LAURINBURG — Richmond Community College officially gained multi-campus status and the downtown Laurinburg area now has another gem after college representatives, elected officials and local dignitaries helped to open the doors to RCC’s new Scotland County Campus.

The college recently added two new buildings to its presence on McLean Street, allowing for not only more programs to be added but also a wider variety of services offered to its students.

RichmondCC acquired the Morgan Center and former Covington Street Elementary School building to add on to the campus, which was originally just the Honeycutt Center. The first move was to bring Scotland Early College to Covington Street, which now features state of the art technology.

“We went from having access to three classrooms in North Laurinburg to more than eight,” said Brent Barbee, RichmondCC executive vice president. “While they were getting hot meals at North Laurinburg, now that we have a campus in Scotland County all our students can eat here as well.”

Barbee added there is still work to do at Covington Street and across the campus, including working on lighting, painting, putting in more sidewalks and crosswalks for the safety of the students. There will also be more signage around campus coming to let those driving through that they’re on the campus.

“I can’t say enough about the county and how they’ve worked with us,” Barbee said. “Kevin Patterson, Mike McGirt, the commissioners all supporting this … these locations give us the ability that if we want to expand the programs we offer here, like a vocational program or short-term program, which is what we’re really focusing on now, we have the ability to do so. It gives us the ability to things that other colleges who are landlocked cannot do.”

State Sen. Tom McInnis, R-Richmond, has pushed RichmondCC to gain the multi-campus status from the state and was ecstatic with the opening as he walked through Wednesday to see just what the campus will offer.

“When you get to victory lane and you get to celebrate, it’s a dynamic feeling of great things to come,” McInnis said. “We worked a long time to see and feel and hear what we’re working with here today.”

He added that, through the education mini-budget that has been passed, the expansion is able to not only add academic classes but also vocational training opportunities.

”I hope that everyone will come by the campus, take a tour, go online and see what’s available that meets their needs and their requirements for a better job and a better lifestyle,” McInnis said.

For information on RichmondCC’s Scotland County Campus, contact 910-410-1831 or 910-276-3331.

Reach Katelin Gandee at 910-506-3171 or at [email protected]

Katelin Gandee | The Laurinburg Exchange While community members visited the Scotland County Campus of Richmond Community College, the college’s SGA hosted games for its annual Fall Festival that including laser tag, a video game truck and more.
https://www.yourdailyjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/web1_RCC2.jpgKatelin Gandee | The Laurinburg Exchange While community members visited the Scotland County Campus of Richmond Community College, the college’s SGA hosted games for its annual Fall Festival that including laser tag, a video game truck and more.

Katelin Gandee | The Laurinburg Exchange Brent Barbee, Richmond Community College executive vice president, shows State Sen. Tom McInnis the layout for the Covington Street building before leading him through a tour of the building. The building was recently acquired by RichmondCC as part of its multi-campus expansion into Scotland County.
https://www.yourdailyjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/web1_RCC1.jpgKatelin Gandee | The Laurinburg Exchange Brent Barbee, Richmond Community College executive vice president, shows State Sen. Tom McInnis the layout for the Covington Street building before leading him through a tour of the building. The building was recently acquired by RichmondCC as part of its multi-campus expansion into Scotland County.

Katelin Gandee

Laurinburg Exchange