100+ Significant Events

Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College, 1908-2010

1908
The Mississippi State Legislature passed the Agriculture High School Bill. The Gulfport Commercial Union (now the Chamber of Commerce) set up an agricultural high school committee to secure an AHS for Harrison County.
1910
The Mississippi State Legislature passed a revised AHS Law which made the establishment of an AHS easier. September 3: The Harrison County School Board met in the Harrison County Courthouse and the Daily Herald stated two days later that Perkinston had been chosen as the site of the new school. Three days after that, the paper printed a retraction saying that the board had, in fact, failed to agree on a site. Since the board had used all its legal meeting time for the year, nothing could be done until the following year.
1911
September 5: The Harrison County School Board named Perkinston as the site of the new AHS. September 18: The Harrison County AHS Board of Trustees met for the first time.
1912
September 17: Thirty-nine boys and 24 girls began classes for the first time at Perkinston. Only one building (later called Huff Hall) stood on Perk Hill. Huff Hall was both a co-ed dorm and a classroom building.
1913
July 5: The Board of Trustees accepted as complete the institution's first administration building (later called Bennett Hall).
1914
May 27: First AHS Graduation--Two Students.
1915
April 1: The institution's first girls' dorm (later called Stone Hall) opened.
1916
June 5: Stone County formed out of north Harrison County. August 30: Lately formed Stone County joined in support of the Harrison-Stone AHS.
1917
Professor James Andrew Huff, the institution's first principal, resigned to take the position of principal of Pearl River AHS in Poplarville.
1918
November 11: The student body marched to Wiggins to celebrate the end of World War I.
1919
January: The institution remained closed after Christmas for a month due to the Spanish influenza epidemic.
1920
August: Physical education classes were added by state requirement.
1921
March: Volume I, Number I of the Perkinston Aggie came out as the first newspaper published on campus and distributed by students.
1922
July 1: Ernest Bert Colmer began his long career as the agriculture teacher.
1923
September: Superintendent J.H. Forbis announced that he would hire coaches who teach rather than teachers who coach.
1924
June: Newly appointed Harrison-Stone AHS Superintendent Jefferson Lee Denson took the helm determined to add a junior college to the AHS.
1925
May 23: The institution added junior-college work effective in September. The name of the institution then became Harrison-Stone-Jackson Agricultural High School and Junior College (HSJAHS and JC)
1926
February: Jackson Hall opened as a men's dormitory.
1927
Fall: The 1927 football Bulldogs won their first state championship.
May 20: Hersel McDaniel became the first graduate of HSJJC.
1928
July 1: State-funding supplements for junior colleges began.
1929
November 23: The institution celebrated its first Homecoming Day with an afternoon victory over Hinds on the gridiron, and, at the banquet following, formed the Alumni Association.
December 11: The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) welcomed the HSJJC at Perkinston into its ranks as a fully accredited junior college.
1930
May: Graduates wore caps and gowns for the first time at Perk, and for the first and only time, an attempt was made to marry homecoming and graduation. That fall, Homecoming was again, and forever more, held in conjunction with a football game.
1931
April 24: HSJJC won its first state championship baseball trophy.
December: Mary O'Keefe of Ocean Springs took her seat as the first woman member of the Board of Trustees.
1932
May 28: On graduation night, the assemblage sang the Alma Mater for the first time.
1933
December: The Board of Trustees voted 6 to 4 to authorize dances on campus. The next month, the first junior-college dance in Mississippi history took place in the Old Gym.
1934
August: The Board of Trustees hired Robert Harmon Longmire as the school's first band director. That fall, Perk fielded its first uniformed band.
1935
November 8: HSJJC defeated Pearl River Junior College for the first time in a football game.
1936
April: Men's and women's track teams won state-championship trophies for the second time in a row.
November 2: For the second time and the second time in a row, the HSJJC football Bulldogs beat Pearl River Junior College.
1937
January 15: Phi Theta Kappa Gamma Nu Chapter was chartered at Perk.
October 30: Dedication of Harrison Hall girls' dormitory at Homecoming.
1938
November 19: For the first time, the appellation "Homecoming Queen and Court" was used to designate the royal ladies of the gridiron. HSJJC lost the game to Pearl River Junior College 19-0.
1939
September 29: HSJJC played its first home game "under the arcs" on the newly illuminated Old Athletic Field. The Bulldogs battled the Bobcats of Jones Junior College to a 6-6 tie.
1940
March 7: Letters were awarded to girls for playing soccer. The games were intramural, but this was the first mention of soccer at Perk.
