Johnson C. Smith University history

JCSU sits on the highest point in Charlotte, North Carolina because of land donated by Colonel William R. Myers in 1868.

The University offered its first Bachelor of Arts degree in 1876.

Doctor Daniel Jackson Sanders, began his tenure in 1891.

JCSU made sports history on a snowy afternoon on December 27, 1892 when, still known as Biddle University, it played Livingston College in Salisbury, North Carolina in the first intercollegiate football game between two African American institutions.

In recognition of her generosity, the University adopted the name of her late husband, Johnson Crayan Smith, on March 1, 1923.

Also, in 1924, JCSU was recognized as a four-year college by the North Carolina State Board of Education.

In 1932, the university's charter began to admit women to the senior division.

H.L. McCrorey article, A Brief of Johnson C. Smith University, which appeared in 1933 in the Quarterly Review of Higher Education Among Negroes.

In 1938, JCSU became an independent university when it was released from the Board of National Missions of the Presbyterian Church.

The first residence hall for women, named in memory of James B. Duke, was dedicated in 1940.

When the Diamond Jubilee was celebrated in 1942, the university was a fully coeducational institution.

Johnson C. Smith University joined the United Negro College Fund in 1944.

In November 1955, the Henry Lawrence McCrorey Theological Hall was dedicated and provided a new home for the 88-year-old seminary and its library.

The year 1967 was a memorable one in which JCSU reached its 100th anniversary.

The Teaching and Learning Center was established in 1988 to provide academic support services to JCSU students.

In 1990, JCSU created the Honors College to recruit outstanding students who have the academic, social and service commitments to function as leaders and role models on campus, as well as in their communities.

The Service Learning Center, established in 1994, is a model program in the Southern region and strives to instill strong values of service to the community and create a well-balanced education for JCSU graduates.

In 1996, JCSU received a $1 million gift from Irwin Belk, a prominent Charlotte businessman, which was the largest gift from a living individual in the school’s history.

In the fall of 2000, JCSU launched the IBM Laptop Initiative, becoming one of few colleges in the country and the first historically black college to provide an IBM laptop computer to every student.

In 2001, after an aggressive campaign to raise more than $6.7 million, JCSU began renovations to the historic Biddle Hall.

In 2002, The Duke Endowment awarded JCSU $3.9 million, the largest grant in the school’s history at that time.

In 2008, Doctor Ronald L. Carter became the 13th president of JCSU and steered the University on a path of growth and outreach into the Northwest Corridor in an effort to move JCSU "beyond the gates."

In 2009, The Duke Endowment awarded JCSU $5.7 million, the largest single gift in the school’s history, to fund two new programs: the Center for Applied Leadership and Community Development and the Metropolitan College.

2011 saw the University open the doors of the JCSU Arts Factory for students and the Charlotte community.