Johnson C Smith University Gets $35M from Duke Endowment
Thursday, October 13, 2011
The Duke Endowment has donated $35 million to Johnson C. Smith University, the largest charitable grant in its history and one of the largest gifts on record to a historically black institution of higher learning.
Officials say $25 million will be used to build a science center to support JCSU’s Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics program.
More than $5 million will be used to renovate the Duke residence hall, and nearly $5 million will go for scholarships.
“This historic gift will help ensure that the university attracts some of the brightest students in the United States and abroad,” JCSU President Ron Carter said.
Neil Williams, an Atlanta based lawyer, Charlotte native, and Chair of the Duke Endowment’s Board of Trustees said “Today is a really good day to take that over $100 million,” referring to the total amount that the endowment has donated to JCSU over the years.
Johnson C. Smith is one of four Carolinas universities or colleges that tobacco magnate and industrialist James B. Duke decided to support when he gave $40 million to create the endowment in 1924. The others are Duke University, Davidson College and Furman University.
The endowment, a philanthropic foundation independent from such institutions as Duke Energy and Duke University, also donates to rural Methodist churches, hospitals and child-care homes. To date, it has awarded nearly $3 billion in grants, including about $100 million to Johnson C. Smith University.
Primary source of information: Charlotte Observer
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