The East Central Community College Board of Trustees turned to a familiar face to lead the Decatur college.
Brent Gregory, a 1996 alumnus of ECCC, was named the ninth president of the institution. He currently serves as vice president for student affairs at Southwest Mississippi Community College in Summit.
ECCC Board of Trustees Chairperson Jimmy Hollingsworth introduced the new president during a press conference in a Newton Hall auditorium in front of faculty, staff, board members and select members of the public.
“We are excited to welcome home Dr. Brent Gregory as the ninth president of East Central Community College,” Hollingsworth said. “When we started this search our goal was to find the best person possible to lead this institution at this point in time, and we believe we have done just that. Dr. Gregory has been preparing to be a college president throughout his career, and we are excited about the future of East Central Community College under his leadership.”
Gregory was one of finalists who were interviewed by the college’s Board of Trustees at its regularly scheduled meeting on campus. He will assume his duties as president on July 1. Gregory will replace Billy Stewart, the college’s eighth president who announced his retirement in November 2019 effective on June 30, 2020.
“This is the culmination of a lot of years of hard work and sacrifices that my family has made along with myself,” Gregory said. “I can tell you no one will love this college more than I do. No one will work harder. When I say that, I know there are people in this room who are right there in the same boat with me that love the school as much as I do.
“It’s not just the opportunity to come home. It’s about the opportunity to come to a great organization that has a group of people who are ready to move it to the future.”
Gregory has been vice president for student services at Southwest Mississippi Community College (SMCC) since 2017, where he is Title IX coordinator and supervises the offices of counseling and recruiting, financial aid, campus housing, campus police, college publications, disability services, and student activities, as well as all judicial affairs of the institution. He is a member of the college’s Administrative Council and Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) Committee for SMCC Reaccreditation.
He also served seven years as associate vice president for enrollment management at Mississippi Delta Community College in Moorhead, where he was the college registrar and supervised the offices of admissions, counseling and recruiting, financial aid, distance learning and online education, dual enrollment, disability services, and work based learning, as well as the Career Center, Center of Learning and Tutoring Services, and library. He also oversaw Predominately Black Institution program grants in excess of $7 million.
Gregory has also served as an economics instructor, Workforce Investment Act (WIA) coordinator, and director of student life at ECCC, and as an instructor and coach for the Louisville Municipal School District.
After receiving his associate degree from ECCC, Gregory earned his bachelor’s degree in physical education and master’s degree in workforce training and development from the University of Southern Mississippi and his doctorate in community college leadership from Mississippi State University. He is also a graduate of the Education Policy Fellowship Program, Mississippi Community College Leadership Academy, Mississippi Community College Fellowship program, and holds Mississippi Virtual Community College certification.
Gregory is a member of the American Association of Community Colleges, Proposals Task Force Learning Management System for the Mississippi Virtual Community College, Mississippi Association of Community and Junior College’s Legislative Appreciation Planning Committee, and has participated on SACSCOC off-site review teams.
He and his wife, the former Christi Lee, live in Summit with their two daughters, McKinley and Mary Lee. Christi Gregory, a native of Philadelphia, is a 1995 ECCC graduate.
Gregory said one of the biggest strength is the people that work here.
“When I looked out across that room, there are individuals that I’ve known for 20 plus years not only from my time of working here, but being from this community, I know they love this school. It starts there. It starts with people that aren’t there just for a paycheck, individuals who aren’t there just to get through another day. It’s about individuals who want to see the school move forward under the foundation that has been set by the previous administrations. The opportunities are there because of the work ethic of the people that are there.”
One area that Gregory wants to focus on giving students the best opportunities in all areas especially career technical fields. He wants to make sure that the funding sources stay stable so that the school can provide what is needed.
“We can’t just say that we want to hit this number of students,” Gregory said. “We have to assess the entire puzzle because if we’re doing everything to make students in this district successful, those numbers will take care of themselves.
