Edison College The little college that could

The 1960's were a time of great growth and change in Southwest Florida and the beginning of a surge in educational opportunities that would help to fuel economic and population expansion for the next four decades.

The opening of Edison Junior College in Fort Myers in 1962 was a positive revolution for the region.

Previously, those who wanted to continue their education beyond high school had to look 100 miles or more outside of the area. Edison brought those opportunities home.

What is most remarkable about the Edison story is how the little college has grown and become a leader in the field, garnering an international reputation in the process. That first class of 124 students would not recognize the Edison College of today, with its three separate but cooperative campuses (in Lee, Collier and Charlotte counties) and its outreach programs in Glades and Hendry Counties.

The establishment of Edison originally grew out of a post-World War II move to increase educational opportunities throughout the country.

A small college had opened in Fort Myers in the 1940s but shut down by 1948. Then, in 1953, the state formed the Council for the Study of Higher Education, which included the Community College Council. In 1957, the latter produced a blueprint for development of Florida's junior college system—and the seeds for Edison were sown.

Lee County was selected as Southwest Florida's junior college location because it contained half of the population (94,000 at the time) of the five-county region and was most accessible. The name Edison refl ected the spirit of inventor Thomas Edison, Fort Myers' most celebrated winter resident.

Initially, the college was organized as part of the Lee County Board of Public Instruction, and the local school board served as the first governing body. At its first organizational meeting, members decided to offer an annual salary of $11,000 to $12,000 in order to entice a qualified president to the fledgling school.

The man selected for that job was Dr. Charles E. Rollins, who had been Dean of York Junior College in Pennsylvania. The Andrew Gwynne Institute, a former elementary school, was designated as the home for the new college, and Rollins' description of the work needed to adapt the building paints a clear picture of the school's humble beginnings.

"Picture a former elementary school," Rollins said, "the night before it will open its doors to a group of college students. In one of the larger rooms are the president and the new dean, David Robinson. They are busy painting the walls a nice shade of green to transform the playroom into the college business office. This tableau represents the sense of commitment, camaraderie and enthusiasm which makes starting a college a uniquely satisfying experience for everyone involved."

Edison graduated only one student at the end of its first year—Donald Lee McDaniel, a transfer student from Florida State University. However, by the 1963-64 school year, the little college had already outgrown the Gwynne building, and courses were also being offered at the Dunbar High School campus. In 1963, students could choose from 81 courses and work toward a two-year Associate in Arts degree in business, communications, humanities, mathematics, science, social sciences and physical education.

Demand for Edison's courses grew rapidly, and the college was soon operating out of 17 different community locations, including the Edison Theater, the Fort Myers Tennis Club and various churches. A weekly quarter-hour television program on WINK (the area's only TV station at the time) and a half-hour radio program every Sunday helped spread the word—and the demand.

By spring 1964, the first formal commencement graduated 67 students. The rapid growth of the student body made it clear that Edison needed a central campus of its own, and a broad coalition of property owners came together and offered 80 acres between U.S. 41 and McGregor Boulevard. The new campus opened in 1965, with four buildings housing classrooms, a library, a student center, a bookstore and offices. That same year, Robinson, the former dean, became Edison's second president—a post he held for 26 years.

HERE'S TO YOU, DR. ROBINSON

During Robinson's tenure, Edison grew impressively and changes were nearly constant. The first most significant change came in 1968, when the Lee County Board of Public Instruction relinquished its governing role. Governance was taken over by a District Board of Trustees, appointed by the Governor of Florida. Four years later, the board officially changed the school's name to Edison Community College to better refl ect the college's mission.

By 1974, enrollment of students from Collier and Charlotte had grown so much that the board decided to open college centers in both counties. The Charlotte Center opened in the upstairs rooms of a laundromat at Sunny Dell Plaza. The Collier Center opened in storefronts at Gulfgate Shopping Center.

