More classrooms, a 3,000-seat auditorium and new visibility on Interstate 20 are just some of the highlights of the new multi-purpose center planned for the Rankin Campus.

Nearly 3,000 high school and college students as well as Rankin County community members will reap the benefits of the expansion announced on Sept. 2. Participating in the Sept. 2 announcement were Hinds Community College officials, the Rankin County Board of Supervisors and other Rankin County business leaders.

The new facility will add to what the campus has already been able to offer in terms of economic development, said Jay Bishop, president of the Rankin County Board of Supervisors.

"The Rankin Campus has definitely been a benefit to the economic development of our county. It's a benefit having it at our backdoor rather than having to drive 30 miles down the road," Bishop said.

The new center will be a 75,000-sq.-ft. facility housing a multi-function auditorium/conference center and classrooms. The public will be able to book the facility for events such as high school graduations, chamber of commerce dinners and business and industry trade shows.

The auditorium will seat up to 3,000 people and will feature a fixed stage and balcony.

"It will be a building that will provide great educational opportunity for the citizens of Rankin County," said Hinds President Clyde Muse. "At the same time it will help in the economic development of this county in providing a highly skilled, technically trained workforce that can make this county competitive with anybody in the state of Mississippi and beyond."

Lynn Weathersby, Rankin County schools superintendent and vice president of the Hinds Community College Board of Trustees, said he believes there is potential for high school graduations to be held in the new auditorium.

"It's up to the individual schools but it is a good probability. We'd lot rather have high school graduations in Rankin County instead of out of Rankin County," Weathersby said.

The flat floor auditorium can accommodate trade shows and large banquets while moveable panel walls will allow the space to be divided into a multi-room conference center.

A suite of offices and a large conference room will be available for event organizers and will provide a more intimate setting for small group meetings. Large indoor lobbies will provide break-out space and lead to an exterior terrace area overlooking the lake. A full catering kitchen accompanies the meeting space and will serve as classroom space for the culinary arts program.

The classroom wing will house six classrooms/labs, two industrial start-up classrooms, faculty offices and a student lounge.

"We're getting full. We need more classroom space, more space period," said Jessica Jackson of Pisgah, a sophomore majoring in international business.

Businessman Albert Moore of Pearl, chairman of the Rankin Campus Advisory Committee, said the campus has developed quite a bit in its 25-year history. When it opened, it was a much needed Rankin County improvement.

"Twenty five years ago Rankin County stood in the bottom third of our counties in Mississippi for higher education. I was shocked at that number. I thought we'd be in the top four. A lot of work has been done by a lot of people since then," he said. "We can make this campus whatever we want it to be. It's probably the prime gemstone of the county at this point - from an education standpoint and an economic standpoint. It's something the people of Rankin County can take pride in."

The new multi-purpose center is going on 60 acres between the George Wynne Building and I-20 received by the college in 2007.

R & S Developers - Ronnie and Sigrid Garner and their son Ti - donated 39.75 acres, and the Rankin County Board of Supervisors purchased an additional 20 acres, all for the future growth and development of the campus. The land more than doubled the size of the campus.

The center will establish a visual presence for the college on I-20 and define the southern end of the expanded campus. The view of the center from the interstate will be enhanced by a lake with water features.

"We think this is going to be very, very special - a strong icon that will be visible from Interstate 20 and will give travelers, for the first time, the opportunity to see the Rankin campus of Hinds Community College," said architect Richard Dean of Dean & Dean Associates. "They'll have a visual connection with what's only been accessible from Highway 80 all these years."

Freshman Brittany Scallorn of Brandon sees the interstate visibility as a plus. "A lot of people think we're part of Pearl High School. We need more exposure on this campus, definitely," she said.

Nearly 3,000 students, including students from nine high schools in the county, attend classes on the Rankin Campus. Full-time equivalent college enrollment is up nearly eight percent on the Rankin Campus this fall.