If Dr. Valerie Kinloch could tell her teenage self anything, she’d say “Girl, stop doubting yourself and do not listen to anyone who tells you that you cannot achieve your dreams and goals.”
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If Dr. Valerie Kinloch could tell her teenage self anything, she’d say “Girl, stop doubting yourself and do not listen to anyone who tells you that you cannot achieve your dreams and goals.”
As she pictured herself at 18, she began to uplift and encourage her younger self.
Dr. Valerie Kinloch
Whether she could visualize it or not, that young freshman at Johnson C. Smith University would eventually become the institution’s president, whose scholarly work has been lauded and celebrated across the years.
In August 2023, Kinloch became the 15th president of JCSU — the only historically Black college and university (HBCU) in the city of Charlotte, North Carolina, founded in 1867 by formerly enslaved Black people. She is only the second woman to hold the position in the school’s 157-year history.
Kinloch’s Journey to the Presidency
Before Kinloch could imagine herself as the president of her alma mater, she always knew she wanted to work in education, serving and inspiring students. The Charleston, South Carolina, native had mostly Black teachers from kindergarten to high school, and they served as possibility models for her.
“I always knew that it was something about education that I wanted to do because of them,” says Kinloch in an interview with Diverse.
Her desire to enter the field of education was affirmed when she arrived at JCSU in 1992.
“I was meeting all of these wonderful faculty members and staff members and being told that I can become and do anything that I wanted to become and do,” says Kinloch. “And that’s how it started for me.”
Kinloch received a bachelor’s degree in honors English from JCSU and went on to earn a master’s degree in English and African American Literature and a doctoral degree in English and Composition Studies with a cognate in Urban Studies from Wayne State University.
She began her presidency at JCSU following an impressive, nearly 30-year-long career as an educator, writer, and academic administrator, most recently as the Renée and Richard Goldman Endowed Dean and Professor of the University of Pittsburgh School of Education. It wasn’t until about eight years ago that Kinloch began thinking about how she could return to JCSU.
“You can’t be a critic without being willing to step into the spaces that you’re critiquing and work with people to resolve concerns or issues,” she says.
While serving on the Board of Trustees at JCSU, Kinloch began thinking deeply about how she could do fulfilling work in and for the community that nurtured and cultivated her as a youngster. However, timing was important.
JCSU President Dr. Valerie Kinloch says she wants to showcase the university’s readiness to compete when it comes to student engagement and student success.
“Then someone said to me, ‘Suppose that day doesn’t come because when you are needed to serve and to engage in this work, you’re needed. If you’re needed right now, then right now is when you need to step into this space,’ says Kinloch. “So that’s what I did.”
Kinloch believes that her perspective as an alum, former board member, and a vocal cheerleader for the institution gives her an advantage.
“I know the intricacies of this campus. I know it top to bottom, left to right, up and down,” she says. “That’s the difference for me.”
Dr. Antonio Ellis, Senior Professorial Lecturer at American University and a high school classmate of Kinloch, said she is exceptionally well-suited to lead JCSU in this new era.
“Having matriculated through Title I schools in Charleston, South Carolina, President Kinloch understands firsthand the challenges and opportunities associated with under-resourced educational environments,” says Ellis. “This background has ingrained in her a deep commitment to culturally responsive leadership, which is essential for addressing the diverse needs of the university’s student body.”
Ellis describes Kinloch’s leadership style as “windows and mirrors.”
“She provides ‘windows’ into different experiences and perspectives, allowing students to see possibilities beyond their own immediate realities,” he says. “Simultaneously, she serves as a ‘mirror,’ reflecting and validating the diverse identities and backgrounds of her student population, fostering a sense of belonging and self-worth.”
A New Era of Excellence
Now that she has been in the role for the past year, Kinloch is focused on JCSU’s commitment to academic success for this new era, one she has coined as a “New Era of Excellence.”
The New Era of Excellence includes seamless pathways for student success and a strong graduation rate due to increasing enrollment and effective retention strategies.
“President Kinloch’s vision for a New Era of Excellence — captured best by the upward trends of our enrollment numbers, alumni giving, and the growing number and quality of our programs — is an act of everyday care and love for our institution, students, faculty, and staff,” says JCSU Provost and Chief Academic Officer Dr. Thierno Thiam. “This is what makes supporting her bold and dynamic vision inspiring.”
