History of Johnson C. Smith University

In 1867, the Rev. S.C. Alexander and the Rev. W. L. Miller saw the need to establish an institution in this section of the South.  On April 7, 1867, at a meeting of the Catawba Presbytery in the old Charlotte Presbyterian Church, the movement for the school was formally inaugurated, and these two ministers were elected as teachers.

Mrs. Mary D. Biddle, an excellent churchwoman of Philadelphia, PA, who, through appeals in one of the church papers, pledged $1,400 to the school. In appreciation of this first and generous contribution, friends requested Mrs. Biddle to name the newly established school after her late husband, Major Henry Biddle.  From 1867 to 1876, the school was named Biddle Memorial Institute and chartered by the state legislature.

Colonel W. R. Myers, a wealthy citizen of Charlotte, donated the first eight acres of land for the school. In 1876, the charter was changed by the Legislature of the State of North Carolina, and the name became Biddle University. The institution operated under this name until 1923.

In 1883, a new university building was erected and served as the main administrative building for the University. Presently known as Biddle Memorial Hall, the building featured recitation rooms and a 600-seat audience chamber and an annex for the chapel.

From 1921 to 1922, the late Mrs. Jane Berry Smith, of Pittsburgh, PA, gave funds to build a theological dormitory, a science hall, a teachers' cottage and a memorial gate. In addition, she provided a handsome endowment for the institution in memory of her late husband Johnson C. Smith. In recognition of these generous benefactions, the Board of Trustees voted to change the name of the institution to Johnson C. Smith University (JCSU). The charter of the school, accordingly, was amended on March 1, 1923, by the Legislature of the State of North Carolina. From 1923 until her death in October 1929, Mrs. Smith gave funds for five more buildings, including a campus church.

From 1924 to 1925, the University was further strengthened by a substantial provision from James B. Duke, a wealthy businessman of Somerville, NJ. In the authorization of the establishment of the Duke Endowment on December 11, 1924, JCSU was included as one of the beneficiaries. Through the years, the Duke Endowment has been of inestimable value to the continued development of the University.

Also, in 1924, JCSU was recognized as a four-year college by the North Carolina State Board of Education.  In 1929, the high school department was discontinued, and the standard program was restricted to a college of liberal arts and sciences and a theological department. 

In 1932, the University's charter was amended, providing for the admission of women to the senior division. The 65-year-old institution for men then became partially coeducational. 

In 1938, the institution attained the status of an independent college, affiliated with the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America, reporting to the General Assembly through the Board of Christian Education. The first residence hall for women, named in memory of James B. Duke, was dedicated in 1940.  In 1941, women were admitted to the freshman class.  When the Diamond Jubilee was celebrated in 1942, the University was a fully coeducational institution. 

JCSU joined the United Negro College Fund in 1944 as a founding member. This fund was organized primarily to help church-related schools of higher learning to revamp their training programs, to expand their plants, to promote faculty growth, and to create new areas of service. The institution's membership in the fund began to bear fruit immediately.

In November 1955, the Henry Lawrence McCrorey Theological Hall was dedicated and provided a new home for the 88 year-old Seminary and its library.  This new facility also provided space for a small chapel, classrooms, and offices.  In 1969, the theological department moved from Charlotte, NC to Atlanta, GA, and became a part of the Interdenominational Theological Center.  McCrorey Hall is now a classroom building for religious education, philosophy, sociology, social sciences, communication arts, and other academic areas. 

Through increasing support from The Duke Endowment, the United Negro College Fund, and other sources, the period between 1955 and 1968 was one of expansion of the physical plant and enrichment of the curriculum.  Seven new buildings were erected during this period; the Jack S. Brayboy Gymnasium (1960), the Hardy Liston Residence Hall for women (1962), the University Memorial Union (1965), the Duke Memorial Library (1967), Myers Residence Hall for men and Sanders Residence Hall for women (1967), and the Rufus P. Perry Science Annex (1968). 

The year 1967 was a memorable one in which JCSU reached its one hundredth anniversary.  During this historic centennial occasion, the institution examined its past and made innovative and creative plans for the future. 

Since 1968, JCSU has added several buildings including the Johnson/Seabrook Education Building, and Mary Irwin Belk Early Childhood Education Center (1976), Greenfield Hall (1985), Carter Hall, the Lionel H. Newsom Humanities Building (1986), the Robert L. Albright Honors College Center (1990), the Faculty Center (1991), the Edward E. Crutchfield, Jr. Center for Integrated Studies (1993), a new residence hall yet unnamed (1993), a Technology Center (1997) and the Irwin Belk Complex (2003), which is a state-of-the-art academic and sports facility. 

