Southwest Mississippi Community College is altering its class schedule for next week after sustaining “significant damage” from a storm system that moved through the area earlier this week.
Dr. Steve Bishop, president of the community college in Summit, confirmed Friday afternoon that all classes will be held virtually on Monday and Tuesday. Some employees will be asked to report to campus on Tuesday.
“What we’re going to do next week is we have decided to go virtual Monday and Tuesday so there will be no in-person instruction,” Bishop said. “Hopefully, we’ll be ready for normal operations on Wednesday.”
On the night of March 11, the campus saw several power lines and approximately 100 pine and oak trees come down, impacting multiple buildings.
“We had about five trees fall on the library. Fortunately, all of those trees are off of the library now, but they found 205 holes in the roof of that building,” Bishop said. “So, we’ve got a lot of repair there ahead of us.”
Crews at Southwest Mississippi Community College are working to clear downed trees and power lines after storms moved through the area Wednesday night. pic.twitter.com/yqXAp6V6Eg
— SuperTalk News (@SuperTalkNews) March 13, 2026
Other buildings that had trees fall on them include the Allied Health Building in the central part of campus, as well as dormitories Pine Hall and Stadium Hall. No internal damage to the dormitories has been reported at this time, meaning Bishop does not anticipate students will need to be relocated.
Few students were on campus at the time of the storm due to it being spring break — timing Bishop said he is grateful for.
“I’m just so grateful that no one was hurt. I’m just so grateful that it happened when it did, with it being spring break,” he said. “I’m just thankful to the good Lord that he watched over us yet again and protected us Wednesday night, and also certainly asking for protection for the guys who are working today and in the days to come.”
Cleanup efforts have been ongoing since Thursday morning, with school employees and volunteers working together to clear roadways and remove debris. Linemen with Entergy Mississippi are also continuing efforts to restore power across campus.
Bishop said the campus already looks better than it did on Thursday and expressed confidence that Southwest Mississippi Community College will return to its usual appearance once repairs are complete.
“It’s amazing how much cleanup has taken place in the last day and a half. We’ve got a lot of people working together to get a lot done,” Bishop said. “We do have significant damage, but we still have a lot of trees and shrubbery around that beautify our campus. It’s going to continue to be beautiful. It’s just going to take a little bit of time and a lot of hard work to get back to where it was.”