Livingstone College has received yet another $1 million donation from an anonymous donor. This is the sixth donation to the college in the last year. This comes shortly after the college received a fifth $1 million donation earlier this month.

Livingstone College President Anthony J. Davis shared how the donation will help the college move forward in comments obtained by Queen City News.

“We have to roll up our sleeves and make the business case for supporting a private HBCU, so that’s what we’re doing,” President Davis said. “When you think about it though buildings and grounds become recruiting and retention tools.”

According to a study done by the Government Accountability Office, nearly half of HBCUs are in need of critical repairs. President Davis is currently overseeing the college’s $30 million campus revitalization project.

“We give $4.5 million in scholarships under the operating budget, and something goes lacking, and that has been the brick-and-mortar buildings and infrastructure,” President Davis said.

Based on data collected from the National Center for Education Statistics, enrollment is declining at HBCUs in North Carolina. Yet Anthony Brooks, vice president of enrollment, says that Livingstone is moving in the right direction.

“We added a 34% increase in new students this past year, and we’re on trend to outdo that particular . . . increase from the previous year,” Brooks said. “We currently have a 23% increase in applications over last year, a 34% increase in admitted students, and a 40% increase in paid deposits this year for the incoming class.”

President Davis developed a “Ten City Tour” to help bring exposure to the college. A team of Livingstone College officials, including Brooks, traveled across the northeastern region of the country, giving away scholarships and sharing stories about the college. Livingstone has a lot to offer, as they have a radio station, a planetarium, a podcast studio, and a new football field.

“We work with our doors open, so students and families can come to campus have questions and we’re able to work with those students, regardless of what they’re coming to the campus about,” Brooks said. “We make it a point to be able to help students.

As the donations keep pouring in, President Davis is optimistic about the future of Livingstone.

“For the first time in our history, we have 76 Presidential Scholars that are signed with this academic class, and we have highly talented and gifted students in the country that could have gone anywhere in the United States but chose Livingstone College because we make a case for why they need to be at this HBCU,” President Davis said.

Renovations at Livingstone will be completed in five phases. Phase one is currently underway, which includes new residence halls and a cafeteria. Phase one is expected to be completed by the end of this year.