All six vacant and deteriorating buildings surround the campus quadrangle. One will become a cultural center. Others will be turned into an office for the president, classrooms, and a 60-bed, suite-style residence hall.

Enrollment and alumni contributions are declining at Cheyney, and the refurbishing is designed to lure more students and contributors. Current enrollment is at approximately 1,500 students. In the current year, Cheyney raised $1.6 million in private and corporate donations.

Richard Humphreys, a Quaker philanthropist, founded the institution here in 1837 as The Institute for Colored Youth. In 1902, it was relocated to the Humphreys family farm in Delaware County, its current location. Cheyney became part of the state's higher educational system, which includes 13 additional universities, in 1983.

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