Turning 50: MECC hosts picnic opening 50th anniversary celebration

BIG STONE GAP — Mountain Empire Community College opens its 50th anniversary celebration on Friday with a picnic commemorating the main campus groundbreaking.The picnic will be in Phillips Taylor Hall's Goodloe Center from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and will feature a video highlighting the college's 50 years, along with guest speakers, games and activities for all.The event is free and masks are required in indoor and outdoor spaces."We are excited to honor the contributions and sacrifices of those who came before us and paved the way for MECC's current and future success," said MECC President Kristen Westover, "and I am grateful and honored to be in a position, along with our incredible MECC family, to recognize their contributions and lead MECC in the continuation of our transformative mission for years to come."MECC's 50th anniversary activities will continue through December 2022. Additional events include a community concert featuring Grammy-nominated singer/songwriter Darrell Scott and If Birds Could Fly in May 2022 and a 50th Anniversary Gala in October 2022. The MECC Foundation has set a goal to raise $2 million to support scholarships, infrastructure improvements and other needs to commemorate this special anniversary.For half a century, Mountain Empire Community College has served as the primary career training center for residents of Wise, Lee, Scott, and Dickenson counties and the city of Norton. Thousands of students have furthered their education and skillsets to provide a better life for their family and community by earning credentials at MECC.MECC opened in 1972 with 507 students taking classes in one building at its Big Stone Gap campus. The college was part of a statewide initiative to increase educational attainment rates in Virginia, starting in 1966 when the General Assembly authorized a statewide system of comprehensive community colleges. This legislation brought most post high school education below the bachelor's level into one system and broadened the base of higher education in the state. As comprehensive institutions, community colleges endeavor to serve all segments of society and are charged with providing open access to higher education for all students.In Southwest Virginia, a committee comprised of local business, civic, industrial, and political leaders was appointed by the local governing bodies of Lee, Scott, Wise, and Dickenson counties and the city of Norton for the purpose of establishing what would become Mountain Empire Community College.The MECC board first met in April 1970, electing Judge William C. Fugate chair. Funds for construction were allocated by the State Board for Community Colleges and construction began in 1971.Today, more than 1,300 full-time and 3,000 part-time students are enrolled at MECC. The Big Stone Gap campus has expanded to five buildings accommodating more than 100 academic programs of study in traditional classroom formats, as well as online and hybrid offerings.In 2019, MECC opened the Center for Workforce and Innovation of Appalachia to house its power lineman, commercial driving license, smart farming, advanced manufacturing, and dental assisting programs. Plans include the development of culinary programming at the CWIA.In addition to MECC's career training focus, the College has served as a primary resource for the preservation of the region's rich cultural and musical heritage. For 50 years, the college has hosted the annual Home Craft Days festival every third weekend in October, highlighting Appalachian traditions.MECC also hosts its annual Mountain Music School, which provides students 10 and older with the ability to learn traditional mountain music during a one-week camp the last week in July. The MECC Foundation annually hosts the John Fox Jr. Literary festival highlighting Appalachian writers with poetry and short story contests for the community.The CWIA library will feature Appalachian archives including collections of Melungeon records and the Wise County Historical Society. The Wampler Library on the college's main campus houses the Slemp Gallery, featuring a rotating exhibit of regional and national art installations.For more information on MECC's 50th anniversary, visit www.mecc.edu/mecc50. For more information on MECC's career pathways, please visit www.mecc.edu/pathways. To enroll, please visit www.mecc.edu/apply. For information on giving to the college's efforts to train Southwest Virginia's workforce, please visit the MECC Foundation at www.meccfoundation.org/give.