Three colleges in our area have come together to help Marion County, which suffers from the highest unemployment rate in the state.
The partnership will offer educational opportunities and the hope is - help steer economic development.
A building in downtown Marion is now home to the "Swamp Fox Higher Education Center." Coastal Carolina University, Francis Marion University and Florence Darlington Technical College will each offer classes in a continuing education program.
The college presidents believe their collaboration will help the county's economy. "All of a sudden you take an area like downtown Marion and it's full of students walking around between classes patronizing the merchants and quite honestly being a part of the enterprise that exist in this city," said Dr. Fred Carter, FMU's president.
Classes at the Swamp Fox Higher Education Center will start next spring.