April 13: HSJAHS and JC band won its first and only state junior-college band championship. This year marked the last time the prize was given.
1941
Fall: Albert Louis May replaced Cooper Darby and became the first CEO of the institution to be termed "president."
1942
July 15: George County joined Harrison, Stone and Jackson counties in support of the Perkinston Institution, which then changed its name from Harrison-Stone-Jackson Agricultural High School and Junior College to Perkinston Agricultural High School and Junior College.
1943
January 13: W.D. Smith took charge of the war-related courses that became the genesis of the vocational-technical education department of the institution.
1944
August: Robert F. "Col. Bob" Rivers, social studies instructor, informed the students in assembly of the federal G.I. Bill of Rights, which guaranteed education to veterans.
1945
March 31: A B-24 Liberator bomber on a training mission from Keesler crashed on Perkinston Junior College farmland just north of the campus, killing five airmen.
1946
Having been called a "girls school" during the war, the returning veterans seeking educational opportunities under the G.I. Bill reclaimed Perk's standing as a "boys school."
1947
Spring: Perkinston Junior College won Mississippi junior-college state championships in both men's and women's tennis and baseball.
1948
Fall: The Bulldog football team took Co-National honors.
1949
February 23: The Perkinston Junior College Board of Trustees accepted the War Memorial Chapel as complete.
March 6: The War Memorial Chapel was dedicated.
1950
Fall: J.J. Hayden Jr., the man destined to turn Perkinston Junior College into Mississippi's first tri-campus junior college, began his career in Perkinston as a social studies instructor.
1951
March: President A.L. May announced the completion of the college's new vocational-technical building (later named in honor of E.B. Colmer, former head of the Perk agriculture department).
1952
Fall: Prof Sam Jones fielded his first women's drill team, which he dubbed 'Perkettes."
1953
July 8: President A.L. May died and was replaced by J.J. Hayden Jr.
July 22: The football stadium at Perkinston was officially named A.L. May Memorial Stadium.
1954
November: The drama students of Perk took the name Perk Players.
1955
December 1: The Bullpups of Perkinston AHS, coached by J.V. Shiel, defeated Notre Dame of Biloxi in A.L. May Memorial Stadium to take the Dairy Bowl Trophy. This was the pinnacle of AHS football.
1956
October 13: The first Sam Owen Trophy was awarded to C. E. "Gene" Dees. Gulfport businessman Sam Owen established the award given each Homecoming to honor a person or persons who had actively supported the college.
1957
October 5: Mississippi Lieutenant Governor Carroll Gartin dedicated the New Gym (now called Weathers/Wentzell Center).
1958
May 18: For the first time, all graduation-related ceremonies were held on the same day.
1959
Curtis Davis completed nine seasons as tennis coach for the institution, setting the institution record (seven) for state trophies in the sport.
1960
August: Sue Ross began her career at Perk, which led to the re-establishment of intercollegiate women's sports in Mississippi.
1961
November 11: The culmination at Homecoming of the 50th anniversary celebration of the institution.
1962
May 10: Establishment of Mississippi Gulf Coast Junior College as the state's first multi-campus junior college.
May 20: After graduation that day, the Perkinston Agricultural High School ceased to exist after a 50 year run.
1963
February 5: The voters of the MGCJC District (Harrison, Stone, George, Jackson) approved the $3,200,000 bond issue to build two new campuses on the Coast (Jefferson Davis and Jackson County campuses).
1964
May 22: Groundbreaking for the Jackson County Campus.
June 13: Groundbreaking for the Jefferson Davis Campus.
November: An MGCJC operated Manpower Development Training Act Center began operation at the mothballed World War II-era Naval Construction Battalion (CB or "Seabee") Base in Gulfport. This was the first vocational-technical satellite of the college.
1965
September 7: Classes began at the Jefferson Davis Campus and the Jackson County Campus.
1966
Triple-Crown Year: State championships in baseball (Curly Farris, coach), basketball (Bob Weathers, coach) and football (George Sekul, coach). It was Sekul's first year as head coach, and the Pearl River Junior College Wildcats fell to the Bulldogs for the first time in 18 years.
1967
January: The first Miss Junior College District beauty pageant was the third event (after Homecoming and graduation) to reach tri-campus status. (The pageant ended in 1984.)
1968
October 24: The Board of Trustees accepted Dees Hall as complete.
1969
August 17: Hurricane Camille destroyed more than 5,000 homes on the Coast, resulting in full dorms at Perk.
