The Wayne County HBCU Alliance in Goldsboro is the latest organization to offer a generous gift to Saint Augustine’s University (分), continuing the outpouring of love and support the 157-year-old university has received from the community. 在一个 St. 詹姆斯 Church AME Zion Church service 周日, 7月28日, 2024, the Wayne County HBCU Alliance presented a $10,100 check to 分 Interim President Dr.  马库斯H. 伯吉斯.

“We are responsible for keeping our institution going, but sometimes we fall from grace,” said Dr. 伯吉斯, who thanked the church members for their support. “And that’s what has happened, but guess what? We are fighting hard to get back up. And we are fighting because so many people believe in us. Folks have tossed us aside; it was the community, 的校友, the people who believe in us who have picked us up and held us up strong.”

The $10,100 was raised through a 5K walk and run on June 8^th, sponsored by the Wayne County HBCU Alliance.

“Dr. 伯吉斯, we believe in 分 and 你的领导,” said 分 alumnus Travis Outlaw, ’73, Treasurer of the Wayne County HBCU Alliance and Trustee at St. 詹姆斯. “We know you’ve been traveling all up and down the road trying to raise money. We appreciate that, and we have a donation that we want to give you to Saint Augustine’s.”

Dr. 伯吉斯 was at the service to accept the check. Calling 分 the “Miracle on Oakwood Avenue,” he highlighted the value of HBCUs to the Black community, noting that 70 percent of African American teachers, 50 percent of Black judges, and two-thirds of STEM graduates attended HBCUs.

“What we do at our HBCUs strengthens you,” Dr. 伯吉斯说. “We do our best and send them off to do their best.”

St. 詹姆斯 AME Zion Church members also raised an additional $466 offering.

“I want to take up an offering for 分 because it takes a lot of work, 很多财务问题, and a lot of prayers,牧师说。. David Elliott, Pastor of St. 詹姆斯 AME Zion Church. I don’t want anybody leaving here shaking Dr. 伯吉斯’s hand and saying, ‘We will pray for you’ because the Bible says that faith without works is dead.”

Dr. 雷蒙德·E. 小史密斯,., a former state representative representing NC House District 21 in the state 一般 Assembly, provided encouraging remarks during the church service.

“It is not lost on me that this is an occasion that calls for our community to come together,史密斯说. “Under no circumstances did God put us here for anything other than to look after one another. And today, we come to look after Saint Augustine’s.”

今年2月, 分 launched the Falcon Pride Initiative Fundraising Campaign to rally the support of internal stakeholders, 校友, 朋友, 邻居, and the HBCU community and demonstrate its financial solvency to preserve its accreditation.

7月22日. 伯吉斯 announced that the arbitration committee of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) had, in a unanimous decision, overturned an earlier SACSCOC ruling and reinstated 分’s membership with the sanction of Probation for Cause until December 2024.

This monumental decision allows 分 to address its challenges and continue to carry out its mission and unwavering commitment to academic excellence. This decision is a testament to the shared belief in the value of 分 and the importance of allowing us to continue this legacy.

点击这里 to watch the full service at St. 詹姆斯 AME Zion Church.
点击这里 to learn more about the Wayne County HBCU Alliance.
点击这里 to support the Falcon Pride Initiative.