By Staff
May 9, 2004
The president's chair at East Mississippi Community College held for the last 14 years by Dr. Tommy Davis will be vacant soon, at least briefly, as Davis, 70, retires. His last day on the Scooba campus will be June 30.
Davis took over at EMCC in a time of trouble and over the years has steered the institution onto a more stable course. After a total of 49 years in education, he said in an interview with Staff Writer Georgia Frye last week that "you can't just go on forever."
Maybe not physically. But Davis' tenure at EMCC is already recognized by his peers, faculty and students as a fine example of leadership in action. His respected legacy will live on as an illustration of what can be done once a man sets his mind to it.
Under his guidance, EMCC became one of the state's fastest-growing community colleges and one of the fastest-growing community colleges in the U.S.
So, as this former football coach and history and government teacher prepares to move himself and his wife, Rita, to Meridian and a well-deserved retirement, we congratulate him on a job well done. And, as the EMCC board searches for a replacement, it won't have to look too far for a role model.