Alumni of community college training program hold reunion

Contact: Bill Wagnon

More than 50 community college administrators and instructors from Mississippi and Alabama will reunite next week as part of an ongoing program organized by Mississippi State University.

Alumni of the annual Mississippi Community College Fellowship Program will gather Monday and Tuesday [Feb. 2-3] for a reunion at Hinds Community College's Eagle Ridge Conference Center in Raymond.

Highlighting the program will be a leadership training workshop presented by retiring Meridian Community College President William F. Skaggs. Other speakers include Petrecia Williams, tech-prep coordinator for Northwest Mississippi Community College; Reginald Sykes, MCC dean of students; and Jesse Smith, academic dean at Jones County Junior College.

The educational leadership department of MSU's College of Education sponsors the fellowship program.

Since its inception in 1994, more than 100 community college administrators have graduated from sessions held each summer. Two-year colleges in Alabama joined the specialized training program for the first time last year and Arkansas schools will be included during the July session.

Graduates of the program gather each February for additional professional development and networking.

The Phil Hardin Foundation of Meridian, the state Board of Community and Junior Colleges and the participating community colleges provide support for both programs.