Shelton State Community College Fredd Campus Receives Gift from Omega Psi Phi Fraternity
May 24, 2022 – Shelton State Community College has received a $5,000 donation from the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity. Financial support for the College’s HBCU designation (by virtue of the C.A. Fredd Campus), the donation is part of the fraternity’s rich tradition of “being on the front lines leveraging its power and influence to uplift its people and communities.”
Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. is the first international fraternal organization founded on the campus of a historically black college. Since its inception in 1911, Omega has built a strong and effective force of men dedicated to its cardinal principles of manhood, scholarship, perseverance, and uplift.
The recent gift was inspired by the life and legacy of C.A. Fredd, former President of C.A. Fredd State Technical College and a member of the Omega Psi Phi fraternity. Basileus of the Alpha Tau Chapter of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc., Roland M. Lewis, noted the importance of his former fraternity brother’s influence when discussing the gift. “The Shelton State Community College Fredd Campus is very important to Omega Psi Phi in two ways. The first, of course, is its guiding force in Tuscaloosa’s West Side community, but it also allows us to credit the work of Mr. C.A. Fredd – one of the pillars of the community.”
Lewis went on to acknowledge Fredd’s involvement in West Alabama and in the Omega Psi Phi fraternity. He noted the importance of Fredd’s ongoing legacy and how it impacts the Omega Psi Phi’s HBCU National and International Initiative. “As members, we want to see the Fredd Campus thrive as an HBCU in Tuscaloosa, and this donation will support that as well as honor Mr. Fredd’s memory.”
“This generous gift from the Alpha Tau Chapter of Omega Psi Phi is a perfect combination of honoring the past and embracing the future,” shared Dr. Chris Cox, the College’s Interim President. “We join with their membership in acknowledging the good work of Mr. C.A. Fredd, and we are grateful for an opportunity to extend both his legacy and the legacy of Omega Psi Phi.”
In 1994, Shelton State Community College consolidated with C. A. Fredd State Technical College, another public two year college located in Tuscaloosa. The new institution created by the consolidation retained the name of Shelton State Community College, and the president of Shelton State was named president of the consolidated institution. The institution now called Shelton State Community College, C. A. Fredd Campus, was created by the state legislature in 1963 as Tuscaloosa State Trade School. In 1974, the institution became Tuscaloosa State Technical College and was authorized by the Alabama State Board of Education to grant the associate degree.
In 1976, the College name was changed to C. A. Fredd State Technical College to honor the first president of the institution. C. A. Fredd State Technical College was recognized as one of the nation’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities. The C. A. Fredd Campus of Shelton State Community College maintains that identity and continues the specific HBCU mission of promoting educational access and opportunity for all students in a culturally diverse community.
For more information about Shelton State Community College, visit sheltonstate.edu.
