Mississippi Gulf Coast Community college named top ten finalist for Aspen Award
PERKINSTON, Miss. (WXXV)- Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College received national recognition.
During today’s board of trustees meeting, leaders celebrated MGCCC being named a top ten finalist for the prestigious Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence.
The Aspen Prize recognizes institutions that demonstrate exceptional student success, teaching and learning, degree completion, workforce outcomes, and equitable access to higher education. MGCCC President Dr. Mary Graham said, “We’re thrilled today to be celebrating our selection as a top 10 Aspen finalist. Aspen is one of the top recognitions for community colleges in the United States. We qualified to even apply for the award with 100 community colleges in the nation and then they narrowed it down to 25 and then we got the phone call last week that we are one of the top 10 recipients. And so, they will select a winner, the winner will receive a million-dollar cash prize to donate to their institution. So, we’ll find that out in April. But just being named one of the top 10 in the nation, it’s a validation of the hard work of our faculty and our employees and the great work being accomplished, all the wonderful things being accomplished by our students.”
This marks the second time MGCCC has been named a top ten Aspen Prize finalist, with the college previously earning the distinction in 2011. “You know Gulf Coast continues to grow exponentially; we have 12 locations now throughout our four county districts. We give over six million dollars in scholarships every year to our students and our foundation gives over a million dollars in scholarships as well. So, we’re excited about the opportunity. We’re planning to build a new dorm here on the Perkinston campus, this campus is growing exponentially. All of our locations are growing. We have a new partnership with Southern Miss where we’ll be teaching all of the freshman and sophomore courses at USM Gulf Park. So again, a lot of energy, a lot of momentum going on at your institution at Gulf Coast Community College.”
MGCCC will find out if they are selected as the winner in April 2027, but officials say this recognition as a finalist validates MGCCC’s commitment to preparing students for successful careers and continued education.
