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The Charlotte City Council delivered a powerful tribute Monday, December 8, 2025 to the Johnson C. Smith University Golden Bulls, recognizing their 2025 CIAA Football Championship—a victory 56 years in the making. City leaders celebrated a season defined by excellence on the field, in the classroom, and across the Queen City.

At just 18 years old, Johnson C. Smith University international student Chanécia Thompson is already charting a promising path toward a career in technology. Originally from Portland, Jamaica, Chanécia joined JCSU in January 2025 after earning a partial scholarship—an opportunity that filled her with both relief and excitement.

The JCSU CIAA Football Championship win was cinematic: competitive play on the field against a kaleidoscopic sky. The Golden Bulls took down the Virginia Union Panthers, 45-21, in a display of athletic dominance, taking home the trophy!  Head Coach Maurice Flowers led the charge. 
 

The stage is set for an historic finish to the 2025 CIAA Football season as No. 1 seed Virginia Union University and No. 2 seed Johnson C. Smith University prepare to meet in the 55th CIAA Football Championship on Saturday, November 15 at Durham County Memorial Stadium, marking the first CIAA Football title game played in Durham since 2015. 

Johnson C. Smith University (JCSU) celebrated the return of JCSU alumna, Sulema Castro Salinas ’16, a talented visual artist and educator who brought her visual magic to the James B. Duke Memorial Library for a special event hosted by Dr. Jasleen Kohli, Assistant Professor of Spanish in the Department of Arts and Humanities, College of Liberal Arts. The event showcased Salinas’s artwork, personal journey, and her reflections on culture, creativity, and identity.

Africa has one of the highest rates of international research collaboration, especially with major scientific power houses like the United States. In October, Dr. Alphonso Ogbuehi, Dean of the Johnson C. Smith University College of Business invited Dr. Eugene Okyere-Kwakye, Dean of the School of Business at Koforidua Technical University in Ghana, to the Charlotte-based campus of JCSU. The conversation on campus was an extension of conversations that began in Ghana during a JCSU delegation trip led by President Kinloch July 2025. The conversation that emerged in October at JCSU continues to shed light on international collaborations that may occur in the future. 

Medicine, music, and hands-on STEM education came together at Johnson C. Smith University’s 2025 Homecoming. Beyond the football field and parade route, doctors, medical professionals, and even a live DJ gathered on campus to showcase careers, new technology, and real-world opportunities in healthcare. At the center of it all were two Golden Bull alumni—now practicing podiatrists—who returned to give back and inspire the next generation.

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.