MCC selects Huebner as new president

Dr. Thomas M. Huebner, Jr., has been named the new president of Meridian Community College. The MCC Board of trustees approved his selection unanimously Thursday night.

Huebner was president of East Mississippi Community College for three years. He's scheduled to begin his new position at MCC July 1.

Huebner said he and his family are very excited to be coming to MCC.

“MCC is a premier college, and I believe Meridian is at the cusp of the dawning of a new era in terms of holistic community development, including the attraction of new industry and the evolution of creative economies," said Huebner. "The advent of the Mississippi Arts and Entertainment Experience as part of the ongoing revitalization of downtown is a prime example of the progress being made. MCC has a key role to play in that future development. I am appreciative of the Board of Trustees having the confidence in me to help fulfill our community’s unrivaled promise.”

Huebner is only the third president of MCC. Prior to Dr. Bill Scaggs and Dr. Scott Elliott, superintendents of the Meridian Public School District were the heads of the college.

“We are truly excited about Dr. Huebner joining the MCC family,” said MCC board chairman, Alex Weddington. “He is a proven leader with a range of experiences across the curriculum in successful senior-level college administration. We believe he possesses the energy, enthusiasm and vision to lead the college to its next level of excellence in providing diverse higher education opportunities to the citizenry of the East Mississippi/West Alabama region.”

In a news release, Weddington also commended the other finalists who interviewed for the presidency: Dr. Don Burnham of Holmes Community College, Dr. Ted Lewis of Pellissippi State College of Knoxville, TN; Dr. Paul Miller of EMCC, and Dr. Scott Alsobrooks of Pearl River Community College.

“Every one of our finalists made outstanding presentations of themselves,” Weddington said. “Our board felt any one of them would have made a terrific president for MCC, and we are appreciative of their interest in our college and the investment of time and energy they made in the search process. Dr. Huebner’s familiarity with Meridian and his previous experiences as a college president were among the elements that particularly strengthened his candidacy from the Board’s perspective.”

Weddington said the search process was exhaustive and the board invested the time to make the right choice. Over sixty applications were submitted.