East Arkansas Community College (EACC) is a

public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichk ...

community college A community college is a type of educational institution. The term can have different meanings in different countries: many community colleges have an "open enrollment" for students who have graduated from high school (also known as senior se ...

Forrest City, Arkansas Forrest City is a city in St. Francis County, Arkansas, United States, and the county seat. It was named for General Nathan Bedford Forrest, who used the location as a campsite for a construction crew completing a railroad between Memphis and Litt ...

. EACC provides higher education at its main campus in Forrest City as well as one satellite location in Wynne, Arkansas?Wynne. EACC is

accredited Accreditation is the independent, third-party evaluation of a conformity assessment body (such as certification body, inspection body or laboratory) against recognised standards, conveying formal demonstration of its impartiality and competence to ...

by the

Higher Learning Commission The Higher Learning Commission (HLC) is an institutional accreditor in the United States. It has historically accredited post-secondary education institutions in the central United States: Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa ...

. Its primary service area includes Cross, Lee, Monroe, St. Francis, and Woodruff counties.

History

In 1968, citizens of St. Francis County created a college committee out of a desire and need for a community college. At the time, the closest schools were in

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...

, and

Jonesboro, Arkansas Jonesboro is a city located on Crowley's Ridge in the northeastern corner of the U.S. State of Arkansas. Jonesboro is one of two county seats of Craighead County. According to the 2020 Census, the city had a population of 78,576 and is the f ...

. The Crowley's Ridge Community College Corporation received approval for its initial charter the following year. In 1971, Betty Jo Hodges donated $25,000 to the organization enabling it to purchase approximately 40 acres of land in

. Two years later, the Arkansas Board of Higher Education announced that St. Francis County had met the requirements necessary to form a community college district. On November 8 of the same year, voters approved the proposal to initiate a four-mill tax to finance construction of the college. The college began holding classes on August 26, 1974. It had 684 students enrolled for its initial semester. In 2005, the school opened an extension center in

Wynne, Arkansas Wynne is the county seat and largest city of Cross County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 8,367 at the 2010 Census. Nestled between the Arkansas Delta and Crowley's Ridge, Wynne is the closest city to the second-largest state park ...

. In 2017, the Arkansas General Assembly passed Act 636, which laid out the process for merging EACC and the nearby Crowley's Ridge Technical Institute (CRTI). On July 31, 2017, the Arkansas Higher Education Coordinating Board voted for the merger, and EACC assumed the property, personnel, and funding of CRTI.

Presidents

* Horace E. Hartsell (1974) * Coy Grace (1998 - 2008) * Cathie Cline (2018–Present)

Arts and culture

EACC has a performing arts center located on campus which opened in 2010. The center is a 33,000 square foot center and is designated as a 'Class A' performance hall, one of only three in the entire state of Arkansas. It features a 1,100 seat auditorium, 2,900 square foot stage, banquet hall, kitchen, black box theater, and art gallery. Notable performers at EACC have included: *

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The Commodores Commodores are an American funk and soul band, which were at their peak in the late 1970s through the mid 1980s. The members of the group met as mostly freshmen at Tuskegee Institute (now Tuskegee University) in 1968, and signed with Motown in ...

* Crystal Gayle

Student life

Under the department of Office of Student Activities, the colleges has a variety of clubs and organizations which students can become members of and participate in their activities.

Athletics

EACC students participate in intramural sports against other ADLI colleges year-round in the following sports: * Basketball * Flag Football * Softball * Volleyball EACC holds an annual golf tournament and held its 10th annual one in 2021. Some of the sponsors included Arkansas Concrete Company, Boar's Head, Forrest City Medical Center, and

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. All proceeds from the annual tournament support the EACC Foundation which helps students.

References

External links

Official website
{{authority control 1974 establishments in Arkansas Buildings and structures in St. Francis County, Arkansas Community colleges in Arkansas Education in St. Francis County, Arkansas Educational institutions established in 1974 Forrest City, Arkansas Universities and colleges in Arkansas