Roger and Jody Lawler of Frisco made a $2 million gift for student scholarships through the Collin College Foundation. The donation is the largest from an individual family in the history of Collin College. In recognition of the gift, the college named Lawler Hall at the Preston Ridge Campus, formerly D building, in their honor.
Collin College Trustee Adrian Rodriguez was named the Texas School Social Worker of the Year.
Alpha Mau Tau, Collin College’s chapter of Phi Theta Kappa (PTK) honor society, was named a Five Star Chapter for the 10th consecutive year.
PTK earned 10 regional awards at its Houston convention. These include the following:
Top Texas Chapter Award, Honors In Action Merit Award, College Project Merit Award, Horizon Advisor Award – Dr. Garry Evans, Horizon Advisor Award – Dr. Jessica Hargis, Administrator Hall of Honor Award – Dr. Terry Hockenbrough, Friend of Texas Award – Daniel Bryner, Member Hall of Honor Award – Janice Hitchcock, Five Star Chapter Award, Honors in Action and College Project Participation Award
PTK President Michelle Davis and officers Alexa Acosta and Jasmine Beal received the All-Texas Academic Team Award. They will travel to Austin in March to be recognized.
Dr. Terry Hockenbrough, PTK advisor, was awarded the Hall of Honor of Distinguished College Administrators for the Texas Region of Phi Theta Kappa. She also received the International Distinguished Administrator Award.
PTK’s project “Circus Event” was attended by 470 students.The event promoted spring workshops, and student organizations had booths with information on topics such as conflict management and teamwork presented through games and other fun and interactive venues.
The Preston Ridge Campus hosted 1,800 middle and high school students for the Frisco ISD/Colin College Career Fair and Showcase. Students visited with 95 professionals and 22 college programs to learn about careers and the many degree and certificates available at Collin College. Students from the Collin College Institute of Hospitality and Culinary Education prepared snacks for and took part in managing the event.
Vice President of Organizational Effectiveness and Human Resources Kim Davison was elected Vice Chair of the City of McKinney’s Board of Adjustment.
Professor of History Brett Adams was elected president of the Heritage Association of Frisco.
This year’s African American History Month celebration focused on Civil Rights in America. Many staff and faculty were involved in and dedicated to the successful run of this month-long event.
The Board of Registered Polysomnographic Technologists awarded Euisun Field, Collin College polysomnographic technology student, this year’s Andrea Patterson Memorial Scholarship. Only one student nationwide receives the scholarship each year.
Students and faculty from the Collin College respiratory care program participated in the 2014 Fight for Air Climb with the American Lung Association. The Collin College team had 17 participants, four faculty and 13 students, who climbed 54 flights of stairs at Renaissance Tower in downtown Dallas. The team raised $3,635 to help raise awareness about lung disease and aid in the fight to find a cure or new treatments.
Former Collin College student Laurel Jackson-Cook was accepted into the Ronald E. McNair Scholars Program at The University of Texas at San Antonio. The McNair Scholars Program focuses on first-generation or underrepresented students in doctoral programs and exposes them to graduate work and research that improves their competitive edge for graduate programs.
Kim Nyman, professor of speech and chair of communications, humanities and philosophy, served as judge for the National Christian Forensics and Communications Association’s tournament held in Frisco.
Professor of Speech Kerry Byrnes was selected for the National Communication Association Student-Learning Outcomes in Communication Project, an achievement unique to only 24 faculty leaders nationwide.
Dr. Terry Hockenbrough, director of the Center for Scholarly and Civic Engagement (CSCE), reported the following fall 2013 CSCE service-learning program highlights:
- 1,143 students
- 18,694 hours
- 65 faculty
- 244 community partners
- 46 courses
- 126 sections/classes
Nearly 400 people attended the Community Partners Fairs held in February 2014, and more than 230 attended the annual Face of Homelessness event at the Spring Creek Campus.
Associate Professor of English Joani Reese traveled to Seattle at the end of February to attend the Allied Writers’ Program Conference and read from her latest book “Dead Letters” for Illinois State University’s Festival of Language, MadHat Review, and Connotation Press-An Online Artifact.