MGCCC wins Halbrook Award for graduation rate

Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College won the David M. Halbrook Award for the fourth time since 2009-10 at a ceremony Tuesday during the Mississippi Association of Colleges and Universities Conference in Wesson.

The Halbrook Award was established in 1984 by the state Legislature and was set up to recognize colleges that achieve high academic standards and to encourage high graduation rates. 

Gulf Coast, which has more than 200 players in 10 varsity sports, graduated 98 percent of its student-athletes in 2015-16 academic year to win in the community college division.

"Our student-athletes do a great job on and off the field," MGCCC President Dr. Mary S. Graham said. "This is a testament to their hard work, as well as the atmosphere of success created by their coaches and the faculty who provide the leadership for their achievements in the classroom. They all go above and beyond everyday and embody what it means to be #InTheBlue."

Administered cooperatively by the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning, the Mississippi Community College Board, and the Mississippi Association of Independent Colleges and Universities, the purpose of the Halbrook Awards program is to recognize colleges and universities that maintain and achieve high academic standards for student athletes, thus encouraging high graduation rates. While serving in the Mississippi Legislature, Representative David M. Halbrook Sr., along with his brothers, John Halbrook, James Halbrook, and J. A. Halbrook, endowed the Halbrook Awards.

Gulf Coast also won the award in 2009-10, 2011-12 and 2012-13.

For more information on MGCCC's 10 intercollegiate athletic teams, follow @MGCCCAthletics on Twitter and BulldogLIVE on Facebook, and go to mgcccbulldogs.com.