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ELLISVILLE – Among the list of the Mississippi Economic Council’s (MEC) newest Leadership Mississippi Class is Jones College’s Executive Vice President, Chief Governmental Affairs, Technology Services and Marketing Officer, Dr. Finée Ruffin. The 2025 MEC Leadership Mississippi Class consists of 45 professionals representing Mississippi’s diverse business, government and nonprofit sectors.

“Each year, Leadership Mississippi brings together the brightest minds from across our state to forge connections and develop the skills needed to shape Mississippi’s future,” said Scott Waller, President and CEO of the Mississippi Economic Council. “The Class of 2025 represents the remarkable diversity of talent and expertise that drives our state’s growth and success.”

Ruffin brings a varied and diverse background to the 2025 Class with experience in sales and marketing in the hospitality and residential leasing industry, to teaching marketing and entrepreneurship at Jones College. Furthermore, she offers an education focused management experience, and she has served in various leadership positions in local philanthropic organizations.

The Soso native was selected in 2012 to be the Marketing Director at Jones College and has been promoted to V.P. and Executive V.P. of Marketing, Recruiting, and Technology and Administrative Services over the last 10 years, to her current role which she has served in over the last two years. Being selected for the prestigious statewide leadership program, Ruffin said will impact her both personally and professionally.

“This opportunity with the MEC represents not only a personal milestone, but it is also a chance to collaborate with extraordinary leaders across our great state who are all dedicated to driving economic growth and strengthening our communities. As a passionate advocate for community colleges, I firmly believe that workforce development, education, and economic prosperity are deeply connected,” shared Ruffin.

The MEC describes the selection process for its Leadership Mississippi Class as a rigorous application process by a committee of program alumni. Participants engage in a comprehensive nine-month leadership development journey, combining intensive skill-building workshops, collaborative projects, and firsthand exploration of Mississippi’s economic drivers and challenges.

Ruffin said she is eager to embark on this new journey of impact and innovation alongside her fellow leaders who share a commitment to the state’s success. She is also filled with gratitude for the Mississippi Economic Council giving her the opportunity to serve the state in this capacity. Ruffin explained that she hopes to be able to take what she learns through this experience to help strengthen the role of education and economic success in the state.

“Through Leadership Mississippi, I look forward to learning, contributing, and championing initiatives that reinforce the vital role of education in building a stronger, more vibrant Mississippi for generations to come,” said Ruffin. “Our institutions serve as the bridge between talent and opportunity, equipping students with the skills needed to fuel Mississippi’s industries and shape the future of our economy. I look forward to collaborating with leaders across the state to champion education and innovation, strengthening Mississippi’s future.”

The Class of 2025’s journey begins with an opening session in Jackson in April and continues with immersive experiences across the state, including visits to the Mississippi Delta, Starkville, and the Mississippi Gulf Coast. These locations showcase Mississippi’s diverse economic landscape, from advanced manufacturing and aerospace to tourism and agriculture, according to the MEC.

Leadership Mississippi, established in 1974 and conducted by the M.B. Swayze Foundation, stands as the nation’s second-oldest statewide leadership program. The program has cultivated a network of more than 1,400 alumni who actively shape Mississippi’s business environment and public policy. The program continues to thrive through the endowment established by the late J.C. and Annie Redd, with J.C. Redd serving as MEC Chairman during the program’s founding year. For more information about Leadership Mississippi and the Mississippi Economic Council, visit mec.ms.

ELLISVILLE – Opening the revised Spring Recital Series at Jones College was virtuoso trombonist from The Netherlands, Jonathan Henneveld and Jones College piano faculty, Dr. Theresa Sanchez. The USM doctoral student played music by Axel Jørgensen, Launy Grøndahl, and Søren Hyldgaard. Henneveld shared with the audience in the Foote Chapel the musical selections are familiar composers from The Netherlands that he grew up listening to before coming to USM. He is currently teaching music majors and coaching chamber ensembles as part of his Graduate Assistantship at USM as he pursues his Doctor of Musical Arts degree.

Music lovers will have to wait a few weeks before the next concert in the Spring Recital Series lineup. Jones College is honored to host the University of North Carolina-Greensboro, Wind Ensemble, which is a select group with a distinguished history, conducted by Jonathan Caldwell, and featuring soprano soloist Lindsay Kesselman on Tuesday, March 25, at 12:45 until 1:45 p.m. in the M.P. Bush Fine Arts Auditorium.

Founded in 1937, the UNCG Bands are among the finest collegiate band programs in the United States and dedicated to the performance, study, and cultivation of wind band music of the highest quality. The UNCG Wind Ensemble is a select concert band of approximately fifty performers within the UNCG School of Music from first-year students through master’s and doctoral students. Members of the current Wind Ensemble are drawn from fifteen states, China, and Peru.

