POPLAR BLUFF - U.S. Rep. Jo Ann Emerson of Missouri's Eighth Congressional District recently visited the Three Rivers Community College campus to meet with College officials and tour the campus.

Hosting Emerson's visit was Three Rivers President Dr. Devin Stephenson. Emerson met with Stephenson and members of the President's Cabinet to discuss the recent enrollment surge this fall as well as plans and visions for the College. Joining Stephenson in the meeting were Vice President of Learning Dr. Wesley Payne, Interim Vice President for Student Success Dr. Martha Kirkman and Comptroller Charlotte Eubank.

During her tour of the Three Rivers campus Emerson visited the E.K. Porter Distance Learning Center, and spoke with Kevin Anderson of the University of Missouri TCRC and learned of Three Rivers' partnership with the University of Missouri-Columbia. Through the TCRC, distance education programs are available to the people in the region.

While in the Porter Building, Emerson spoke to College staff concerning Three Rivers' Dual-Credit programs with high schools throughout Southeast Missouri. She also toured the Technology Department and spoke to Systems Administrator Steve Atwood learned more about Three Rivers' cutting-edge Internet and technology systems programs.

Emerson also toured the Crisp Technology Center with Dean Bud Joyner, who explained the programs housed in the facility and the Bess Student Center and learned the need for development of new facilities to serve Three Rivers' students. Stephenson explained that one of the goals for the college is to construct a new Student Success Center that would be a "one-stop" center serving students' needs.

"It was an honor to have Rep. Emerson on our campus and to be able to show her our vision for the future at Three Rivers," Stephenson said. "Jo Ann Emerson is a friend of higher education, she's a friend of workforce development and knows how education can improve the quality of life in the region. Our vision here is to make this a better place to live and to give greater opportunities to our citizens."

Emerson noted the enthusiasm on the College campus and said she looked forward to working with Three Rivers' leadership.

"The ideas on the table for expanding services for students, for developing workforce, the next generation of jobs are all exciting," Emerson said. "I want to thank you for giving me this opportunity. I really look forward to seeing how we can work more cooperatively together in the future. We can work together to leverage what we can do on the federal level with what you do here at Three Rivers. I think there are some tremendous opportunities."

Stephenson noted how Three Rivers wants to encourage people in Southeast Missouri to be creative and form partnerships to make the growth and development of the region a reality.

"We want to be the leaders - we want to be the influencers. We cannot do this by ourselves, sitting on the 80-acre island of our campus. We have to get out and reach out to federal, state and local government, local education entities, business and industry. We all have to work together to make this a better place to live," he said.

Noting that higher education opportunities have not always been readily available in the region, Emerson said that thanks to Three Rivers' network of centers and through the College's technology pipeline, more opportunities are now available.

"I love the fact that there are non-traditional students here at Three Rivers as well as the traditional students out of high school. These folks are not afraid of the future and believe that they can make a difference in their lives. I think that the programs you have in place here are excellent."

While on campus Emerson also had lunch and spoke with members of the Missouri P-20 Council, a statewide group focused on coordinating learning from preschool education (P) to graduate school and the workforce (20).

At Three Rivers Community College, student success is the first priority. A wide variety of academic and workforce programs are offered by Three Rivers on the main campus in Poplar Bluff, at full-service centers throughout the region and through online learning opportunities. For additional information on classes or registration procedures at Three Rivers visit the new College website at www.trcc.edu or call toll-free 1-877-TRY-TRCC (1-877-879-8722).