Timeline

• 1867: The Henry J. Biddle Memorial Institute was founded by Samuel C. Alexander and Willis L. Miller. Mary D. Biddle, an excellent churchwoman of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, who, through appeals in one of the church papers, pledged $1,400 to the school. In appreciation of this first and generous contribution, friends requested that Biddle name the newly established school after her late husband, Major Henry Biddle. ^[12]
• 1867: The first class sessions were held in May in "Audience Chamber" of Seventh Street Presbyterian Church, then located in a section called "Log Town."^[13]
• 1868: The permanent location for the school was established via the donation of eight acres (3.2 ha) of land from Colonel W. R. Myers.^[13]
• 1869: Biddle Institute officially opens on the present site in September^[13]
• 1869: The first president, Stephen Mattoon, was elected on October 9, 1869^[13]
• 1871: The first class, made up of three students, graduated from the Seminary. Those students were B. F. McDowell, Calvin McCurdey, Eli Walker. ^[13]
• 1873: Twelve additional acres (4.9 ha) of land were purchased, extending the current site to 20 acres (8.1 ha). ^[13]
• 1876: Biddle Institute changes its name to Biddle University. ^[13]
• 1883: The Administration Building was erected. Additional land was acquired extending the site to 24 acres (9.7 ha). ^[13]
• 1884: William A. Holliday is elected as the second president of the university. ^[13]
• 1885: Stephen Mattoon returns to serve again, this time as interim president. ^[13]
• 1886: William F. Johnson is elected as the third president of the university. ^[13]
• 1891: Daniel J. Sanders is the first African-American elected as the president of the university. ^[13]
• 1892: Biddle University competes in the first intercollegiate football game between two historically Black colleges, winning against Livingstone College. ^[13]
• 1894: Biddle University holds its Quatro-Centennial Celebration. ^[13]
• 1895: Carter Hall, the first substantial dormitory, was erected. The dormitory was named in after Miss Mary A. Carter of Geneva, NY in honor of the donation she provided for its construction. ^[13]
• 1895: “The Gold and Blue” are named the official school colors, making their debut on Easter. ^[13]
• 1896: Additional acreage was acquired, extending the size of the campus to sixty acres (24 ha). ^[13]
• 1905: The first student newspaper, The Argus, begins publication. ^[13]
• 1907: Henry Lawrence McCrore is elected president upon the death of President Daniel J. Sanders. ^[13]
• 1911: Carnegie Library was erected with the aid of funding from the Carnegie Fund. ^[13]
• 1917: Biddle University celebrates its Fiftieth Anniversary. ^[13]
• 1917: Fifteen acres (6.1 ha) of land are generously donated to the university, a donation from the daughters of Stephen Mattoon. This donation increases the size of the campus to 75 acres (30 ha). ^[13]
• 1921: After the death of her husband, Johnson C. Smith (Crayne) (August 20, 1919), Mrs. Jane Berry Smith is interested in identifying worthwhile causes to donate to that would be of the most benefit. She becomes interested in Biddle University through her association with McCrorey and begins her benefactions to the university. ^[13]
• 1921: The first Greek letter organization is established. The Rho chapter of Omega Psi Phi fraternity was chartered on November 7, 1921. ^[13]
• 1922: The Science Hall and Johnson C. Smith Theological Dormitory are erected. ^[13]
• 1922: Biddle University is renamed Johnson C. Smith University by the a vote of the board of trustees on February 3, and the Division of Missions for Colored people in honor of the concerns and contributions of Mrs. Jane Berry Smith. The change does not become official until March 1, 1923, when the North Carolina state legislature approves the amendment of the university's charter of the university. To keep the memory of Major Henry J. Biddle alive, the Administration Building is renamed “Biddle Memorial Hall”. ^[13]
• 1923: Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity is established on campus. The Alpha Omicron chapter is established on May 4, *1923. ^[13]
• 1924: James B. Duke creates an endowment for schools, hospitals, and retired and disabled ministers. Four educational institutions are added to the endowment: Trinity College (now Duke University), Furman University, Davidson College, and Johnson C. smith University. ^[13]
• 1927: Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity is the third national Greek letter organization to be chartered. The Alpha Epsilon chapter is established on December 10, 1927. ^[13]
• 1927: The Alpha Epsilon chapter of Phi Beta Sigma fraternity is established late in 1927. ^[13]
• 1929: Jane Berry Smith dies. ^[13]
• 1931: Johnson C. Smith University holds its first Founders Day Celebration^[13]
• 1932: In 1932, the university's charter was amended, providing for the admission of women to the senior division. The 65-year-old institution for men then became partially coeducational. ^[12]
• 1933: Johnson C. Smith University is given an "A" rating by Southern Association of Schools and Colleges. ^[13]
• 1934: The university joins the American Council on Education as a full member. ^[13]
• 1940: The Duke Residence Hall for women is built and named in honor of James B. Duke. ^[13]
• 1941: Women were admitted to the freshman class. ^[13]
• 1942: Johnson C. Smith celebrates its Diamond Jubilee^[13]
• 1943: Hardy Liston takes over the Office of Executive Vice President. ^[13]
• 1944: The Gamma Lambda chapter of Delta Sigma Theta sorority is founded on February 19, 1944. ^[13]
• 1944: Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority charters the Gamma Delta chapter the last week in February 1944. ^[13]
• 1945: Johnson C. Smith University joins the United Negro College Fund as a founding member. ^[12]
• 1947: President Henry Lawrence McCrorey retires after forty years of service. Hardy Liston is elected president. ^[13]
• 1947: Carter Hall is renovated, with a new structure being erected within the existing hull of the building. ^[13]
• 1951: Henry Lawrence McCrorey dies July 13, 1951^[13]
• 1952: A revision of the university's charter is made that officially deletes reference to race. ^[13]
• 1955: 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. ^[12]
• 1956: President Hardy Liston dies on October 20, 1956. J. W. Seabrook steps in as Interim President. ^[13]
• 1957: Rufus Patterson Perry is elected as president in April of that year. ^[13]
• 1961: The new gymnasium is erected. ^[13]
• 1962: Hardy Liston Residence Hall is erected. The building is dedicated later in April 1963. ^[13]
• 1965: The University Memorial Student Union is built. ^[13]
• 1966: Martin Luther King Jr. speaks on campus as a part of the Centennial Celebration that began October 12, 1966. ^[13]
• 1967: The university holds the main Centennial Celebration on April 7, 1967, in the new gymnasium with the theme of “New Dimensions in Higher Education”. ^[13]
• 1967: Three major construction projects are completed: The James B. Duke Memorial Library, Myers Hall (a dormitory for men), and Sanders Hall (a dormitory for women). ^[13]
• 1968: Rufus Patterson Perry resigns from his position as president. ^[13]
• 1968: The new science center is constructed. ^[13]
• 1969: Lionel H. Newsom becomes the ninth president of the university^[13]
• 1969: The Seminary moves to Atlanta Georgia and merges with the Interdenominational Theological Center. ^[13]
• 1972: The overpass connecting the two sides of the campus is erected over Beatties Ford road. ^[13]
• 1972: Wilbert Greenfield becomes the tenth President of Johnson C. Smith University^[13]
• 1976: The Mary Irwin Belk Early Childhood Education Center is erected. ^[13]
• 1983: Robert L. Albright becomes the eleventh president of the university. ^[13]
• 1985: Greenfield Hall is erected and named in honor of past President Wilbert Greenfield. ^[12]
• 1986: The Lionel H. Newsom Humanities Building is built. ^[12]
• 1990: The Robert L. Albright Honors College Center opens^[12]
• 1991: The Faculty Center opens^[12]
• 1993: The Edward E. Crutchfield Jr. Center for Integrated Studies is built^[12]
• 1994: The New Residence Hall opens^[12]
• 1994: Dorothy Cowser Yancy becomes the first woman and twelfth President of Johnson C. Smith University^[12]
• 1997: The Technology Center is built. ^[12]
• 2003: JCSU opens a new state-of-the-art academic and sports facility, the Irwin Belk Complex. ^[12]
• 2008: Ronald L. Carter becomes the thirteenth president. ^[12]
• 2018: Clarence D. Armbrister, J.D. becomes the fourteenth President of Johnson C. Smith University. ^[12]

