October 1, 2025

A ribbon cutting to officially unveil new walking paths, pedestrian crosswalks and courtyards on East Mississippi Community College’s Scooba campus will take place Friday, Oct. 17, at 11 a.m. behind the F.R. Young Student Union.

The public is invited to attend the ribbon cutting. Refreshments will be served.

Work on the project wrapped up earlier this year. Similar work is under way on the college’s Golden Triangle campus.

All the walking paths include access points into the buildings and are Americans with Disabilities Act compliant. EMCC was awarded $2 million in federal funds for the Scooba project and a separate $1 million grant for work at the Golden Triangle campus, with EMCC to pay a little over $1 million towards the work.

Among other things, the project at the Scooba campus includes a new walkway encircling the Hawkins Building, the Keyes T. Currie Coliseum and the parking lot between the two buildings. Another walkway was built around the outside perimeter of Stennis Hall, the Davis Administration Building and the Tubb-May Library.

A large courtyard area with landscaping and multiple seating areas was constructed in the commons area between the F.R. Young Student Union and the Davis Administration Building, with sidewalks linking to other buildings. Additional sidewalks were also constructed.

The project on the Golden Triangle campus includes the closure of a service road between the Douglas Building and the Johnny W. Fisher Math and Science Building, with that space converted to a walking path that extends from the parking lot west of the CMTE to an existing sidewalk east of the library.

A covered awning between the Douglas Building and Math and Science Building was removed and a large courtyard with brick pavers has been constructed in its place. The path around the pond on the Golden Triangle campus was widened and new curbs and gutters were added. New sidewalk lighting is being installed at both campuses.