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The Duke Endowment today announced it is giving $5.7 million to Johnson C. Smith University, perhaps the largest single gift in the school's 140-year-plus history.
"I don't think this has been a time when we trustees have been more excited about this university than we are now," said Neil Williams, chairman of the Duke Endowment Foundation's education committee.
Ronald Carter, the university's president, said the gift will be used to develop two new ventures -- the Center for Applied Leadership and Community Development, and the Metropolitan College. Some of the money also will be used on scholarships and other financial aid, to help Carter achieve his goal of tightening admission standards.
"Smith was founded to be the Princeton of the South," Carter said. "This will help us become more selective."
The announcement of the gift was made during Johnson C. Smith University's Executive Leadership Lecture, where Family Dollar Stores CEO Howard Levine was guest speaker.
Williams, a Charlotte native who is now an attorney in Atlanta, followed Levine to the lectern and told the crowd of about 200 students, staff and community leaders that he would "get to the end of his speech first." His announcement was met with gasps from the crowd and then a standing ovation.
Johnson C. Smith is among four Carolinas institutions which have been supported traditionally by the Duke Endowment, started in 1924 by business leader and philanthropist James B. Duke. The others are Duke University, Furman University and Davidson College.
"Over the years, since 1924, I think we've given Johnson C. Smith about $85 million for various causes," Williams said. "But there never has been a single gift of this size."
He said some of Carter's new ventures have convinced Foundation trustees to bolster their support of Johnson C. Smith, one of the nation's oldest historically black universities.
"This is a school that has re-examined its admission policies, a school that wants to be more relevant to the needs in the community," Williams said. "We want to be supportive of efforts that are of a long-term nature."
The Center for Applied Leadership and Community Development is an effort by Johnson C. Smith to become more actively involved in the lives of people in a 16-county area around Charlotte. Carter said students and staff will work with neighborhood organizations, to help them solve problems and achieve development.
The Metropolitan College is a program aimed at what Carter calls "non-traditional students" and working adults. It will be housed on the Johnson C. Smith campus.
Williams admitted that the Duke Endowment has taken a beating during the recession, its total value having fallen from about $3.1 billion to about $2.6 billion.
"These are not the best of times for foundations," he said. "The value of our investments has gone down. So it is important to make the most of our resources. Johnson C. Smith has all kinds of wonderful ideas, and a wonderful leadership team in place."
