Philander Smith College gets $60,000 preservation grant to repair 1936 gym

A grant from a national preservation organization is a first step toward renovating a key part of the Philander Smith College campus, supporters of the effort said.

The Little Rock college won a $60,000 grant from the National Trust for Historic Preservation, which this week announced awards for eight historically black colleges and universities as part of the nonprofit group’s HBCU Cultural Heritage Stewardship Initiative.

The money will be used to develop a stewardship plan for the Sherman E. Tate Student Recreation Center.

The “Old Gymnasium” was built in 1936 as a project of the Works Progress Administration, the public works and employment program established after the Great Depression, according to the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

It’s used now as a recreation center for intramural athletics and pick-up basketball, as well as other student activities. Hillary Clinton spoke at the Tate recreation center in 2015 during her presidential campaign.

But while still in use, the facility needs “critical repairs,” according to the preservation organization.

Roderick L. Smothers, the college’s president, in a statement called the recreation center “an important gathering place” on a campus known for its historic buildings.

“These critical funds will aid in the efforts toward its restoration and rehabilitation as we work in tandem with our alumni and other partners to preserve it for future generations,” Smothers said.

So far there’s no estimate on the cost of such a

restoration project, college spokeswoman Olivia Goodheart said, as college officials continue discussions with engineering and architectural firms.

The college is seeking additional financial support for the project, including from a Home Depot campaign known as Retool Your School, Goodheart said. Philander Smith College is one of several historically black colleges and universities vying for public votes at retoolyourschool.com/vote.

Goodheart said the college also is receiving a $5,000 grant from the Wunsch Americana Foundation and Chipstone Foundation to provide it with the opportunity to gain professional development and experience working on the preservation plan for the Tate center.

Historically black colleges and universities preservation efforts have been “vastly underfunded” despite the colleges’ educational legacy and contributions to the nation’s culture as a whole, says the website for the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s HBCU Cultural Heritage Stewardship Initiative.

“HBCUs are keepers of an important American legacy, and many of these institutions are home to important, irreplaceable historic assets that require investment to retain and adapt them for modern use,” Paul Edmondson, the organization’s president and CEO, said in a statement.

Sherman Tate, a graduate of the college whose contributions to a 1980s fundraising campaign led the school to name the center after him, in a phone interview said he was happy to learn of the grant support.

The recreation center plays an important role on campus and “gives the students an opportunity to step away from the academic rigor, just for a moment,” he said.

Tate, who founded the management consulting firm Tate and Associates after successful careers in government and business, said a recreation facility serves as a kind of “welcome mat.” This is important as the college and other historically black colleges and universities try to withstand the pandemic’s effect and ultimately restore class sizes, Tate said.

State Rep. Denise Ennett, D-Little Rock, wrote a letter supporting the college’s efforts to secure the National Trust for Historic Preservation grant. The college is in the district that she represents.

Historically black colleges and universities “have a hard time raising money,” but their legacy “is a piece of history that we all need to know about,” Ennett said in a phone interview, describing the importance of such preservation efforts.

Ennett called the Philander Smith campus “a very sacred, special place in the heart of downtown.” She said preservation projects are important as historically black colleges and universities like Philander Smith continue educating students, many of whom are the first in their families to go to college.

“I think it gives morale to the whole school, to see something fixed up to the original glory of it,” Ennett said.