Dr. Jack Butts, dean of Northwest Mississippi Community College’s Lafayette-Yalobusha Technical Center, was honored during a naming ceremony on April 11. The annex completed in 2005, was named the Dr. Jack Butts Building in his honor.

Dr. Gary Lee Spears, president of Northwest, college officials, faculty and staff, Lafayette County officials, friends, and family were all on hand to honor Butts for his valued service to the college.

“Dr. Butts has served Northwest students for more than 40 years. He has served with compassion, and through his desire to excel, we have seen a great increase in enrollment at the center since he took over,” Dr. Spears said. “This is a well-deserved honor. The longevity of faculty and staff who work for him shows the respect and admiration they have for him.”

Lafayette County Superintendent of Education Mike Foster, a member of the Northwest Board of Trustees, first brought the idea to name the building after Dr. Butts to the board. He spoke at the ceremony. “He has touched a lot of lives in these 40 years. He deserves this honor. One thing about Dr. Butts is he knows his students. I get a lot of calls from people who brag on the center all the time,” Foster said.

Also speaking on behalf of Northwest were Earline Cocke, a retired instructor at Northwest who worked for Butts for several years; Wilson Jeter, a former student and friend; and Brenda Holmes, coordinator of special populations at the center.

Butts has worked as director of the center since 1986. The Batesville resident has served as a business instructor, director of the Academic Business Division and registrar of the college. During his remarks thanking everyone for the honor, he said he was deeply honored and appreciative for being allowed to lead the center and help it grow.

“We have to keep in mind that our students are our customers and the reason we are here. We can have excellent faculty, equipment and buildings, but without the students, we are nothing,” Butts said.

The Dr. Jack Butts Building, which is 31,000 square feet, houses modern labs, classrooms and the learning resource center. The center offers a number of career and technical programs designed to train students for direct entry into the job market.