06/04/2026
We want to thank members of the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) who took time to drop by The Communiversity today for a tour. The ARC has done a lot for us at EMCC, including the award of an $877,000 grant in 2024 to expand the Division of Nursing and Health Sciences programs on our Scooba campus. The ARC provided more than $10 million in funding for construction of The Communiversity, which opened in 2019. Those are just a couple of the grants awarded to EMCC by the ARC, a regional development agency that represents a partnership of federal, state and local governments. ARC invests in projects that promote economic development and workforce readiness, among other things. Members of the ARC are in town to attend the agency’s 2026 Annual Conference titled “Appalachia Builds: Breaking New Ground for Economic Growth,” which took place at Mississippi State University. The conference that began Tuesday and ran through today was co-hosted by Gov. Tate Reeves and the state of Mississippi. Featured speakers included Reeves and ARC Federal Co-Chair Gayle Manchin. About a half dozen members of ARC from Kentucky and Tennessee were provided a tour of the area on an EMCC bus that passed local industries, with a stop at The Communiversity at EMCC, our facility dedicated to training students for work in career technical and advanced manufacturing fields. EMCC Vice President of Career and Technical Education Dr. Michael Busby and Golden Triangle Development Link CEO Meryl Fisackerly conducted the tour for the ARC visitors.
