Johnson C. Smith University alum Valerie Kinloch hired as Charlotte HBCU's next president
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Posted By: S. Moore on June 21, 2023 Valerie Kinloch has been hired as Johnson C. Smith University’s new president, replacing Clay Armbrister, who is retiring this summer after five years at the school. Kinloch, a Charleston native who earned her undergraduate degree from JCSU in 1996, is now the dean of the school of education at the University of Pittsburgh. She will start here on Aug. 1. Steven Boyd, a former Coca-Cola Co. (NYSE: KO) executive and chair of the JCSU trustees board, will resign his board position to serve as interim president of the school starting July 1 and ending with Kinloch’s arrival. JCSU’s current enrollment is 1,100. The private school has become a focal point for civic and business leaders who have made upgrading the school’s academics and career emphasis pillars of the $250 million Mayor’s Racial Equity Initiative. Executives including Atrium Health CEO Gene Woods, Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC) market leader Kieth Cockrell and Red Ventures co-founder Ric Elias have become trustees as the business community has ramped up internships and industry-specific studies in alliance with JCSU. Kinloch hopes to do for today’s students what JCSU did for her. “This is the place that provided me with that strong academic foundation as an undergraduate student,” she told CBJ. “This is the place where if I thought I couldn’t do something, I was challenged to believe that I could do anything I set my mind to.” Boyd and Kincloch have set a goal of growing enrollment to 1,600 to 1,700 students. Everything, Kinloch added, begins and ends with taking care of the students and helping them achieve their goals. She said she wants the business community and the school to keep building their partnership and investments in each other. Producing students with job-ready work skills and learning ability will make JCSU stronger, benefit students and lift the region’s economy, she added. Kinloch, whose previous academic posts include Ohio State University and Teachers College-Columbia University, landed the job for several reasons, Boyd told CBJ. “Her deep academic roots, a strong, deep understanding of the academy, of how to transform an academy — her love and commitment and understanding of Johnson C Smith University and her ability to hit the ground running,” he said. “We felt that she had the fastest start and the highest ceiling, so Dr. Kinloch was our choice.” RECOMMENDED Boyd noted that there were 90 candidates hoping to replace Armbrister. The field was narrowed to 20, then to four before Kinloch was chosen. He and Kinloch declined to disclose the length of her contract but said they hope she is at the school “forever.” Kinloch will be the 156-year-old school’s 15th president. SOURCE Charlotte Business Journal If you enjoyed this article, Join HBCU CONNECT today for similar content and opportunities via email! |
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