2014-2015 President's Report

• ECCC released its annual Community College Performance Profile , or Report Card, as required by the state of Mississippi in May and once again the college had high marks in several areas that were above the state averages. East Central achieved elite status in the area of student success, particularly excelling in the areas of overall graduation rates and preparing students to transfer to four-year institutions. Overall student retention within for-credit programs, the number of students served in workforce training activities, the number of students experiencing increases in wages after training, and the number of GEDs awarded were other areas in which ECCC continued to be a leader. Phi Beta Lambda Leadership Conference in June in Chicago, including second in the nation in Fundraising, third in Membership, seventh in Community Service and in Social Media Challenge, eighth in Cybersecurity, 10th in Integrated Marketing, 14th in Small Business Plan, and first in the Southern Region in Membership. The ECCC chapter was also named a Gold Seal Chapter, 7-Up Chapter, and Super Sweeps Chapter. • Five ECCC workforce education students received awards at the 51st annual SkillsUSA National Skill and Leadership Conference held in June in Louisville, Ky., including fifth in the nation in Carpentry, seventh in Cabinet Making, 11th in Sheet Metal, 12th in Plumbing, and 16th in Electrical • ECCC students received national recognition during the 2015 National

Construction Wiring. More than 6,000 students participated in 100 hands-on skill and leadership competitions during the two-day event.

• The East Central women’s soccer team had its best season since the program’s inception in 2005 and for the first time qualified for the MACJC State Tournament after a second-place finish in the MACJC North Division. • Other East Central Community College teams to make it to postseason play during 2014- 2015 included the men’s and women’s basketball teams, which both advanced to NJCAA Region 23 play. ECCC was the only Mississippi community college with both its men’s and women’s teams in Region 23 competition. East Central golfers Zack Hammons and Andrew Joiner played their way into the NJCAA Region 23 Golf Championship. The Warrior Baseball team finished fifth in the state and played Meridian Community College in the first round of the state playoffs in May.

2-seeded Meridian Community College— over the three-day competition. • The Mississippi Association of Pageant Judges selected East Central Community College’s Beauty and Beau Pageant as Outstanding Pageant of the Year . The association annually presents an award for an outstanding pageant that recognizes excellence in the pageant industry, especially in the areas of organization, contestants’ knowledge of competition expectations, knowledgeable and rehearsed masters of ceremony, attention to detail in decoration, programs, admission, score sheet and tabulation structure and contest flow. • Marcus Mann, a 1994 ECCC graduate, was inducted into the 2015 Mississippi Community College Sports Hall of Fame . Mann helped lead East Central to its first state championship in men’s basketball in 40 years in 1993, was a First Team All-American selection, and a member of the ECCC athletics and academic halls of fame. After starring for Mississippi Valley State University and reaching his goal of being a player in the NBA, Mann decided to follow a call to become an ordained minister. • According to the state of Mississippi’s longitudinal data system, Lifetracks, ECCC is the top ranked community college in the state in the percentage (44%) of first-time students (full-time or part-time) who go on to obtain a college degree or certificate from any Mississippi public postsecondary institution within s six years of enrollment.

• ECCC officially opened a new Disc Golf Course , a challenging nine-hole course which wraps around the college pond and is open to the public. The course is facilitating student success through increased opportunities for involvement in campus activities and physical development. • The ECCC softball team finished the season with a 48-14 record and a second place finish in the 2015 NJCAA Division II Softball National Championship tournament . The team also finished second in the South Division of Mississippi Association of Community and Junior Colleges league play, second in the MACJC State Tournament, and runner-up in the NJCAA Region 23 Tournament. Mahalia Gibson, a freshman first baseman from Hattiesburg, was named First Team All-American after batting .406 with 80 hits, including 24 doubles and 52 RBIs, all team bests. She tied for the team lead in home runs with 11 and had a .971 fielding average.

• The Lady Warriors No. 2 Doubles Team of Hannah Peoples of Carthage and Mackie Smith of Philadelphia captured the MACJC state and NJCAA Region 23 tennis tournament titles . The duo won four straight matches— including victories over No. 1-seeded Itawamba Community College and No.

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