Dale McInnis, the president of Richmond Community College, spoke at the Laurinburg Rotary Club Tuesday as part of the college's efforts to introduce its new leader.

McInnis told Rotarians that he wants to increase the scope of RCC's operations in Scotland, promising he'd be no stranger to the county.

"You're going to see me around a lot," McInnis said. "... We are going to have a stronger and stronger presence here is Scotland County."

He said that the new campus of RCC, built on the site of what was once Scotland Memorial Hospital, was nearing completion. The acquisition of the land and demolition of the blighted building that had been left vacant for years was completed with the help of the city of Laurinburg and Scotland County, McInnis added.

He expects the building to be completed by June and hopes to have the campus completely equipped and functional in time for the Fall semester.

When the facility is completed, McInnis said the Practical Nursing Program will move entirely to Scotland County.

He called it a homecoming for the program as the community college was birthed in Scotland County in the 1960s with a practical nursing program.

The college president also discussed a new technical program RCC will implement at the Scotland County campus – a heating, air and refrigeration program.

"There is a lot of demand for this program," McInnis said, with local employers already inquiring about the program.

The new facility may bolster economic development, McInnis said, with a multi-purpose industrial room.

The space, which is 1,600 to 1,700 feet of concreted floor with a roll-up door, is an ideal setting to train manufacturing workers on new machines brought in by companies, McInnis said. The size even allows for storage of the machines while facilities are prepared for new equipment.

Sen. Bill Purcell, a Laurinburg Rotarian, asked McInnis how the recession has impacted RCC's enrollment.

McInnis said that enrollment at community colleges has "mushroomed" around the state, with RCC's enrollment up 15 percent from last year.

He attributed this increase to the rise in unemployment, which has sent displaced workers back to the classroom to learn new trades, and shrinking family budgets making four-year colleges prohibitive to high school graduates.

While the enrollment increased, the budget was cut by 6.5 percent, or about $850,000 out of a $12.5 million budget, as part of the across-the-board cuts to state programs from a budget shortfall in Raleigh.

McInnis said RCC was spared from layoffs — a fate few community colleges could avoid— because administrators saw the coming shortfall and planned accordingly.

"That's something we are proud of."