JCC is now Eastern Gateway Community College

STEUBENVILLE, Ohio - It was the day Laura Meeks had been waiting for.

And the president of Jefferson Community College wasted no time in making her grand announcement to cheers, applause and a shower of confetti from trustees, faculty, staff, students and graduates of the school that has served Jefferson County since the 1960s.

"Right here, right now, we are Eastern Gateway Community College," declared Meeks at 11:14 a.m. Thursday.

The work to expand the college into Columbiana, Trumbull and Mahoning counties officially began in March 2008 when the school's board of trustees voted to become a formal partner in the planning and development of the new college.

But signs of the expansion actually started in 2005 when JCC began to attract a growing number of students from Columbiana County.

"Approximately 30 percent of graduating high school students in Jefferson County came to JCC to further their education. We started online classes as well a program to bring high school students to our classrooms while they were still attending high school. But we were also seeing potential areas of growth from Columbiana County. And we saw more opportunities for growth to the north of the Ohio Valley," explained Meeks.

"This will be the full-service campus. We will still be known as JCC, or the Jefferson County Campus of Eastern Gateway Community College. And we will see career centers in the other three counties," noted Meeks.

"I know people in Jefferson County are very proud to be part of this new college. And we have found open arms and ready hands in the other three counties," Meeks added.

The new, expanded college, "will become a model not only for Ohio but also the nation," Ohio Chancellor Eric Fingerhut told the standing-room-only audience that gathered for the ceremony held in the quiet lounge of the school.

"Eastern Gateway Community College is one small part of a larger vision to advance higher education in Ohio," stated Fingerhut.

"I want to congratulate all of you. Congratulations on your vision, your courage and your faith to reach out to your neighbors and educational collaborators. Because you have a determined vision, courage and faith we are behind you 100 percent and will stand with you every step of this journey. We know Ohio will succeed if we all work together," said Fingerhut.

"I was moved when I pulled into the entrance this morning and saw all of the new Eastern Gateway signs and banners. When I see all of you wearing Eastern Gateway Community College shirts, I love it. You can't have a proper college without the shirt," declared Fingerhut.

Classes in the new four-county district of Jefferson, Columbiana, Mahoning and Trumbull counties will begin in January 2010.

Fingerhut said Eastern Gateway Community College will still be the smallest of 23 community colleges in the state, "but I believe in a very short time the student enrollment will grow significantly."

"We will have guaranteed growth in enrollment as we serve this large, underserved area with community college education opportunities," Meeks said.

Meeks presented trustees emeritus Arthur D'Anniballe, current board of trustee chairman Joseph Matthews and the late Nick A. Mougianas with honorary associate degrees during the event.

D'Anniballe, the last living member of the original board of trustees when the Jefferson County Technical Institute was established in 1968, said he never thought he would see the school grow to a four-county community college.

"In those early days I thought we would just have a glorified industrial vocational school. Today is truly unbelievable. But the success is due to good, strong and honest leadership," remarked D'Anniballe.

Scott Campbell, co-owner of M&M Hardware and a 1980 graduate of the college, said the event, "was great for the community and is a real positive that everyone was looking for."

"Our local college will now lead the way so we can see our children not only obtain an excellent education, but so we can attract future development to Jefferson County," predicted Campbell, who serves as president of the Jefferson Community College Foundation.

(Gossett can be contacted at dgossett@heraldstaronline.com)