News

The Class of 2024, donned in their ceremonial commencement robes, took one of their final walks from Biddle Hall to the Jane M. Smith Memorial Church for the annual Founders’ Day Convocation.

This year celebrates the 157th anniversary of JCSU’s founding on April 7, 1867. Surrounded by faculty, staff, alumni and friends, the soon-to-be graduates listened attentively to JCSU alumnus Garry L. McFadden ’81, the sheriff for Mecklenburg County, as he recounted some of the successes from his career.

Johnson C. Smith University students, like students around the country, benefit from the federal TRiO Student Support Services Program. The program provides various services for students from disadvantaged backgrounds, including low-income students and students with disabilities, as well as first-generation college students.

Celebrate National TRiO Day by reading about some of our students who benefit from this federally funded service.

Many Golden Bulls started their Thursday morning with soulful songs, a warm plate of food and wise words from Civil Rights icon, Harvey Gantt, during the annual Martin Luther King Jr. Breakfast.

The event was moderated by Dr. Jordan Brooks, associate vice president of Student Affairs and Enrollment Management and Title IX Coordinator. The event kicked off with greetings from Dr. Valerie Kinloch ’96, president of JCSU.

Kenyatta Reed, program and tutorial coordinator in Student Support Services at Johnson C. Smith University, knows first-hand the challenges and opportunities first-generation college students face.

Today, Reed and her colleagues in TRiO Student Support Services work to assist and celebrate other first-generation college students as they embark on their journeys through higher education and work to secure profitable careers doing what they love.

The College of Business and Professional Studies has added a number of new faculty to its team. In an effort to build a strong network of professors and staff in the college, Dr. Alphonso O. Ogbuehi, dean of the college, has been cultivating opportunities to help his team grow.

Johnson C. Smith University’s College of Business and Professional Studies is pleased to announce that its Esports and Gaming Trifecta, the first of its kind at an HBCU, has been invited by Discovery Place Science in Charlotte, N.C., to host an informational session, specifically on esports and gaming at its “Science on the Rocks” event, which is scheduled for Friday, Nov. 17, 2023, from 6 to 10 p.m. 

The workshop, titled “Johnson C. Smith University’s Esports & Gaming Trifecta presents Esports & Gaming 101: A Complete Guide to Gaming,” will cover pertinent topics related to gaming. The workshop will be held from 6 to 7 p.m.

Johnson C. Smith University has been a meeting ground for several lifelong friends, spouses and business partners. But for Frank and La Keisha Johnson, it was where they formed their love for not only one another but also their love for HBCU marching bands. In 2018, the couple decided to tackle a cause that was important to both of them: providing monies for scholarships for HBCU band students and athletes through their HBCU Culture Legacy Foundation. 

​Dr. Harriette Richard is no stranger to the challenges of breast cancer. As a three-time survivor of the disease, the JCSU associate professor of Psychology decided she wanted to explore the effect the disease has on older African-American women.

Richard was awarded a $100,000 grant from Atrium Wake Forest Baptist Health to further research the connections between body image and breast cancer, specifically in the experiences of older adult African-American women’s mastectomy experiences.

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The Division of Student Affairs and Enrollment Management kicked off Homecoming week with the unveiling of the newly renovated Bull Pen, a student hangout space in the Mary Joyce Taylor Crisp Student Union.

An $80,000 grant was awarded to JCSU in April after the University placed third in The Home Depot’s 2023 Retool Your School contest.  

Following a national search, Johnson C. Smith University is pleased to announce the appointment of its band staff. 

The staff will be led by Dr. Tomisha Brock, director of Bands and assistant professor of Music. She will be assisted by Justin Hubbard, assistant director; Aja McAllister, dance instructor; Dairon McGraw, flag coordinator; and Ronnie Freeman, percussion instructor.