Submitted photoEast Central Community College graduated its largest class in history in each of the past two years.

East Central Community College in Decatur has realized many accomplishments and much growth in the past year as it achieves its long-term desire to be nationally recognized and locally preferred with a priority on meeting all the educational needs of its five-county district.

For the second straight year, ECCC graduated the largest class of students in the institution’s 88-year history. The college awarded degrees or certificates to 599 students after the 2015-16 academic year.

East Central was named a Military Friendly School for the fourth straight year by Victory Media for its commitment to providing educational services to military students.

The college’s Theta Xi Chapter of Phi Theta Kappa was named to PTK’s inaugural President’s List, which recognizes the Top 25 chapters across the nation with the highest membership acceptance rates.

ECCC’s Culinary Arts Technology program was ranked No. 3 among all such programs in the state of Mississippi by Best Choice Schools.

East Central was named one of the Top 100 Best Community Colleges in the nation by WalletHub.com.

Six members of Alpha Alpha Epsilon engineering club at East Central were selected to participate in NASA’s Community College Aerospace Scholars program at various NASA locations during spring 2016.

Members of the college’s Theta Chi Chapter of Phi Beta Lambda received top honors at the organization’s 2016 National Leadership Conference, including first place in the Local Chapter Annual Business Report category, sixth place in membership, and the Hollis and Kitty Guy Gold Seal Chapter Award of Merit.

East Central students placed in five areas of competition during the 2016 national SkillsUSA Leadership Conference.

Six of the college’s 10 varsity sports teams were nationally ranked at some point in their 2015-16 seasons, and the Lady Warrior Basketball Team and Diamond Warrior Baseball Team both won MACJC State Championships.

Seven East Central varsity sports teams earned NJCAA Academic Team of the Year honorable mention awards for having met the grade point average requirement of 3.00 or better for the 2015-16 season.

The ECCC men’s and women’s tennis teams were both named to the 2016 Intercollegiate Tennis Association’s All-Academic Teams for having cumulative team grade point averages of 3.20 or above.

A new tennis complex will be dedicated Feb. 14. The eight, lighted courts will serve both the men’s and women’s tennis teams, as well as the campus and local communities. Opening in August 2017 in time for the fall semester is a new three-story, suite-style women’s dormitory located adjacent to the college’s Barber Hall for women.

It’s a great time to be a student at East Central Community College in Decatur. Students interested in attending ECCC should contact the Office of Student Services at 1-877-GO-2-ECCC or go2ec@eccc.edu. Or, visit www.eccc.edu.