1970
November 1: The Alumni Hall of Fame began with induction of Fred Haise at Homecoming.
1971
Fall: George Sekul's Bulldog football team won the National Junior College Athletic Association National Championship.
April 30: First Instructor of the Year award presented to Guy D. Moffett, Perkinston Campus science instructor.
1972
October: The Old Denson Building fell to the wrecker's ball across the quadrangle from the new Denson Hall, completed the prior year.
Spring: Sue Ross' basketball team won the National AIAW championship.
1973
March 4: Mississippi Governor Bill Waller dedicated the George County Occupational Training Center in Lucedale.
June 4: Classes began at Keesler Center.
September: Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) began at Perk.
1974
Fall: George Sekul's football Bulldogs won the state championship.
1975
Spring: Doris Smith led the tri-campus women's state tennis team to a state championship.
1976
March: Liaison, the president's residence on the Perkinston Campus, was completed.
1977
Spring: Sue Ross' Lady Bulldog basketball team, as she put it, won "South State, State, Region Seven (NJCAA) and Seventh Nationally in Seventy-Seven."
1978
Spring: Bob Weathers basketball Bulldogs won the state championship.
1979
August: Andrews Hall became Mississippi's first structure at a previously all-white institution to be named for an African American. Thelma Andrews was the head cook at the Perkinston Campus.
1980
Fall: George Sekul's Bulldogs won the state football championship.
1981
October 31: The members of the 1971 National Championship football team, the coaches, and the 1971 cheerleaders were inducted into the Alumni Hall of Fame at Homecoming.
1982
Fall: George Sekul's Bulldogs shared co-state football championship honors with Northwest Jr. College
1983
Fall: The MGCJC band became known as the Band of Gold to signify the "marriage" of the three campuses' band students into a unified organization.
1984
Fall: George Sekul's Bulldog football team won the National Junior College Athletic Association National Championship.
1985
July: Classes began at West Harrison County Occupational Training Center.
1986
January 1: Dr. Barry Lee Mellinger became MGCJC president when Dr. J.J. Hayden Jr.'s term expired as the new year began.
1987
October 1: The name of the college became Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College.
October 24: Culmination of the 75th anniversary of the beginning of classes at Homecoming.
1988
Spring: A tri-campus yearbook was published for the first time since 1975 and the last time before 2000.
1989
Huff Hall, the institution's first and most historic structure, was converted into the Learning Lab.
The original president's home became the Alumni House.
1990
Spring: Charles Cooper's golf team won State/Region 23 and fifth place in the NJCAA (Division III). It was the last fifth-place trophy awarded by the NJCAA.
1991
May 22: Classes began at the Mississippi Gulf Coast Applied Technology and Development Center (later the Advanced Manufacturing and Technology Center) in the Intraplex 10 Light Industry Park in Gulfport.
Spring: Cooper Farris' baseball Bulldogs won South State, NJCAA Region 23, NJCAA Eastern District, and placed fifth in the NJCAA World Series, making it the institution's highest-ranking baseball team of the 20th century.
Spring: Bob Weathers' basketball Bulldogs reached the highest ranking in the institution's history by taking South Division, State and NJCAA Region23 titles, along with a fourth-place finish in the NJCAA Tournament in Hutchinson, Kansas.
1992
Spring: Bob Weathers' basketball Bulldogs won the state championship.
1993
Spring: Bob Weathers' basketball Bulldogs won South Division, NJCAA Region 23 and placed fifth in the nation at the NJCAA Tournament in Hutchinson, Kansas.
Spring: Charles Cooper's golf team finished fourth in the nation, the highest point reached by Gulf Coast in the 20th century.
1994
November 5: First MGCCC Archives Homecoming exhibit in Heidelberg Hall (special reunion of 1984 football championship team).
1995
October 21: Special Archives exhibit commemorated Gold Star students and faculty on the 50th anniversary of the end of World War II.
1996
July 1: Community Campus, the "campus without walls," began operations.
Fall: One Stop Career Centers opened on all three campuses.
1997
April 10: Dedication of the large Perkinston Campus flag pole on the site occupied by the Vietnam Moving Wall the year before.
July 1: Mary Spring Graham became the first woman in Gulf Coast history to hold the title of vice president (Community Campus).
1998
Spring: Coach Charles Spence's men's tennis team set the institutions 20th century record for men's tennis laurels, winning State/Region 23 honors and eighth place in the nation, with Johan Lonner taking the No. 1 singles position in the nation.
