Tapping Into the Power of HBCUs

Oakwood University, located in Huntsville, Alabama, a Historically Black College and University, educates more than 1,400 predominantly Black students annually, with 64% from low-income families.

HOPE is supporting OU in bringing health and cultural options to the surrounding community. Most HBCUs are in economically distressed areas of the South and serve as anchors of their surrounding communities. The historically high levels of disinvestment in these areas make them prime locations to foster alliances between HBCUs and Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) to improve the overall well-being of local residents.

In 2015, OU launched its “Healthy Campus 2020” program to reverse poor health outcomes and preventable diseases among Oakwood students. Now OU is expanding this initiative to battle the health, food, and job insecurity faced by residents of Northwest Alabama. HOPE partnered with OU to finance the “Healthy Campus, Healthy Community” project, aligning with its mission of closing gaps among underserved populations, providing $7 million in New Markets Tax Credits to the $16 million project.

The project has three components to tackle local inequities in health, nutrition and access to cultural resources:

Community Health Action Center
The newly constructed Community Health Action Center (CHAC) will house Huntsville Hospital’s 2,000-square foot ambulatory care clinic, which will provide quality primary care and referral services. Sixty-five percent of clinic patients are expected to qualify as low-income persons. The CHAC will also provide free access to its Food Pantry, stocked with items sourced from the Food Bank of North Alabama. The CHAC’s Mobile Market Food Pantry provides low-cost, pesticide-free fruits and vegetables to residents of eight public housing developments without close access to other fresh food sources. Food for the Mobile Market/Pantry is sourced from OU’s Oakwood Farms, and prices are set to be affordable for low-income consumers. “We want to ensure that our community members have access to fresh foods, whole foods, and vegetables. If they are unable to come to the campus and visit our market, we don’t want that to stop them from consuming healthier foods so we bring this service to them,” said Lisa Dalrymple, the Healthy Campus Director.

Oakwood Farms & Oakwood Market
OU created both Oakwood Farms and the Oakwood Market as part of the university’s Industry Recovery Plan (IRP), an effort to support and expand viable industries in Northwest Alabama. Oakwood Market is the distribution point for fresh products grown on Oakwood Farm’s 20 acres, including vegetables, herbs, and fruits. Phase One of the Marketplace was recently opened with 5,114 square feet of flexible merchandising and an open floor plan shopping experience like that of a farmer’s market, serving an average of 200-300 customers daily.

Peters Music Hall
OU is renovating and expanding its Peters Music Hall to provide a vibrant and high-level arts program to both OU students and the Huntsville community. Once a vibrant venue, Peters Hall, built in 1964, aged beyond its capacity to provide the programming sought by local residents. With this renovation and expansion, Peters Hall will grow its public music and education programs; increase auditorium capacity from 144 to 391; add four recording arts and voice summer camps for low-income middle and high school students; add adult music classes; create a new entrance to provide ADA-compliant elevator access to all floors; and expand the lobby to accommodate events and activities for stakeholders and the community.