Education
In episode 164 of the TigerTalk podcast presented by Northeast Mississippi Community College, host Will Kollmeyer welcomes Northeast president, Dr. Ricky G. Ford, to the podcast as Kollmeyer and Ford sit down to discuss a variety of topics that are happening at the college. This week's episode marks 61 straight weeks for Ford as the president steps to the forefront to talk about everything Northeast Mississippi Community College. Ford's focus this week recaps the first week of in-person classes at the college and announces an enrollment increase over the number of students that Northeast saw during the 2020 Fall semester. Ford talks about the Delta variant of the COVID virus and how Northeast has mitigated the cases and those in quarantine to a very low number over the first week of classes through the use of masks and social distancing. Ford encourages everyone to be proactive against the COVID virus and not only protect themselves but protect those around them as well. In a look at athletics, the president talks about the beginning of fall sports with football, baseball, softball, golf, and tennis all having games or matches throughout the fall semester and discusses the Go, Set, Match fund-raiser for a new tennis complex as the college looks to create a state-of-the-art athletic complex around the baseball/softball fields and the football field. In a discussion about the college's QEP, Ford talks about Fridays and the success of professional development and importance of Friday learning opportunities for employees.