East Central Community College President Dr. Brent Gregory recently accepted a Deeply Rooted, Future Focused capital campaign contribution from Chris Phillips, the district general manager for Mississippi Power, in a partnership to promote science, technology, engineering and mathematics at the community college level.

“Supporting East Central Community College’s efforts to enhance Newton Hall and the school’s engineering program is a true win-win,” Phillips said. “Fostering the continued improvement of local STEM programs in our area will help make ECCC a premier destination for engineering majors. We look forward to continuing our partnership and expanding the pool of future engineers to help serve our customers for decades to come.”

With both organizations, ECCC and Mississippi Power, having served the residents of Mississippi for almost 100 years, the college looks forward to building upon the foundation of past leaders to benefit future generations with the help of donations and partnerships such as this.

“We are so thankful for this donation from Mississippi Power and the relationship we have developed,” said ECCC’s Executive Director of the Foundation Dr. Stacey Hollingsworth. “Having commitments from local companies and industries speak very highly of what we are trying to accomplish with the Deeply Rooted, Future Focused campaign, and again we are very grateful for Mississippi Power’s support.”

Mississippi Power understands the importance of giving back to the communities and customers that they serve, according to officials. Dating from the company’s inception in 1925, providing financial support has been of key importance to the company as a way of making those communities better places to live and work. The company’s giving strategy guides its foundation to support focus areas such as education, community relations, economic development and environmental efforts.

For more information on the ECCC Deeply Rooted, Future Focused capital campaign, contact Hollingsworth at 601-635-6327 or by emailing sholling@eccc.edu.