Despite the necessity of school and dental facility closures due to COVID-19, Collin College’s Dental Hygiene students completed their spring semester clinical hours by July 8. This was a big accomplishment for the students and all the faculty that made it happen. The college’s 2020 grads had to complete 288 clinic hours for the entire semester. First year students had to complete 128 clinic hours and 32 lab hours. The students’ hours were completed at the McKinney Campus dental hygiene clinic. Students had been out of the lab for eight weeks. The college typically does not have students in its clinic in the summer, and Dental Hygiene Director Christine McClellan said she was grateful for the support and trust from leadership for allowing this change.
Mark Smith, Vice President/Provost of the McKinney Campus, and Dr. Jane Leach, Dean of Nursing, have been approved to serve on the Baylor Scott & White Centennial Hospital Board.
The National Convergence Technology Center at Collin College hosted its annual intensive IT Faculty Development Institute virtually this year, July 13-17. The four-an-a-half day deep-dive training event on new IT/Cloud/Cybersecurity subjects usually attracts about 100 instructors from Collin and other colleges. This year, the event drew 184 instructors for training with an average of 79 attendees per “lunch” session.
Art Professor Luke Sides’ work was part of an exhibition at Valley House Gallery & Sculpture Garden. “Luke Sides: A Gluttonous Past” was on display with fellow artist Lindy Chambers. Sides’ statement on the exhibition notes “My work has dealt with Pigs, Puppies, Pastries, Peppers, and Portraits, but most importantly PUNS. I feel my work is greatly influenced by the Funk movement with a little Pop component.” Valley House Gallery & Sculpture Garden is located at 6616 Spring Valley Road in Dallas. More information about the show is available at http://dallasartdealers.org/lindy-chambers-paintings-and-luke-sides-sculpture-at-valley-house-gallery/
The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board approved the request to offer a Level 2 Certificate for the Vocational Nursing program. The LVN prospectus has been sent to the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) for approval.
SACSCOC has approved the Pharmacy Tech program to be housed on the Technical Campus.
Two new certificate programs will begin in Fall 2020. A Medical Scribe certificate will be offered to dual credit students. This will allow students to sit for the scribe certification and get good experience in the health care delivery systems. A Rehab Aide certificate has also been approved to begin this fall. This program will be a pathway into the Physical Therapist Assistant degree.
Angela Weber, an interior designer and former continuing education student, recently won a national design award from Coverings, a global tradeshow. The Coverings Installation & Design (CID) award was in the category “Residential Design in the Stone & Tile Industry.” Weber earned an interior design certification in the spring and summer of 2019 and returned to take a new Sketching Interior Designs class. Although COVID-19 did not allow her to accept the award in person, she notified Dr. Serra Akboy-ilk about the accomplishment.
Ariel Bowman and Eilene Carver, both of whom are arts faculty members, are part of the Texas Juried Exhibition through ARTSPACE 111 Gallery. Ceramic and mixed media artwork from Bowman and an oil on canvas painting by Carver can be viewed at https://artspace111.com/exhibitions/110-artspace111-texas-juried-exhibition-group-exhibition/works/.
Congratulations to Saniya Syed, a member of Alpha Mu Tau at Collin College, for winning the Phi Theta Kappa International Speech Competition in June. The topic was “How has Phi Theta Kappa membership helped prepare you for your career?” Syed has been successful on multiple fronts. She was 16 when she completed her associate degree, has given a TED talk on student success at community college, and has conducted undergraduate research in neural networks. She is studying to become an OB-GYN. You can view her speech at https://youtu.be/Rd0bpDnB3Lg.
Collin College has been named a Center of Excellence in Nursing Education by the National League for Nursing (NLN) for the third time in its history. The NLN’s Centers of Excellence program honors colleges and universities that demonstrate a commitment to quality nursing education. Collin College was the first in the state to win the designation when NLN awarded it to the college originally in 2011. The college’s Center of Excellence designation was renewed in 2015. It’s now one of just four in Texas and remains the only community college in the state with the designation. Thank you to McKinney Campus VP/Provost Dr. Mark Smith, Dean of Nursing Dr. Jane Leach, and the staff of Collin College’s nursing program for their hard work in securing this honor.
Eight officers completed the 120-hour Correctional Officer Course and passed the state licensing examination on their first attempts on Aug. 7. The officers will serve the City of Plano, the Grayson County Sheriff’s Office, and the Rockwall County Sheriff’s Office. The officers all signed a letter thanking Collin College for allowing them to continue training during the general campus closure due to COVID-19. Thank you to Collin College Law Enforcement Director Scott Donaldson and his staff for working in these unusual circumstances to ensure these officers’ educations could be completed.
Second-year Respiratory Care students Lauren Keller and Madison Baez will each receive $1,000 scholarships from the American Respiratory Care Foundation. Keller will receive the Morton B. Duggan, Jr. Memorial Education Recognition Award. She is the fifth Collin Respiratory Care student to receive this scholarship. Baez will receive the Jimmy A. Young Memorial Education Recognition Award. She is the seventh Collin Respiratory Care student to receive this scholarship. Students had to submit an original reference paper on some aspect of respiratory care to be considered. Faculty, Staff, and Medical Director input was also needed to qualify students for these awards. Congratulations to them on these honors.
The Journal of Military History recently printed “The Military Revolution and the Ancient Origins of the Trace Italienne,” by Robert Vigus, Adjunct History Faculty at Collin College. In the article, Vigus argues that a fortification thought to be an invention of the Renaissance has roots in Greek and Roman architecture.
Dr. Tara N. Lewis, a Career Coach working with Collin College on the Department of Labor’s FlexTech grant, recently co-authored an article titled, “Facing Interviewees with Facial Paralysis: How Employers can Create Equitable Interviews for Candidates” for the National Association of Colleges and Employers. Lewis worked with Dr. Kathleen Bogart, a Professor of Psychology at Oregon State University. You can read the article at https://community.naceweb.org/blogs/tara-lewis1/2020/08/17/facing-interviewees-with-facial-paralysis-how-empl