June 7, 2017

Thanks to the generosity of alumni and friends, the East Central Community College Foundation will be able to award additional scholarship monies to deserving students during the fall 2017 semester.

Four scholarships have recently reached endowment status and include the Herman and Mosoura Rigby Memorial Scholarship, Stella Dickerson Technical Scholarship, Russell McCann Memorial Scholarship and the Dr. Margaret Mosal Scholarship.

In addition, the Oliphant-Martin Scholarship Endowment has added a second recipient and will now have a freshman and sophomore award presented each year.

New annual scholarships include the Elton D. Wall Scholarship and the James and Gloria McRae Scholarship.

During the 2016-17 college year, the East Central Community College Foundation awarded 130 scholarships valued at $99,574 to118 students.

“We are thankful for the many individuals, businesses and industries who continue to donate to our scholarship fund to help deserving students obtain their education,” said David LeBlanc, director of alumni relations and the foundation.

The Herman and Mosoura Rigby Memorial Scholarship was established in 1993 by Dr. M. G. Rigby who attended East Central Junior College in 1965 and 1966. Dr. Rigby came to East Central as an out-of-state student to major in education. He went on to complete his B.A. degree at the University of Southern Mississippi, and his M.A. and Ed.D. Degrees at the University of Mississippi. His parents were of great inspiration to him as he pursed his educational goals. It was in the memory of Dr. Rigby’s parents that this scholarship was established.

The Stella Dickerson Technical Honor Scholarship was created in the summer of 2000 to honor Mrs. Stella Dickerson, a computer technology instructor at East Central.  According to one of her students who initiated the scholarship drive, “this scholarship is named in Mrs. Dickerson’s honor for the countless hours she spends instructing students. She is a shining example of a true educator.  She shows exceptional leadership and accepts no less than the very best from each student.  She is a constant supporter of Phi Theta Kappa and encourages each of her students to strive for academic excellence.  With her famous words, ‘You can do it; I know you can,’ she has been, and continues to be, an inspiration to us all.”

The Russell McCann Memorial Scholarship was established in the spring of 2001 by family and friends to honor the memory of Russell McCann who died as the result of an auto accident. McCann, a 1995 graduate of Newton County Academy, was a member of the 1996 and 1997 Warrior football teams and received MACJC All-State Honorable Mention honors in 1997.  East Central alumni Ricky and Teresa Williamson Shannon of Lena are his parents who initiated the scholarship in his honor. This scholarship was previously given as an annual award before reaching endowed status.

The Dr. Margaret Mosal Memorial Scholarship for Leadership was established in 1997 to provide financial assistance to deserving students at East Central Community College. The award was established in honor of the late Dr. Margaret Mosal of Canton, former executive director of Phi Theta Kappa, the international honor society for two-year colleges.  Dr. Mosal led the organization for 50 years, from 1935 to 1985.

The scholarship was funded by a Mosal Leadership Award stipend presented to Dr. Shelby L. Harris by Phi Theta Kappa with additional funds from Dr. Harris, longtime mathematics instructor and chairman of the Mathematics and Science Division at East Central.

The Dr. Beverly (Henry) Oliphant-Martin and John E. Martin Scholarship was establish by the couple in November of 2012 because they said “we were both scholarship recipients and both owe our success to the scholarships we received.  We wish to make scholarships available to deserving students in gratitude for those we received as students.”

Dr. Oliphant and Mr. Martin have helped several scholarship funds at ECCC reach their endowment goal, including that of the Classes of 1957, 1958, and 1959 Scholarship.  They have also contributed generously to the Faculty Excellence Fund, which was renamed in their honor in 2010.

The Elton D. Wall Annual Scholarship was created in 2017 by his family to recognize his lifelong service to the public schools and communities in Newton County.  A graduate of Conehatta High School, Wall attended East Central and played basketball in 1949 and 1950.  Following EC and a tour with the United States Navy during the Korean War, he completed his B.S. degree in Math and Science from Mississippi College.  He also obtained a Master’s in Mathematics, minors in Physics and Zoology, and a degree in School Administration all while teaching high school and junior college courses. He served as principal at Union and Hickory high schools before finishing his career in education as superintendent of the Newton County School District.

The James and Gloria McRae Annual Scholarship was founded in 2017.  Gloria McRae, a 1969 alumna of East Central, was a mathematics instructor at the college for 15 years.  The McRaes previously provided the ATCO Loan, Inc., Scholarship from 1991 until the sale of their business in 2016.

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