Former student Austin Seltzer recently sent me a note to thank Audio Engineering Professor Mike Medina for the training and encouragement Medina offered during Seltzer’s time at Collin College. The note from Seltzer read, in part, “I wanted to take the time out to write some kind words about Mike as he was one of the people who really set the bar high for me and made me really want to take my career to the top level.” Seltzer has worked in Nashville’s Blackbird Studios and has recorded several well-known artists, including Steven Tyler, Chris Stapleton, Keith Urban, James Bay, Green Day and others. He credits Medina with giving students “real world knowledge and circumstances that allow them to practice at the intensity they need to if they want to make it as a professional audio engineer.” Congratulations to Austin on his success, and thank you to Professor Medina for making a difference in our students’ lives.
The Institute of Hospitality and Culinary Education hosted 19 North Texas High School teams at the Texas ProStart Regional Culinary Competition on January 19-20 at the Preston Ridge Campus. The competition was a wonderful opportunity to talk to students, parents, and high school educators about the programs at Collin College. The event is sponsored by the Texas Restaurant Association Education Foundation which presented Collin College with a check for $500. Congratulations to IHCE for its continued work with Texas ProStart and for elevating Collin College’s name recognition in the food service industry.
Collin College recently received a donation of 20 pieces of equipment from Century A/C Supply. This generous donation marks a significant upgrade for our technical program that is located in facilities at Princeton ISD. The equipment provided by Century will be utilized for training students in the following courses: Residential Air Conditioning, Gas & Electric Heating, Heat Pump, and Air Conditioning Troubleshooting. It will also be used in other courses in secondary applications, allowing for a much more hands on approach in the learning applications. We deeply appreciate this donation from Century A/C Supply, a statewide company that was founded in 1973 by CEO Dennis Bearden. Its 24 locations across Texas are led by President Rick Luke who, along with Todd Shadden, Ken Schreiber, and Andre Gonzales, helped to initiate this partnership with Collin’s Professor of HVAC Technology Brian Sanders.
Collin College has been named one of the Best and Brightest Companies to Work For® in the Nation by the National Association for Business Resources. This is Collin College’s first national designation by NABR. The college has been honored as one of Dallas/Fort Worth’s Best and Brightest Companies to Work For® for three years in a row. The honor recognizes organizations which practice innovative strategies and represent best practices in a variety of human resource measures, based on anonymous surveys conducted by an independent research firm. The results of that survey qualified Collin College for this honor. Collin College was noted for strengths in the categories of: community initiatives; diversity and inclusion; and communication and shared vision. Thank you to everyone who filled out the surveys which reflected so positively on our college and its commitment to its employees.
Linda Andrews, Reference Librarian at Preston Ridge Campus, recently had an article published on the Art Libraries Society of North America’s website. The article focuses on Preston Ridge Campus Library’s art collection and its process for building the collection. Read the article in full at https://arlisna.org/news/featured-art-libraries/1355-featured-art-library-collin-college-preston-ridge.
African-American History Month events drew more than 400 people throughout the February events. Four speakers, an arts and science exhibition, multiple movie screenings, and the annual Soul Food Luncheon provided students, staff, faculty, and the community with opportunities to reflect on African-American History and the promise of the future.
Collin College’s two mock trial teams did an outstanding job at the regional competition hosted by University of Texas at Dallas on February 17. Collin College was awarded the highest honor that The American Mock Trial Association bestows on a team – the Spirit Award – given to the team that best exemplifies its ideals of “civility, justice and fair play.” Collin College received a perfect score in these categories, which is rare for this competition. Collin was the only community college represented at the tournament among 19 Texas universities. Thank you to Executive Vice President Brenda Kihl, Spring Creek Campus Vice President/Provost Dr. Mary McRae, Dean Craig Leverette, Mock Trial Advisor/Professor Julie L. Hershenberg, and the members of the Mock Trial Teams for representing Collin College so well.
Law Enforcement Academy Director Scott Donaldson was invited to testify as part of a panel for the legislative hearing chaired by Rep. Garnet Coleman, at the University of Houston – Downtown. Director Donaldson was asked to provide an update on the implementation of the Sandra Bland Act SB 1849, as he chairs the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement (TCOLE) curriculum committee and is well-suited to answer any curriculum-related questions on the subject. The panel included representatives from the Health Services and Human Services Commission, the Texas Commission on Jail Standards and TCOLE.
All Collin SBDC Business Advisors were recognized at an all regional meeting of the North Texas SBDC Network on January 26. The business advisors’ FY17 accomplishments in loan assistance for their clients were celebrated as follows: Alex Plotkin, $8,683,000; Darlisa Diltz, $7,867,000 (in her first year with the Collin SBDC); Steve Shalosky, $1,750,000 (in his first year with the Collin SBDC); and Keith Otto, $1,333,600. Congratulations to Sr. Vice President Sherry Schumann, Vice President Jennifer Blalock, SBDC Director Marta Frey and our advisory board on their success and on the help they have provided their small business clients.
Michele Brown, Associate Faculty with the Institute of Hospitality and Culinary Education, has been appointed to the American Culinary Federation Certification Commission, which determines certification processes for culinary professionals across the country. This is a two-year appointment for Brown, who has been an ACF member for 10 years and has earned gold, silver and bronze medals in regional competitions. Brown also recently competed on Food Network’s “Dallas Cakes,” where she served as an assistant for the team, Frosted Art. Brown’s episode of “Dallas Cakes” will air in May.
Professor of Chemistry Amina El-Ashmawy will contribute a chapter to “Mom the Chemistry Professor,” 2nd edition, a collection of stories from chemistry professors who are also mothers “with the aim to inspire all women who are considering a career in academia without compromising the chance to raise a family.”
Professor Rachel Bzostek has been named to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board Political Science Field of Study (FOS) Advisory Committee. The committee will be composed of 24 voting members (12 from public community colleges and 12 from public universities) and is charged with identifying the block of courses that students may transfer to a general academic teaching institution. The FOS project contributes toward 60x30TX goals of increasing college completion by easing student transfer across institutions, and reducing student debt by making it less likely that students will take unnecessary courses.
Several Collin College professors participated in the Allen Winter Health Series at the Allen Public Library. Topics of these hour-long talks included: “Fighting Cancer with Exercise” by Jeff Monaco; “The Art of Making Healthy Snacks” by Kim Lower; “Coping Under Pressure” Michelle Pierce; “Food Serving Sizes” by Dr. Shiva Davanloo; and “Renewing Your Fitness Goals for 2018” by Traci Ramsey.
Professor of Philosophy Adam Miller and his book “Letter to a Young Mormon” were the focus of an article by Morgan Jones of DeseretNews.com. Read the article at www.deseretnews.com/article/865694594/The-man-behind-the-pen-of-Letters-to-a-Young-Mormon.html .
John P. Williams, Adjunct Professor of American History, will present “Journey Beyond the Thousand Yard Stare: The Search for Solace through Pen and Paper by Veterans of the First and Second War Worlds (1919-1960); CFP – Diverse Perspectives and Transdisciplinary in English and the Humanities” at the 23rd Southwest English Symposium at Arizona State University, April 6-7 in Tempe, Arizona. Williams said his research will be used to advance the study of how the humanities can be used as a way to combat the ill effects of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder suffered by military veterans. His efforts include working with history, literature, philosophy and fine arts professors within the Collin community to advance its advocacy and use.