South Carolina State University Getting $126 Million Facelift

Next month the eyes of the nation will focus on South Carolina State University, the historically black educational institution in Columbia. The Democratic presidential candidates will hold a debate at the university’s auditorium on April 26.

To capitalize on the publicity that will be generated by the debate, the university has debuted a new logo, slogan, and Web site to market itself to potential students. The university is also in the midst of a $126 million facelift to make its campus more attractive and useful to students. Five of the school’s oldest residence halls were closed. They were replaced by three new buildings. Three of the old dormitories will be torn down and the other two converted to office space. In addition, construction of a new $25 million computer science center and a $26 million transportation center will begin later in 2007. Lowman Hall, one of the oldest buildings on campus, will undergo a $7.5 million renovation. The university recently reopened the I.P. Stanback Museum, the only facility on a black college campus with a working planetarium.

Copyright © 2007. The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education. All rights reserved.