Leading Question

>>It means more chances for more local students to pursue four-year degrees, and that could increase the labor pool, especially in sectors where shortages are creating high worker demand, such as nursing.

We need to have as many educational opportunities within Southwest Florida as we can possibly imagine," says Lee County School Board member Steven Teuber.

Staffing the school will benefit the region as well, he adds. "It brings in more professors, higher-paying jobs. We need to have employment [that is] not tied to one sector in Southwest Florida. We’ve seen what having 80 percent of the workforce in construction has done to our economy," he says.

Founded as a junior college in 1961, Edison is one of nine schools in the state college system, a pilot program created by the Legislature earlier this year. The intent is to give students open access to higher education—even as funding shortfalls have forced universities such as Florida Gulf Coast University to turn away freshmen—and help meet employment needs. Edison, which dropped "Community" from its name in 2004, will be able to increase its baccalaureate offerings.

The change likely will keep more local students in the area as well as attract students from elsewhere, says Kenneth Walker, district president of Edison State College. "Once we have student housing, that’s going to open up opportunity for a lot of students who would like to come," he says.

Edison and FGCU officials say the change won’t create competition between the schools; they plan to continue working together.

"There is a lot of coordination that goes on between Edison College and FCGU," says Bruce Schultz, chairman of the district board of the Edison College Foundation and president and CEO of Fort Myers-based Southwest Capital Bank. "There won’t be [duplication] here. The idea is to work together."