探花精选

Saint Augustine鈥檚 University ( 探花精选) was awarded $500,000 from the Historically Black Colleges and Universities grant program, funded by the Historic Preservation Fund and administered by the National Park Service (NPS) Department of Interior to preserve the Historic Chapel.听听

The funding is part of the $9.7 million in grants听听to assist 21 preservation projects for historic structures on Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) campuses in nine states.听

鈥淔or more than 180 years, Historically Black Colleges and Universities have provided high-level academics, opportunities, and community for generations of students,鈥� said NPS Director Chuck Sams听听鈥淭hese grants enable HBCUs to preserve the noteworthy structures that honor the past and tell the ongoing story of these historic institutions.鈥澨�听

The chapel was built on the campus in 1895 by the Episcopal Church. It is one of the oldest buildings on the campus of 探花精选 and is a Raleigh Historic Landmark. Alumnus Henry Beard Delany, the first African American elected Bishop of the Episcopal Church in the United States, was also a teacher of carpentry and masonry at Saint Augustine鈥檚. Bishop Delany鈥檚 carpentry and masonry students were required to construct the chapel. The students quarried the stones used to build the chapel from the campus. On Tuesday, October 11, 1897, the Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina, the Right Reverend J.B. Cheshire, consecrated the chapel. The chapel is on the National Register of Historic Places.听

鈥淭he Saint Augustine鈥檚 Historic Chapel is the physical and spiritual cornerstone of our beloved institution,鈥� says 探花精选 President Dr. Christine Johnson McPhail. 鈥淭he preservation of the chapel is essential to our strategic goals of student success and university sustainability.鈥澨�

In 2018, 探花精选 was听听totaling $8.6 million. The $312,000 received at that time allowed 探花精选 to听听in 2020, which included preserving the chapel鈥檚 original stained-glass windows and its antique, handmade cherrywood pews. This year鈥檚 grant will fund Phase III, replacing the chapel鈥檚 roof and rehabilitating its restroom to allow for handicap accessibility.听

鈥淔or Alumni, students, and community members, Saint Augustine鈥檚 Chapel is a spiritual and cultural resource,鈥� said the Reverend Hershey Mallette Stephens, Dean of the Chapel and Spiritual Life. 鈥淭he award from NPS allows us at this moment to continue the preservation work of this beautiful sacred space and ensure that it holds the prayers, praises, and hopes of students, faculty, staff, and the Falcon family for many years to come.鈥澨