By the 1980s, the University of South Florida had a satellite facility on the Edison campus, and, in 1984, the Florida Legislature appropriated $6 million for a joint effort by the two schools to build a performing arts hall. To recognize the efforts of Senator Franklin Mann, the legislature voted to name the new hall after Mann's mother, a longtime supporter of Southwest Florida arts. The 1,776- seat Barbara B. Mann Performing Arts Hall opened in 1986. Robinson was ready to retire by the early '90s. During his tenure, he had seen student enrollment increase to nearly 10,000, and he had grown Edison from primarily a transfer institution to a comprehensive community college offering Associate in Arts, Associate in Science, Certificate Programs and a wide array of Continuing Education opportunities. Upon his retirement, the board recognized his outstanding achievements by naming him President Emeritus.

THE WALKER YEARS

The Edison board found a dynamic replacement for Robinson in Dr. Kenneth P. Walker, who continues as Edison's president today. In 1991, he was serving as president of Oklahoma City Community College—and news of the Edison opening reached him at just the right time.

"I was sitting at my desk on a cold, snowy day, and a brochure came in the mail about Edison," Walker recalls with a chuckle. "I had always heard good things about the educational system in Florida—and you can't beat the weather.

Edison had an excellent academic reputation. It had been well managed, and it was poised for growth and development. I love a challenge like that. I saw some real opportunities to contribute my skills."

The board obviously agreed and hired Walker to assume the presidency on July 1, 1991. What he found when he arrived confirmed the reports he'd heard. But he also saw how Edison could grow and become even more successful.

"My vision was to expand Edison into a multi-campus, Southwest Florida regional college," Walker explains, "and ultimately to add baccalaureate degrees."

Walker has already seen much of his vision fulfilled. When he arrived, the Collier campus was under construction. That facility opened in 1992, providing a full service campus without a long commute. Five years later, Walker oversaw the building of a similar facility in Charlotte County.

Dr. Jeff Allbritten took over as president of the Collier facility in 2003. He was attracted to the position largely because of that idea of full service. "We've had nearly double-digit enrollment growth each semester," he reports.

"We serve more than 2,000 students every semester, and our non-duplicated number of students served each year is around 4,000."

Allbritten oversaw a $4.5 million renovation to the campus this past year. A new road now connects the campus to Rattlesnake Hammock, cutting about three miles off the commute from downtown Naples.

The renovation of an old, unused basketball gym has resulted in an up-to-date conference center. The Holland Salley auditorium has provided a home for the Classic Chamber Concert series.

But Allbritten is proudest of the educational advances at the Collier campus. A partnership with NCH Healthcare System has led to an admirable and successful nursing degree program.

This month, ground will be broken for two new facilities—an early childhood development center and, in partnership with the University of Florida, a pediatric dental program to provide treatment to Collier's Medicaid-eligible children.

Both programs will afford unique educational opportunities to students while also providing services to needy families. Additionally, last fall, the Collier campus started offering Edison's first baccalaureate degree—a Bachelor of Applied Science in public safety management.

More baccalaureate degrees are in the works, and that couldn't please Walker more. A leader in the push to win approval of the program from the legislature, he formed the Community College Baccalaureate Association in 2001. "We started with four community colleges in Florida," he reports. "Now we have more than 100 members from 27 states, four Canadian provinces and two Caribbean countries.

And we're expanding into the United Kingdom. Edison has an international reputation now." That reputation is well deserved.

Walker has grown the college with determination, skill and passion.

He has added buildings (including Madeleine Taeni Hall, a one-stop student services facility, and Walker Hall, a new health sciences building); grown the Edison College Foundation from $4 million to $50 million; secured a site in LaBelle for another campus; created Project HOPE, which has given full scholarships to 1,300 at-risk students; established an e-learning program that serves almost 4,000 students annually; and secured funding to endow and renovate the library and build a fine arts museum. And that's just a sampling.

Edison College is providing higher education that is particularly responsive to local business needs—right in our own backyard and to anyone who is interested.

No doubt about it, Edison College has come into its own. No longer a "junior" in any sense of the word.

Programs offered by Edison College and the accomplishments and future plans of President Kenneth Walker are far too voluminous to list in their entirety. For a more comprehensive look at the college, visit www.edison.edu

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