – Selma
$750,000 for Preservation of Pollard Hall at Selma University

Florida – Tallahassee
$746,558 for the Jackson Davis Hall Preservation Project at Florida A&M University

Georgia – Atlanta
$453,462 for rehabilitation of Fountain (Stone) Hall – The Hard Reset at Morris Brown College

Louisiana – New Orleans
$750,000 for Rehabilitation of Howard House at Dillard University

Mississippi – Jackson
$500,000 for Historic Mt. Olive Cemetery Phase II at Jackson State University

North Carolina – Elizabeth City
$750,000 for the Principal’s House Rehabilitation – Northeastern North Carolina African American Research and Cultural Heritage Institute at Elizabeth City State University

North Carolina – Raleigh
$749,980 for Masonic Temple Rehabilitation at Saint Augustine’s University

Ohio – Wilberforce
$750,000 for Rehabilitation of the Academic Complex at Wilberforce University

South Carolina – Columbia
$750,000 for the Morgan Hall Preservation Extension Project – Phase III at Benedict College
$750,000 for Rehabilitation of Antisdel Chapel at Benedict College
$750,000 for the Coppin Hall Preservation Project at Allen University

South Carolina – Orangeburg
$750,000 for Wilkinson Hall Pathway to Full Rehabilition – Phase IV at South Carolina State University

Texas – Marshall
$500,000 for the Wiley Pemberton Preservation Project at Wiley College

Virginia – Hampton
$750,000 for the Mansion House Preservation Project at Hampton University

Congress appropriated funding for the Historically Black Colleges and Universities Grant Program in 2022 through the Historic Preservation Fund (HPF). The HPF uses revenue from federal oil and gas leases on the Outer Continental Shelf, assisting with a broad range of preservation projects, with the intent to mitigate the loss of nonrenewable resources and benefit the preservation of other irreplaceable resources without using tax dollars.

Established in 1977 and authorized at $150 million per year through 2023, the HPF has provided more than $2 billion in historic preservation grants to states, Tribes, local governments, and nonprofit organizations. Administered by the NPS, Congress may appropriate HPF funds to support a variety of historic preservation projects to help preserve the nation’s cultural resources.

— Information from the National Park Service