Atlanta HBCU hopes new $96 million center builds connections with community

It is the first new academic facility at Spelman in nearly 25 years. The center will hold classes in dance, documentary filmmaking, photography, theater and performance and music. Historically Black colleges and universities have been outspoken in recent years about the need for more financial support, from government funding or donors, to build and upgrade campus facilities.

Spelman officials are calling it the “front porch” to the campus. Located at the edge of its campus, it is the first building located beyond the gates of Spelman’s historic campus. Spelman leaders want the center to be a place that establishes new connections between the college and the Westside Atlanta community. The center will host performances, lectures, exhibitions and different types of public events.

It will have lots of art. In addition to providing space for classrooms and labs, the 82,000-square-foot center will house the Atlanta University Center Art History and Curatorial Studies Collective, expanded space for the Spelman College Museum of Fine Art and The Center for Black Entrepreneurship.

It is named after Mary Schmidt Campbell, who retired as the college’s president in 2022. Campbell had a long history in the arts before coming to Spelman. She previously worked as the commissioner of New York City’s Department of Cultural Affairs and was dean of New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. She was asked to consult Spelman on how to create integration among campus art programs before becoming its president.

It aims to be energy-efficient. The center’s architects say patterned sunshades and screens on the upper levels will provide natural light while reducing energy use. Spelman intends to install rooftop photovoltaic panels at a later date.