With all the money that goes in an out of the university, it’s hard to keep track of how it is spent and what it does. But a $75,000 donation to the Black Cultural Center (BCC) is a gem for both the university and for black students.

The university’s donation, along with a $10,000 loan, helped the BCC renovate their dilapidated structure that reaches out to black ISU students. Although the BCC is a private, nonprofit organization, the donation was a great way to foster a working relationship between the university and a home for social and educational opportunity.

Now that the BCC has handicap access, carpeting, new siding, doors, staircases and a handy-dandy paint job, it can concentrate more on its purpose, said Allan Nosworthy, BCC president.

The BCC focuses on linking African American students to inclusion in everyday life at ISU. And with a structure that is no longer a fixer-upper, black students have better opportunities to attend programs at the center, to study, or just to hang out.

Now that a newly-renovated center is completed, the university can say they had a role in helping to meld black students into university life. And the hopes of doing just that is more of a reality.