2008

res.ide in Decatur. Ari addi– "ional ~' .000 \\

During Dr Smith's tenure. an increased emphas1s was placed on recruiting students of all ages. -\s a resul· of a closely followed recruitment and r~tention plan. enrollmen· inueas~.·cl during t'ach of his 15 years at th~ helm. East Central also bPgan off. rii pro..,;r~m-. in the hcalth-rctatea tield, includin~ ...urgica! technology. practkal nursing and a-..-ociate de1trt'e nursing AI o added were gerontol~ technology and computer networking tech– nolog;. The College aho increa..."<.·d it evening clas' offerings during Dr. Smith's adminis– tration, by offering a wide varietv of coursework at var– ious iocations 111 thc- five– county district. Various rmovations of Col– lege buildings and additions to the Decatur campus were also made during this period.· East Central purchased the former Newton County High School property (earlier Decatur High School) and made rxtcnsive renovations. 11le area is now rderred to as the ~outh Campus and includl'" classroom and labo– ratory spact•. faculty offices and a library for the Town of Dt·catur ~ew buildings constructed under Dr. Srnith"s leadership induded the Associate Dc·grcc . ursing/ChiJd Care Technology Building. Work– force Development Center (previou~ly referred to as the Skiii/Tt.•ch One-Stop Career CPnter). Erma Lee Barber Hall (a wom<.>n's dorm named

campu~ \i:-ito~ fiom to the earlv 1 ~(· .. A nev. titnr's trail was devdoped on the north end c-1 campus near the College lake, and a campu... lree planting land,capinc: project was completed ,•n campus. The campus-wide arboretum and outdoor project was o(ficially named in horor of tht Da\' fanulv whos• member-.. c• •ntinue io pro\idt: 5.nancial ....upporr. ~ev. =>POrts added dllrin~ the ~rJith administration indud•·: women's softball and men'-. ... .ccer. (Rodeo compe– tition .t · ...o began as an inter– collegi .te sport but wa!> later discor.· :nued.) In · 1e area of technology, the (. ·liege became fully invoh -d in the "Information Age: Course requirements and ~>ther information relative to tht· College were added to East Central's web page, www.eccc.edu. The College also placed an emphasis on distance k·arning and became involved in the development of the \lbsissippi Virtual Commu– nity College, which provides online instruction in various courses. East Central also began ottering training in Adult B.Jsic Education/General I.ducation Development ~(,ED). Workforce Develop– n ent and Tech Prep Educa- t••• n. By 1999, the College's physical plant was valued at s 16,301.424. and labora– tory/instruction:ll equipment at S2 ·l'+5.f· 14. l..1sl Central so made a " I..282,QOO.inve.&·