Town and Gown - Higher Education Capital in Jax

[redglittercoffin]

If you'll permit, I'd like to ramble.

Simple question:
Is it just me, or does Jacksonville do a poor job of embracing it's colleges and universities?

I have lived "college towns" my entire life.  That said, with each of these cities, if the college/university suddenly disappeared, the city would still be around, have a vibrant economy, and be all around good places to live.  That said, the colleges always added a bit of extra "life" to the city.  The colleges would host cultural events, symposiums, and of course athletics on campus.  Having the student body in town also led to a whole host of other opportunities (shopping, dining, music, theater, etc.) in the city (privately owned). 

More importantly though, because of the symbiosis there was a built in brain trust that the local economy could draw from every year -- even in a town of 15,000.  The town and gown relationship was so strong that students naturally formed a connection with the city in which they were completing their studies.  As such, many wanted to actually live there.  Companies were drawn to these towns as a result. 

So why do I have this sense that UNF, JU, EWC, and FCCJ (FSC@J) are islands unto themselves in this city?  I do not feel that students find some connection with the city that would give them cause to stay after graduation to work, start a family, etc.  Maybe I'm wrong. 

I could go on and on about the relationship between colleges and cities, but I think I'll stop here for now.  I'd love to open the discussion and hear your thoughts.

Thanks.

[Burn to Shine]

Having lived in a college town my entire life prior to moving to Jax - I do miss the town buzzing during football season.  I don't feel that sense of community here - yet.  I don't know what, if anything, here - has that kind of energy.   

As you mentioned above, there are so many choices for higher education - maybe there are too many.  There isn't one single draw to Jax from an education standpoint.  No big college football school.  No one in particular stands out to entering freshman.  It seems there is a huge draw for continuing and adult education in Jacksonville more so than catering to recent high school graduates.  If there were a poll - were do they go when they graduate? 

What is it that would make someone move to Jacksonville from an education standpoint at all?  There are plenty of choices for those of us who are already here for one reason or another but again - the draw from an outside standpoint - doesn't really exist.   

PS:  I suppose they could try marketing the beach aspect - being close and having access to a year long vacation - however does Jacksonville really want to draw that many tourists?  From what I've observed, it's a lifestyle not a huge tourist attraction.  And that's a good thing IMO. 
   

[stephendare]

This is a huge problem, RGC.

The answers are largely incidental and have little to do with anything intentional.

FSCJ is the largest, and because of the basic junior college and work retraining nature of the institution simply did not involve itself in any community affairs other than enabling corporate retraining of a service based work force here in jacksonville.

It lacked strong political leadership and its internal politics create such a difficult consensus based process that little individual leadership is possible within the at large community.  Perhaps with the new four year status that will change, but it remains to be seen.

There is an argument to be made that the college has undergone such a rapid expansion and upgrade process that it has had little ability to do anything except deal with its internal affairs, but in a personal observation I think it has had more to do with the structure of their internal administration.  The president of the system seems incapable of interacting in a powerful way with the community at large aside from enlarging the campus and student body.

UNF similarly became a four year college fairly recently, and its three focus points, Jazz, Business and Medical dont really lend themselves well to activism on the part of the student body.   With their remote location, nestled far from the rest of the city's cultural or power bases, there is little likelihood of the students being dynamically involved with the city at large.

The leadership of John Delaney has changed this somewhat, as he is the former mayor of the city and has been making tentative moves to position the students closer to the urban core (the recent activism with the Museum, back channel talks with FSCJ about sharing resources downtown etc)

JU simply doesnt have much excuse, Im afraid.  Its basically a fine arts college, but it is perfectly situated to be the most interactive with the city,and is presently located in a deteriorating urban landscape.  One would think that self interest alone would encourage the college to get out and do community work, but perhaps there is no institutional knowledge of how to do this.

The City approached the Coastal School of Law to give them the old federal courthouse as a campus downtown, but for whatever reasons, the regents board decided to throw their lot in with the Art Institute way out in the suburbs, a decision that might come back to haunt them given the trajectory of the current economy.  Lets hope that the City has the vision to keep this in mind and leave that building standing just in case the economic dynamics of suburban sprawl in a prolonged economic recession make the Law School reconsider.

