WarriorMagazineJanuary2021

A message from the President

Dear Warrior Family,

I can’t express how grateful I am to be back home at East Central Community College. This place has been such an important part of my life and that of my family. Being president of my alma mater truly is the pin- nacle I’ve sought to achieve in my career in higher education. It was an interesting first fall semester back on campus to say the least. When I was selected as president in early March 2020, I had no idea that we would be facing a pandemic like COVID-19. But as always, the faculty, staff, and students at East Central have faced this challenge head on and made my first semester back in De- catur a great success. We instituted a hybrid system where classes were split with 50 percent of students at- tending class in-person while the other tuned in virtually and then for the next class meeting that week they swapped places. This has allowed our students to safely have face-to-face, yet socially distanced contact with instructors at least once a week, and it’s something we believe has helped greatly with the academic success of our students. Not only that, but we were able to host two home football games, outdoor and indoor movie nights, and other socially distanced activities to give our students the best possible semester in light of the pandemic. We again have our students on campus this spring and are allowing for the hybrid format. And as usual, we continue to offer online learning for those who desire this form of instruction. Along those same lines, I missed having the opportunity to invite alumni and friends to campus during my first semester, and I look forward to the day when we can safely resume normal activities such as Homecom- ing and other special events. One of my first priorities as president is the institution of a new strategic plan which will lead our college into the next decade. We have already begun the process of developing this new road map for the future, and I look forward to touring our five-county district very soon to gain input from each of you, our shareholders, on what’s most important to our community college and the path we want to take to get there.

Again, I look forward to visiting with all of you soon, and thank you for your continued support of our college.

Sincerely,

Dr. Brent Gregory President

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