Education
In episode 161 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 58 straight weeks for Ford as the president steps to the forefront to talk about everything Northeast Mississippi Community College. Ford discusses the beginning of school on Monday, August 16 and the start of online classes on Monday, August 23 and the work that has gone into the residence halls on campus to make Northeast one of the top institutions in the country. Ford also address the upcoming employee InService on Wednesday, August 11 and the opportunities for professional development amongst the college employees throughout the year. In a serious note, Ford talks about COVID-19 and the Delta variant and how it has impacted the college and the discussions taking place on whether masks will be mandated for the upcoming school year along with the ongoing health crisis. Ford states that a decision on the masks and other safety protocols will be made early next week. Ford gives an update on special projects that the college has announced in the recent weeks to help make getting an education or reskill employees including The Northeast Promise for the college's career and technical students along with the recent announcement about the online workforce college.