CSX Transportation is helping Edward Waters College get on track to a brighter future
Washington — Erecting fancy booths at college recruitment fairs is
a common and effective way for schools to boost their visibility among
prospective applicants. Promotional brochures sent to SAT and ACT test
takers are another tool typically used.
But who has ever heard of a school packing itself onto a train to
deliver snippets of college life to students across the country?
Edward Waters College chugged ahead earlier this month with
“Success Express” — part of its latest pitch to enroll 2,000 students
by the turn of the century. The train displays interactive exhibits
introducing students, parents, teachers, and guidance counselors to
Edward Waters College and life in Jacksonville, Fla., where the small,
private school is located.
The unique marketing and recruitment technique originated from
discussions held between Jimmy Jenkins, president of Edward Waters, and
A. R. “Pete” Carpenter, chief executive of CSX Transportation Inc. The
Fortune 500 company generated more than $10.6 billion in operating
revenue last year.
“CSX Transportation is a rail company, amongst other things, and so
we came across the idea that we could perhaps use the train to also
deliver our message,” Jenkins said. “Out of it, the Success Express
evolved.”
Jenkins describes CSX’s charitable donation as “a leap of faith,”
and part of a larger rebuttal to skeptics who are waiting to see if the
college — which was at one point in accreditation trouble — will
crumble or bounce back on its feet.
