7 February President announces retirement plan February 7, 2017 By Thomas, Donna S. General 0 Itawamba Community College President Mike Eaton has announced that he plans to retire June 30, ending a 43-year career that has included several leadership positions as well as head football coach. He notified the College’s Board of Trustees at its January meeting. “After prayerful consideration over the last six months, I felt it was time to pass the torch to new leadership,” Eaton said. “I have had a wonderful 43 years at the College (21 of those years I lived on campus) and have been greatly blessed. It has been an honor and privilege to serve in various roles throughout my career. I have enjoyed the challenge of being ICC’s President. When you are blessed with such an outstanding, dedicated faculty and staff and Board of Trustees, it makes the job of being the president much easier.” Eaton became the sixth President of ICC on July 1, 2013. He is credited with providing the leadership for every major initiative the College has undertaken in the last few years including chairman of the Institutional Effectiveness task force, which focused on student persistence, the improvement of retention and an increase in the graduation rate. The task force’s “Graduation…It Matters” campaign led to ICC’s achieving the highest percentage increase in graduation rates among all 15 two-year institutions in Mississippi. From July 1, 2010 through June 30, 2011, 1.355 students received degrees or certificates, a 53.80 percent increase over FY 10. In 2013, ICC earned the John C. and Earnestine McCall Halbrook award for the greatest improvement in percentage of athletes graduating (20 percent). During Eaton’s tenure, the Aspen Institute College Excellence Program has named Itawamba Community College one of the nation’s top 150 community colleges three times, and WalletHub has selected ICC as sixth best in the nation. Currently, a five-year plan is etching a new face on the Tupelo Campus with the addition of a new physical plant and the construction of a two-story general academic building, which will house a commons area, food service, classrooms and administrative offices. A Federal Emergency Management Agency $3.5 million grant is funding a 13,585-square-foot multipurpose hazardous weather safe room currently being built on the Fulton Campus. It will also serve as a new home for ICC’s All-American Band. Additional facility upgrades and construction include the conversion of the Technical Education building at the Tupelo Campus to a Natural Science facility and the Health Science building to an Academic building at the Fulton Campus as well as a new indoor practice facility. Improvements have also been made to the women’s soccer complex and Cresap Field. A new ropes challenge course, which is a component of the Blue Cross & Blue Shield Foundation WellFIT 365 grant, is providing an opportunity for team building exercises for students, faculty and staff as well as members of the community. Most recently, Itawamba Community College is partnering with several entities in the creation of the Furniture “Certified” Academy, which will enable its graduates to go to the front of the hiring line at participating industries and will result in a higher base pay upon employment. Under Eaton’s leadership, initiatives such as dual-credit, accelerated terms and the LEAP summer bridge program have been implemented. Through ICC’s Any Time, Any Place, Anywhere focus, students can now take advantage of multiple entry points. Also, the College has added a Public Health Technology program, for which as one of six recipients in the nation, the College earned recognition from the League for Innovation in the Community College for its work in developing programs in public health. In addition, Eaton has served as chairman of the College’s Standards committee, which successfully branded the College by establishing guidelines for the utilization of logos and marketing/public relations efforts through the development of a Standards Manual. Eaton’s 43-year career at ICC encompasses serving as assistant to the president, vice president of student services, dean of students, director of student activities, head football coach, assistant football coach and health instructor. His honors have included Mississippi Association of Community and Junior Colleges Sports Hall of Fame, Itawamba Community College Athletic Hall of Fame, National Junior College Athletic Association Hall of Fame and in 2011, Eaton Field was dedicated in his honor at ICC. He ranks 30th among the NJCAA’s All-Time Winningest Coaches and 40th in the NJCAA’s Highest Winning Percentage at .629 in 18 seasons. Eaton is a graduate of both the State and National Community College Leadership programs. He has served as chairman and secretary of the Mississippi Community and Junior College Hall of Fame committee and previously as a member of the MACJC Athletic Appeals committee. He and his wife, Marcia, are the parents of two daughters, Mallory Eaton and Laura Bates (Todd). They have three grandchildren, Tyler, Sam and Mark Bates. The Board of Trustees is charged with employing his replacement. Related Articles ICC formally opens mobile planetarium Officials from the Tennessee Valley Authority joined Itawamba Community College representatives for a ceremonial ribbon cutting for the grand opening of its planetarium, Apr. 10 at the Fulton Campus. The planetarium is currently located in the John S. Crubaugh Education Building, but plans are being developed to make it more mobile, according to Heather McCormick, mathematics division chair and one of three STEM sponsors, who are leading the project. “We are extremely grateful to TVA for their generous donations which have made the planetarium possible,” McCormick said. “In addition, TVA’s generosity has given our students research and leadership opportunities as they prepared the narration for the planetarium shows. We are proud of our students and their hard work.” They include Sara Davis of Smithville, Allyson Johnson of Nettleton, Lawson Laird of Guntown and Remington Reed of