Charlotte’s lone HBCU using $80M equity funds to transform into a destination school
When Essence Winston first arrived on Johnson C. Smith University’s campus, two things stood out to her — the family atmosphere and the culture.
“I never experienced so much Black excellence around me,” Winston, a senior at JCSU, said. “Seeing so many people that look like me that strive to want a better education, that want to strive for something more for themselves— I just found that so amazing.”
For years, the close-knit, family environment has drawn students like Winston to Charlotte’s lone historically Black college. Now with more than $80 million raised in donations the school’s leadership has outlined a plan to transform JCSU into a destination school.
A chunk of the money raised, some $54 million, will support improving academics, program development, adding faculty, student scholarships and boosting the school’s endowment, JCSU president Clarence Armbrister told the Charlotte Observer. The remaining roughly $25 million is slated toward creating programs to retain students, including more counseling services, and to enhance internship programs.
“There really shouldn’t be too many students who come to Johnson C. Smith who should leave (because of) money,” Armbrister said. “That shouldn’t be the reason.”
The money raised for JCSU aligns with a trend happening across the country. Following the 2020 racial justice protests and the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic, a renewed interest from the philanthropic sector and federal sources has emerged to better fund HBCU’s, Armbrister said.
“There came an opportunity when preparation, which is reflected in our strategic plan, met opportunity, which was that the country was awakening to its racial failings,” he said. “Those things interconnected in a way for us to get that attention.”
Historically Black colleges and universities on deck
The pandemic highlighted existing disparities, long-underfunded infrastructure, resources and programs at many of the country’s HBCUs. Amid the worst, some help poured in.
In 2020, billionaire Mackenzie Scott donated millions to several historically Black colleges. The same year Kamala Harris, a Howard University alum, was elected as vice president alongside President Joe Biden, shining a larger national spotlight on HBCUs.
That attention bore fruit when Mayor Vi Lyles announced her Racial Equity Initiative in 2021. The initiative set a goal of $250 million to address racial inequality in various facets of the city. It included a fundraising goal that exceeded expectations for JCSU after it reached $80 million.
With plans to use the funds to transform the school into a top-tier HBCU, the school took a step closer to that goal. JCSU climbed to the No. 26 spot among the nation’s top 107 HBCU’s, according to U.S. News and World Report 2022-23 rankings, officials said Monday. Last year the university tied with several colleges at No. 30.
Many in the general public are beginning to recognize HBCUs have been under served but over productive, Steven Boyd, chairman of JCSU’s board of trustees, told the Charlotte Observer.
“We get to a point of realizing that if we don’t continue to support them we’ll lose some of that productivity,” Boyd said. “You look around any corporation, you can’t walk through any one of them - any political office, any law office - and not see an HBCU representative there.”
Here is how the school expects to use the $80 million:
- $27.1 million will go toward improving academics, program development, adding faculty, with $19 million of that slated for student scholarships. The college aims to improve the programs for the school’s most popular majors — finance, retail business and biology.
- $8 million will go toward the school’s internship programming.
- $7.7 million will be allocated to the school’s cohesive retention strategy, which will include providing counseling and other support systems.
- $5 million will be set aside for improving the school’s processing and data systems.
- $5 million will go for developing the school’s seamless pathways program. This will help students identify what they want to do early, and then help them get on the path as quickly as possible, Armbrister said.
Rounding out the $80 million, Armbrister said they are hoping to allocate the remaining $27 million into the school’s endowment. He added the funds provide an opportunity to align programs with regional and local market demand.
“Great, innovative programs are going to lead to one of two things — a great job or the next phase in their education which is graduate school,” Armbrister said.
JCSU partners with Howard, Atrium Health to expand programs
The school recently formed an agreement with Howard University’s pharmacy school. Students can do their first three years at JCSU and last four at Howard. They would graduate with a doctorate in pharmacology from the Washington-based HBCU, plus an undergraduate degree from JCSU.
JCSU also will work with Atrium Health to develop a curriculum allowing students to seamlessly transition into a new medical school that the health system giant is looking to bring to Charlotte soon.
Boyd said in developing the strategic plan, school leaders spoke to parents, politicians and business owners to hear what they believe is needed from a higher education institution.
“That’s what it revolves around,” he said. “How do we get them in, how do we educate them, and how do we give them a transformational experience that allows them to go back into the marketplace — whether it be their community or their workplace — and be leaders.”
Boyd said while the momentum for HBCUs was created through unfortunate circumstances, the school plans to be the best educator, community servant and provider to the business community it can be.
“In order to have the momentum continue to roll in your direction you just have to do the right things,” he said.
The HBCU experience has long provided an economic boon for Charlotte, he said. In particular, that’s demonstrated through events like CIAA weekend, a week-long celebration centered around the nation’s oldest Black athletic conference.
“The Black experience that is realized through HBCUs has been on the forefront for quite some time but the general population has looked at it from the sideline,” Boyd said.
But at JCSU that Black experience has made a difference in their students’ college experience.
Winston, who is originally from San Francisco, said in her freshman year she once missed a class and the professor found her number and reached out to make sure she was OK and safe.
“I’ve just never received that kind of love or care from, not only a teacher, but someone who was African American,” Winston said. “I’ve never even had an African American teacher or professor until I came to JCSU. I attended a predominantly white high school.”
Brandi Barron, a senior at JCSU, said she always loved the school’s pride and history. While Barron’s mother went to a predominantly white institution, she nudged her daughter to go to an HBCU.
Barron is confident the recent spotlight on HBCUs isn’t just a short trend.
“Now that we have the momentum, we have the social media, I see the population increasing,” she said. “You’re going to see more enrollments, you’re going to see more graduates, more resources are coming into HBCUs. I think it’s here to stay.”
Both students hope the focus will continue to shine on smaller institutions similar to JCSU.
“I just hope people continue to recognize us and they continue to see the talent and the growth this university has to offer,” Winston said.
Editor’s note: An earlier version of the story stated JCSU would be partnering with Wake Forest. The story has been updated to reflect the partnership is with Atrium Health.
This story was originally published September 14, 2022 at 6:00 AM.
