Fenter Family Endows MSCC Scholarship in Memory of Roy L. Gray

Mid-South Community College President Dr. Glen Fenter and his family recently converted an annual scholarship into an endowed one that assures it will continue indefinitely.

Established in 2005 in honor of Dr. Fenter’s maternal grandfather, the Roy L. Gray Endowed Scholarship provides financial assistance to working parents who have earned a GED®.

“I learned a lot from my grandfather, and I think the lessons that I learned watching him have clearly served me well in my present career and hopefully for the rest of my life,” Dr. Fenter said. “They have certainly been lessons that I have tried to impart to my children.”

MSCC Appreciates High School Counselors

Can you imagine working at a job where one minute you are writing a scholarship recommendation letter and the next minute you are serving as a crisis intervention specialist? Such is the life of a school counselor. Last week, Mid-South Community College had the privilege of welcoming guidance professionals to campus for our annual Counselor Appreciation Day. While providing a free lunch and some door prizes doesn’t even begin to express our gratitude, it at least gives us an opportunity to demonstrate in some small way how much we appreciate counselors for the daily contributions they make to our community and region.

I moved to West Memphis in 1990 as a high school principal, and it didn’t take me long to recognize how important counselors are to the educational process. While their job descriptions are varied and their responsibilities are many, they all have a common mission: to play an important (and sometimes irreplaceable) role in shaping the lives and the futures of our young people. Their job is often a juggling act of mammoth proportions as they prioritize, multitask, and discern while serving as many as 300 students – and that’s almost the best-case scenario in terms of numbers. The American School Counselor Association recommends a ratio of 250-to-1, but the national average is closer to 470-1, based on figures from the 2010-11 school year. We’re doing better than that in Arkansas at 316-1, but that still means a ton of work for someone who deals with everything from bullying and abuse to clerical requirements.

Scholarship Luncheon Honors Donors, Salutes Recipients

Eleven years ago, Mid-South Community College began a tradition that links visionary, generous, passionate, and resourceful donors with the men and women directly benefitting from their amazing investments. The annual Mid-South Community College Foundation Scholarship Luncheon is truly a great event and is a highlight of every spring semester.

The luncheon gives us an ideal opportunity to connect two vitally important pieces of our puzzle. Our donors have the opportunity to see the results of their investments in the lives of our students, and the students have the opportunity to personally thank those who have positively affected their lives. We all know that we can put a quantitative value on the dollars that are invested in these scholarships, but none of us could hazard even a rough estimate as to the ultimate impact of those dollars in changing lives. It is such a tremendously powerful agent within this educational process, and it is something that we can never celebrate enough.

MSCC Working with Memphis Chamber, SW Tennessee CC

As a member of the Arkansas Delta Training and Education Consortium and the Mississippi River Transportation, Distribution and Logistics Consortium, Mid-South Community College grasps the value and efficacy of regional partnerships. We understand that strategic collaborations to pool and maximize the resources of multiple stakeholders are not only logical but are crucial to the future of this part of country.

So when the Memphis Chamber of Commerce approached us about a partnership with Southwest Tennessee Community College, an institution some might consider as a competitor of MSCC, but a fellow member of the Mississippi River consortium, our Board of Trustees recognized the value. Trustees recently approved a fairly straightforward, cooperative agreement that teems with tremendous potential for positive change. In a short period of time, we have been able to create a very strong relationship with Southwest Tennessee, primarily driven by the Memphis Chamber of Commerce’s desire to better integrate Mid-South Community College into the Memphis business and industry world.

Students Step Up at MSCC Spoken Word Poetry Contest

Seven students demonstrated their considerable writing and presentation skills during Mid-South Community College’s Spoken Word Poetry Competition on Wednesday, March 12, and when the applause ended, David Washington of Proctor earned top honors.

In a closely contested battle for first place, Washington edged Taylor Creekmore of West Memphis by the slimmest of margins. Erin Clark of Millington came in third. Poems of the top three finishers will be entered into a national writing contest.

Learning Commission Grants MSCC 10 Years of Continued Accreditation

The Institutional Actions Council of the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools has continued the accreditation of Mid-South Community College for 10 years. The next Reaffirmation of Accreditation is scheduled for the 2023-24 academic year.

“Ten years of continued accreditation is another major milestone for Mid-South Community College and everyone who made it possible,” said Alex Coulter, a founding member of the MSCC Board of Trustees and current chairperson.

Crittenden County Schools Set Curve at MSCC Math Contest

West Memphis, Marion and West Memphis Christian high schools and Marion and West junior high schools captured first-place trophies in Saturday’s Arkansas Council of Teachers of Mathematics contest at Mid-South Community College.

WMHS prevailed in Calculus and Pre-Calculus/Trigonometry, and Marion and WMCS triumphed in AP Statistics and Algebra II, respectively. West Junior High swept the Algebra I competition, and Marion Junior High captured the Geometry title.

“This was my second year coordinating this event, and it was another tremendous success,” said Anthony Wilkinson, lead faculty for Mathematics at MSCC, who served as regional director. “The students had a wonderful time with the interactive activity that the University of Arkansas College of Engineering had to offer.