Johnson C. Smith University

Johnson C. Smith University

Seal of Johnson C. Smith University
Former names	Biddle Memorial Institute Biddle University
Motto	Sit Lux
Motto in English	Let There Be Light
Type	Private, HBCU
Established	1867
Endowment	$51.1 million (Beneficiary of the Duke Endowment, 1924)
President	Ronald L. Carter
Academic staff	159
Students	1,669
Location	Charlotte , North Carolina , U.S.
Campus	Urban 105 acres
Colors	Gold and Navy blue
Nickname	Golden Bulls
Affiliations	Presbyterian Church UNCF
Mascot	The Golden Bull
Website	www.jcsu.edu
Biddle Memorial Hall, Johnson C. Smith University
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Location	Beatties Ford Rd. and W. Trade St., Charlotte, North Carolina
Coordinates
Area	less than one acre
Built	1883
Architectural style	Romanesque
NRHP Reference #	75001281
Added to NRHP	October 14, 1975

Johnson C. Smith University (JCSU) is a private, co-ed, historically black four-year research university in the heart of Charlotte, North Carolina, United States. It is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church and is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS), National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE), Association of Collegiate Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP), and Council on Social Work Accreditation (CSWE). The school awards Bachelor of Science, Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Social Work degrees to its graduates.

History

Johnson C. Smith University was established on April 7, 1867 as the Biddle Memorial Institute at a meeting of the Catawba Presbytery in the old Charlotte Presbyterian Church. Mary D. Biddle, a churchwoman, donated $1,400 to the school. In appreciation of this first contribution, friends requested Mrs. Biddle to name the newly established school after her late husband, Henry Biddle. Two ministers, Samuel C. Alexander and Willis L. Miller, saw the need for a school in the south and after the birth of the school they were elected as some of the first teachers. Its coordinate women's school was Scotia Seminary (now Barber-Scotia College).

In 1876, the charter was changed by the Legislature of the State of North Carolina and the name became Biddle University, under which name the institution operated until 1923.

In 1891, Biddle University elected Daniel J. Sanders as the first African-American as President of a four-year institute in the south.

File:JohnsonCsmith.jpg

Johnson Crayne Smith

From 1921 to 1922, Jane Berry Smith donated funds to build a theological dormitory, a science hall, a teachers' cottage and a memorial gate. She also provided an endowment for the institution in memory of her late husband, Johnson C. Smith. Up until her death she donated funds for five more buildings and a campus church. In recognition of these generous benefactions, the Board of Trustees voted to change the name of the institution to Johnson C. Smith University. The charter of the school, accordingly, was amended on March 1, 1923, by the Legislature of the State of North Carolina.

In 1924, James B. Duke established the Duke Endowment. While the largest share of that the Endowment's earnings are allocated to support Duke University, Duke's donation required that 4% of its earnings be given to the university. Over the years, this share of the Endowment's distributions has exceeded $90 million.

In 1932, the university's charter was amended, providing for the admission of women. The 65-year-old institution for men then became partially coeducational. The first residence hall for women, named in memory of James B. Duke, was dedicated in 1940. In 1941, women were admitted to the freshman class. In 1942, the university was a fully coeducational institution.

JCSU joined the United Negro College Fund in 1944 as a founding member. This fund was organized primarily to help church-related schools of higher learning to revamp their training programs, to expand their plants, to promote faculty growth and to create new areas of service.

Biddle Memorial Hall is on the National Register of Historic Places.

Presidents

1870–1884	Stephen Mattoon
1884–1885	William Alexander Holliday
1886–1891	William F. Johnson
1891–1907	Daniel J. Sanders
1907–1947	Henry Lawrence McCrorey
1947–1956	Hardy Liston
1956–1957	James W. Seabrook
1957–1968	Rufus P. Perry
1968–1972	Lionel Newsome
1973–1982	Wilbert Greenfield
1983–1994	Robert Albright
1994–2008	Dorothy Cowser Yancy
2008–present	Ronald L. Carter

Academics

Johnson C. Smith University offers 23 degree options for undergraduates. Students earn their degree through one of three colleges – the College of Arts and Letters, the College of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) and the College of Professional Studies.

