Hinds Community College Blog

Most people know the basics about Hinds Community College.

For example, we all know Hinds CC is affordable ($1,200 per semester for full-time, in state students) and convenient (6 locations serving Claiborne, Copiah, Hinds, Rankin and Warren counties). However, Hinds Community College is much more than your average community college.

Here are 5 things you didn't know about Hinds CC:

1. Hinds Community College is the largest community college in Mississippi and the fourth largest higher education institution in the state. 
   

   Hinds Community College offers 170 academic programs guaranteed to transfer to a university, more than 70 career and technical program options and 14 nursing and allied health programs. If you can't find something to study at Hinds, check your pulse. 
   
   

2. Hinds Community College is the only community college in Mississippi with its own airport.
   
   The John Bell Williams airport is located in Bolton and is home our Aviation Department (Aviation Technology, Commercial Aviation and Unmanned Aircraft Systems programs). Our UAS program was even featured on FOXBusiness!
   
   
3. The Hinds Community College Hi-Steppers are one of the oldest precision dance lines in the United States. 
   
   Founded in 1953, the Hi-Steppers are known as Mississippi’s Goodwill Ambassadors. No group in the U.S. has received more invitations to nationally televised bowl games, professional football games, or national parades than the Hi-Steppers.
    
4. Hinds Community College has won the Halbrook Award in the community college division for the 14^th time since 1987. 
   

   The Halbook Award is given each year at the Mississippi Association of Colleges annual conference to the college having the highest number of student-athletes who graduated or completed class work. Hinds posted a 96% graduation/completion rate among its student-athletes in 2013-2014. 
   
   

5. Hinds Community College's Utica Campus (formerly Utica Junior College) was founded in 1903 and still retains its Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU ) status and traditions. 
   
   Some of Utica's most treasured traditions include Founder's Day, Annual Thanksgiving Dinner and Coronation Ball. 
   
    

In my former career I got to frequently hear former Gov. William Winter, who is still going strong in his 90s, and Jim Barksdale, chairman of the board and president of Barksdale Management Corp. who created the Barksdale Reading Institute out of his own funds. Both talked about public education and their aspirations to make it better.

I got to see both of these guys again at the Feb. 19 HEADWAE luncheon honoring a student and faculty member from each of the public and private colleges in Mississippi. Barksdale is serving as HEADWAE chairman and Winter was the keynote speaker.

Hearing Winter speak always makes me want to stand up and shout, “AMEN.” I restrained myself, however, because I didn’t want to get myself ousted from the meeting.  But it was tempting. Quoting Winter’s words on paper can never adequately capture the passion from the former governor who was the force behind the creation of kindergarten and compulsory attendance in our state.

Winter talked about two basic functions of higher education: Instilling in individual students the understanding of their serving as responsible and compassionate citizens; and building civic relationships that make for strong communities.

“Colleges should create experiences to develop civic responsibility. Higher education is the vehicle for the next generation to learn more about civic responsibility,” he said. “We must learn to live together and be united by shared values. Nowhere in our society can these lessons be learned better than on college campuses.”

Winter also talked about the state of race relations in our state as well as the the polarization of the political parties that is partly based on religion.

“There should always be room for honest dissent and reasonable compromise,” he said.

Honoring our student Caleb Upton of Natchez and faculty member Jane Flowers of Vicksburg made the HEADWAE event worthwhile. Seeing the two other respected education leaders again just capped it off.