By Staff
RETIRED DEAN Dr. Virgil G. Warren stands outside a new science building named in his honor Saturday. He says he has worked at many schools, but the one he always mentions first is East Mississippi Community College. "It's very special to me and to many others because it's a place that gives people a start." Submitted photo.
By Kelly Atwood / special to The Star
June 2, 2002
In 1991, when Dr. Virgil Warren became academic dean at East Mississippi Community College, the school was facing the possibility of closure.
With his help, the college has flourished, increasing enrollment for nine consecutive years. School officials honored his years of hard work Saturday by dedicating a building in his name.
A group of about 100 people attended dedication ceremonies Saturday for the Virgil G. Warren Hall for Science and Mathematics.
The presentation also included EMCC President Dr. Tommy Davis and Mr. Joseph B. Weaver, retired dean of business affairs at Jefferson Davis State Community College in Alabama.
Weaver worked with Warren in Alabama before Warren's association with EMCC.
The new 10,000-square-foot, $1.4 million building has a lecture hall with auditorium-style seating, featuring 75 laptop computer stations and audio/visual conferencing capability with high-speed Internet links for transmitting data, voice and video.
Designed by Pryor &Morrow Architects of Columbus and contracted by TerryMark Construction Co. of Meridian, the front of the new building has a Tuscan design, complete with marble columns.
A walkway joins Warren Hall to Oktibbeha Hall, the existing science building. Fall classes begin in Warren Hall Aug. 19.