Johnson C. Smith University celebrates new president Valerie Kinloch

Johnson C. Smith showered new president Valerie Kinloch with praise and music and even poetry in a rousing inauguration ceremony Friday morning.

Why it matters: Kinloch, a 1996 JSCU alum, becomes the 157-year-old university's 15th president at a time when Charlotte business and philanthropic leaders have committed to making JCSU one of the country's top historically black colleges and universities.

• Charlotte mayor Vi Lyles, U.S. Rep. Alma Adams, Bank of America's Charlotte President Kieth Cockrell, and city council member Malcolm Graham all delivered remarks.

The latest: Kinloch also delivered a bit of news — U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock from Georgia will be JCSU's 2024 commencement speaker next month.

What she said: During a passionate inaugural address, Kinloch led students in the familiar call and response of "JC! … SU!" and proclaimed "a new era of excellence."

• She had to pause and collect herself at one point when she considered her path here. She'd come to JCSU as a first-generation college student from Charleston in 1992, she said, and now she was back "in 2024 as president … as president … let me pause right there."
• Then she looked over at the students and around the room and smiled: "I'm your president, y'all."

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