Barber-Scotia eyes a comeback as college moves closer to regaining accreditation

After years of financial struggles, the historic Concord college has attracted more than $450,000 in donations and hopes to apply for accreditation by year's end. But significant challenges remain.

Chris Rey has served as president of Barber-Scotia since July 2023. Photo credit: Chris Miller.

It has been an incredibly difficult past two decades for Barber-Scotia College, Cabarrus County’s only historically Black college or university (HBCU).

Founded in 1865, Barber-Scotia was the first private institution in the South established to educate Black women. Its historic campus, just a few blocks from downtown Concord, has been part of the community for more than 160 years.

But the college has endured a long series of setbacks. It lost its accreditation in 2004, accumulated hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt to the City of Concord and watched many of its buildings deteriorate into eyesores.

Yet Chris Rey, Barber-Scotia’s president since July 2023, is cautiously optimistic that real, tangible change is finally on the horizon.