News

The Johnson C. Smith University community congratulates Dr. Valerie Kinloch, 15th President of JCSU.  The Aspen Institute announced today that President Kinloch has been named a 2025 Aspen Ascend Fellow, a prestigious fellowship and honor.

The College of Business and Professional Studies is opening the doors of opportunity to Johnson C. Smith University students.  On September 10, 2025, CBPS held an official ribbon-cutting ceremony for the College of Business and Professional Studies Finance/Tech Lab.  The lab is designed to increase student understanding of and facility with finance and financial markets while strengthening student connections to the financial industry.

It began with the rhythmic beat of African drums, their cadence echoing down the corridor from Biddle Hall to the 100-year-old Jane M. Smith Memorial Church on the campus of Johnson C. Smith University. The music carried the crowd in a regal processional, the preamble to Freshman Convocation.

World leaders in entertainment, education, journalism and business took the stage at Wealthcon in Boston during Essence HBCU  Classic Weekend!  In a panoply of high-profile panels, community leaders  - including Chief Content Officer of Essence Ventures, Michele Ghee, Valerie Mosley of BrightUp and Dr. Valerie Kinloch, 15th President of Johnson C. Smith University - tackled educational empowerment, financial literacy and community engagement. Leaders engaged in candid conversation about the transformative role of education in shaping opportunity, mobility, and leadership. 

On August 1, 2025, five groups of ambitious young scholars took the stage at Johnson C. Smith University, prepared to pitch their business ideas—and their futures. The event marked the culmination of the Becoming Kings Program, a transformative six-week summer initiative designed to prepare incoming Black male students for college life through mentorship, leadership development, corporate site visits, and cultural enrichment.

Johnson C. Smith University (JCSU) is proud to announce the appointment of Donovan A. Everett, President and Chief Executive Officer of D.A. Everett Construction Group, to its Dean's Executive Advisory Board. Everett brings over 25 years of extensive experience in successfully leading and delivering commercial construction projects, totaling over $2 billion.

Johnson C. Smith University is proud to announce its distinguished speaker for the 2025 Commencement Ceremonies. The University’s 152nd Commencement will take place on Sunday, May 18, 2025, at 11 a.m. at Bojangles Coliseum, featuring acclaimed television personality, comedian and philanthropist Sheryl Underwood as the keynote speaker. 

The Johnson C. Smith University (JCSU) College of Business and Professional Studies is proud to announce that it will serve as the host institution for the Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP) Evaluator Training & Access Accreditation Conference. The conference will take place on Thursday, April 24, and Friday, April 25, 2025, in New Science Center on the JCSU campus, located in Charlotte, North Carolina.

At the National Association of Black Journalists Region III Conference held April 10–12 at Johnson C. Smith University in Charlotte, NC, more than 100 journalists gathered for a series of dynamic discussions. Among them was a standout panel titled “How to Power Forward in Political Reporting,” moderated by Walter Smith Randolph, Executive Producer of Investigations at CBS New York.

August 6, 2025, was a momentous day that echoed the bold spirit of August 7, 1867, the day of Johnson C. Smith University’s founding, originally the Freedmen’s College of North Carolina, later Biddle Memorial Institute, Biddle University, then Johnson C. Smith University. 

In 2025, the African drummers and the robed promenade of faculty, staff, students and dignitaries signaled back to the auspicious day 158 years prior.