December 9, 2021
The East Central Community College Foundation has announced the creation of four new endowed scholarships and one new annual scholarship thanks to the generosity of alumni and friends of the Decatur College.
ECCC offers nearly 170 annual and endowed scholarships to entering freshmen and returning students through its EC Promise Scholarship Program. Last year, scholarships valued at nearly $200,000 were awarded by the ECCC Foundation. East Central’s Slagle In-District Tuition Scholarship also serves as a gap-filler for students residing in or attending high school in the five-county district of Leake, Neshoba, Newton, Scott and Winston, who did not receive and/or qualify for sources of funding sufficient to cover the cost of attendance.
New ECCC Foundation scholarships for Fall 2021 include:
- Frank M. Cross Endowed Scholarship. The fully endowed scholarship was established by Charles and Paula Waggoner of Starkville, members of the ECCC class of 1971, in memory of the late Cross, a native of Scott County and a Forest High School graduate. Cross taught chemistry at East Central from 1933-70. Cross Hall on the Decatur campus is named in his honor. The scholarship will be awarded to a sophomore science major, with preference given to chemistry.
- Alford J. Deaton Endowed Scholarship. Funds are being sought to fully endow this scholarship, which was established by former students and friends in memory of the late Deaton, a native of Shannon and a Shannon High School graduate. Deaton taught physics at East Central for 34 years. The scholarship will be awarded to a sophomore science major, with preference giving to physics or physical science.
- Sara L. Heard Endowed Scholarship. Funds are being sought to fully endow this scholarship, which was established by former students and friends in memory of the late Heard, who was born in Riley and grew up in Trenton, Tenn. She was a biology instructor at ECCC from 1969-87. The scholarship will be awarded to a sophomore science major, with preference given to biology or pre-medicine.
- George L. Mason Endowed Scholarship. Funds are being sought to fully endow this scholarship, which was established by former students and friends in memory of Mason, a Newton County native and graduate of Newton High School. He was a biology instructor at East Central from 1960-91 when he retired. The scholarship will be awarded to a sophomore science major, with preference given to biology, agriculture, or forestry.
- Delisha Payton-Townsend Memorial Scholarship. The annual scholarship was established by family in memory of Payton-Townsend of Walnut Grove, who passed away in 2020 at the age of 19 from an incurable brain tumor. She was a student in ECCC’s Surgical Technology Program at the time. The scholarship will be awarded to a first-year student in the Surgical Technology Program.
For information on supporting any of these scholarships or on creating a scholarship at East Central Community College, please contact Dr. Stacey Hollingsworth, executive director of the ECCC Foundation, at shollings@eccc.edu or 601-635-6327.
Students applying for scholarships must first complete an application for admission by clicking on the Apply Now button located at the top of the college’s website at www.eccc.edu. After the application is processed in the Admissions Office, the student may then apply for scholarships by logging into his or her myEC account and clicking on the Future-Student tab and then the Scholarships tab.
