President's Report 2007 - Benedict College

BENEDICT
COLLEGE
Enrollees receive five weeks of classroom training followed by 10,000 miles of hands-on driving leading to a
commercial driving license. The program also supports students via job skills training and credit counseling.
Successful graduates of the Johnson XPress program receive a starting salary of $42,000 – well above the
national average for this growth industry.
The School-to-Work Internship Program and the School-to-Work Transportation Training and Careers
Program were recognized for their excellence at the 2007 National Transportation Summit in Charlotte,
N.C. This program received the Summit’s National Partnership Award for its contribution to the country’s
transportation workforce.
Dr. Charlie W. Johnson conducts
an interview with a reporter
about how the Driving for Inner
City Development –Truck Driver
Training Initiative program works.
SUPPORTING TOMORROW’S STUDENTS TODAY
South Carolina’s children – and prospective Benedict students! – are our future, of course, and are at the
loving heart of Benedict College’s community service programs.
Benedict’s Child Development Center serves 70 children annually, providing them with comprehensive
school readiness training and cultural enrichment courses. The center recently received reaccreditations by
the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC).
As a sister program, the Center of Excellence for Education and Equity of African American Children (CEEAS)
provides South Carolina educators with critical training geared toward servicing its diverse and minority
populations. The state recognized this program’s accomplishments via a $1.5 million grant to CEEAS from
the South Carolina Commission on Higher Education.
Research stemming from this program provides equal proof of its potency. In 2006 alone, four publications
and eleven professional, scholarly presentations emerged from CEEAS efforts.
Perhaps no Benedict College community service initiative has a greater legacy than its TriO Program.
For more than three decades, the TriO Program’s wide range of offerings has brought academic and life
opportunities to countless South Carolina students. Benedict was one of only a few schools that was
awarded $435,000 for the next four years, totaling $1.6 million from the US Department of Education.
More than 800 students each year benefit from its Upward Bound, March to Manhood, Educational
Talent Search and 21st Century Community Learning Center, all aimed at helping low income and/or first
generation, college-bound middle and high school students achieve their dreams of going to college.
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