RECORD ENROLLMENT SPURS B-CC TO STRONG START OF 2003-2004 ACADEMIC YEAR

DAYTONA BEACH , FLA – Bolstered by record enrollment, Bethune-Cookman College hit the 2003-2004 Academic Year in full stride with the President’s Assembly on Wednesday, September 17 in the Richard V. Moore Gymnasium.

Rev. Calvin McFadden, a 196 graduate, delivers the keynote address at the B-CC President's Assembly.

The count of 2,794 students represents an eight percent increase over last year’s 2,584 and surpasses the previous high of 2,745 in the 2000-2001 academic year.

College officials are please with both the quantity and quality of the student body.

“I am very grateful,’’ said B-CC President Dr. Oswald P. Bronson, Sr. “Our enrollment is the indication of a growing college. I am especially pleased that the students seem to be ready for academic engagement.”

There are 939 new students on campus, also an all-time high. Sixty percent of the student are Florida residents, 40 percent out-of-state or international.

“I am elated that students are choosing the option of higher education and am especially pleased that so many have made Bethune-Cookman their college home,’’ said Dr. Ann Taylor-Green, B-CC Provost.

Despite the additional students, there have been no shortages in classroom or campus housing availability.

“Everything and everybody have come together to make this a successful year,’’ said B-CC Director of Admissions Les Ferrier. “This was a campus-wide effort that will hopefully sustain itself in years to come.”

 Taylor-Green highlighted other points of pride for the B-CC family over the summer, including:

·        B-CC’s Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) team became the first among Historically Black College and Universities team to finish among the sensational sixteen SIFE teams in the nation. In addition, the team received awards and cash prizes totaling $11,700 plus $12,000 in scholarships.

·        Five B-CC students studied at the University Institute for French Language in Culture in Toulouse, France. Billy Dajuste (Margate, Fla.), Tara Hayes (Daytona Beach, Fla.), Jillian Leggett (Holly Hill, Fla.), Njideka Modibo (Indianapolis, Ind. and Tiye Smith (Tacoma, Wa.) participated and passed a four-week, 80-hour course, earning six credits and a certificate of completion. During their trip to France, the students visited Paris, Andorra, and Barcelona, Spain

·        Psychology Major Marjorie Bryant (Los Angeles,Cal ) studied at the University of Manchester in England during the 2002-2003 academic after receiving the Luard Scholarship sponsored by the English Speaking Union of the United States for Junior Year Study in Great Britain .

·        Two B-CC Nursing students have been selected by the National Association for Equal Opportunity in Education (NAFEO) as HIV and AIDS peer educators. Nashay Clemetson (Kingston, Jamaica) and Leslie Fordham (Daytona Beach, Fla.) will conduct classes on campus and in the community. Two other students – Ferquita Stokes (Miami,Fla.) and Shanika Deberry (Jamaica,New York) – have also been trained to serve as peer educators.

·        The Nursing Division has enrolled its largest incoming class – 58 students – for the upcoming semester.

·        Angelah Chavis (Daytona Beach, Fla.), a senior Chemistry major, interned with the Test and Analysis Branch, Chemistry Section, at NASA’s John F. Kennedy Space Center this summer.

·        Several Computer Information Systems participated in internships. Jonathon Abrams (Lithonia, Ga.), Christopher Banes (Miami, Fla.), Julian Burns (Lithonia, Ga.), Kiana Jenkins (Titusville, Fla.), Theo Jones (Jacksonville, Fla.) and Patrick Smith (New Smyrna Beach, Fla.) worked at Madison  Research Corporation; Farid Kassam (Tanzania) and Shailen Barmeda (Tanzania) worked at Gaines Regional Utilities; Joseph Washington at Dell Computer Corporation; Patrick I. Smith (Daytona Beach, Fla.) at Stanford University; Tiffany Lackey (Cincinnati, Ohio) at Global Web Technology; Ambyr Ledig (San Diego, Calif.) at Cardinal Health and Femi Fashakin (Nigeria) at the South Florida Water Management District/Audubon of Florida with the Everglades Restoration Project.

·        International Studies Major Jared Yancey (Union,New Jersey) was selected in the inaugural class of Rangel Fellows, sponsored by the Charles B. Rangel International Affairs Fellowship Program. The program is created to encourage minorities to serve in the Foreign Service of the United States . Yancey will receive two years of financial support for his academic pursuits as well as other international opportunities, including a possible internship at an embassy abroad.

·        B-CC Students continued their community service to Daytona Beach area elementary and middle school students. For four years, Elementary Education majors have participated in “For Love of Reading,” a literacy-enhancement project at Westside Elementary School . The Volusia County Reading Council has nominated the project for the Literacy Service Award. The B-CC Word Wizards afterschool program at Turie T. Small Elementary played a major role in that school receiving an “A” grade by the Florida Department of Education. The Collge Reachout Opportunity Program provides students at Campbell Middle School with afterschool tutorial support and mentoring.

Rev. Calvin McFadden, a 1996 B-CC graduate and Minister of the Ray of Hope United Methodist Church in Tallahassee, Fla., delivered a rousing keynote address that reminded students, faculty and staff that their testimony of God will strengthen them in times of need.

Bethune-Cookman is a comprehensive college, which offers degrees in liberal arts as well as professional fields, such as business, education and nursing. A United Methodist Church-affiliated school, the college has a diverse and international student population of more than 2,500 and a solid reputation for academic excellence. As evidence of its outstanding program, the College has been listed in the Templeton Honor Roll of Character Building Colleges and Universities, and it was ranked by Black Enterprise magazine as one of the “Top 50” schools in the nation for black students.

For more information, contact our website www.bethune.cookman.edu. 

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