FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 13, 2023
Contact: Danielle Miller, dmiller@dillard.edu
504.816.4328
NEW ORLEANS – Today, Dillard University’s Office of Institutional Advancement announced that they will receive $155,000 in funding from the African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund, a program from the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
The funding will support the preservation and maintenance of Dillard University as a historic campus. This will be achieved through planning and reuse strategies, landscape design, engineering, and environmental sustainability to complete strategic campus preservation plans.
“We are grateful to the African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund for their support of Dillard and our dedication to telling stories of African American achievement and resilience,” said Stephanie Rogers, executive vice president of Institutional Advancement. “This funding will allow us to fortify facilities that can withstand the forecast and the future.
“The Action Fund’s investment in and celebration of 40 historic African American places illustrates our belief that historic preservation plays an important role in American society,” said Brent Leggs, executive director, African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund and senior vice president, National Trust for Historic Preservation. “The history embodied in these places is emblematic of generational aspirations for freedom, the pursuit of education, a need for beauty and architecture, and joys of social life and community bonds. That’s why the Action Fund believes all Americans must see themselves and our shared history in this year’s grantee list if we are to create a culturally conscious nation.”
Dillard is one of 40 sites to receive a total of $3.8 million in grant funding to advance ongoing preservation activities for historic places such as sites, museums, and landscapes that represent African American cultural heritage. With more than $91 million in funding, the Action Fund is the largest U.S. resource dedicated to the preservation of African American historic places. Since 2017, the Action Fund has received an unprecedented total of 5,638 funding proposals requesting $655 million, and since 2018, the Action Fund has supported 242 grantee projects through its investment of $20 million. To learn more about this program and this year’s grant recipients, visit savingplaces.org/actionfund.
About Dillard University
Dillard University is a historically Black institution that cultivates leaders who live ethically, think and communicate precisely, and act courageously to make the world a better place. Located in New Orleans, Dillard is a private faith-based liberal arts university that offers 22 majors and two certificate programs. Ranked 5th on 2021 The New York Times Overall Mobility Index and 14th in 2022 by Academic Influence for Best Colleges and Universities by Academic Stewardship, Dillard’s call to future leaders is to Write Your Legacy. Find out more about Louisiana’s oldest HBCU by visiting www.dillard.edu.
