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August -2008 - Vision and Philosophy Statement

By Dr. Kenneth P. Walker, President
With support from the Faculty, the Students, and the College Leadership Team

To the Board of Trustees:

Thank you for your support over the last decade as we strived to take the College in a new and invigorating direction, resulting in the naming of the Florida State College System. We have worked hard to initiate the development of this new paradigm for higher education, which is the community-focused, baccalaureate-degree granting college. Such a college maintains the important mission of providing associate degrees that lead to entry level employment and transfer to a university. Moreover, it broadens that mission to include the awarding of bachelor’s degrees in selected disciplines in response to the desires of students and the needs of employers.

Since the Fall of 1962, Edison has maintained an impeccable record of leadership and academic excellence, providing educational opportunities to thousands of citizens of Southwest Florida. This has provided a rich heritage and an outstanding foundation for the next phase of the College’s development.

As a nation committed to the worth and dignity of all people, we are compelled to provide opportunities to achieve an educational level commensurate with each individual’s abilities, determination and desire. The creation of the Florida State College System represents the next logical step in the evolution of higher education in America. As one of nine pilot colleges commissioned with putting theory into practice, we have reached a new summit in the College’s history.

Those dedicated to the mission of transforming Edison into a flagship State College join me in accepting this challenge with joy and enthusiasm. We know that we must expand access to the baccalaureate degree if we are to prepare future generations to cope with the magnitude of change initiated by technology, industry, finance, commerce and government.

We at Edison State College have already begun transforming our administrative infrastructure to support the substantive changes required of a baccalaureate granting institution of higher education. We are prepared to ensure that our students achieve the skills, knowledge and competence necessary to succeed in the technologically sophisticated workplace of the future.

As we transform Edison into a thriving Florida State College, its character and identity will undoubtedly change. It is up to us to define our new “look and feel,” beginning with branding the institution’s unique identity among the region’s higher education providers. We must build on a strong reputation of academic integrity, caring staff and dedicated faculty who together create new pathways leading to baccalaureate degrees.

Edison State College must be seen as a college on the cusp of an exciting new era, one that delivers the best choice for students to connect life and learning.

We will retain our core mission to serve students through open access, affordable tuition and a commitment to creating pathways to higher education for students who otherwise may not have an opportunity to attend college.

Our professors are dedicated professionals who teach from the heart, instilling life skills, cultivating critical thinking and providing opportunities for intellectual exploration and debate.

Institutional Change

As we embark on this historic time of innovation, we will expect to redefine the College’s mission, values and operating procedures to reflect its organizational maturation, and to position the College for funding and growth opportunities that will be afforded to us as one of nine pilot Florida State Colleges. We will make responsible decisions thatensure the College’s resources are effectively and appropriately placed where they will do the most good. We plan to transform Edison into a broad and creative Education System that delivers learning from 9th grade through bachelor’s degrees in a wide array of venues and disciplines.

I have drafted a chart to illustrate the various learning enterprises that comprise the Edison Education System, a broad and richly functional set of academic, cultural, social and intellectual services that includes galleries, museums, libraries, a performing arts hall; bachelors and associate degrees and programs; preparatory academies; and scholastic high schools.

Edison State College, a multi-campus organization, will be at the core of this system, with each campus uniquely positioned to address the needs of its community. The campus presidents will be the voice and spirit of Edison in their individual counties and will guide the growth and development of their respective campuses.

As Edison State College President, I will provide leadership in all matters pertaining to strategic initiatives, legislative relations and the transformation of Edison into a four-year baccalaureate College. Dr. Edith Pendleton will assist me in these endeavors, in her role as Vice President for Strategic Initiatives.

I will remain the Executive Director of the Foundation, and will develop a closer relationship with the Foundation so it will have a better understanding of the College’s needs; the Foundation’s Vice President for Development, Mrs. Tracey Galloway, will provide operational leadership for these efforts.

We have designed an organizational structure for Edison State College to include the position of Executive Vice President to coordinate and supervise district operations. All daily operations of the College will fall under this position, held by Dr. Noreen Thomas.

