In Brief: May 2021

The Collin College Foundation hosted a dedication ceremony for The Andrea-Mennen Family Foundation Steering and Suspension Lab at Collin Colleges Technical Campus on April 23. The lab was named in connection with a $100,000 gift from The Andrea-Mennen Family Foundation, and 100 percent of the donation is earmarked for endowed scholarships for students. Rudy and Christina Andrea, founders of The Andrea-Mennen Family Foundation, celebrated the unveiling of the sign with family members, college officials, and board members. Photos of the event are available at: https://collincollege.resourcespace.com/?c=2195&k=cb48c65cb8.

The Collin College Staff Council recently announced the nominees for the 2020-2021 ROSE (Recognition of Service and Excellence) Award. The nominees will be honored and finalists for the award will be announced at a ceremony at the Frisco Campus in June. The winners will be announced at All College Day in August. This years nominees are: Shane Apple, Ann Blackman, Bonni Capobianco, Jennifer Clay, Kirk Dickey, Cindy Duffer, Ophelia Eftekhar, Phyllis Martin, Susy Mathews, Erika McIlnay, Cassie Peak, Kathy Phan, Jin-Ja Rho, Mariana Sanchez, GAnna Saunders, Sherry Scamardo, Katie Smith, and Kristin Swenholt. Congratulations to all of the nominees.

Collin College hosted a virtual Texas Real Estate Teachers Association (TRETA) conference in late April. Working with Conference Services the conference drew 140 participants and offered presentations from educators throughout Texas. Collin College Real Estate Professor Bart McLeroy was also recently named treasurer of TRETA, which offers the Certified Real Estate Instructor (CREI)certification, which is recognized by the Texas Real Estate Councilas being the platinum certification for Texas real estate instructors. CollinCollege currently has more CREIs than any other provider of real estate pre-licensing education in the state of Texas.

Collin College hosted a virtual conference for the 101^st annual meeting of the Mathematical Association of America on April 9. The conference drew more than 300 faculty, graduate, and undergraduate students. The college was commended by the Mathematical Association of America Executive Committee for hosting the conference and received positive feedback from the attendees.

Plano Campus English Professor Natasha Robinson recently graduated from Texas Christian University with a Ph.D. in Rhetoric and Composition.

Plano Campus English Professor Ryan Fletcher recently earned his Ph.D. in Humanities Studies in Literature from The University of Texas at Dallas.

Nursing Professor Amardeep Gill completed her Doctorate in Nursing Practice in April 2021. Dr. Gill attended The University of Texas Tyler DNP-Nursing Practice Track.

Nursing Professor Jennifer Matranga completed her Doctorate in Nursing Practice from The University of Texas Tyler DNP-Nursing Practice Track in April 2021.

Nursing Professor Dr. Patricia K. Rogers recently completed a Post Masters Certificate program at Regis College in Weston, Massachusetts, to become an Adult-Gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practitioner. She earned her degree on Dec. 23, 2020 and completed her certification exam March 2021.

The Wylie Campus hosted a joint concert with the Plano Music Department showcasing both the Guitar and New Music Ensembles on April 29. Dr. Olga Amelkina and Dr. Fernand Vera were the performing professors, assisting in showcasing the works and original compositions of their students. Celeste Wise, the Wylie Campus Technology Manager, assisted with a multimedia presentation in a great collaborative event.

The Wylie Campus hosted a Wylie Chamber of Commerce luncheon on April 27, featuring the State of the City address with Mayor Matthew Porter and the State of the School with Wylie ISD Superintendent Dr. David Vinson.

Collin Colleges Model UN students won Distinguished Delegation honors at the virtual National Model UN Conference in early April representing the Republic of Greece. Students winningposition paper awards were Joshua Apple,Thomas Moore,andPierce Pietry. Collin Colleges Model UN is advised by Frisco Campus Professors Sonia Iwanek and Tracy Meyer.

More than 500 students and 13 student organizations and college departments participated in SpringFest 2021, held at Plano Campus, April 28-29. The socially distanced event included giveaways, t-shirts, and information distribution to the students, faculty, and staff. The two-day event also included performances by Dr. Fernand Veras guitar ensembles and Dr. Melissa Johnsons Freshman/Sophomore Dance Troupe.

Araceli Solis, Director of the Respiratory Care program, graduated with her Master of Arts in Health Studies from the University of Alabama.

Law Enforcement Academy class 110 graduated April 21. The class was completed with a 100 percent pass rate on the TCOLE exam.

Hundreds of hours were spent developing and facilitating Trauma Day on April 24. For the first time, residents in Emergency Medicine from UT Southwestern provided physician oversight.

Adjunct History professor Dr. Steven Butler published a book titled Stories My Mother Never Told Me: How Family History Can Bring the Past to Life.

Government Professor Dr. Julie Hershenberg was named as a 2021 Warren Faculty Fellow for Houstons Holocaust Museum.

Eight students in the colleges RN-to-BSN program earned a Bachelors Degree at their May graduation. The colleges Associate Degree in Nursing program has 68 May graduates.

The Food Services Department hosted a cookout for Student Housing on April 24. More than 40 students attended and many used the provided photo booth. Thank you to everyone that helped make this event possible.

 

Scott Yarbrough had two poems from his recent bookSome Vegetable Sacrifice performed as monologues in the recent Collin theater productionLittle Gems Bill Halls Dog and Remember That Morning Just after Dawn? Some Vegetable Sacrifice is published by Lamar University Press.

Education Professor Dr. Rebecca Burton was selected to serve on the Educator Preparation Advisory Committee (EPAC) for the State Board of Education.

Geology Professor Patrick Getty published a book chapter titled, The illustration of dinosaur tracks through time in the book, The Evolution of Paleontological Art, April 2021.

Sociology Professor Larry Stern was awarded the American Council of Learned Societies Fellowship through the Mellon Foundation beginning July 2021.

Associate Dean Melanie Yates has been accepted in the Educational Leadership Doctoral Program in the Department of Human Services and Educational Leadership at Stephen F. Austin State University.

Dr. Elizabeth Hamner and Collin College student Adrienne Taylor presented, How Knowledge About Premature Menopause Influences Cognition, a research project at Southwestern Psychological Association conference.

Dr. Patrick Larue presented two papers at the Annual Conference for the International Studies Association: Defense Cooperation Agreements and the Incidence of Terrorism (solo authored) and Determining When and How Charges of Genocide are Used in International Tribunals and the ICC (co-authored with Petra Hendrickson).

Levi R. Bryant gave a talk titled The Pandemic Before the Pandemic hosted by University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee for the Long 2020 speaker series.

Erika Mcllnay served on the NCCCIAP (National Conference on Contemporary Cast Iron Art and Practices) Exhibitions Committee, and assisted with developing the online exhibitions for the 2021 virtual conference, including a Fierce Virtual Runway Exhibition video .