MCC celebrates ribbon cutting for L.O. Todd/Billy C. Beal Student Success Center
For many students, success begins with finding the right place to ask for help.
At Meridian Community College, that place is now easier to find.
MCC celebrated the ribbon cutting of the L.O. Todd/Billy C. Beal Student Success Center, a renovated and reimagined space designed to bring key student services together under one roof. The center includes advising, tutoring, library services, writing and math support, the Margaret Taylor Blaylock Resource Center, the Phil Hardin Honors College, a sensory room, and other spaces focused on student support and success.
Dr. Cedric Gathings, vice president for student affairs and dean of students, welcomed guests and said the center reflects MCC’s commitment to helping students feel supported. To students in the audience, Dr. Gathings stressed, “This is more than just a building. This is where you find support, make connections and, more importantly, you call this place home.”
Dr. Leia Hill, chief of staff and vice president for institutional advancement and operations and executive director of the MCC Foundation, said the project was made possible through years of planning, renovation, grant funding and generous donors.
“This building reflects years of planning, renovation, and a shared commitment to making sure our students have what they need to succeed,” Dr. Hill said. “None of this happens by accident. It happens because people who believe in our students come together around a shared vision.”
Dr. Hill recognized several donors whose gifts helped shape the building’s new spaces.
Chip Taylor’s gift made the Margaret Taylor Blaylock Resource Center possible in honor of his mother’s legacy and her service to MCC students when she was a counselor at the College. Hill said the center gives students facing everyday challenges a place where support is “real, accessible, and immediate.”
The Phil Hardin Foundation, a Meridian-based private foundation established in 1964 to improve educational opportunities and outcomes for Mississippians, also continued its support of MCC through the creation of a dedicated home for the Phil Hardin Honors College. The foundation first made a $1 million gift to the program in 2014, and the Honors College was named in its honor in 2015.
“More than a decade later, their continued support made it possible to create a dedicated Honors College that reflects the excellence of the students it serves and gives the program a true place to call home,” Dr. Hill said.
Hill also recognized the Srivastava family and their partnership with KultureCity, which helped create a sensory-friendly space for students who need a calm and supportive environment.
“All of these donors gave more than gifts,” Hill said. “They gave investments to our students and their future, and their impact will be felt for years to come.”
Lloyd Gray, executive director of the Phil Hardin Foundation, said the foundation was proud to continue its long partnership with MCC.
“We, at the Hardin Foundation, have a lot of partners in this community and around the state of Mississippi,” Gray said. “But none is more trusted and respected as a recipient of Hardin grant funds than Meridian Community College.”
Gray said the foundation supported the project because MCC uses its resources wisely and because the Honors College is one of the college’s “crown jewels.”
“The Phil Hardin Honors College now has a home that reflects the excellence and ambition of its students,” Gray said. “We celebrate with the students, faculty, administration, staff, and broader community as this significant milestone is reached.”
Dr. Tom Huebner, MCC president, said the idea for the center began long before he came to MCC. As a former college professor, he remembered sending students across campus to find different kinds of support. “It seemed like putting all those pieces in one place would make sense,” Dr. Huebner said. “And I vowed that if I ever got the chance, I would make that happen.”
Dr. Huebner said that chance came at MCC, where leaders, faculty, and staff shared the drive to create a central space for student success.
The building, once known mainly as the library, now remains a library but has grown into much more, he said. Students entering the building can find advising, tutoring, writing and math support, library resources and other services designed to help them succeed.
“Navigating the world in 2026 is just different,” Huebner said. “Sometimes students need to have someone help them put all the pieces together so they can meet their goals, achieve their dreams and become what they were created to be. That’s what we do.”
Huebner also pointed to the transformed first floor, which includes the Margaret Taylor Blaylock Resource Center, the Phil Hardin Honors College, the KultureCity sensory room, College Communications, digital studio space and broadcast technology areas.
He thanked MCC’s Board of Trustees, cabinet, faculty and staff, facilities team, architects, contractors, city and county leaders, state officials and community partners for supporting the project and the college.
“This town, this city, this county loves this college, and that matters,” Dr. Huebner said.
He said the focus of the day remained MCC students.
“At this college and in this space, we see them figure it out,” Dr. Huebner said. “We see them grab a vision. We see them make friends that last a lifetime. We see them discover how to find their wings.”
For more information, visit meridiancc.edu.