President Reflects On Legacy At Brooklyn Campus
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After serving more than 20 years at Brooklyn's Medgar Evers College, President Edison Jackson has announced he will retire this summer, leaving behind a legacy that has transformed both a campus and city neighborhood. NY1's Jeanine Ramirez filed the following report.Medgar Evers College is flourishing in the heart of Crown Heights.
The campus is made up of a $240 million state of the art science building, a School of Business Studies and Student Services. And soon, Crown Street will be closed off to cars and become a student plaza.
It's all part of the vision of college president Edison Jackson, and the legacy he leaves behind as he gets set to retire.
"We had made a commitment to build these buildings and we send a message to the community saying we value you and you are of value," said Jackson.
Jackson came to Medgar Evers in September 1989 after two of its presidents were forced out. He rebuilt the school into a four-year college, attracting both faculty and students to the school. With enrollment at its highest level yet, Edison says Medgar Evers is no longer the last resort but a top choice for students.
"Now graduates of medgar are sending their children to Medgar and to me that's one of the best validations to what's going on," said Jackson.
Making sure the school was anchored in the community was one of the ways Jackson found success. Another was to fix the facilities. Ten years ago, NY1 reported on one building suffering major water damage.
Jackson worked overtime building relationships with politicians and community leaders to secure funding. One of his most important friendships was with Betty Shabazz, a professor at the school and wife of Malcolm X. Images of notable African Americans line the school halls.
"It's an affirmation of seeing folks who look like me on the wall. And then having people who look like you teaching you," said Jackson.
Sixty percent of the teaching staff at Medgar Evers is of African descent. Nearly all of its graduates are too.
Jackson says Medgar excels in the sciences. Its nurses program has a graduation rate of 96 percent. Jackson says he's accomplished what he set out to do.
"I've always looked at the work as a spiritual journey. And so I've seen myself as a servant leader," said Jackson.
And now, this leader says his new journey will be spent with his wife, two children and three grandchildren. Jackson is expected to step down over the summer.