Edgecombe Community College history

The 1970 ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new vocational training facility – the J.F. Havens Building – at Edgecombe Technical Institute.

In winter, students often had to dress in hats and coats due to the unreliable heating system.Photo 6 of 9 A ground-breaking ceremony was held in 1976 for the first new educational building construction at Edgecombe Technical Institute.

Pictured are (left) instructor Vivian Godwin and (right) instructor Hattie Jordan with that year’s graduates in cosmetology.Photo 8 of 9 Established in 1982, the Edgecombe Community College Foundation is a non-profit organization set up to receive donations to the college.

In 1987, the college was renamed Edgecombe Community College and has since expanded its campus size.

Arguably Edgecombe County’s most famous native son, Major General Hugh Shelton returned home to deliver the commencement address to ECC graduates in September 1991.

In 1998, the ECC Foundation established its Student Ambassador program.

The program stresses leadership and high academic standards.Photo 4 of 7 In a photo from the May 1999 disaster drill exercises, a second-year nursing student practices her skills in triage on a first-year nursing student.

From across the country, truck after truck, loaded with donations, made its way through flooded and debris-choked roads.Photo 6 of 7 The dedication of the new Arts, Civic, and Technology Center (now the Fleming Building) on the Tarboro campus was held in June 2004.

As part of the college’s 40th anniversary celebration in 2007, the Arts, Civic & Technology Center was renamed the Thomas S. Fleming Building in memory of the man who had done so much to make the college one of the most effective institutions in the NC Community College System.

The Cosmetic Arts Building on the Tarboro campus was completed in 2008.

A new state-of-the-art Collision Repair and Refinishing Building opened in 2013 on the Tarboro campus.

In January 2016, ECC opened a 45,000 sq foot Biotechnology and Medical Simulation Center on the Rocky Mount campus.

In 2018, Doctor Deborah Lamm retired from President of ECC, eventually being replaced by Doctor Gregory McLeod, ECC's first black president.

In January 2020, the new Center for Innovation on the Tarboro campus opened for classes.