The Bradshaws
Part III: Community
Maryann Batlle
Issue date: 9/16/09 Section: News
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On Aug. 25, Wilson Bradshaw celebrated his second year as president of FGCU. He and his wife, Jo Anna, seem to be quite comfortable on campus. It is not unusual to see them wearing matching university sweats and catching a sports game.
The Bradshaws say they enjoy interacting with the university community, especially students.
"Makes us feel younger," Jo Anna said.
Because of Wilson's career, the Bradshaws have moved several times, facing both challenges and opportunities in the communities in which they have lived inprior to Southwest Florida. According to Jo Anna, moving back to Florida was like coming full circle because they both spent their formative years in the state.
"We both wanted to come back," she said.
Before coming to FGCU, they spent 7 and 1/2 years in St. Paul, Minn., a major metropolitan area. The move from St. Paul to Fort Myers meant a change not only in weather, but also in demographics.
"Although it (Fort Myers) isn't rural … it is different," Bradshaw said.
"I think these past two years have changed our marriage," Jo Anna said. "I think it has become a different kind of partnership because of what we do in the community."
Jo Anna has noticed the differences when it comes to social issues.
"We've come from established communities and this one is still pretty young when it comes to the services it has for its people and fulfilling the needs that we need to fulfill," she said.
During Wilson's first presidency at Metropolitan State University, Jo Anna got involved with local agencies that worked with the homeless and fed the hungry. One of those agencies, the Neighborhood House, has been in existence since 1897.
Jo Anna saw the larger scope of hunger in the community after a canned food drive in which she participated.
"We filled their (pantry) shelves one day and I went back a week later and their shelves were empty," she said, her voice breaking. "That's when I realized hunger goes on day after day. It's not something you just take care of today and it's gone tomorrow.
Lately, further attention has been brought to the issues of homelessness and hunger. The recession has left more families across America to struggle for basic needs such as food and shelter. Places that provide for those in need of aid find that their resources run out quicker than before.
The number of home foreclosures in Lee County dropped this August compared to July. The opposite was the case in Collier County, where the number of foreclosures rose slightly. But the rates, overall, seem to be stabilizing.
Despite this, Southwest Florida remains one of the hardest hit regions in the U.S. since the housing bubble burst.
Jo Anna believes that because the economic crisis is affecting the middle class, it has brought more attention to issues of homelessness and hunger.
"When you have a different voice, other than the lower (economic) class … it's more on the front page," she said. "But it's always been here. It's always been a need."
Jo Anna feels that because of the increase in job and home loss, reality is harder avoid.
"People that didn't know a homeless person before now know someone who has become homeless, either in their family or in someone else's family and so now they are more in touch with it," she said.
Since moving here, Wilson and Jo Anna have tried using their influence to help.
Jo Anna feels it's "amazing" the opportunities that have opened up, and she believes that if she would have tried to make the changes as just a "working citizen," it would have been much harder.
"(Being the FGCU president's wife) has given me an opportunity to be an advocate for what I believe in. It's opened up doors," she said.
And that's not a conclusion she drew on her own. Even some of the people Jo Anna has worked with have told her that.
But it doesn't bother her.
"Whatever it takes. If that's what it takes for people to listen to me about issues that are important to everyone, then I'll do it," she said.
The Bradshaws feel just as strongly about service, especially when it is tied the to university curriculum.
FGCU offers civic engagement courses that are not required at other universities. The Foundations of Civic Engagement course tries to teach students how to be of service to the communities where they live. University Colloquium attempts to connect students to nature and their environment.
The courses are not just an "add on," according to Wilson. He believes that the courses give FGCU a unique character.
"It's become a part of the educational DNA at FGCU," Wilson said. "Once you have the opportunity to be in these courses … it better prepares you to be an engaged citizen when you graduate."
He thinks the courses are just as important as math and other core subjects.
Students must complete volunteer hours for each of the courses. Wilson does not refer to them as community service hours.
"I know it's sort of a nuanced difference, but I think 'service of the community' says something slightly different than 'community service,'" Wilson said.
The difference is in the focus. He said the focus should not be on the volunteer, but rather on the good of the community.
"We are trying to instill that in students," Wilson said.
Jo Anna believes although there will be students who will remain simply "volunteers," others will advance to a different sphere of service.
"For the students that embrace what they have to do, they will find that they become civically engaged," she said. "Something will move them, some passion, some desire. And through those classes … I think the majority of students will come out better citizens."
Because of their social and professional responsibilities, the Bradshaws' schedules are full, but Wilson hopes to slow down soon.
"I think we would finally like to take a vacation," he said.
In order to do so, Jo Anna has an idea.
"We're thinking about cloning," she said.
READ PART 1:Beginnings
READ PART 2:Love and Marriage
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