The UNCG Wind Ensemble has enjoyed a distinguished record of performance. The band has performed across the United States and Europe in venues that include the Music Center at Strathmore, the Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center, and Dvořák Hall. In addition, the band has performed for national conferences of the College Band Directors National Association, the American Bandmasters Association, and the National Band Association and frequently commissions and premieres new music for the band.

The band’s legacy of highly acclaimed recordings includes nineteen albums released between 1995 and 2015. The band’s latest recording projects, The Centennial Collection and Centennial Chimes, are celebrations of the UNCG School of Music’s centennial (1921–2021). With nearly 120 tracks totaling more than 12 hours of music, these albums include material from the UNCG Wind Ensemble’s history that was previously unavailable in digital form as well as premiere recordings of four compositions commissioned for the school’s centennial.

Wrapping up the Spring Recital Series on Tuesday, April 22, will be flutist Brianne Little and pianist Siying He, who will be performing in the Foote Chapel from 12:45 p.m. until 1:15 p.m. Little and He will take the audience on a musical journey through different types of mythologies and legends from cultures across the globe, including Greek Mythology, Japanese Legends, Fairytales by Hans Cristian Andersen, and Hungarian folklore, through music by Franz Doppler, Carl Reinecke and Amanda Harburg in “Myth, Legend, Fantasy.”

Dr. Brianne Little is the Assistant Professor of Flute at the University of Louisiana Lafayette. She is a First Prize winner of the 2018 Vienna, 2019 Paris, and 2019 London Grand Prize Virtuoso competitions and the 2018 Golden Classic Music Awards International Competition. She has performed in Italy, France, and England in such venues as Carnegie Hall, the Royal Albert Hall in London, the Amphithéâtre – Cité de la Musique, in Paris, St. Stephen’s Cathedral in Vienna, and the Haydnsall in Eisenstadt, Austria. In July 2019, she performed as Guest Principal Flutist with the Orquesta Filarmónica de Santa Cruz de La Sierra in Bolivia.

Dr. Siying He is an active collaborative pianist based in Louisiana. She has served as a staff pianist for the Vocal Immersion Program at the Castleton Festival (2022, 2023) and was a vocal fellow at the Aspen Music Festival in 2023. In 2024, she was an apprentice vocal coach at Opera in the Ozarks at Inspiration Point. Dr. He has appeared as a collaborative pianist for masterclasses, competitions, and professional productions, working closely with vocalists and instrumentalists in recital and concert settings. Her engagements include performances with the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra, Rapides Symphony Orchestra, and Opera Louisiane. Dr. He holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Collaborative Piano from Louisiana State University and a Master of Music degree from the Manhattan School of Music.

The annual Spring Recital Series of concerts are free and open to the public. For more information call the JC Fine Arts Department at 601-477-4203 or online at https://www.facebook.com/JCJCFineArts

ELLISVILLE – Jones College’s Art Department will be displaying the baseball themed oil paintings of Nathan Mullins in the Eula Bass Lewis Art Gallery until March 27. The show, “Play Ball” features images of Baseball’s superstars and interesting memories from Mullins youth, including images from Baseball Cards to live action images he remembers watching on TV. Additionally, Mullins, who is also a painting instructor at the University of Southern Mississippi, will be giving an “Art Talk” in the gallery on Tuesday, March 25, at 1:30 p.m.

“These paintings feature baseball players, legends of their respective times – largely the 80s and 90s, though at least one is from an earlier period. These are players my brother used to tell me about as we looked together at our baseball card collections when we were younger,” explained Mullins.

Some of the compositions were inspired when Mullins began scanning through highlight reels of the baseball players.

He said, “Fuzzy broadcast images are pulled from these reels and either left alone as found compositions or manipulated to greater or lesser extents before the painting is made as an observational response.”

All of the paintings in the exhibit at Jones College were first made as small oil on panel paintings featuring some of baseball’s stars like Bo Jackson, John Smoltz, Willie Mays and Cal Ripken, Jr. His larger scale paintings were made as observational responses to images of these initial smaller paintings.

Mullins further shared, “The iterative nature of this process lends itself to further abstraction with each additional step away from the initial broadcast image. As a painter, my interest lies in the color and light contrast opportunities presented by the team uniforms along with the iconographic nature of the broadcast image – an image that isolates the figure despite the fact that baseball is a team sport.”

Mullins’ exhibit will be on display in the Eula Bass Lewis Art Gallery until March 27. For more information about upcoming JC art shows or to arrange a visit to the gallery call 601-477-8401. The Eula Bass Lewis Art Gallery is open Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday from 8 a.m. until 3 p.m., and by appointment only on Fridays. The gallery is closed during the holidays. To learn more about the Jones College Art Department, https://www.jcjc.edu/programs/finearts/ or the JC Art Department’s social media: Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/JCJCFineArts/ and on Instagram @artatjonescollege.

