Salisbury, N.C. -- Rep. Ted Budd (R-NC) announced that the National Park Service (NPS) was awarding Livingstone College a $500,000 competitive federal grant to assist in Phase III of the rehabilitation of Carnegie Library on the campus.

 

Rep. Ted Budd said in a statement:

“Providing economic opportunity for all is a crucial mission for me in Congress and it all starts with education. I’m proud to announce that Livingstone College won these federal dollars and this new funding will help them complete the Carnegie Library rehabilitation project. This project will help preserve the historic character of this iconic building on Livingstone’s campus.”

 

Livingstone College President, Dr. Jimmy R. Jenkins, Sr. said in a statement:

“The Livingstone College family is deeply thankful for the continued support of the National Park Service in ensuring that the Andrew Carnegie Library is preserved for future endeavors of the City of Salisbury and the students of Livingstone College.

“The library provides beauty and style to the College campus and the West End community, where it is located. It presents a distinctiveness that aptly represents the enduring legacy of the first classically educated African-American architect, Robert Robinson Taylor, a native of Wilmington, NC. The library is an enduring tribute to the generosity of the Andrew Carnegie Foundation to the education of African Americans in the early 1900s, as well as now.

“We are indeed proud to be the current stewards of this iconic building, as it is truly a labor of love for the Livingstone family.  Finally, we want to express our appreciation to Congressman Ted Budd and his office for his support in our effort to secure these grant funds.”

 

Salisbury Mayor Karen Alexander said in a statement:

“This grant is important not only to Livingstone College but to our broader community, because it preserves an important and noteworthy historic structure, still in use today. This building holds not only the stories of the past, but those of the present and now  can continue to  hold the stories yet untold. I thank Congressman Ted Budd for all the support from both he and his staff since the beginning of this project in 2019.”

 

NPS Deputy Director Shawn Benge said in a statement:

“HBCUs have been an important part of the American education system for more than 180 years, providing high-level academics, opportunities, and community for generations of students. The National Park Service’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities Grant Program provides assistance to preserve noteworthy structures that honor the past and tell the ongoing story of these historic institutions."