Metropolitan College offers undergraduate adult degree programs for adults that enhance their opportunities for career advancement and success. Metropolitan College provides adults with flexible, convenient schedules and a variety of course styles including on-campus and online courses, as well as our Flex-Option for courses that include both online and in-class instruction. Metropolitan College offers evening programs for adults in Criminology, Social Work and Business Administration.

Colleges

Biddle Memorial Hall

Subjects are arranged under the following Colleges:

College of Arts and Letters

• Communication Arts
• Criminology
• English
• English Education
• French
• History
• Interdisciplinary Studies
• Music (Concentrations in Music Performance, Music Business and Technology, or Sacred Music)
• Political Science
• Psychology (Concentrations in Clinical, Biomedical, or Developmental Psychology)
• Spanish
• Social Science
• Visual and Performing Arts (Concentrations in Dance, Film, Graphic Art, Studio Art, or Theatre)

College of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM)

• Biology
• Chemistry
• Computer Engineering
• Computer Science/Information Systems
• Information Systems Engineering
• General Science
• Mathematics
• Mathematics Education

College of Professional Studies

• Business Administration
• Economics
• Elementary Education
• Health Education
• Physical Education
• Social Work
• Sport Management

Student activities

Due to its location near downtown Charlotte, NC, there are many social and cultural activities for JCSU students and faculty to enjoy, including professional sporting events, theater/movies, concerts, art exhibits, bands, chorale, poetry readings, and dance, among others.

Athletics

Main article: Johnson C. Smith Golden Bulls

File:JCSmithBulls.png

Student-athletes compete in intercollegiate and intramural athletics. Students can choose to be involved in various on-campus organizations, including fraternities, sororities, and intramural sports.

JCSU is a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), Division II and the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA). Its intercollegiate sports programs include basketball, bowling, cross-country, football, golf, softball, volleyball, tennis, and track and field. Its teams are nicknamed the Golden Bulls.