Colleges

The university is organized into three colleges:^[15]

• College of Arts and Letters
• College of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM)
• College of Professional Studies.

James B. Duke Memorial Library

The James B. Duke Memorial Library was built in 1967 in memory of James Buchanan Duke, a major benefactor to the university. Carnegie Library, the existing library at that time, was not large enough to meet the expanding academic programming and increasing enrollment. ^[13] In 1998, the library completed a $7 million yearlong modernization and reconstruction to allow the building to serve as an information hub in a digital age.^[12]

The James B. Duke Memorial Library is also the home of a 8.5 by 20 feet (2.6 by 6.1 m). mural created painted by Philadelphia artist Paul F. Keene Jr. Keene that captures the history, growth, and development of the university. The vibrant mural illustrates the founding of the university by S. L. Alexander and W. L. Miller on April 7, 1867, the original two students, the outstanding contributors to the school, historic buildings, and the first seven presidents of the university. The mural features a portrait of Jane Berry Smith who donated several buildings to the university in the early 1920s and for whom the board of trustees renamed the school from Biddle University. Also featured is James Buchanan Duke, a prominent North Carolina business man, who established an endowment in 1924 that included the university and the man for whom the library is named. ^[13]

Fraternities and sororities

All of the National Pan-Hellenic Council organizations currently have chapters at Johnson C. Smith University.

Athletics

Student-athletes compete in intercollegiate and intramural athletics. 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

Bibliography

• Parker, Inez Moore (1975). (A Historical Narrative) The Biddle - Johnson C. Smith Story. Charlotte, NC: The Observer Craftman Company.
• "Founders' Week Observance - History of the University". jcsu.edu. Johnson C. Smith University.