NATCHEZ &8212; A ribbon cutting and open house ushered in a new era for Alcorn State University at its Natchez campus Tuesday.

Dozens gathered at the entrance of the massive new Graduate Business Programs Building to celebrate completion of the $10-million project.

ASU President Clinton Bristow told the crowd the building and the degree-granting programs housed in it &8220;signify the continued growth we project for Natchez, Adams County and Southwest Mississippi.&8221;

Bristow said partnerships with the city, county and business community helped to make the project successful. Then he challenged leaders to be steadfast in continued support.

&8220;It&8217;s your university. It&8217;s the university for Southwest Mississippi and Northeast Louisiana,&8221; he said. Alcorn&8217;s main campus is in Lorman, 35 miles north of Natchez.

&8220;What we need from you now are three things. We need students, no matter how old or young,&8221; he said.

&8220;We need your contributions to help with this institution. &8230; And we need the continued cooperation between city, county and the business community to market our area not only locally but nationally and internationally.&8221;

Steve Wells, associate dean of Graduate Business Programs and a professor of accounting at the school, said the new building is an investment in the future.

&8220;As word spreads about this facility and the programs here, it will fill with students,&8221; Wells said.

Designed by architect Jeff Barnes of Dale & Associates Architects of Jackson, the building rose adjacent to the Alcorn School of Nursing and across the street from the Copiah-Lincoln Community College Natchez campus.

Business classes moved into the new building in August.

Barnes said the building &8220;is the result of a three-year-long intensive collaboration between Alcorn State University&8217;s administration, the leadership here in Natchez and an outstanding group of construction industry professionals.&8221;

Calling it one of the finest buildings of its kind in the country, Barnes said &8220;the structure was designed to educate and challenge the students.&8221;

The new building will be a factor in expanding what Alcorn and Co-Lin call their two-plus-two program, Bristow said.

Students may get associate degrees from Co-Lin and then cross the street to Alcorn to complete bachelor&8217;s degrees as well as go on to the graduate program.

Andrew Calvit, manager of the Natchez office of Atmos Energy, is a graduate of the Alcorn MBA program, which was housed in the nursing school before the new building was completed.

&8220;This is one of the greatest resources we have in Natchez,&8221; he said. &8220;We have to take advantage of it to keep it here.&8221;

For Gwen McCalip, dean of the Co-Lin Natchez campus, the Tuesday ribbon cutting was an exciting occasion. &8220;We at Co-Lin are just thrilled that we have the two-plus-two program, and now we have two-plus-two-plus-two,&8221; she said. &8220;We hope to send even more students across the road. We look forward to a good future together with Alcorn.&8221;

MBA student Jesse Abbott came to the Alcorn program from his native Wyoming. He began his MBA studies in the nursing building and likes the extra space and technology students and teachers have now.

&8220;I love it. It&8217;s more effective space for the teachers,&8221; Abbott said of the new building.

A recent MBA graduate, John Ballard came to celebrate the opening of the new building. He said it was easy to feel a part of it even though his classes were held in the nursing school.

Now manager of seven physicians at Family Medical Center, Ballard said his MBA education has had direct impact on his career.

&8220;It helped me to get the position I have now,&8221; he said. &8220;I use what I learned here every day &8212; the people skills and the financial management.&8221;