News

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. 

Jasmine Hogan ’25 decided early in her life that she would continue her family’s legacy of serving in the military.

Both of her grandfathers served in the U.S. Army for more than 25 years. Her grandfather, Ernest Herman Hogan, went to Vietnam twice and earned a Purple Heart and Bronze Star. Her father was also in the National Guard, and she has several uncles who have served in the Navy.

​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.  

For Dr. Tyler Bunzey, assistant professor of Cultural Studies at Johnson C. Smith University, his courses offer students the unique opportunity to learn from industry greats.

This semester, he’s invited four fashion designers, some of whom have designed for Gucci, P Diddy, King Combs and Kodak Black, to his classrooms via Zoom. They all donated their time for free to inspire students to engage in creativity. 

Hundreds of new Golden Bulls joined together Thursday morning in the Jane M. Smith Memorial Church for Freshman Convocation.

The convocation, which is a rite of passage for all new Smithites entering the storied University, featured the bestowing of cords and pins as new students recited the honor code and received official greetings from their elected student leaders, administration and Dr. Valerie Kinloch, 15th president of JCSU.

The pews were packed in the Jane M. Smith Memorial Church Thursday as Johnson C. Smith University kicked off its inaugural Lyceum Engagement Series with a public address from Dr. Valerie Kinloch, the 15th president of JCSU.

Kinloch shared her strategic vision for the University with the crowd, which was comprised of faculty, staff, alumni, community members and student groups, including the entire IIOS Marching Band and Golden Bulls Football team.

Dr. Angela White, dean of College University and Student Success, hopes to make Johnson C. Smith University a model for holistic, coordinated student care at an HBCU. In order to accomplish that goal, she has instituted two initiatives that will work hand-in-hand to address student needs both inside and outside of the classroom.

Faculty and staff gathered at the Hilton Charlotte University Place Hotel in August to discuss the University’s numerous Title III activities and how they progressed throughout the 2022-23 academic year.

The year-end review impact presentations followed the successes of 13 activities, which included updating technology for student and employee success, renovating academic facilities, integrating the arts and sciences and supporting research integrity and ethics, among others.

Israel-Palestine is a spiritual mecca for several world religions. Now, students at Johnson C. Smith University will have the opportunity to embark on a two-week journey to the region in Summer 2024. This will be the first study abroad trip held since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, which handicapped or all together halted travel to certain areas outside of the U.S.