News

JCSU’s campus was abuzz Friday as freshmen students and their families unpacked their cars, moved into their residence halls, and set off on their journeys as Golden Bulls. This new generation of Smithites is the largest incoming class since before the COVID-19 pandemic. This increase in enrollment has brought a number of unique and expressive new students to campus.

The Evo Championship Series, also known as Evo, is the largest esports tournament in the world. This year's event boasted a historical attendance record of over 10,224 esports competitors, representing 63 different countries. It was held in Las Vegas from July 19-21, 2024.

Six gamer-scholars representing JCSU's highly-competitive Esports Club, along with faculty chaperone, Dr. BerNadette Lawson-Williams, Founder and Coordinator of JCSU's Esports and Gaming Trifecta, the first at an HBCU, which consists of the first esports and gaming academic program, of any kind at an HBCU, the first Esports Lab at an HBCU, and an Esports Club, were ecstatic to attend Evo for the first, of hopefully, many more times to come.

This year, 110 outstanding students from 77 HBCUs across the nation have been selected and named to the 2024 White House Scholars cohort for their exceptional academic achievements, leadership potential and dedication to their communities.  Johnson C. Smith University’s own Sean Carter, a senior Accounting major from Bronx, N.Y., is one of them!

CHARLOTTE, N.C./JULY 18, 2024 – Zoe Migioni knew she wanted to leave her hometown in Zimbabwe to pursue her education in a different country.

“I love to change environments,” she said. “Initially, I wanted to go to Canada. But when a friend of mine came to the U.S., they kept telling me how great it was. America is one of the hardest countries to get into, and the education here is the highest you can aim.”

Now, the second-year Biology major says her decision to come to the U.S., but especially to Johnson C. Smith University, has changed her life and given her the opportunities she used to dream of.

Every dancer dreams of leaping across the big stage in New York City.  Imagine executing a Pas de deux in the Big Apple, whereby each dancer in the pair displays individual choreography before the two take flight in unison on stage.  During the summer of 2024, that dream of a big stage performance in the City that Never Sleeps became a dream-come-true for seven dancers and their professor from Johnson C. Smith University.

To the bold, gifted, and debonair, are you ready to become a Golden Bull? It is time to join the herd! More than 135 new students and their families arrived onto the Johnson C. Smith University campus for the July 2024 Golden Bull Academy!  The number of incoming students may be on the increase.

Vice President Kamala Harris took to the stage at Johnson C. Smith University Wednesday, June 12, as the fourth stop on her nationwide Economic Opportunity Tour. During her fifth visit to the state this year, the Vice President addressed everything from medical debt to ambition. "Dream with ambition. Never apologize for it," she said.

Johnson C. Smith University President Dr. Valerie Kinloch ’96 enjoyed a homecoming in her hometown of Charleston when she served as the commencement speaker for the graduating class of 2024 for Burke High School, Kinloch’s alma mater.  

Waves of Golden Bulls flooded Bojangles Coliseum on Sunday, May 19, 2024, at 11 a.m. to walk across the stage, some of them for the first time, to receive their degrees.

Johnson C. Smith University conferred 228 degrees, 207 to undergraduate students, and 21 to graduate students in the Master of Social Work program. A total of 125 of those graduates completed their studies with Latin honors by earning a 3.0 grade-point average or higher throughout their collegiate career.

Is JCSU owed reparations? It’s a question a group on campus is posing in the form of an oral presentation and white paper, 109 pages long: “The HBCU Choice Bill: White Paper & Reparations Toolkit for JCSU Leadership.”

On Monday, May 6, 2024 Dr. Laurie Porter, Dr. Sabina Otienoburu, JCSU students Ashley Hall ’24 and Taylor Dobson ’24 spoke before a small group of JCSU administrators and staff. Each member of the group shared evidence in support of institutional reparations for the University.