ELLISVILLE – After two days into the Spring Blood Drive at Jones College, Vitalant representatives are thankful and concerned. Typically, the first day of donations exceeds goals but donations are coming in slow. The community is invited to the Jones College campus to donate on the last day of the three-day blood drive on Thursday, February 27. The Mobile Unit will be collecting donations between the C.L. Neill Student Center, and the Student Union from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. Donors are welcome to walk in and donate or make an appointment on the Vitalant website, https://donors.vitalant.org/

JC Blood Drive Coordinator, Emergency Technology-Paramedic Program Director and Healthcare Simulation Center Director, Benji Sessums, Ph.D. NR-P, reports that about 50 units were collected over the last two days. Forty more units are needed to meet the goal.

“Vitalant is in a critical need for blood currently. While I am grateful we’ve surpassed the half-way point of our goal, I hope we can have a big turnout on the last day because the JC blood drive helps provide a critical resource to sick and injured people throughout the state. JC students, faculty and staff step up every year to do our best to meet the needs of our state and our community and we hope the community will join us in meeting the blood supply needs.”

To encourage donations, all donors will receive a $10 e-gift card, in addition to other door prizes including $50 bookstore gift certificates, restaurant gift cards, and more, during random drawings for donors.

ELLISVILLE – Jones College ranks first in the state in enrollment growth amongst the 15 Community Colleges for the Spring 2025 semester according to the Mississippi Community College Board’s semester report. Jones welcomed an additional 520 students over Spring 2024 and generated 4,136 more semester credit hours, marking the most significant increase in both headcount and credit hours in recent history.

“This record-breaking growth, with the largest student body since Spring 2011, and the highest credit hour generation since the onset of COVID in Spring 2020, demonstrates our resilience and our ability to adapt to the evolving educational landscape,” said Dr. Finée Ruffin, Executive Vice President at Jones College. “Our commitment to providing quality education has resonated with students and the community, as evidenced by these historic gains.”

Several other factors are being attributed to the unprecedented surge in enrollment, including a strategic effort to remove barriers which prevent students from being successful and finding resources to reach their goals.

“Jones College’s enrollment growth reflects our strategic efforts to strengthen student support and create clear pathways to success. This year, we thoughtfully restructured tuition to lower costs and provided early estimated Pell Grant amounts, giving students confidence that college is within reach,” said Jones College VP of Enrollment Management, Amanda McLeod, LCSW. “Moving forward, we will continue to innovate and expand initiatives like our One Step program, which offers a free class to full-time working individuals. Our goal is to make education accessible to everyone, ensuring that all students have the opportunity to succeed.” 

The growing trend in enrollment began last fall at Jones College. College officials point to the institution’s academic rigor, with 80 career and technical programs and appealing collegiate environment as additional forces driving the upward trend. The remarkable enrollment and credit hour increases at Jones College mirrors a broader statewide trend. Among Mississippi’s community colleges, students are taking more semester credit hours which has reached levels not seen since before the COVID pandemic.

“At Jones College, we are excited to build on this momentum, ensuring that our students receive the highest quality education and support as they pursue their academic and professional goals,” said Ruffin. “We look forward to continuing this growth and making a lasting impact on our community and the broader educational landscape.”

Jones County Junior College (Jones College) is an open door, two-year institution granting Associate in Arts (AA) degrees, Associate in Applied Science (AAS) degrees, Career and Technical certificates, Adult Education credentials, and Workforce credentials. JC inspires greatness by providing higher education programs and support services consistent with the ideals of a democratic society in order to meet the higher education needs of the communities of interest through postsecondary programming, workforce and economic development, and community development. 

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Jones County Junior College is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) to award associate degrees. Degree-granting institutions also may offer credentials such as certificates and diplomas at approved degree levels. Questions about the accreditation of Jones County Junior College may be directed in writing to the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges at 1866 Southern Lane, Decatur, GA 3033-4097, by calling (404) 679-4500, or by using information available on SACSCOC’s website (www.sacscoc.org).

Statement of Non-Discrimination and ADA Statement: Jones County Junior College does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, sex, or disability in its programs, activities, or employment practices. The following persons have been designated to handle inquiries and grievances regarding the non-discrimination policy: The (ADA/ Section 504) Wendy Evans, ADA Coordinator, Terrell Tisdale Library, phone 601-477-2673; email ADACoordinator@jcjc.edu and Title IX Coordinator, Brittany Weatherford-Barron, Hutcheson Hubbard Administration Building, phone 601-477-4127; email brittany.weatherford@jcjc.edu. Jones County Junior College, 900 South Court Street, Ellisville, MS 39437.