After your Johnson & Wales experience, you went on to follow your chosen path of achievement and personal growth. As a university, we’ve been growing too. Since demand for our unique career education outgrew our facilities in Charleston, it was necessary to create a more permanent home in Charlotte. Fortunately, we’ve been able to initiate an increasing number of programs for alumni of all of our campuses.
You remain an important member of our university community. Whether it be by registering for our alumni network to join JWU’s global alliance of more than 80,000 alumni living and working in more than 110 countries, or by joining a local chapter and attending regional alumni events, your opportunities to stay connected are as strong as ever.
Looking Back
In response to the growing need for advanced culinary training amongst Navy cooks and other military food service personnel, the Charleston Campus opened in 1982. At the time this was a private venture between the university and the military. However, additional partnerships were established with the city of Charleston, Kiawah Island Resort, and other local businesses.
Responding to public demand for JWU’s renowned culinary offerings, the Charleston Campus opened its new home in the city’s historic Port City Center. Here, enrollment grew from less than 100 students in the first year to more than 400 in 1989, when hospitality courses were introduced at the campus. Through the strength and diversity of its courses, JWU became known as “The Hospitality College of the South.”
At its peak, the Charleston Campus offered six associate degree and four bachelor’s degree programs in culinary, hospitality, and travel/tourism management. More than 2,000 students were enrolled from 45 states and 11 countries, many of them involved in the 22 clubs and organizations on campus, which included three NAIA intercollegiate athletic teams.
As programs grew at our facilities in Charleston and Norfolk, the university looked to establish a more permanent home in the south. At the invitation of city leaders in Charlotte, North Carolina, JWU consolidated the Charleston and Norfolk campuses into new facilities that could better accommodate the university’s expansion. The Charleston Campus graduated its last class and officially closed in May 2006.
Looking Forward
Stay connected to our university community by taking advantage of everything the JWU Alumni Network has to offer, such as
- joining a local chapter
- attending regional alumni events
- volunteering for admissions events
- accessing online career assistance
- sharing your expertise by speaking to students in the classroom
For more information on how to get involved in alumni events and activities, please contact the manager of Alumni Relations nearest you.