National Park Service Awards $7.7 Million in Grants to Historically Black Colleges and Universities

Grants will preserve historic structures on HBCU campuses in 12 states

 The National Park Service (NPS) today announced $7.7 million in grants to 18 projects in 12 states for the preservation of historic structures on campuses of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). Since the 1990s, the National Park Service has awarded more than
$60 million in grants to over 80 of the remaining active HBCUs.

“These grants help us to honor the legacy of HBCUs in serving our nation’s higher education needs,” said National Park Service Deputy Director David Vela, exercising the authority of the director,. “Funding awarded this year will help preserve 18 historic properties on HBCU campuses in 12 states, many of which are listed in the National Register.”

Projects funded by these grants will support the physical preservation of National Register listed sites on HBCU campuses to include historic districts, buildings, sites, structures, and objects. Eligible costs include pre-preservation studies, architectural plans and specifications,
historic structure reports, and the repair and rehabilitation of historic properties according to the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Archeology and Historic Preservation.

Congress appropriates funding for the program through the Historic Preservation Fund (HPF). The HPF uses revenue from federal oil leases on the Outer Continental Shelf, providing assistance for a broad range of preservation projects without expending tax dollars.

Projects receiving grants this year will preserve stories, resources, and places like the Samuel T. Graves Hall at Morehouse College in Atlanta, GA; the University Memorial Chapel at Morgan State University in Baltimore, MD; and the Historic Carnegie Library at Livingstone College in Salisbury, NC.

For more information about the grants and the Historically Black Colleges and Universities program, please visit https://www.nps.gov/preservation-grants/HBCU/index.html 

Applications for $10 million in FY2020 funding will be available in the fall of 2020.