UNC Pembroke Receives $1 Million Federal Grant for Old Main Restoration

UNC Pembroke secured $1 million from Washington for fixing up Old Main. The money comes through the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act for fiscal year 2026. U.S. Rep. David Rouzer pushed for the earmark, adding to earlier dollars spent on saving the building's front.

"I am proud to support the restoration and preservation of Old Main," Rouzer said, per a UNCP news release. "This historic building stands as a true testament to the resilience and enduring spirit of the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina."

Workers finished the structure in 1923. It was the first brick building on campus. People in town saved it from getting torn down in 1972, but fire wrecked most of it a year later. Then-Governor James Holshouser and state lawmakers helped bring it back, and the building opened again in 1979.

Today, the Mass Communication department fills the space. WNCP-TV operates a television station with a studio, control room, podcast studio, editing suites, and newsroom. Students run The Pine Needle newspaper, Indianhead Yearbook, and the Mass Communication Student Club from the second floor. The Teaching and Learning Center operates there too, giving teachers help with instruction and growth.

The Curt and Catherine Locklear American Indian Heritage Center sits in the building. So does the Museum of the Southeast American Indian. Both places serve tribes and communities across the region.

"Old Main is more than a building; it is a symbol of UNC Pembroke and the foundation of who we are," said Chancellor Robin Gary Cummings.

Earlier money included $750,000 from a History of Equal Rights grant through the Historic Preservation Fund. The university kicked in $550,000. Combined, that's $1.3 million for the first big fix-up since 1979.