News

August 6, 2025, was a momentous day that echoed the bold spirit of August 7, 1867, the day of Johnson C. Smith University’s founding, originally the Freedmen’s College of North Carolina, later Biddle Memorial Institute, Biddle University, then Johnson C. Smith University. 

In 2025, the African drummers and the robed promenade of faculty, staff, students and dignitaries signaled back to the auspicious day 158 years prior.

Johnson C. Smith University (JCSU) is pleased to announce the appointment of Jewell Hoover to the College of Business and Professional Studies Dean’s Executive Advisory Board (DEAB), effective April 1, 2025.

Johnson C. Smith University sent five students—Holiness Mhlanga, Dejha Canty, Shaun Moore, Amauri Hampton and David Santos—along with staff advisor Jerrica Turner, to Austin in mid-March to compete in the 2025 HBCU Battle of the Brains.

In honor of Social Work Month, JCSU will spotlight a student from the Bachelor of Social Work and Master of Social Work programs each week in March. Today’s spotlight features Starlacha’ (Star) Hurst, a Chesapeake, Va., native and a 2025 graduate of the JCSU Master of Social Work program. 

Johnson C. Smith University faculty member and alumna, Shakoya Brown, is on a mission to raise awareness and funds for women’s heart health as a nominee for the American Heart Association’s (AHA) Woman of Impact campaign. As a stroke survivor, Brown is using her platform to educate, empower and advocate on behalf of women’s heart disease and stroke. 

In honor of Social Work Month, JCSU will spotlight a student from the Bachelor of Social Work or Master of Social Work programs each week in March. Today's spotlight features Demetis Chatman, a Georgetown, S.C., native and member of the 2025 cohort of the JCSU Master of Social Work program.

In honor of Social Work Month, JCSU will spotlight a student from the Bachelor of Social Work and Master of Social Work programs each week in March. Today’s spotlight features Eliana Moultrie, an El Paso, Texas, native and a senior in JCSU’s Bachelor of Social Work program. 

The 2025 Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) Basketball Tournament 2025 in Baltimore, MD, brought competitive action on the court, an interactive Fan Fest off the court, high-stepping band bravado, a regal royal court competition and high school takeovers for the record books. Dr. Valerie Kinloch, 15th President of Johnson C. Smith University, says the CIAA was an impressive display of competition and collegiality.

As the CIAA Tournament celebrated the 50th Anniversary of The Women’s Championship Tournament, a few hundred women, including Johnson C. Smith University student leaders, faculty and staff gathered for the Women's Empowerment Brunch on Thursday, February 27, 2025.