̨ʹٷվ Community College’s Utica Campus will hold a ceremony at 2 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 31 to officially re-open the student center.
The J. Louis Stokes Student Center, a 21,066-square-foot facility, will be open to students, staff and the public. It houses computer labs, Student Services offices, the campus bookstore and dining areas.
The newly remodeled Student Union on the Utica Campus of HCC. This lounge area has room for 100 students to gather and socialize between classes.
Speakers for the ceremony include ̨ʹٷվ President Dr. Clyde Muse, Utica Campus Vice President Dr. Tyrone Jackson, ̨ʹٷվ Community College Board of Trustees President Paul Breazeale and Alexis Williamson, president of the Utica Campus Student Government Association.
Renovations on the building began October 2013 with the first of three phases, which concluded this summer. The $5 million project was funded by the Title III, Part B Strengthening HBCUs funding formula.
“The third phase was the addition,” said project architect Bill Campbell. “We gutted the entire first floor and put on additions to three sides of it to increase student dining, to create a student lounge space and create an enlarged kitchen and dining area.”
The student center on the Utica Campus was dedicated on March 19, 1998, to J. Louis Stokes, the sixth and final president of Utica Junior College. Stokes held the position during the college’s merger with the ̨ʹٷվ Junior College District in 1982. From 1987-1993, he was vice president for Continuing Education and Community Services. From 1993 until his retirement in 1997, he served as executive assistant to the president for special projects.
[tweetable alt=””]Renovated Stokes Student Center reopens at ̨ʹٷվ CC Utica Campus.[/tweetable]
̨ʹٷվ Community College is celebrating its 100th year of Community Inspired Service in 2017. ̨ʹٷվ opened in September 1917 first as an agricultural high school and admitted college students for the first time in 1922, with the first class graduating in 1927. In 1982 ̨ʹٷվ Junior College and Utica Junior College merged, creating the ̨ʹٷվ Community College District. Today, as Mississippi’s largest community college, ̨ʹٷվ Community College is a comprehensive institution with six locations. ̨ʹٷվ offers quality, affordable educational opportunities with academic programs of study leading to seamless university transfer and career and technical programs teaching job-ready skills. To learn more, visit or call 1.800.̨ʹٷվCC.