Johnson C. Smith University has joined the National League of Cities, Schmidt Futures, and 50 leading cities from across the country to take action to support Charlotte’s innovation economy.
The accepted cities and organizations are part of a new program at the National League of Cities—the City Innovation Ecosystem Program—that aims to support cities that have made specific and important commitments to local entrepreneurship, STEM education, or innovation. NLC announced the cities it would partner with at its annual City Summit in Los Angeles to over 3,500 attendees representing more than 1,500 cities.
Johnson C. Smith University gained acceptance into NLC’s Call to Action through its Access-to-Innovation Initiative. This initiative links STEM Education, Community Engagement, Workforce Development, Innovation, and High-Growth Entrepreneurship.
“As an anchor institution, Johnson C. Smith University has been an engine for innovation and economic opportunity for 150 years. This recognition advances our HBCU foundation of providing economic opportunity and participation in the Innovation Economy,” said President Clarence D. Armbrister, J.D.
“We are excited to be accepted into the City Innovation Ecosystems program and serve as an innovation partner in the Charlotte region. We look forward to learning with our partners and network organizations and accelerating opportunity and inclusive competitiveness,” said Terik Tidwell, JCSU’s director of STEM Innovation and lead for the Access-to-Innovation Initiative.
The Access-to-Innovation initiative demonstrates the power of effective collaboration between public, private, and civic partners. Through the initiative, Johnson C. Smith University has partnered with Kenan Charitable Trust, the Department of Education, The Duke Endowment, City of Charlotte, Oracle, Google, NASA, VentureWell, Best Buy, West Charlotte High School, Ranson IB Middle School, and Innovate Charlotte to increase density of networks and the propensity for innovation. This initiative includes free summer technology programs for middle schoolers, AP CSP preparation for high schoolers, pre-college computer science immersions, technical assistance for early-stage funding (SBIR/STTR), IT certificate training, tech-transfer for startups, and convenings on tech-based economic development.
“When accepting cities and organizations, we look for two things: first, leadership that is tenacious and willing to forge cross-sector partnerships; and second, commitments to action that will take full advantage of a city’s unique strengths,” said Scott Andes, program director for the Innovation Ecosystem Program.
Through this commitment, Johnson C. Smith University will join The National League of Cities and other nationally recognized innovation leaders to share best practices, connect with national firms and foundations and gain technical support, and national recognition through NLC forums and publications.
See the full report at
https://www.nlc.org/article/national-leagu... About Johnson C. Smith University
Founded in 1867, Johnson C. Smith University is an independent, close-knit urban university located in Charlotte, N.C. It has a growing national reputation for integrating the liberal arts with business, the sciences and technology in ways that empower tomorrow’s diverse entrepreneurial citizens and leaders. Offering 24 fields of study, including a master’s degree in social work, to more than 1,400 students from a variety of ethnic, socioeconomic and geographic backgrounds, the university’s academic programs focus on servant leadership, civic engagement and global responsibility. Visit
www.jcsu.edu or follow the university on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn and Pinterest.
About the National League of Cities
The National League of Cities (NLC) is dedicated to helping city leaders build better communities. NLC is a resource and advocate for 19,000 cities, towns and villages, representing more than 218 million Americans. Learn more at www.nlc.org.
About Schmidt Futures
Schmidt Futures is a philanthropic initiative, founded by Eric and Wendy Schmidt, that seeks to improve societal outcomes through the thoughtful development of emerging science and technologies that can benefit humanity. As a venture facility for public benefit, they invest risk capital in the most promising ideas and most exceptional people across disciplines. Learn more at
https://schmidtfutures.com
Posted By: Reginald Culpepper
Wednesday, November 14th 2018 at 2:15PM
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