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The starting gun echoed across Johnson C. Smith University’s Irwin Belk Complex as nearly 300 middle and high school athletes lined up to compete in the inaugural Anna Cockrell High School Invitational. For many, it was another track meet. For JCSU Head Men’s and Women’s Track and Field Coach Carol Lawrence, it was the realization of a vision years in the making.

Johnson C. Smith University continues to strengthen its national reputation for research, leadership, and community engagement through the work of Dr. Bryan Q. Patterson, Assistant Professor of Management and Academic Advisor in the Department of Business Administration. Over the past two years, Dr. Patterson has led nationally recognized research examining how Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) can expand their role in clean energy innovation, workforce development, and equitable economic growth.

Long before the first PowerPoint slide clicked on in Brayboy Gymnasium, the morning had already found its theme.

President Valerie Kinloch stood in front of a gym full of incoming Golden Bulls and their families on June 26 and did something more powerful than a welcome speech — she told them her own story. A first-generation student from a working-class family in Charleston, South Carolina, Kinloch said she wasn't sure college was even an option for her.

Johnson C. Smith University looks forward to its continued partnership with the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) during Phase II of the institution’s probationary period. JCSU’s accrediting body will continue its effort to support the positive trajectory and long-term sustainability of the institution. Throughout the 2026–2027 academic year, the University will remain focused on maintaining compliance and building upon the significant progress achieved over the past year. This next phase reflects both the momentum of our collective efforts and our ongoing commitment to institutional excellence and student success.

It started with a national anthem, a giant flag unfurling across the pitch, and tears she couldn't hold back. For Dr. Terza Lima Neves — a political science professor and department chair at Johnson C. Smith University — the moment Cabo Verde took the field at their very first FIFA World Cup was more than a soccer match. It was history. And the world was watching.

Johnson C. Smith University partnered with CBRE’s Black Excellence Network Group to host a program to celebrate Juneteenth and connect participants to the local Civil Rights Movement and to allow them to explore the story of one of the cases that helped end the “separate but equal” doctrine for schools.

Three influential South Carolina-born leaders came together in Charlotte for an unforgettable evening centered on political history, democracy, and the enduring lessons of Reconstruction.

Congressman Jim Clyburn’s Fireside Chat and Book Signing, organized by the D. Wilson Agency and hosted at First Baptist Church-West, featured discussion of Clyburn’s new book, The First Eight. The evening brought together Congressman Clyburn, Charlotte icon and former Mayor Harvey Gantt, and Johnson C. Smith University President Valerie Kinloch, Ph.D., for a conversation that explored the past while challenging attendees to think critically about the future.