News

Johnson C. Smith University kicked off Black History Month with an exciting and engaging program Feb. 9, 2018 at the James B. Duke Memorial Library.

The Duke Endowment welcomed President Clarence D. Armbrister and his wife, Denise McGregor Armbrister to the greater Charlotte community March 21, 2018, with a show of true Southern hospitality. Over 100 guests came to the private event, including such luminaries as former Mayor Harvey Gantt; Chair Shirley Hughes and members of the JCSU Board of Trustees; and philanthropists Herb and Felicia Walton Gray ’92.

On March 15-17, 2018, Johnson C. Smith University hosted ANTSHE, the premiere conference focusing on adult learners in higher education. Higher education professionals and nontraditional students from across the nation converged in Charlotte for three days of sessions with the goal of improving engagement and collaboration between nontraditional students, administration, and faculty. This year’s theme was “The Fight for Academic Equity: Creating Social Cohesiveness Between the Adult Learner and College.”

Johnson C. Smith University’s Latinx student organization LAFA, together with JCSU's Metropolitan College and the Committee of National Holidays and Traditions in Charlotte, sponsored the event “Afro-Latinos in Charlotte.” An insightful panel of Afro-Latino leaders in business, education and the art world spoke about cultural matters and their impacts on the city. The celebration was in commemoration of Black History Month, and included a screening of the short film “Afrolatinos” in addition to a panel discussion about Afro-Latino experiences in the South.

Shakoya Brown is a sophomore communications arts major at Johnson C. Smith University who has taken advantage of opportunities to jumpstart her career while attending the university. She is what you would call an ‘opportunist.’

Mariah Collins, Miss Johnson C. Smith University 2017-2018, will appear as one of the top ten Historically Black College and University’s (HBCU) campus queens in Ebony Magazine.

The Louisville, Ken. native competed against 62 young women representing HBCU’s across the nation. Mariah took third place in the online voting competition.  

Members of the Black Ink Monks, Johnson C. Smith University’s oldest non-Greek organization, returned to the American Hebrew Academy (AHA) in Greensboro, N.C. during the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday weekend, Jan. 11-15, 2018, to teach the high school students how to create and perform spoken word poetry.  This trip marked their third invitation in the last five years to the only secular Jewish boarding school in the United States.

 Around JCSU, people talk about the Lumber Company—but until recently it had little to do with hardwood. The Lumber Company, a group of gridiron alumni, are famed for supporting JCSU football and providing some of the best tailgating to be found at the University’s Homecoming celebrations. Now, they’ve expanded their philanthropy to JCSU basketball and the entire athletics department.

On January 12, 2018, Sherese Duncan, instructor of Entrepreneurial Studies and Marketing, and Terik Tidwell, director of STEM Innovation, presented “Inclusive Entrepreneurship and Innovation” to the directors and faculty of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the maker space of Guangdong Baiyun University in Guangzhou, China. The presentation centered on the philosophy and practice of entrepreneurship and STEM Innovation programs — especially how students’ conceptual framework is changed.

Today, Dr. Clarence D. Armbrister officially began tenure as the 14th president of Johnson C. Smith University, after an extensive executive search led by the Johnson C. Smith University Presidential Search Committee and Issacson, Miller, an executive search firm.