Academic Environment

First and foremost, Edison State College must adhere to its reputation for academic rigor delivered in a welcoming intellectual climate that fosters the free exchange of ideas and a respect for the opinions of others. The faculty shares my vision to become an inspiring presence in the lives of our students and to thoughtfully guide the process of learning.

In keeping with a State College, our professors are developing a new evaluation system that underscores a higher level of professionalism, monitors currency in their field, provides sophisticated assessments and encourages research and creative initiative. Edison professors will embody the highest standards of professionalism, employing inquiry to stimulate thinking, using technology to facilitate learning, and exploring the frontiers of applied research within their designated disciplines. We need researchers, scholars, artists and writers whose intellectual vigor forges a new identity within the community and, in turn, a conviction that Edison State College serves as the intellectual hub of the region, attracting a diverse and stimulating community of professionals to Southwest Florida.

Edison State College will inaugurate Schools of Study focusing on specific disciplines and areas of specialization, such as Education, Business and Nursing. These Schools will become flagship centers of advanced learning for faculty, student, and community engagement, applied research and entrepreneurial thinking.

A program for Endowed Chairs and Visiting Scholars, funded through the Foundation, will invigorate the curriculum and provide opportunities for faculty to focus on pivotal issues each year.

Library Resources and Services will be expanded to encompass special collections to sustain baccalaureate programs.

Service learning will be woven into instructional and support activities, encouraging students to give back to the community. Faculty, staff and students will shepherd civic projects with pride and be recognized for integrating community-based learning into every level of the curriculum.

Soon, discussions will begin to create a rank and promotion system that compliments professorial interactions among faculty, students and scholars. Sabbaticals may be available to those seeking scholastic renewal and research opportunities. Study abroad and international exchanges will further open the windows of the world and encourage cultural diversity and global visioning.

Branding Edison State College

How will Edison State College (ESC) appeal to high school seniors? A unique logo and slogan must communicate that ESC is “the place to be” for students. The College’s logo must be recognizable and memorable, and the slogan crisp, catchy and compelling. It’s “just-do-it” theme should boost the confidence of K-12 students who aspire to attend the college of choice in Southwest Florida. Through surveys and other assessments, we will continue to solicit input as we develop new banner icons that represent Edison State College.

Young students want to feel a part of their school. Edison’s “branding” will highlight the atmosphere of a four-year college, featuring the arts, campus culture, academics, activities, events and intramural sports. Branding will occur through more than posters and ads; students rely on I-Pods to tune in to the world around them. The College will employ My Space and Facebook to penetrate the market, reaching “digital natives” who comprise the current generation of college students.

Current students frequently voice enthusiasm for Edison’s long-standing traditions and reputation for academic excellence. Mature students appreciate the secure atmosphere and consistency represented by a stable and loyal faculty. The College will wisely blend these assets to accentuate a strong scholastic foundation and flexible class schedules for working adults while invigorating campus life for students entering college directly after graduation from high school.

Student Life

Edison’s faculty members devote their professional time and expertise to an array of activities that reach beyond their traditional duties and enrich the cultural and social life of their students. These include:

Student Housing

For 30 years, Edison has been characterized as a “commuter college” dedicated to serving place-bound students whose obligations to families, jobs and financial commitments curtail extra-curricular activities college students traditionally enjoy. That synopsis of student life will undergo profound revision the day Edison State College accepts its first dormitory resident, and assumes responsibility for the domestic needs of students.

A Market and Demand Analysis completed in February 2008 by the Scion Group confirms interest in a residential campus among both Lee and Collier county students, with 65.3% of those residing within Lee County expressing interest in living on campus. Campus housing can take a variety of forms, from traditional dormitories to suites, single family apartments and/or mixed-use villages that offer on-site tutorial, computer labs and classrooms.

The College is uniquely positioned to develop such residential villages, since none of its campuses has reached build-out, and none is situated in an urban core. With prudent planning, Edison can and should take advantage of opportunities to acquire adjoining land, through gift and purchase, to ensure sufficient green space to accommodate its inevitable growth.

