When James B. Duke created The Duke Endowment in 1924, he named four institutions of higher education to receive support through his trust. Johnson C. Smith University was one of them, along with Duke University, Furman University and Davidson College. The Endowment, a private foundation in Charlotte, has supported many innovative efforts at JCSU since those early years.
In February 2012, our Trustees approved a grant to implement Blue Ocean Strategy at JCSU as a way to strengthen recent initiatives around retention and graduation. Beyond supporting the university, the Trustees saw a unique opportunity to have broader impact, since this “proof of concept” pilot has the potential to benefit other HBCUs across the country.
We share Johnson C. Smith’s pride in being selected as the site for the Blue Ocean Strategy project. We look forward to working with the university as this important work evolves.