Ronald L. Carter, the 13th president of Johnson C. Smith University in Charlotte, North Carolina, announced that he will step down at the end of the 2016-17 academic year. Dr. Carter has led the university since 2008. No reason was given for the decision for Dr. Carter to leave his post. But both Dr. Carter and the board of trustees issued statements complimentary of each other.
Before coming to Johnson C. Smith University, Dr. Carter was provost and dean of the faculty at Coker College in Hartsville, South Carolina. Earlier he was the youngest person to serve as dean of students at Boston University. He also spent five years at the University of Witwatersrand in South Africa, serving as head of the health services development unit and as dean of students.
Dr. Carter is a magna cum laude graduate of Morehouse College in Atlanta, where he majored in sociology and philosophy. He holds a master’s degree in theology and a Ph.D. in the philosophy of religion from Boston University.