JBJ: FSCJ talks new projects, goals for this school year
Jacksonville Business Journal
Florida State College at Jacksonville started out last school year with a number of projects in the pipeline, including its first student housing project and ambitious academic initiatives. This school year will see that housing development open to students and more projects come to the surface.
FSCJ President Cynthia Bioteau said the focus this year is on strengthening programs, including FSCJ's career academies that land students internships with companies like Vistakon, Florida Blue, Citi Group and Deutsche Bank. Meanwhile, the student housing development at 20 W. Adams St. in Downtown is scheduled to open in time for the spring semester. That development, which was originally slated for a fall opening, will house a café staffed by FSCJ culinary students.
She said a big piece of this year's goal is to focus on FSCJ's role in the community. Opening student housing in Downtown is just a part of that effort.
"We want to have visible community engagement. We're very passionate about civic engagement and service learning," Bioteau said.
Part of that effort is outreach. This year, for example, FSCJ will be opening an office at the Jessie Ball duPont Center that will allow FSCJstudents to work with nonprofits. Bioteau said she sees the college engaging in similar efforts in the next few years.
"Those are the kinds of directions FSCJ will be going in more and more over the next five years," Bioteau said. "We want civil engagement forour community, we want to partner with the city and make sure we are working with employers and providing them with a skilled workforce here. I see us as a service."
Bioteau sees Downtown as an epicenter of growth for FSCJ, something that goes beyond just housing.
"I want us to be in the heart of it all. I often describe FSCJ as the community's college. To be in the heart of not only solutions for the community, but to share in one of the greatest resources that we have is essential," Bioteau said.
In addition to expanding its presence in Downtown, FSCJ has new resources to work with this year. The college recently received a grant from the Human Resources and Services Administration that will ultimately contribute $2.5 million toward its nursing students. The grant will provide scholarships for 50 nursing students in need of financial assistance – a value worth $647,800 – in its first year.
"There's such a need for health care in the community, and we have to provide health care employees that mirror the community. This grant will allow us to do that," Bioteau said.
FSCJ's career academies have also expanded this year, and new corporate partner Deutsche Bank will be joining in a program that trains students in cyber security, an academy that Florida Blue also participates in. Bioteau said the career academy program is the college's bread and butter in many ways, and provides benefits for both students and corporate partners. Corporate partners are able to develop talent pools through career academies, while students are able to gain real-world experience and possibly a first job.
"Employers become part of the solution to their pipeline needs," Bioteau said. "They end up picking the best potential employee."
Beyond those goals, FSCJ will continue to introduce programs that appeal to their unique demographic, which is predominately young adults in their mid-to-late twenties who are ready to start careers as soon as possible.
"I think we exist as a college to help students create not only a concept of their career field, but to allow them to get a job when they graduate," Bioteau said "I want every student to understand that you're not here to hang out. We want them to finish a two-year degree in two years. We want them to finish a four-year degree in four years. That's what our students want."