Edward Waters College

[Metro Jacksonville]

Edward Waters College



Anchoring Mid-Westside, Edward Waters College was founded in 1866 to educate freed former slaves and is the oldest black college in Florida.

Full Article
http://www.metrojacksonville.com/article/2010-may-edward-waters-college

[Miss Fixit]

Thank you for this, Ennis - I've always wanted to know more about Edward Waters and its history.  Never heard there was an African art collection on campus - is it open to the public and, if so, do you know on what days and times?  And did Susie Tolbert actually live in the house that is her namesake?

[thelakelander]

Its open Monday-Friday from 10am to 5pm.
http://www.planetware.com/jacksonville/obi-scott-umunna-collection-of-african-art-us-fl-obi.htm

[thelakelander]

I don't know if Mrs. Tolbert lived in the house named after her, but here is the master plan for the house and surrounding block.

[Coolyfett]

I always wish this school was in downtown instead of where it is located. It would be better if it was in the core.

[Miss Fixit]

Nice if it had originally been in the core but way too much history associated with its site to move now.....

[Captain Zissou]

Any way that map of the future developments can get blown up?  I'm having trouble reading it.  It looks like the development will be well dense and well oriented on Kings Rd, which would be great for the area. 

[thelakelander]

Nice if it had originally been in the core but way too much history associated with its site to move now.....

EWC originally started off in DT (in LaVilla) but relocated to Kings Road when the original school burned down.  Nevertheless, EWC is in the core, just like Spellman, Morehouse, Morris Brown and Clark are in Atlanta's core.  We just have to realize that our core is larger than the CBD and work together to better connect our core districts together.  You know you achieved success when core neighborhoods start to blend together and you can't tell where the CBD starts and another neighborhood begins. This is where places like Charleston, Savannah, New Orleans, DC, Portland and most recently Charlotte are succeeding.  This is where Jacksonville needs to get for true vibrancy.  However, to get there, we have to realize that our CBD is only one small part of a larger puzzle.

[fieldafm]

Isn't Nat Glover the president at EWC now?

[ESHC]

I believe Nat Glover is interim president. The link is to an April 13th TU article.

http://jacksonville.com/opinion/editorials/2010-04-13/story/expand-mission

[duvaldude08]

I really hope Nat becomes the president permenately. I want EWC something to proud of, not laughed at. In the black community EWC is the butt of all jokes (Im guilty of it myself lol). Nat Glover ran the hell out of JSO for 8 years and I believe that type of discipline and respect is needed at EWC. He also very intelligent, well spoken and cares about the community as a whole. (not just the black community). He will whip them right into shape.

[urbanlibertarian]

From the Florida Times-Union:

http://jacksonville.com/news/metro/2010-05-22/story/edward-waters-college-try-new-town-grant

Edward Waters College to try for New Town grant
Nat Glover’s leadership is considered a key factor in refocusing of effort.
Posted: May 22, 2010 - 7:16am

By Topher Sanders

Jacksonville’s application for a federal grant for New Town Success Zone will now be in the name of Edward Waters College, the city announced Friday.


The U.S. Department of Education’s Promise Neighborhood program will award up to $500,000 in year-long planning grants to 20 organizations across the country that are attempting to reproduce the lauded Harlem Children’s Zone.


New Town Success Zone is modeled after the Harlem program and aims to improve the health and education of children in a swath of northwest Jacksonville.


The Health Planning Council of Northeast Florida will write the application on behalf of the college, but the city will continue to run the program.


New Town officials said last month that the health council would apply on behalf of the city, but now say EWC is a natural fit for the initiative.


“Our ultimate goal was to have our students end up in college,” said New Town Director PeDro Cohen . “We thought it was just a good look for us as a program and as a community to have that college be Edward Waters College.”


Cohen noted that the college’s Shell-Sweet Community Resource Center is already an intricate part of the Success Zone with GED training, help for the elderly and computer training.


Nat Glover, co-chairman of New Town, was also named Edward Waters’ interim president in February and took over this week. Cohen said that appointment was a factor in having the college apply for the grant.


“EWC has been so involved in the Success Zone since the beginning,” Glover said. “I grew up in the neighborhood and to come back to my alma mater as interim president and to help with this program is great.”


If awarded the grant, planning for the initiative will be a collaborative effort between the health council, EWC and the city, Cohen said.


The health council notified the Department of Education of EWC’s intent to apply for the grant on Friday. The application is due June 25.

[thelakelander]

Jacksonville's EWC, other black colleges seek to rebrand themselves to stay alive
full article:http://jacksonville.com/news/metro/2010-07-03/story/ewc-other-black-colleges-seek-rebrand-themselves-stay-alive

The three quotes below isolate EWC's problem and present a potential solution:

Problem: No niche or program to attract students

In 1920, there were 217 historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) like Edward Waters nationwide.

Now there are 105 in 20 states, primarily in the South, and many are wrestling with slim budgets and enrollment drop-offs.

The key to survival, some college administrators and academics say, is for struggling black colleges like Edward Waters to rebrand themselves.

The more successful schools have trademark programs that set them apart from the pack. Florida A&M University in Tallahassee, for instance, has a prominent pharmacy school that has helped place it among the upper echelon of black colleges.  Schools that haven't identified a strong niche program, like Edward Waters, have had difficulty marketing themselves to prospective scholars.

Problem: Bad marketing

Kelley Evans, 23, a second-year pharmacy student at FAMU and a 2005 graduate of Orange Park High, attended Florida State College at Jacksonville before enrolling in FAMU's program. She felt EWC has to do more promotion.

"UNF and [FSCJ] were publicized and you knew more about them in the community than EWC," Evans said after one of her pharmacy classes last week. "EWC could have been an option, but I didn't know much about it."

Potential Solution

That's why Glover said he's prepared to shake things up. He's honed in on a few areas that could be the school's ticket to regional prominence.

He said Edward Waters has tried for years to link up with the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office or other law enforcement agencies to bring a criminology lab to campus, and his contacts from his days as sheriff could help make that a reality.

His other vision is to use Jacksonville's own transportation infrastructure, which includes ports, buses and the airport, to help create a niche in transportation technology and logistics.

There is one shared thread between the signature programs he's brainstorming - they're all intrinsically linked to Jacksonville. Edward Waters is a historic part of the city, and he said the school needs to show the community its worth before it can expect a turnaround.

[buckethead]

Could recruitment of students from a wider range of racial background be a plausible solution?

[thelakelander]

It could.  However, I would assume the majority of HBCUs already do this.  I know FAMU and BCC do.