As an alumna, Kinloch says she knows why JCSU is special but adds that she is “also able to activate it in order to convince other people why this place is so meaningful and important.”
JCSU President Dr. Valerie Kinloch says she wants to showcase the university’s readiness to compete when it comes to student engagement and student success.
“We need to ensure that our faculty members are top-rated, that they are top-notch, that they are renowned, and that they are supported to engage with this growing population of students coming into our university,” says Kinloch.
Economic development and community engagement are also central to the president’s vision. Kinloch wants the institution, which is located within Charlotte’s historic West End community, to have a sustained relationship with the community that surrounds the university.
“My goal is to position the university as the anchor institution in the historic West End, so that when you think about the West End community, the first thing you think about is Johnson C. Smith, and you think about the fact that we have engaged in partnerships and relationships with local businesses, with schools, with organizations, and with residents,” she says.
Kinloch prioritizes alumni engagement. She not only wants to invite alumni back to campus to give and serve, but to also engage alumni in the communities where they live and work. During her inaugural address to JCSU, Kinloch announced her newest initiative, Presidential Alumni Ambassadors.
“I started off with the goal of having 15 Presidential Alumni Ambassadors representing the fact that I’m the 15th President, and as soon as I announced it, the emails started coming in,” she says. “So, I’ve extended it, and this fall. I will announce 50 inaugural Presidential Alumni Ambassadors from different parts of the world.”
The 50 ambassadors will include early, middle, and senior career alumni who are committed to the mission and vision of JCSU.
Dr. Anita Bledsoe-Gardner, JCSU’s dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Board of Trustees member, describes Kinloch as a visionary, referencing her plans to extend JCSU’s global reach.
“She can see the university in compartments and on a global spectrum,” says Bledsoe-Gardner. “A lot of people don’t have that innate ability to compartmentalize and have a global spectrum; they can either do one or the other well. She does both well.”
Kinloch’s Support System
Being a college president isn’t easy these days, even when you know your institution as well as Kinloch does. She says that she has built a village over the years that has provided her with the support and mentorship necessary to be successful in this relatively new role.
“I will tell you this, if anyone tells you they can do this work and engage in the job that we have as presidents by themselves, they’re not telling you the truth,” says Kinloch. “It takes a village of people, even the folks who might not be in higher education, who may never have been presidents.”
Kinloch points to the legendary Dr. Dorothy Cowser Yancy, JCSU’s first woman and 12th president, as inspiration as she readied herself to assume the presidency. Dr. Marilyn Sutton-Haywood, a former administrator and faculty member at JCSU, and Dr. Phyllis Worthy Dawkins, a JCSU alumna and former administrator who served as president of Bennett College, were also instrumental to Kinloch’s success.
“The three of them have just been the types of mentors and models that I aspire to be,” says Kinloch.
Kinloch has turned to many community leaders for support, including other Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association university presidents. She credits Eugene Woods, president and CEO of Atrium Health; Ebony Boulware, JCSU Board of Trustees member and dean of Wake Forest University School of Medicine; and Ric Elias, CEO and co-founder of Red Ventures, as key collaborators.
“These are folks who are business-minded, but academically focused and want what’s best for students, “ says Kinloch.
Kinloch says that she also firmly relies on Black women both inside and outside of the academy.
“I focus on a Black feminist perspective when it comes to higher education, and that perspective tells me that Black women have always led the way, [and] we haven’t always gotten credit for it,” says Kinloch.
JCSU’s Legacy of Giving Back
As Kinloch continues to move forward in her presidency, she says that she is excited about using the past and historical legacy of JCSU to reimagine the future.
“Now that I’m back, I look at our students, and I want the same for them, but more,” she says. I want them to not just learn our loyalty song, but I want them to [also] understand the deep history and purpose of saying, ‘We love thee Smith, with all our hearts!’”
For Kinloch, her homecoming as president is another way of displaying to her students that JCSU alumni are loyal to the university and its students.
“She accepted this responsibility with the promise that she would do for Johnson C. Smith University and our students what Johnson C. Smith University did for her,” says Thiam.
In this new era, Kinloch continues to hold her alma mater’s legacy close to her heart and her work, and she wants all those connected to the university to do the same.
“We can be alumni across the world, not knowing each other, and if we say Johnson C. Smith University, there’s an instant connection,” says Kinloch. “I want my students to know that and to feel that deeply.”