The expansion of the physical plant was a reflection of the growth that JCSU experienced over the years.  Cultural and technological changes and increased competition led to a focus on enhancing the academic curriculum and special programs. The Teaching and Learning Center was established in 1988 to provide academic support services to JCSU students. In 1990, JCSU created the Honors College to recruit outstanding students who have the academic, social, and service commitments to function as leaders and role models on campus as well as in their communities.  The Service Learning Center, established in 1994, is a model program in the southern region and strives to instill strong values of service to the community and create a well-balanced education for JCSU graduates. 

Renovations to the James B. Duke Library were completed in 1999 to bring a new look, new resources and technology to the facility.  After an aggressive campaign to raise more than $6.7 million, in 2001, JCSU began renovations to the historic Biddle Memorial Hall.  This administrative building will receive new computer systems, climate conditioning, modern lighting and electrical systems.  

JCSU saw a burst of financial support from donors at the turn of the century. In 1996, JCSU received a $1 million gift from Irwin Belk, a prominent Charlotte businessman, which was the largest gift from a living individual in the school’s history.  Between 1999 and 2002, JCSU received several million-dollar grants from funding agencies including the Lilly Foundation, the Department of Interior, The Duke Endowment and a $2.57 million grant from the Kresge Foundation.  In 2002, The Duke Endowment awarded JCSU $3.9 million, the largest grant in the school’s history.  

In Fall 2000, JCSU launched the IBM Laptop Initiative becoming one of few colleges in the country and the first historically black college to provide an IBM laptop computer to every student.  Known as Thinkpad U, JCSU gives students and their computers complete access to the campus-wide network and Internet services.  Since 1994, the ratio of computers to students improved from 1:10 to 1:1.1.   With this new initiative and the commitment to integrate technology throughout the curriculum, JCSU gained national recognition.  

Because of the vision and commitment of past and present Boards of Trustees, presidents, administrators and staff, today, JCSU is heralded as one of the best small colleges in the nation.  The present site contains 100 acres of land and more than 40 buildings.  The University serves approximately 1500 students and has more than 240 full-time faculty members, administrators, and staff members. As a liberal arts university, JCSU offers more than 30 fields of study.  With Thinkpad U and other innovative programs, JCSU has begun to move into a new era of distinction.

Purpose/Mission Statement

Founded in 1867 under the auspices of the Committee on Freedmen of the Presbyterian Church, U.S.A., Johnson C. Smith University (JCSU) is an independent, private, coeducational institution of higher learning.  Located in the rapidly growing metropolis of Charlotte, North Carolina, "Queen City of the South", this historically African-American university has a residential campus with a familiar atmosphere in which students are stimulated and nurtured by dedicated and caring faculty and staff.

Consistent with its Christian roots, the university recognizes the importance of moral and ethical values to undergird intellectual development and all endeavors. JCSU believes in the unrelenting pursuit of knowledge and in the values of cultivating the life of the mind. The university assigns great significance to the development of self-confidence, to the understanding of ones' own heritage as well as an awareness of the cultures of others, to exploration of the myriad forces affecting people of a complex technological age, and to formulating a sense of one's role in this schema.

The mission of JCSU is to provide an outstanding education for a diverse group of talented and highly motivated students from various ethnic, socioeconomic, and geographical backgrounds. The university offers a liberal education in conjunction with concentrated study in specialized fields, in preparation for advanced study and specific careers.

The university endeavors to produce graduates who are able to communicate effectively, think critically, learn independently as well as collaboratively, and demonstrate competence in their chosen fields. Further, it provides an environment in which students can fulfill their physical, social, cultural, spiritual, and other personal needs through which they can develop a compelling sense of social and civic responsibility for leadership and service in a dynamic, multicultural society. Likewise, the university embraces its responsibility to provide leadership, service, and lifelong learning to the larger community.

Regarding teaching effectiveness as paramount in its educational enterprise, JCSU has a commitment to the recruitment and retention of an outstanding faculty. To this end, the university promotes faculty development, encourages faculty involvement in research and other creative activities, and endorses the principles of academic freedom.

To insure the integrity and stability of its status and the perpetuation of its rich legacy, Johnson C. Smith University has a firm resolve to maintain the fiscal and human resources requisite to be a truly distinctive institution—a hallmark of excellence in its students, faculty, staff, administrators, academic and other programs, facilities, operations, and environment.