News

Childcare costs were so high for Jessica McDonald ’25 and her husband that they made the difficult decision to become a one-income household. But thanks to the Child Care Access Means Parents in School (CCAMPIS) program, McDonald was able to begin her collegiate journey at JCSU while ensuring her children were receiving top-tier care.

Johnson C. Smith University’s Board of Trustees announced today the selection of Dr. Valerie Kinloch as the university's 15th president, effective Aug. 1, 2023.

Bre'Asia Demery ’24, a Psychology major at JCSU, was diagnosed with sickle cell disease when she was just four years old. 

Now a rising senior, Demery has decided to dedicate her summer to Be the Match, a stem cell and bone marrow donor registry, to help those who, like her, are impacted with blood-related sicknesses and other diseases.

Johnson C. Smith University celebrated its first class of Smitty Scholars during Steele Creek Preparatory Academy’s 8th grade graduation Thursday.


The graduation, which took place in Truist Auditorium in JCSU’s New Science Center, was the first of its kind on campus and featured special remarks from JCSU administrators and staff, Steele Creek Preparatory Academy staff and Smitty himself.

JCSU alumnus Andrew Smith and the Network and Chill Foundation will host a networking and mentorship event featuring a pitch competition in celebration of Juneteenth on June 17, 2023, beginning at 2 p.m. at the Charlotte Arts League.

When Dr. Ruth Greene began her journey at Johnson C. Smith University in 1979, she had no idea the legacies she would light along the way.

Now officially named one of the few professors emerita in the University’s history following her May 2023 retirement after 44 years of service as a professor, grantsman, researcher and mentor, Greene looks back on her time at JCSU fondly.

Two-hundred students, 20 of whom earned their Master of Social Work degrees, crossed the stage at Bojangles Coliseum on Sunday, May 21, 2023, to receive their degrees from Johnson C. Smith University.

The keynote speaker was Grammy®-Award-winning multiplatinum singer, songwriter, producer, author and actor Anthony C. Hamilton, who delivered an empowering speech to graduates urging them to answer those who ask “what are you doing here,” with “I am here to give you the best of me.”

Graduates and their families joined JCSU faculty and staff the evening of Friday, May 19, 2023, in the Jane M. Memorial Church for the University’s sesquicentennial Baccalaureate Service featuring a sermon from the Rev. Dr. L. Bernard Jakes.

The Baccalaureate Service, an annual tradition within the Christian faith, is a religious send-off to graduates who are transitioning from the life of a student to that of a professional. Jakes’ powerful sermon focused on preserving the history of African- and Black Americans.

Johnson C. Smith University students flooded James B. Duke Memorial Library on Thursday, April 28, 2023, to receive a free laptop from Eliminate the Digital Divide (E2D).

E2D is a company that was founded in 2013 to address the digital divide in Mecklenburg County. Since its inception, the company has supplied more than 35,000 laptops to North Carolina residents.

Some memories remain clear years after we’ve experienced them. For Dr. Frederick V. Engram Jr. ’05, his decision to join the Alpha Omicron (AO) chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., is a memory he’ll never forget.