During a 43-year career at Pearl River Community College, there weren’t too many students, staff members of programs that weren’t impacted in a positive way by John Cecil Burt.
To recognize that legacy, PRCC officials held a dedication ceremony in Burt’s honor on April 16 at the Forrest County campus’s multi-purpose room off U.S. 49 in Hattiesburg, which is now named the Dr. Cecil Burt Special Events Room. A native of Brooklyn, Burt passed away on July 4, 2021.
“This is a very special day; we are so grateful to Pearl River Community College … for honoring the time that my husband spent here,” Burt’s wife Debbie said. “(He loved) his life’s work here, teaching individuals in Forrest County, supporting them as they were striving to achieve their goals.
“It’s a great honor for him, and our family appreciates so much the recognition of his accomplishments and his career. We’re just very grateful.”
The special events room, which formerly served as a class for automotive shop, was renovated before serving its current purpose. PRCC officials use the room to host events and celebrations for such measures as Veterans Day, Black History Month and pinning ceremonies.
The dedication event was attended by PRCC officials including president Adam Breerwood, former president William Lewis and Jana Causey, who serves as vice president for Forrest County Campus Allied Health and Nursing Programs, and who succeeded Burt in 2015.
“Dr. Cecil Burt has been an integral part of shaping the culture of this campus,” Causey said. “He was really big on making sure on making sure we put our students first, and our campus culture still remains putting students first.
“Dr. Burt always imparted great wisdom and mentorship to all our faculty and staff, and he personally trained me for his position. We thought this was a very worthy place to dedicate to Dr. Burt, because all of our students and veterans are here, so we want his name to continue to live on with the legacy he left here.”
Burt graduated from Forrest County Agricultural High School before earning an associate’s degree from Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College, a bachelor’s degree from Mississippi State University, a master’s of education in counseling from the University of Southern Mississippi and a doctorate in educational leadership from Southern Miss. He began his teaching career at West Jones High School in 1970 before coming to PRCC as a counselor at the Forrest County Vocational-Technical Center.
Burt then became Career Technical Education Director at PRCC and then was named dean of the Forrest County Center. He moved into the position of Vice President for Forrest County Operations in 2010, which he held for five years before he retired in 2015 after 43 years of service.
During Burt’s time at PRCC, fall enrollment at the Forrest County campus increased from 631 students in 2000 to 2,035 in 2010. As a graduate of a community college himself, Burt was steadfast in the belief that attending such an institution for certain introductory classes could help students avoid taking at large loans in the pursuit of a bachelor’s degree.
“Dr. Burt is most deserving of this recognition,” Breerwood said. “His leadership, wisdom and dedication laid a strong foundation for our Forrest County Campus, a foundation that we are building upon daily.”
