East Central Community College is raising funds to restore the Alumni House, the original President’s Home located at the corner of Broad Street and 8th Avenue on the Decatur campus.
The house, which was built in 1925 and acquired by the college in 1927 was home to three East Central presidents: Roscoe Pugh, Dr. Lindsey O. Todd, and Walter Arno Vincent. Dr. Phil Sutphin, East Central’s seventh president, lived there several years when he served as a Dean of Instruction.
After a new president’s home was built in the mid 60s, it was used as campus housing for various faculty, staff, and administrators. After the last family moved out a few years ago, ECCC President Dr. Brent Gregory made the decision to renovate and use the house as a home base for the Alumni and Foundation offices, as well as a venue for meetings and other special events.
The ECCC Foundation and Alumni Relations offices have already raised more than $60,000 through various fundraisers to begin renovations. Those initial funds have gone towards installation of new plumbing, electrical wiring, and sheetrock. Additional funding is needed to complete the interior renovations which include paint and supplies, refinishing the original hardwood flooring, fixtures, and finishing the bathrooms and kitchen.
Once the inside is complete, there is additional work needed on the exterior of the home including paint, new windows, and concrete work to make the entrances ADA accessible.
The initial funds came through donations, the sale of engraved brick tiles that will cover the east wing porch, and naming opportunities for the various rooms in the house. The Foundation continues to seek donations of any amount large or small but there are four spaces that have naming rights remaining for donations of $5,000 or more. They include the Alumni Office, Foundation Fundraiser Office, Den, and East Wing Porch.”
Dr. Stacey Hollingsworth, executive director of the Foundation, who is spearheading the project said, “This home has been such an integral part of East Central’s history and is one of very few structures remaining from the college’s early years. The Alumni House connects our past with our present and our desire is that it will be a place for our alumni to return, gather, and reconnect.”
The goal of the project, if funding becomes available, is to complete renovation of the house prior to Homecoming 2025 in mid-October when an open house event would serve as kickoff for planning the college's 2028 Centennial Celebration.
Gifts to The Alumni House Renovation Fund can be made online at https://www.eccc.edu/alumni-house-renovations-fund or by contacting the ECCC Foundation Office at 601-635-6327 or e-mail to sholling@eccc.edu. The Foundation will also accept in-kind gifts of materials or craftsmanship.
For more information on how you can be involved with this special restoration project, contact Hollingsworth at the above telephone or email.
