A&T Campus Named Among “Most Beautiful in the South” by Southern Living

EAST GREENSBORO, N.C. (Sept. 4, 2024) – Southern Living magazine has named North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University’s main campus one of “The Most Beautiful College Campuses in the South.”

The venerable cultural guide to places, people, food and entertainment in the Southern United States takes an expansive view of “the South” for this list, which includes 44 campuses as far west as Oklahoma and Texas and as far north as Maryland.

Schools with well-known, iconic campuses, such as Duke University, Georgetown University and the U.S. Naval Academy, are no surprise. But the list is also dotted with lesser-known gems, such as Florida Southern College, whose buildings were created by legendary architect Frank Lloyd Wright, and North Carolina A&T, home to six buildings designed by Phillip Freelon, lead architect for the National Museum of African American History and Culture at the Smithsonian. Southern Living praised one of Freelon’s structures in its entry on A&T – the Student Center.

“North Carolina A&T State University's 188-acre campus is immaculately manicured and decorated with a combination of stunning historic buildings and new state-of-the-art” structures, the article states. “The 150,000-square-foot student center, built in 2018, is the largest building on campus, and one of the most visually stunning. Other landmarks include exquisite sculptures, many of which depict civil rights icons.”

The western edge of campus includes a 10-acre National Historic District on the National Register of Historic Places. The district’s grounds date back to the campus’ creation in 1892 and include the 94-year-old Dudley Memorial Building and the February One Monument, which commemorates the legacy of the A&T Four, who launched a national sit-in movement in 1960 that electrified the nation. The February One Monument, created by award-winning sculptor James Barnhill, is the most photographed site in historic Greensboro.

The Dudley Memorial Building and two others in the historic district were awarded more than $750,000 in 2020 by the National Park Service as part of its program to preserve historic structures on campuses across the country. Recognized in 1988, the historic district includes historical Colonial Revival and Classical Revival style buildings.

A&T’s Grounds Department excels at keeping the campus in tip-top shape. Greenspaces across campus feature lush grasses and groundcover, and beautiful blossoming trees and plants, including cherry trees that sparkle in the spring, graceful oaks and magnolias and flowering plants that add bursts of color in each season.

“This recognition in Southern Living is a great reflection of the daily commitment that our grounds crews have to maintaining and enhancing the beauty of our historic campus,” said interim Facilities Director and University Architect William “Bill” Barlow. “It sends an important message to our students, that we want their university home to be something they can really be proud of, and to campus visitors, that we are committed to excellence. As America’s largest historically Black university, we’re national leaders, and we take the responsibilities that come with that very seriously as they pertain to the appearance of our campus.”