February 5, 2025

Multiple capital improvement projects are under way on East Mississippi Community College’s Scooba and Golden Triangle campuses, with others in the works. They range from new student housing on the Scooba campus to major sidewalk additions and an expanded footprint for Division of Nursing and Health Sciences programs on both campuses, to name a few things.

Here is a look at some of those projects.

Student housing

In July of 2024, two aging dorms on EMCC’s Scooba campus that were constructed in 1948, Noxubee and Lauderdale halls, were demolished to make way for new apartment style student housing. The old cafeteria building, located across from the administrative building, was also torn down.

“There was not much we could do to improve livability of the buildings,” District Director of Facilities Planning and Management Kyle Younger said. “They were just too far gone.”

Plans call for constructing townhouse-type units of various sizes, ranging from four two-bedroom units, with two units upstairs and two downstairs, to larger complexes that will house 16 students.

Hopes are to add about 40 new beds a year, with the first units to possibly open to students later this year.

The first units to be constructed will be located between the Chapel in the Pines and Women’s Honor Hall, with additional units to be built later in the area near the campus’ water tower.

State funds earmarked for capital improvements can be used, along with EMCC matching funds, to construct the units without the college having to issue bonds. The initial construction phase is estimated to cost about $3 million.

Nursing and Health Sciences renovations

The former Center for Manufacturing Technology Excellence (CMTE) building on EMCC’s Golden Triangle campus will undergo an estimated $4 million renovation to house Division of Nursing and Health Sciences programs. The project is out for bids and hopes are that work will begin soon.

The space formerly housed Workforce Services Division administrative offices and programs that have since moved to The Communiversity, where, among other things, programs dedicated to training students for careers in advanced manufacturing are located.

The CMTE renovations will consist of converting the space into classrooms, labs and office space for Associate Degree Nursing programs. Hopes are to complete that work this year, but it could stretch into 2026.

The work falls on the heels of renovations to areas of the Douglas Building adjacent to the CMTE that currently house the Practical Nursing and Associate Degree Nursing programs. That work consisted of upgrading equipment in a simulation lab set up like a hospital ER, adding computer labs and combining existing classrooms into a lecture hall. That work wrapped up in December of 2023.

Hawkins Hall on EMCC’s Scooba campus will also be renovated to accommodate expansion of health-related programs on that campus..

EMCC’s Division of Nursing and Health Sciences received $2 million from AccelerateMS, with a separate disbursement of $567,828 for the CMTE renovations. An additional $92,225 from AccelerateMS was earmarked for the Surgical Technology program, and $55,475 for the Associate Degree Nursing program, some of which will offset the cost for renovations and new equipment purchases.

Sidewalk improvements

A long-awaited project to construct walking paths, pedestrian crosswalks and courtyards is well under way on EMCC’s Scooba campus, with similar work to follow on the college’s Golden Triangle campus.

All the walking paths, which will include access points into the buildings, will be Americans with Disabilities Act compliant. EMCC was awarded $2 million in federal funds for the Scooba project and a separate $1 million grant for work at the Golden Triangle campus, with EMCC to pay a little over $1 million towards the work.

Among other things, the project at the Scooba campus calls for construction of a walkway encircling the Hawkins Building, the Keyes T. Currie Coliseum and the parking lot between the two buildings. Another walkway will be built around the outside perimeter of Stennis Hall, the Davis Administration Building and the Tubb-May Library.

A large courtyard area with landscaping and multiple seating areas will be constructed in the commons area between the F.R. Young Student Union and the Davis Administration Building, with sidewalks linking to other buildings. Additional sidewalks will also be constructed. That work is expected to be completed by April.

The project on the Golden Triangle campus calls for closing a service road between the Douglas Building and the Johnny W. Fisher Math and Science Building to through traffic and converting it into a walking path. The path will extend from the parking lot west of the CMTE and connect to an existing sidewalk east of the library.

A covered awning between the Douglas Building and Math and Science Building will be removed and a large courtyard with brick pavers will be constructed in its place. The plans also call for paving and widening the walking path around the pond at the center of the campus and adding new curbs and gutters. New sidewalk lighting will be installed at both campuses.

Scooba career technical building

A new building for career technical and industrial programs of study will be constructed on the Scooba campus west of Sullivan-Windham Field, across from the college’s rodeo-training complex.

Preliminary plans call for a $6 million, 28,000-square-foot building with traditional classrooms, instructors’ offices and high-bay classes to accommodate industrial training equipment. In addition to parking, outside space will be dedicated for the Heavy Civil Equipment and the Utility Lineworker Technology programs.

Career Technical programs on the Scooba campus, such as Welding Technology and Electrical Technology, will relocate to the new building, as will noncredit workforce classes. Discussions are under way to determine what additional career technical programs will be offered at the new facility. Some courses taught at The Communiversity at EMCC, such as Industrial Maintenance, may be duplicated at the new building in Scooba.

Hopes are to complete construction of the building some time in 2025, but the work could extend into 2026. EMCC received $2 million in state funds for the project, as well as a $3 million grant from the U.S. Economic Development Administration and $1 million in additional federal dollars through the Appalachian Regional Commission.

Once work on the building is completed, career technical programs in Hawkins Hal will move to there. Hawkins Hall, where the Practical Nursing program is located, will be dedicated to Nursing and Health Sciences programs of study.

Other projects

New bleachers were installed at Keyes T. Currie Coliseum on the Scooba campus earlier this year. Bids are being accepted now for the installation of new hardwood floors for the basketball court.

Elsewhere on the Scooba campus, work wrapped up this past summer to enclose open-air, covered batting cages with pitching lanes and convert it into a field house for the Lions softball team that has been dubbed the “Softball Complex.”

On the Golden Triangle campus, the main entry was relocated to the road leading to the student union and new signage was installed. The project also included erecting a fence along South Frontage Road.

Also, at the Golden Triangle campus, work is taking place to decommission the sewage lagoon, or effluent pond, following a switch-over to a Lowndes County treatment facility, which will take place after new drainage lines are installed. That work is under way.