ECCC Drafting Program Receives Grant

ECCC, Miss. (PRESS RELEASE)  – The Drafting and Design Technology program at East Central Community College in Decatur was recently awarded a $25,000 grant by the Mississippi Board of Licensure for Professional Engineers and Surveyors.

The grant, applied for by instructor Chris Ryals, is awarded to those promoting surveying and professional licensure and was based on “the college’s need for equipment and the merit of the education that was being provided for the students.”

According to Ryals, East Central was the only college with a Land Surveying Technology Program to receive the grant.

Ryals said, “Based on the needs and the amount of funding available, I requested that the college purchase a new Robotic Total Station to meet MDOT equipment standards, a new Survey-Grade Global Positioning Unit capable of centimeter accuracy, additional necessary survey equipment such as Tripods and Prism Rods to replace aging equipment, hand-held radios for across campus communication between survey parties and a new Data Collector capable of operating the GPS and Total Station.

“These purchases will enable the surveying program at East Central to not only grow in numbers with new pieces of equipment, but we will maintain technological standards and be capable of teaching the latest methods of surveying to our students.”

For more information on the college’s Drafting and Design Technology program, contact the Workforce Education Division at 601-635-6210 or email weason@eccc.edu.