The College should build not only suitable housing but communities that instill a thirst for knowledge. For Thomas Jefferson, learning provided an essential component of life, and his concept of an "academical village" is based on the belief that the college experience should include an ongoing dialog between scholars and their students in an environment that infuses daily life with learning. Student housing, he said, should blend into the campus architecture, in close proximity to the library, classrooms and places professors naturally congregate to share ideas. A vision of vibrant and continuous learning propels our concept of comfortable and affordable student housing at Edison State College.

Campus-based Activities

The anticipated surge in students resulting from Florida’s university enrollment caps, and the escalating cost of living will lead an increasing number of students to seek student housing. As a residential campus, Edison must be prepared to provide stimulating activities that not only foster scholastic excellence but build character, fitness and a sense of well-being. Simply put, students thrive in a supportive atmosphere that generates success and self-confidence. Student-driven events such as celebrations of diversity, seasonal festivals and discussion forums forge lasting bonds of friendship and respect and build communities.

Team sports encourage collaboration and foster school spirit. With its temperate climate and tropical appeal, Southwest Florida provides the ideal setting for tennis, sand volleyball, hiking, bicycling and swimming, activities that encourage fitness and an appreciation for the region’s unique ecological attributes.

Fostering Collegiate Spirit

As faculty, administrators and staff build on Edison’s rich cultural and social college experience, a dynamic new collegiate spirit will emerge, encouraging students to live on campus and get involved in such activities as:

Wouldn’t it be wonderful to walk into the Internet Café and see students engaged in a Poets’ Society? Or theatre students rehearsing a Shakespeare play? Or math students preparing for a Brain Bowl? When encouraged to organize on-campus events, students respond with vitality and initiative, often promoting causes that raise social awareness and shape the convictions of their peers. Perceived as a safe haven for intellectual discourse, the college campus becomes an arena for civic engagement that inspires not only academic excellence but responsible citizenship, environmental stewardship and accountability.

Articulation with Local High Schools

As the College builds on its liberal arts curriculum, consideration will be given to stronger alliances with local high schools that prepare students for careers in the arts and sciences. For example, the Lee Campus’ neighboring Cypress Lake High School draws those gifted in the fine and performing arts. Upon graduation from high school, many of these young artists welcome the stimulating creative community found at Edison.

The College will build on its historic success in the field of music by adding a compliment of scholarships in dance, drama and digital art. Campus-based programs in the arts enhance the “college experience” by affording residential students access to studio space to practice during their free time, and test their creative accomplishments before an audience of their peers. The impressive collaboration that prepares high school students for careers in emergency medical services gives students a head start toward professional fulfillment. Dual enrollment opportunities across the district provide scholastic challenges at no cost to the student, and propel those who are college bound into early admissions programs at Edison.

Financial Aid and Scholarships/ Bright Futures

Students seeking an Associate level degree will be eligible for the 100% Florida Medallion awards (like community colleges) that cover tuition and fees. Candidates for the Baccalaureate will receive 75% of tuition and fees. Florida Prepaid students will be able to use the plan purchased or awarded to them toward tuition at Edison State College.

Edison Online

Edison Online will continue to grow as the College expands into a state college. Today’s student thinks and learns electronically. Creating online courses that use pedagogy designed for this population initiates the process of redefining the way we teach. The appeal of online courses will grow among working students or those encumbered by family obligations that restrict face to face instruction. However, more students will elect online learning options as a portion of their course load because such courses teach to their strengths. Thus online learning will become a major unit that requires the resources to support professors and course designers charged with producing optimal learning components that achieve exemplary learning outcomes. We will expand our capacity to create and deliver electronic courses that reflect creative and effective digital learning techniques. The need for technological support goes beyond Edison Online. Students will be encouraged to communicate electronically, supported by fully wireless connectivity across all campuses.

Administrative and Financial

While celebrating the community’s generous support, we must attract and retain new donors, affirming our excellence as a thriving organization whose officers approach challenges with confidence. We cannot afford to dwell on the effects of a budget shortfall; instead, we must focus on the positive results of a lean and effective management structure inspired by a desire to serve economically disadvantaged students.

