Wayne County Commissioners on Tuesday were provided an update on the University of Mount Olive.  Dr. Ed Croom, president of the University of Mount Olive, discussed that UMO has a state-of-the-art nursing simulator lab and has its inaugural nursing class taking place right now. The university serves students from 29 different countries and has students from 81 counties in North Carolina. This equates to an economic impact on Wayne County.  Their online classes rank 16th in the state out of over 50 universities that provide online classes. Dr. Croom added that UMO wants to continue to be a strong community partner in the County.

 Commissioner Wayne Aycock thanked Dr. Croom for the update and added that he is the first president that has provided updates to the Board of Commissioners. Vice-Chairman Chris Gurley said that Dr. Croom is a great leader for the university.

Commissioner Bevan Foster brought up a discussion on the changes to Convenience Center hours. The Board voted to expand hours at these sites and Commissioner Foster said he was told there would be no increase in cost. After investigating, he stated that there is an added cost he voted under the impression that there was no increase. County Manager Chip Crumpler informed the Board that staff could bring exact figures to the next meeting for the Board.