JCSU News Release

Ronald L. Carter Named New Johnson C. Smith University President

January 25, 2008 – Johnson C. Smith University Board of Trustees announced that Dr. Ronald L. Carter will become the university’s 13th president on July 1, 2008.

With more than 30 years serving students and universities, Dr. Carter brings an impressive record of community leadership, academic administration and budget management to his new position.

“We are delighted to welcome Dr. Carter to the Johnson C. Smith family,” said Parran Foster III, chairman of the JCSU board. “He brings a noteworthy academic record, valuable international perspectives and a breadth of insight rooted in his diverse university experiences.”

Upon graduating from Morehouse College in 1971, Dr. Carter began his distinguished career at Boston University’s Martin Luther King, Jr. Center, where by 1981, he rose to become the school’s youngest Dean of Students. In the late 1980s, Dr. Carter helped relatives of Nelson Mandela gain admission to U.S. colleges and in so doing, was compelled to put his abilities to work in South Africa.

Prior to Mandela’s release from prison in 1990 and the abolition of apartheid, Dr. Carter was named Director of Health Services at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa. Within five years, he had again defied the status quo by becoming the school’s Dean of Students— and one of the first black administrators at the traditionally white institution.

Dr. Carter will leave Coker College in Hartsville, S.C., where he has served as Provost and Dean of Faculty since 1997. He joins JCSU as its 13th president—succeeding Dr. Dorothy Cowser Yancy, who has led the school through a period of unprecedented growth and progress since 1994. Since being named president, she has raised more than $125 million for the University, increasing the endowment nearly fourfold, from $14 million to $53 million. In 2006 and 2007, she exceeded the Pathways to Success fundraising goal of $75 million, raising $83 million.

“We have been fortunate indeed to have Dr. Yancy at the helm for 14 years,” said Foster. “She has been an energetic and inspired leader. Dr. Carter joins Johnson C. Smith poised to advance her successes.”

Dr. Carter’s academic degrees include:

Ph.D., Philosophy of Religion
Boston University

Master of Theology, Philosophy of Religion
Boston University

B.A., Sociology and Philosophy (Magna Cum Laude and Phi Beta Kappa)
Morehouse College

Among his many honors and awards, Dr. Carter was:

Appointed a Merrill Scholar, Robert College, Istanbul, Turkey

Appointed to the position of Senior Fellow at the Stedman Graham Leadership Institute of Chicago

Nominated by South Carolina Governor, Jim Hodges, to serve as a member of the John De La Howe School Board of Trustees

Recognized in the 2005/2006 edition of Blackbook as an outstanding citizen who is making a difference in Eastern South Carolina.

Dr. Carter is a native of High Point, N.C.

Founded in 1867 and long considered one of America’s top historically African-American universities, Johnson C. Smith University is an independent, private, coeducational institution of higher learning in Charlotte, North Carolina. JCSU was the nation’s first HBCU to provide laptops to all of its students through the IBM Thinkpad Initiative. More than 1,400 students are enrolled at the private liberal arts university.