Notable alumni

Name	Class year	Notability	Reference(s)
Trezzvant Anderson		was an American journalist, publicist, and war correspondent.
Frederick C. Branch	1942	first African American officer in the United States Marine Corps
Tyrone Britt	1967	former NBA player who played for the 1967-1968 San Diego Rockets.
Eva M. Clayton	1955	Clayton and Mel Watt were the first African Americans elected to the House of Representatives from North Carolina since 1898 (since Clayton won the special election, she took office before Watt).
Gregory Clifton		was an NFL Player with the Washington Redskins and the Carolina Panthers
Dorothy Counts	1964	was one of the first black students admitted to the Harry Harding High School in the United States. After four days of harassment that threatened her safety, her parents forced her to withdraw from the school.
Grover Covington		was a Canadian Football League defensive end for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. He often led the league in quarterback sacks and was a division All-Star seven times. He won the Schenley Award for Most Outstanding Defensive Player once and also led the Tiger-Cats to a Grey Cup victory in 1986. He finished his career with 157 sacks, a CFL record. He was inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 2000.
Charlie S. Dannelly	1962	is a Democratic member of the North Carolina General Assembly representing the state's thirty-eighth Senate district since 1995.
Bill Davis	1963	legendary college football coach.
De'Audra Dix	2009	2008 Division II 1st Team All-American. He plays for the Montreal Alouettes in the Canadian Football League. He was the starting cornerback when the Alouettes won back-to-back Canadian Football League Grey Cup Championships in 2009 and 2010.
Edward R. Dudley	1932	from the Gainsboro neighborhood of Roanoke, Virginia, was the first African-American to hold the rank of Ambassador of the United States, serving as ambassador to Liberia (where he had been serving with the rank of minister) from 1949 through 1953.
Bill Dusenbery		American football player
Richard Erwin	1947	In 1980, President Jimmy Carter appointed Erwin as the first black federal judge in North Carolina.
Ferdinand Kwasi Fiawoo	1933	was a Ghanaian minister of religion, playwright and educator, founder of Zion College, the first secondary school in Ghana's Volta Region.
Malcolm Graham	1985	is a Democratic member of the North Carolina Senate, representing District 40.
Leford Green	2011	Division II Collegiate Indoor and Outdoor Regional and National Track Athlete of the Year in 2010 and 2011. Green was a member of the 2012 Summer Olympics Jamaican National Olympic Track and Field team.
Chet Grimsley	1978	recognized as the first Euro-American to garner accolades as All-CIAA and All-American at JCSU and at an HBCU. Author of "White Golden Bull."
Larry D. Hall	1978	is an American politician from Durham, North Carolina. A Democrat, he has served in the North Carolina House of Representatives as the member from North Carolina’s 29th representative district since 2006. Hall was appointed to the position in 2006 by then Governor Mike Easley and won reelection in 2008.
Henry Aaron Hill	1936	was an American fluorocarbon chemist who became the first African American president of the American Chemical Society (ACS).
Cheris F. Hodges	1999	author of African American romance novels.
Benny Johnson	1970	NFL player who played 5 seasons as a cornerback and a kick returner.
Edward Joyner	1994	is the current head men's basketball coach at Hampton University. During the 2010-2011 season, he led Hampton with a 24-9 record and helped lead the team to the second round of the NCAA Basketball Tournament where they lost to Duke, 87-45.
Earl "The Goat" Manigault		a Rucker Park legend. Attended JCSU for 1964–65 school year.
Eddie McGirt	1948	a CIAA football coach legend.
Fred "Curly" Neal	1962	former member of the Harlem Globetrotters
Pettis Norman	1962	tight end with the NFL's Dallas Cowboys and San Diego Chargers. He is on the top-50 greatest Dallas Cowboys of All-Time. The school's annual award given to the outstanding student-athlete bears his name.
Obie Patterson	1965	former member, Maryland House of Delegates
Don Pullen		jazz pianist and organist
Zilner Randolph		jazz trumpeter and music educator
James "Twiggy" Sanders	1974	Harlem Globetrotters member
Gary Siplin	1976	politician, Member of the Florida Senate from the 19th district. Siplin sponsored a letter to Governor Rick Scott proposing a Special Prosecutor over the Trayvon Martin case. The governor ultimately decided it was in the best interest of the community to elect a Special Prosecutor to the case
Marvin Scott	1966	Republican candidate for U.S. Senate from Indiana in 2004
Chris Smith	1992	is a Democratic member of the Florida Senate, representing the 31st District, which includes eastern Broward County since 2012.
Clarence F. Stephens	1938	Ninth African American to receive a Ph.D. in mathematics
John Taylor		attended JCSU for one year before he transferred to Delaware State University. He was a member of the 49ers teams that won Super Bowls XXIII, XXIV, and XXIX. He was also a 2xPro Bowler.
Steel Arm Johnny Taylor		was a pitcher and played in professional pre-league and Negro league baseball from 1903 to 1925
Sandra L. Townes	1966	District Judge for the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York
Skeets Tolbert		Jazz clarinetist
Avon Williams	1940	Tennessee State Senator from 1972 to 1992
Danielle Williams	2015	is a Jamaican athlete specialising in the sprint hurdles. She is best known for winning the gold medal at the 2015 World Championships.
Shermaine Williams	2011	Jamaican track & field sprinter. First female from Johnson C. Smith University to go to Summer Olympics 2012
Draff Young		was a National Basketball Association (NBA) coach.

Notable faculty

Name	Department	Notability	Reference
Henry A. Hunt	Professor	winner of the Spingarn Medal award. In the 1930s Hunt was invited to participate in President Franklin D. Roosevelt's Black Cabinet.
Edward Jackson	Football Coach	one of the greatest HBCU football coaches of all-time. His all-time coaching record is 141–62–12. His record at JCSU is 30–14–4.
Mike Minter	Football Assistant coach	former NFL safety for the Carolina Panthers
Steve Wilks	Football Assistant coach	secondary coach for the Carolina Panthers.

External links

• Official website
• Johnson C. Smith Athletics website