But basically there isnt leadership from the Educational community on this front.

Nor is there any sense of outreach on the part of the city's various institutions for help.

There is no common body for the various educational institutions which allows them to pursue common interests, and no built in apparatus that connects the schools as a whole into the process of planning or implementatioin in the community.

[redglittercoffin]

Thanks for your thoughts, Stephen.  What a mouthful!

The FSCJ issue is intriguing -- especially given the fact that Steve Wallace was President of the Chamber (or downtown Council) as recently as a few years ago.  I've always thought of him to be a somewhat charismatic leader with at least a surface interest in the continued development of Jacksonville.  I guess I expected at least more rhetoric about building this bridge between FCCJ and Jax (or downtown Jax).  It is hard for me to imagine the conversion to a 4-year university will do much for Jacksonville, but then again, it may be a matter of my own tunnel vision.  There just doesn't seem to be the excitement about higher education in Jacksonville.  At the very least, I guess I should comment FSCJ for taking the steps to be the chicken (or the egg) towards perhaps getting that movement started.  Of course the multi-campus arrangement of FSCJ does decentralize the "buzz" of higher education, I can understand the necessity given the physical layout of the city.  (Here's a nod to the light rail folks on the site!)  ...and all of the campuses always seem to be pretty well attended when I have been on or near them.  All that said, I think the mission of the FSCJ, catering more to adult education and/or commuter students still poses a problem towards creating a college town feel. 

As much as it pains me to say it, I agree with you wholeheartedly about JU.  Every day that passes is a missed opportunity from both a self-serving and learning experience.  Having received one of my degrees from JU, the lack of involvement with Arlington is absolutely amazing.  To its credit, having gone through the economic woes that it has in the recent future, JU gets a bit of a break.  However, as the University seems to be pointed in the right direction, I would hope that the administration would seek out more creative partnerships with Arlington, Jacksonville, and the requisite business communities.  I recall that they sold the land to the north of the campus to a developer that was going to build (wait for it...) riverfront condominiums with some upscale light commercial.  However, the economy I am sure has delayed that project indefinitely. 

I think JU and UNF have both done a poor job convincing the city and business community that they are vital parts of the community.  Perhaps it is because I am not involved as much as I should be, but I don't see or hear about companies and organizations clamoring for JU and UNF students for year-long internships.  You don't hear about interns with the City.  ...Maybe I am wrong.  Maybe they do clamor for those students.  I guess they don't get enough publicity for it to make much of a difference.  I think there is a great opportunity now in a down year budgetary to create some strong public-private partnerships to fill gaps in cultural events.  For that matter for staffing the city. 

Lastly -- I completely forgot about FCSL.  I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall when they decided to move to Baypines over the city.  To me, it completely defies logic.  Imagine the lofts and apartments that would be filled with law students.  It is there in the hub of legal activity. 

If I shake my head any more vigorously in disbelieving contempt, I'll give myself a concussion -- so I'll stop.

[cdb]

The commercials on TV for FSCJ are horrible. They are too focused on adults going back to school, instead of seniors coming out of high school. UNF has an opportunity to be the "college" of Jacksonville. And the beach is a huge sell, I know people from other parts of FL that came to UNF to stay near the beach and go to a decent school. Division 1 basketball is also a good thing, they just need to start competing. I guess time will tell.

[TPC]

I think Stephen coved the basics.

The main reason I see such a dived between our universities and the city is their location, they are separated from the core. If the entire UNF campus were downtown this would be a totally different city. 

[Burn to Shine]

The main reason I see such a dived between our universities and the city is their location, they are separated from the core. If the entire UNF campus were downtown this would be a totally different city. 

I'm not convinced of that one as I have driven past the campus downtown of FCCJ or whatever it's called now and the place is covered in homeless people.  Sure they have to be somewhere and I feel for them but being on the campus of a university isn't the best place I can think of.  Not appealing for campus visits for sure.

[DavidWilliams]

Really, all that is needed is a second Shell station.

[jandar]

JU while a Liberal Arts University also has a big Business Program (and MBA) (moreso than UNF) and even an Aviation Management program, as well as the nation's 2nd largest NROTC.

They are currently trying to get a Doctoral program going as well.

But its funny, because more people see JU as just a Liberal Arts college.