An Introduction to our University:
Founded in 1867 under the auspices of the Committee on Freedmen of the Presbyterian Church, U.S.A., Johnson C.
Smith University (JCSU) is an independent, private, coeducational institution of higher learning. Located in the rapidly
growing metropolis of Charlotte, North Carolina, "Queen City of the South", this historically African-American university
has a residential campus with a familiar atmosphere in which students are stimulated and nurtured by dedicated and caring
faculty and staff.
Consistent with its Christian roots, the university recognizes the importance of moral ethical values to undergird
intellectual development and all endeavors. JCSU believes in the unrelenting pursuit of knowledge and in the values
of cultivating the life of the mind. The university assigns great significance to the development of self-confidence,
to the understanding of ones' own heritage as well as an awareness of the cultures of others, to exploration of the myriad
forces affecting people of a complex technological age, and to formulating a sense of one's role in this schema.
The mission of JCSU is to provide an outstanding education for a diverse group of talented and highly motivated
students from various ethnic, socioeconomic and geographical backgrounds.
