Celebrating 20 years of SF College's East Gainesville Initiative

Dozens of residents and faculty members attended the 20th annual Santa Fe College East Gainesville Initiiative Community Forum to learn more about programs and efforts underway to help East Gainesville residents.

The forum was held last Thursday at the new SF College Blount Center at 401 NW Sixth St.

EGI officials delivered a report to let the audience know what has been accomplished through the collaboration with community partners.

Former SF College President Jackson N. Sasser, Ph.D., planted the seed of community outreach in 2002 .

The group has been and continues to be committed to these focus areas: education outreach, parent empowerment, literacy initiatives, technology outreach, workforce development and partnership with the faith-based community.

Current SF College President Paul Broadie II, Ph.D,. and Sasser, presented a plaque to Karen Cole-Smith, Ph.D., for her commitment to EGI for 20 years. Cole-Smith is director of special projects at SF College and has led EGI since its creation.

Sasser was also given a plaque for his vision in creating EGI.

"He is a true visionary," said SF College Vice President of Student Affairs Naima Brown, P.h.D. "It's easy to talk about inequities and closing gaps. We thank him for this vision and we have a new president to take it further. Thank you for recognizing the needs that must be met and meeting those needs."

Cole-Smith said she has been working at the college for 37 years and has held multiple titles during her time there. She said she is 11 months shy of her retirement and thanked the college for creating EGI.

"I have a thought of gratitude," Cole-Smith said. "I am thankful for the college for giving me an opportunity, upward mobility and academic excellence. You can hold Santa Fe accountable to what it says. The partnership is more like a cooperation and collaboration and feels less like a competition."

Brown said Cole-Smith's dedication to EGI is greatly appreciated.

"It has been 20 years of making an impact and we thank Karen for her commitment to the initiative," Brown said.

Broadie and some SF faculty each gave brief speeches on how their programs are helping part-time students attend the school, and about the expanding career and technical education (CTE) programs that provide opportunities for high wage jobs.

Broadie talked about the college working on creating a Black Enrichment Center and he talked about the success of My Brother's Keeper, which is a support program designed to increase the retention rate and success of Black male students academically and socially.

He also added that he plans to create a My Sister's Keeper program.

Broadie said he will ensure the college will be equipped with up-to-date technology, and has plans to create a state-of-the-art automotive training facility.

"This will be the year of innovation," Broadie said. "It's important for us to ensure our students are working with state-of-the-art technology and equipment. Innovation is vital to the success of higher education and Santa Fe will never stop being on the cutting edge of technology."

Broadie said the college plans to implement an evening nursing program to help working adults achieve their dreams of becoming nurses. He also said the Planned Furnishings building that is located across from the Blount Center on University Avenue will soon be the SF College Transformed Arts Center.

Terrell Jenkins and Dan Rodkin, Ph.D., discussed SF Achieve, a program that provides mentoring opportunities for students in high school that continues throughout college.

"According to our statistics, in East Gainesville, 67 students were enrolled in SF Achieve in 2021," Rodkin said. "In 2022, 87 students were enrolled. That is a 27% difference."

Palenthia Boswell shared how she plays a role in SF Achieve by preparing middle school students for college and helping parents graduate from college.

"It's never too early to let them know about college," Boswell said. "We want to make sure parents are empowered, educated and aware of the resources not only for students, but for them to succeed. We want to shatter barriers for all students."

Adrienne Provost, director of the TRIO program, talked about how the program helps students overcome class, social, and cultural barriers to achieve higher education through support and guidance for college preparation and collegiate success. TRIO is a federally funded program that is named after the first three programs under its umbrella, Upward Bound, Talent Search and Student Support Services, were implemented. The name is not an acronym, according to Wikipedia.

Tyran Butler, Ph.D., associate vice president of academic affairs, discussed the progress of the school's CTE programs.

"There are vocational programs here in Gainesville," Butler said. "Santa Fe is packed with those opportunities."

She talked about how students have the opportunity to become carpenters, electricians, learn how to operate an HVAC system or become plumbers.

"Students get to earn as they learn," Butler said. "All you have to do is come and be willing to learn. We're committed to helping people finish."

Phillis Filer and Tina Bushnell with Literacy and Library Connections gave their report on how the program is doing. The program offers incarcerated fathers the chance to read to their children by way of audio recording and it offers computer classes.

"We want to keep the connection alive in our communities," Bushnell said.

Izy Alvarez, an admissions specialist, discussed how SF College helps first generation students.

Afterwards, Jen Hombard, Ph.D., executive director of secondary programs at SF College, talked about the college's dual enrollment program and its ACB Excel program, which is a community-funded initiative that empowers entire families by providing parents and their school-aged children with access to academic programs and services.

The acronym ACB stands for "achieve, conquer and believe." The two-generational approach to the program encourages those involved to achieve together, conquer life's challenges together and to believe in themselves and in their ability to impact each other's success, according to SF College's website.

The program also provides an ACB Excel scholarship that was created in honor of the late Annette Cornwell Bauer, who was the president and founder of Blakeland Construction.

This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: SF College forum informs East Gainesville residents of opportunities