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.

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 the 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 the Associate Degree Nursing program. 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 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 more than $1 million towards the work.

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 convert 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.

Other projects

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.