Further, we must bring all our energies to bear on the urgency of a funding base that will ensure us the means to provide a quality education that spans four years. We must develop funding models to sustain the long-term viability of the emerging State College System.

Auxiliary Services such as the cafeteria, the bookstore and campus public safety must adjust to a full-time collegiate environment with adequate security, nutritional meals, sundries and accessibility to online resources.

The College must commit to employing a diverse faculty and staff. Students must be exposed to a community of learners that includes people and cultures from around the world.

Political and Legislative Considerations

As economic and social pressures converge, voters will insist on better access to quality education at an affordable price. Legislators want to provide that access at the lowest possible cost to taxpayers. Passage of SB 1716 establishing the Florida State College System will be remembered as one of the most foresighted pieces of legislation in the history of higher education. I am honored to be among those selected to serve on a task force to develop recommendations for the transition of community colleges to bachelor’s granting colleges. The task force will report to the Florida Legislature next spring.

To underwrite the cost of its expanded mission, Edison State College will aggressively pursue special appropriation and grant funding opportunities.

Conclusion

As we initiate profoundly transformative change, Edison State College must pursue opportunities that promote innovation in the arts, sciences and health professions. Through an ongoing cycle of growth and renewal, we will infuse the curriculum with creative vigor, stretch toward areas of diversity and change, and thus create a new and exhilarating platform for the inception of Edison State College.

August 2008 Update - EDISON COLLEGE NAME CHANGE

Q & A with President Kenneth P. Walker

Q. Why change the college name to Edison State College?

A. Governor Charlie Crist has signed legislation naming Edison State College a state college. The state college designation presents an opportunity to strengthen our vision, redefine our role in the higher education delivery system, and further the public’s awareness of available programs and services.

Q. Were other names considered?

A. Yes. Feedback from focus groups revealed a tremendous affinity for the Thomas Alva Edison connection and legacy. We plan to promote more overtly values and characteristics shared by the man and the college, e.g. hard work, determination, innovation, and belief in one person’s ability to impact the world in a positive way.

Q. What is a state college?

A. The Merriam Webster dictionary defines a state college as a college that is financially supported by a state government, often specializing in a branch of technical or professional education. The Florida College System pilot study now underway will more clearly define the role and responsibilities of our state college. The legislation requires preserving the primary mission of meeting community needs through postsecondary associate and certificate programs, and allows the expansion of baccalaureate opportunities in areas of high workforce need. Open-door policies will be maintained, and the colleges will continue to reach out to underserved populations including those requiring preparatory courses.

Q. Will there be anything new besides the name?

A. The name change serves as a catalyst for an expanded mission. This college will deepen its commitment to providing access to higher education for all who desire to earn a degree. We serve many different communities throughout five counties, and through Edison Online, we will potentially enroll students across the state and beyond. Specifics will emerge as we work together in the coming year to create the college’s next strategic plan. It is also likely that our college’s graphic identity will be updated with a new logomark. A decision is pending.

Q. How will the state college designation affect students and the community?

A. State colleges are proven economic engines, improving the quality of life through enhanced educational and cultural opportunities. Our decentralized structure empowers campus presidents to tailor programs and services to their respective communities, and to be innovative and flexible. Increased educational opportunities will certainly result in more home-grown, highly-skilled employees.

Q. How will the college engage Southwest Florida’s business community?

A. We look forward to increased collaborations not only with businesses, but with government entities and public and private colleges and universities. The tough economic times have caused all parties to examine opportunities for sharing resources, and we are working on a number of exciting partnerships.

Q. What will the college be in five years?

A. Edison State College will be the college of choice in Southwest Florida, reflecting the diversity and vibrancy of this area. We will be serving 9th grade students in collegiate high schools, and they will remain with us through baccalaureate degree attainment. Some students may live on campus. The college’s cultural imprint will deepen, and construction will be underway on the LaBelle campus. There is, indeed, a very bright future ahead.