Photo by Paula Merritt / The Meridian StarThomas Huebner has been named president of Meridian Community College. 

The new president of Meridian Community College hopes to build on the school’s success when he takes over the post on July 1.

Thomas M. Huebner Jr. was named to the post after a unanimous vote of the MCC Board of Trustees Thursday night. The veteran educator, who recently completed a three-year tenure as president of East Mississippi Community College, will succeed Scott Elliott, who led the college for 20 years before announcing his retirement earlier this year.

Huebner will become the third person to hold the title in the college’s 81-year history. William F. Scaggs became the college’s first official president in 1968. Before that, superintendents of the Meridian Public School District, beginning with Dr. H.M. Ivy in 1937, served as the head of the college.

“I think Meridian Community College has dozens and dozens of attributes,” Huebner said in an interview Friday. “The leadership in the past – the groundwork established by Dr. Scaggs and Dr Elliott…I’m just honored to be able to carry on the work of those who have been there before me. Being able to take what I think is an outstanding institution and work hard to take it to another level, where we are actively innovative and engaging, whether that be internally, with our faculty, students and staff, and certainly our community.”

Huebner said his success in community building at EMCC – which serves a diverse student population with a footprint across several counties – will help him at MCC.

“It seems like the various components that help make a community successful are working very hard to get on the same page in Lauderdale County and Meridian,” he said. “I feel like all those pieces are really converging in a unique way, so I’m excited to be a part of that.”

And while workforce training is a major focus at most community colleges – including MCC – Huebner says it can’t be the only thing the school concentrates on.

“In 2018, community colleges, no matter where they are located, have to be about multiple missions,” he said. “And those missions not only include preparing students for transfer work. Meridian Community College is known being the best at helping prepare students to transfer to four-year institutions. But, it’s not a ‘one-or- the other. It’s a both-and.”

Huebner also said he and his family are “very excited” to be coming to MCC.

“MCC is a premier college, and I believe Meridian is at the cusp of the dawning of a new era in terms of holistic community development, including the attraction of new industry and the evolution of creative economies. The advent of the Mississippi Arts + Entertainment Experience as part of the ongoing revitalization of downtown is a prime example of the progress being made. MCC has a key role to play in that future development.”

Huebner, who holds a bachelor’s degree from Southwest Baptist University, a master’s degree from the University of Georgia and a doctorate from the University of Southern Mississippi, has served both in a teaching capacity and in administration at William Carey University and Shelton State Community College in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. He was one of five finalists who interviewed for the MCC presidency – Don Burnham of Holmes Community College, Ted Lewis of Pellissippi State College of Knoxville, Tennesee; Paul Miller of EMCC, and Scott Alsobrooks of Pearl River Community College.

“We are truly excited about Dr. Huebner joining the MCC family,” Alex Weddington, chairman of the MCC board of trustees, said in a statement. “He is a proven leader with a range of experiences across the curriculum in successful senior-level college administration. We believe he possesses the energy, enthusiasm and vision to lead the college to its next level of excellence in providing diverse higher education opportunities to the citizenry of the East Mississippi/West Alabama region.”