Duke Endowment Awards $35 Million to Johnson C. Smith University: The North Carolina-based Duke Endowment announced Wednesday that it is awarding $35 million to Johnson C. Smith University (JCSU). The gift, which is slated to fund a $25 million Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM initiative, is believed to be one of the largest donations awarded to a historically Black college or university, officials say.
In addition, $5.5 million will be used to renovate the university’s Duke residence hall, and $4.5 million will fund student scholarships, the Charlotte Observer reported.
“I know there are the Harvards and the Dukes and the Yales,” JCSU president Ronald Carter told the Charlotte Observer. “But you know what, we have a blue ocean that is waiting for Johnson C. Smith University, and the Duke Endowment has made it possible to sail.”
