Edward Waters College
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Edward Waters College is a private college located in Jacksonville, Florida. It was founded in 1866 to educate freed slaves and is the oldest historically black college in Florida. The first AME pastor in the state, Rev. William G. Steward, originally named the college Brown Theological Institute. The school went through some financial difficulties and closed for much of the 1870s. It reopened in 1883 with an extended educational program and its current name.
The original Edward Waters College was destroyed by the Great Fire of 1901, but by 1904 new land was obtained and work was started on the new college. Edward Waters was accredited as a junior college in 1955 under President William B. Stewart and 5 years later had a restored four year curriculum. Beginning in 1979 the school was accredited as a four-year institution by Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) and started awarding bachelor's degrees. The college's accreditation was last reaffirmed in 2006.
Enrollment in 2004 was 987 students and wholly made up by undergraduates. During that period tuition for full-time undergraduate was $9,176. Several notable Edward Waters graduates include former Jacksonville sheriff Nat Glover, former Florida State Senator Betty Holzendorf (D-Jacksonville), author and scholar Dr. Fredrick Douglass Harper and Television and Film Personality and former Commissioner Rahman Johnson. The school awarded honorary degrees to U.S. Representative Corrine Brown, Florida State Representative Willye Dennis and John Delaney, former mayor of Jacksonville and current president of the University of North Florida. Brown also served on the school's faculty.
The current president of the school is Dr. Oswald P. Bronson, former President of Bethune-Cookman College in Daytona Beach, Florida. The Double E principle Excellence and Ethics (E2) is what promises to lead the school into an even greater future.
Centennial Hall, which contains the Obi-Scott-Umunna Collection of African Art, is the oldest building on campus. Built in 1916, it was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places on May 4, 1976.
[edit] See also
Independent Colleges and Universities of Florida
[edit] External links
- Edward Waters College
- Profile at Universities.com
- Duval County listings at National Register of Historic Places
- Florida's Office of Cultural and Historical Programs
Independent Colleges and Universities of Florida |
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Barry University · Beacon College · Bethune-Cookman University · Clearwater Christian College · Eckerd College · Edward Waters College · Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University · Flagler College · Florida College · Florida Hospital College of Health Science · Florida Institute of Technology · Florida Memorial University · Florida Southern College · Hodges University · Jacksonville University · Lynn University · Nova Southeastern University · Palm Beach Atlantic University · Ringling College of Art and Design · Rollins College · Saint Leo University · St. Thomas University |
Colleges and universities affiliated with the African Methodist Episcopal Church |
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| Allen University • Campbell College (defunct) • Daniel Payne College (defunct) • Edward Waters College • Kittrell College (defunct) • Morris Brown College • Paul Quinn College • Shorter College (Arkansas) • Western University (defunct) • Wilberforce University |
Categories: African Methodist Episcopal Church | Buildings and structures in Jacksonville, Florida | Florida Sun Conference | Historically black universities and colleges in the United States | History of Jacksonville, Florida | Education in Jacksonville, Florida | Registered Historic Places in Duval County, Florida | Universities and colleges affiliated with the African Methodist Episcopal Church | Universities and colleges in Jacksonville, Florida