Carthage whose research material and written narration scripts for the planetarium disks allows four available shows including Northern Hemisphere with Constellations, Aurora Borealis, Day Side Earth and Moon and Warped Andromeda. The planetarium as well as a weather balloon experiment were made ... ICC updates operational plan for fall 2021 Itawamba Community College will welcome thousands of students, Aug. 16, with an updated operational plan. “For months, we have planned to resume ‘normal operations’ this fall, but there is significant concern regarding the current wave of the pandemic, which is especially affecting the younger segment of our population,” said ICC President Dr. Jay Allen in an email to the staff. “Many efforts were made over the summer to assist with the full transition; however, as I have continually stated since March 2020, the safety of our employees and students is of utmost importance.” Effective Aug. 9, the plan, which is level two of a four-level plan, will require face coverings in all buildings at all three ICC locations; physical distancing in full-capacity classes; enhanced cleaning protocols; continuation of hand sanitizing stations; continuation of the Safely together course for all employees and students; class testing and proctoring adjustments; plexiglass dividers between computer testing stations, labs and customer service areas and some limitations on capacity at indoor events and activities. “We believe that this mask mandate will be temporary, but ICC will continue to ... ICC President Allen to receive prestigious Paragon Award Itawamba Community College President Dr. Jay Allen has been selected as a recipient of Phi Theta Kappa’s Paragon Award for New Presidents. The awards are given to new college presidents who have shown strong support of student success by recognizing academic achievement, leadership and service among high-achieving students at their college. Recipients were nominated by students on their campus. “It is an honor to be nominated by our students for this award,” Allen said. “It is most rewarding to watch students succeed as they grow in leadership and academics during their participation in the PTK organization.” Allen became ICC’s seventh president on July 1, 2017 after serving as president and chief executive officer of Hopkinsville Community College in Kentucky since January 2014. A native Mississippian, he has served in several leadership positions at Hinds Community College and as a senior-level administrator for Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College – Perkinston and the George County Center – for a combined total of 23 years. He earned the associate’s degree in May 1991 from Hinds Community ... ICC releases latest reopening plan for Aug. 17 As Aug. 17 approaches, Itawamba Community College has released information that will provide a glimpse of what to expect for the fall semester at all three of its locations, Fulton, Tupelo and Belden. The plan was developed based on guidance from healthcare professionals, feedback from employees and students as well as ICC leadership and recommendations from the College’s reopening task force, according to President Dr. Jay Allen. “The information provides an overview as we plan to welcome students back to our locations when classes begin on Aug. 17. Every decision that continues to be made prioritizes the safety of our students, employees and communities we serve.” The plan covers such areas as academics, residence halls, campus dining and student experience. In addition, a self-reporting app will be implemented for all students and employees to allow for symptom checking and contact tracing. All students will complete an ICC-specific Canvas module, Safely Together, on ways to reduce the spread of COVID-19 and how members of the college community can continue to stay safely together, Allen said. ... ICC appoints reopening plan task force Itawamba Community College is actively making plans to safely open its doors for the 2020 fall semester with the appointment of a task force that will examine all options. The 21 members, which touch all areas of the college, had a virtual organizational meeting on May 18, and its goal is the announcement of a plan on June 15. “Our goal is to develop guidelines and protocols for the 2020 fall semester while following the guidance of public health officials and take a measured approach in determining how and when to welcome students back to campus and fully resume face-to-face instruction and services,” said ICC President Dr. Jay Allen. Approximately 100 administrators, faculty, staff and students will be involved in the process through the task force and additional participation in three breakout committees – Health Standards for Employees, Students and Visitors Proposal (Rilla Jones, Dean of Health Science Instruction); Residence Halls. Dining, Athletics and Student Activities (Dr. Brad Boggs, Dean of Students); and Classrooms, Labs and Clinical Proposal (Dr. Michelle Sumerel, Vice President ... ICC's Chris Stevenson selected Mississippi Community College Faculty Association vice president Chris Stevenson of Fulton, Social Science Division Chair and history instructor at Itawamba Community College, has been selected as vice president of the Mississippi State Community College Faculty Association for 2021-23. A native of Guntown, Stevenson has been employed at ICC since 2010. He earned the associate’s degree from ICC, bachelor’s degree from Mississippi State University and the master’s degree from the University of Mississippi. He has additional graduate hours from Ole Miss and Delta State University. He is married to Bruce native Jessi Stevenson, and they have two children, Rourke and Riley. As vice president, Stevenson’s role includes support of current state president Brandi Pickett, and he will automatically become president at the conclusion of his two-year term. Stevenson said he plans to emphasize the value and the quality of instruction that originates in the community college classroom to state leaders as well as all residents of Mississippi. Comments are closed.