August: Perkinston Campus Vice President Willis H. Lott replaced Barry L. Mellinger as MGCCC president, and Mary Spring Graham replaced Lott to become the first woman vice president of one of the three original campuses.
1999
October 28: Athletic Hall of Fame began with 15 inductees.
2000
April: MGCCC President Willis H. Lott launched Strategic Plan 2000.
2001
Campus Master Plans progress
Pat and Gregg Descher donated Mac, the English Bulldog, as the college mascot
75-year anniversary of JUCO athletics
Soccer: South Division champs
Softball: State/Region 23 champs
2002
Fall: Publication of Charles L. Sullivan's "Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College: A History 1911-2000."
90-year anniversary of college
NSF grant
Softball: South Division and State/Region 23 champs
Tennis: Co-state champs
2003
10,000-plus students enrolled
Capital improvements bond fund
Inaugural Difference Maker awards
Softball: State champs
Tennis: State/Region 23 doubles title
Partnership with Franklin University (Three-Plus-One)
Inaugural Leadership Program
2004
"Building Today, Preparing for Tomorrow," MGCCC Facility Needs Assessment and Recommendations report by Dr. Ed Hartsell
Major infrastructure improvements began at the Perkinston Campus
Veterans History Project began (lasted until spring 2008)
11,000 students enrolled
Soccer: Women's team won South Division title
Tennis: State/Region 23 titles (women's doubles and men's singles and doubles)
2005
August 29: Hurricane Katrina destroyed 65,000 homes on the Coast, resulting in full dorms at Perk, but also the loss of three structures and damage to many others.
Fall: Steve Campbell's football Bulldogs took the South Division trophy as his first at Perk and the first football trophy of any type in a generation (since 1986).
2006
President George W. Bush spoke at graduation ceremony
Bryan Hall completed, Perkinston Campus
Fall: 62 percent recovery of the more than 3,700 students lost post-Katrina
Promise Campaign began
Childcare program began at Jefferson Davis Campus
SLEAP funds
Project Outreach/Project Retrain
Ropes Course began hosting groups
Charles L. Sullivan named first Professor Emeritus
Baseball: South Division title
Soccer: Men's South Division title
College acquires Dixie Press collection and C.C. "Tex" Hamill Down South Magazine Collection
2007
Steve Campbell's Bulldog football team won Co-National National Junior College Athletic Association honors
College began to "go wireless"
Two new residence halls (George Hall, New Women's) completed/open
Childcare building at Jefferson Davis Campus completed
Smithsonian's New Harmonies exhibit, Jefferson Davis Campus
Softball: State/Region 23 title
Baseball: South Division title
Men's Basketball: South Division title
Football: South Division title (first team since 1984 to be undefeated in regular season)
2008
SACS accreditation process began
College adopted emergency-communication plan (Connect-Ed)
Twelve employees recognized as Master Trainers
Estuarine Education Center opens
Bell Tower/Green Space completed, Jackson County Campus
Ottis Ball donated $1 million to college (largest monetary gift in college's history)
Football: Gulf Coast defeated Georgia Military 41-7 to win inaugural Mississippi Bowl
Wired (???)
Football: State champs (first time to win that title since 1986) and national co-champs with Butler County Community College (fourth time to win national title in Gulf Coast football history)
Golf: State/Region 23 champs
Soccer: Women's team All-American Team of the Year and state-title winners
Athletics Web site launched
2009
SACS completion of compliance (no recommendations)
New alumni campaign/logo
Going Green launched
First Spirit of Unity award
Synthetic turf completed
Academic classroom building completed at George County Center
Maintenance buildings completed at Perkinston, Jackson County campuses
10,000 Strong campaign
It's Like This!
Football: South Division champs, competed in Heart of Texas Bowl (defeated by Navarro)
Softball: State and Region 23 champs/in national top 10
Golf: Region 23 champs
Baseball: South Division champs
Soccer: Men's team won state and Region 23 titles/women's team named, once again, by NJCAA as a top academic team
Island donation
2010
Gulf Coast named Great College to Work For
Nursing/Allied Health programs' organizational structure revised
Distance Learning changed name to e-Learning
Social networking / interactive documents/g-mail
Web-enhanced courses (Desire2Learn)
Gulf Coast provided assistance during oil-spill crisis
Gulf Coast named Military Friendly College
New campus signage
Old Gym demolished, construction of Learning Resources building began
Moon Pine dedicated by Fred Haise
Largest graduation in college's history