Robert L. Albright, who served as the eleventh president of Johnson C. Smith University in Charlotte, North Carolina, from 1983-1994, passed on September 18. He was 76 years old.
During his tenure at the university, Dr. Albright increased the percentage of faculty with doctoral degrees from 33 percent to 75 percent. He improved academic rigor for students by requiring them to write a senior thesis and pass a competency test to graduate. In 1990, the Robert L. Albright Honors College Center was built in his honor to recruit outstanding students with a commitment to academic excellence and community service.
Dr. Albright was a native of Philadelphia. He received his bachelor’s degree from Lincoln University of Pennsylvania, a master’s degree from Tufts University in Massachusetts, and his doctorate from Kent State University in Ohio.
An oral history interview with Dr. Albright, conducted in 2012, can be seen below.
