Stillman Celebrates Big Gift Toward Winsborough Hall Renovations

TUSCALOOSA, AL — Stillman College on Thursday announced that it has been gifted the cash and in-kind equivalent of $100,000 to go toward renovations at the historic Winsborough Hall.

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GAF — a national roofing and waterproofing manufacturer — pledged $50,000 of materials and an additional $50,000 to cover installation costs to replace the roof of the building, Stillman College said in a press release following the announcement.

Built in 1922 by the Presbyterian Women and listed on the National Register for Historic Sites, the former school for women and residence hall will now be renovated and re-opened as the Winsborough Living & Learning Center for active older adults. At present, Stillman officials are still seeking financial support for the project.

Once the renovations are complete and the new center opened, its residents will be able to attend classes, social and cultural events, and eat and recreate with students. Stillman students from all majors and backgrounds are expected to be engaged in academic projects with Winsborough residents.

Stillman College President Cynthia Warrick called the donations a "blessing."

"The GAF gift will help prevent additional structural damage but will also serve as non-federal matching funds for the Historic Preservation grant program applications we have submitted," Warrick said. "This gift moves us another step forward to converting this former female dormitory into a ‘Living & Learning Center,’ with apartments for senior citizens who will benefit from interacting with students, faculty, and staff in our unique social, and cultural learning environment."

Winsborough Hall has been vacant since the late 2000s, the college said, with the renovations coming not a moment too soon. Apart from being vital in the school's earliest years and evolution, Winsborough Hall was also a haven for students protesting segregation in Tuscaloosa with the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee in 1964.

What's more, Stillman officials point out that Vivian Malone Jones, the first African American to earn a degree at the University of Alabama, stayed at Winsborough while awaiting entry to UA.

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