New buildings open at Northwest this fall
By Brittany Greer | 8/11/09

When Northwest Mississippi Community College President, Dr. Gary Lee Spears welcomed faculty back to campus for the beginning of the new school year his enthusiasm was evident. "After all these years, I am still excited about the beginning of school," he told faculty from all campuses at a general meeting in Senatobia Aug. 10.

"With all the new construction on campus and the expected increase in enrollment, this is shaping up to be the best year in the history of Northwest,” he said.

Students returning to Northwest on Aug. 17 will notice several changes on the Senatobia campus, as well at the Lafayette-Yalobusha Technical Center in Oxford.

The Division of Science and Mathematics comes together for the first time in the new three-story, 38,000 square-foot addition – one of the largest educational buildings on Northwest’s main campus. The new $6 million addition to the existing Physical Science building will use “smart technology” throughout.

The first floor of the addition will be dedicated to non-science majors — with classrooms and four labs for Botany, Biology and Environmental Science. The second and third floor of the building will be dedicated to science majors with labs and classrooms for Anatomy and Physiology, Chemistry, Physical Science and Math.

The Early Childhood Education Technology (ECET) building welcomes its first class. The 8,800 square-foot building is located at the corner of West Street and Thompson Street in Senatobia. 

The building has two classrooms — one of which is a “smart” classroom that uses integrated technology. Nutrition classes will be taught in a state-of-the-art kitchen lab. The building also features a “safe room” that is easily accessible in the event of a tornado or other weather event.

In the lab, students can receive hands-on training with the children as they rotate around the many learning stations such as music, art, math and reading. Outside, the children have access to a fenced-in playground that features a colorful jungle gym, tricycle track, outside art tables and umbrella-covered picnic tables.

Other projects underway on the Senatobia campus include renovations to the James P. McCormick Administration Building, which is nearly complete. Construction on the new nursing building is well underway.

Ground was broken on the new $5.5 million building on May 29. The 41,000 square-foot facility will house five classrooms, two computer labs, three state-of-the art labs, two lectoriums, faculty offices and three separate student lounges.

On the Oxford campus, a new state-of-the-art cosmetology lab will open in the fall. The new area includes an entrance for patrons, work areas for different aspects of Cosmetology education, three classrooms, nine faculty offices and a multi-office for adjunct faculty.