2018-2019 President's Report

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Percentage of spring 2017 graduating seniors from district public high schools who matriculated to ECCC within one year of graduation.

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Percentage of ECCC’s fall 2018 students taking dual credit courses in district high schools.

Alumnus Rutigliano Joins State Sports Hall of Fame

E CCC alumnus Sam Rutigliano, who coached high school, college, and professional football teams over a combined 46 years, including the NFL’s Cleveland Browns, was induct ed into the Mississippi Community College Sports Hall of Fame during a special ceremony held in April on the Rankin Campus of Hinds Community College. Rutigliano came to East Central in 1950 from Brooklyn, N.Y. He played football and basketball and went on to play football at the University of Tennessee and the University of Tulsa. He was selected to the ECCC Athletic Hall of Fame in 1999.

He was head coach of the Cleveland Browns from 1978 to 1984, being named NFL Coach of the Year in 1980. He later went on to be a football analyst for NBC Sports and ESPN. In 1988, he became head coach at Liberty University and was there for the next 11 years becom ing the winningest coach in school history. He would then go on to be an assistant coach under Jack Bicknell for NFL Europe teams the Barcelona Dragons and the Scottish Claymores. Rutigliano established Coach Sam’s Inner Circle Foundation. Providing elementary students with the opportunity for greater lifetime success, the Foundation strives to develop a well-rounded child by in stilling the necessary skills to succeed in school and beyond.

Four-Year Graduation Success A study released by the Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning in August showed that ECCC led all 15 community colleges in the state of Mississippi over the past five years in the percentage increase in students who transferred from ECCC to one of the state’s eight public, four-year institutions and graduated with a bachelor’s degree. The study showed that the number of ECCC students who received a bachelor’s degree at one of the state’s public institutions climbed from 127 in 2014 to 173 in 2018, or a 36.2 percent increase. Common Reader Offered East Central offered students an opportunity to experience learning beyond the traditional classroom environment with Robert Louis Stevenson’s “The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” as the common reader for the 2018-19 academic year. All students, faculty and administration were encouraged to read the novella,

which was available in electronic and print formats. The reading was incorporated into numerous college cours es, and the college’s Literacy Committee integrated fun activities such as a book club, movie night, Jekyll and Hyde haunted house, and surprise appearances by Jekyll and Hyde throughout the year. Football ‘Be Our Guest’ Night A record 636 high school students attended the an nual “Be Our Guest” Night at Bailey Stadium September 13. The previous record attendance was 576 in 2016. In addition to watching the football Warriors defeat South west, the area high school students were treated to free admission and door prizes. The Neshoba Central High School Big Blue Marching Band performed at halftime and the school’s Rockettes Dance Line performed during pre-game. One of the visiting students kicked a 20-yard field goal for free tuition during the fall 2019 academic semester.

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