In Brief: April 2022

Collin College hosted a group of about 40 deputy inspectors and nine instructors from the Royal Thai Police during a training visit to Dallas. The group toured the Public Safety Training Center on April 15, exchanged gifts with Collin College personnel, and remarked favorably on the colleges training facility.

The IT Center at the Frisco Campus recently won two awards. The Construction Management Association of America North Texas chapter named the project as a winner in the Education under $50M category of its Annual Project Achievement Awards. The CMAA NTX Chapter will provide the buildings project management firm, AECOM, with a 12-inch crystal etched award at an awards and scholarship gala on May 12. The CMAA NTX Chapter is also working with the Technical Campus staff to establish a CMAA Student Chapter and to allow the staff to nominate current Construction Management students for CMAA scholarship grants. The IT Center was also awarded a 2022 Distinguished Building Award by TEXO The Construction Association in its Educational Facilities 3 ($30-$75M) category. The project and JE Dunn Construction will be recognized at TEXOs Distinguished Building Awards Recognition dinner on Aug.11.

Part-time Fire Instructor Captain Bret Storck has been selected to receive the Citizen of Honor Award from the Congressional Medal of Honor Society for his life-saving rescue performed while off-duty without the protection of firefighting equipment. He was able to pull an unconscious crash victim from a burning car in Frisco and was assisted by Frisco Fire Department Captain Steve Cruz at the scene. Both Storck and Cruz are Collin College Fire Academy Part-time instructors.The Congressional Medal of Honor Society selects military and civilian candidates to receive these prestigious awards.

Christine Lin, an accountant/budget analyst with Financial Services, earned her Master of Business Administration degree from Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi in December.

DeAria Holloway-Pugh, associate dean for Student and Enrollment Services, successfully defended her dissertation. Her doctorate from Abilene Christian University is in Organizational Leadership.

David Malone, Institutional Research Offices director of Data Warehousing and Business Intelligence and the 2022 Conference Chair for the Texas Association for Institutional Research, oversaw the professional associations recent conference in Denton, the associations first face-to-face conference since the COVID-19 pandemic began.

The new parking lot at the Public Safety Training Center has been completed. The Board of Trustees approved this $675,000 project in June of 2021. Earlier this month, the final light poles arrived and were installed, completing this project which added 115 desperately needed parking spaces.

The colleges Associate of Applied Science in Construction Management received the Texas Association of College Technical Educators (TACTE) Program of the Year Award. The award was presented on April 7 at the TACTE annual conference.

Ryan Farrars essay, Utopian Euphemisms: Capitalist Consumption and Karel apeks War with the News, won the Conference of College Teachers of English 2022 World Literature Award. In addition to a monetary prize, the essay will be published in CCTE Studies Journal.

NicolasSchnitzius, a student worker with the Fine Arts and Education division, has been namedCollin Colleges 2022 Student Employee of the Year. His nomination for the award read in part, He is the type of employee who will not only recognize an issue affecting productivity but also offers probable solutions. He has a self-starter, get it done and done right attitude, and his work ethic has been a tremendous benefit to our division. In addition to the award by the College, Schnitzius was one of 19 students recognized from 422 nominations across the country by the National Student Employee of the Year. He is the first Collin College student employee to be recognized as part of the regional and national awards program.

The Stetson & Stiletto Standoff let the good times roll in February with a full house of Mardi Gras revelers helping raise more than $221,000 and 110 scholarships. A few highlights included a Second Line parade to open the ceremony thanks to jazz students and Professor Alex Heitlinger, a memorial tribute to Trustee Sam Roach, and a testimonial from alumna Donna Smith. The championship trophy for the evenings trivia competition went to the provosts team, but we later learned that a technology glitch miscalculated a score knocking Trustee Jim Orrs team out of the top spot in error. Thank you to all the donors, volunteers, and staff who made the evening unforgettable.

Monica S. Gallamore, professor at the Frisco Campus, presented the paper, The Gay Academic Union of North Texas: Gay Liberation, Gay Studies, and the Moral Majority, at the Western Social Science Association Annual Conference in Denver, March 31-April 2.

Dr. Christine Millard, professor at Frisco Campus, presented the paper, Christianity in Politics: Types of Ministerial Involvement in American Elections, a paper at the Western Social Science Annual Conference in Denver, March 31-April 2.

Rebecca Burton, professor at the Frisco Campus, presented Generating Meaningful Feedback at the Texas Community College Teachers Association (TCCTA) conference in March.

Wylie Campus hosted its first Shamrock Fest for community members and Collin staff/students. It was a great success with 600-700 in attendance. Thank you to the festivals committee and co-chairs, Deidra Carpenter and Andreshia Kelley.

Dr. Sabrina Cummings, director of Veterinary Technology at Collin, was unanimously voted as the new Chairperson for the Texas Veterinary Medical Associations Veterinary Assist Credentialing Committee and will begin those duties on April 1.

Charlie F. Scaife, Jr, assistant director of Facilities Operations, recently passed the Certified Educational Facilities Professional (CEFP) examination. The CEFP credential validates Scaifes proficiency and application of skills needed to create and maintain safe, functional, and inspiring learning environments for current and future generations.

The Farmersville Campus faculty welcomed 97 people 23 faculty, staff, and guests, and 74 students and community members to a Movie Night on the Lawn community event on March 26. The event was free and open to all students and the community; nearly one hundred students, community members, and staff enjoyed the movie, food, and snacks.

Two Collin video students documented the Texas Community College Teachers Association (TCCTA) conference in March. Alejandro Arzate and Andrew Hagar are students in the Video Production program based here at the Frisco campus. They worked with Professor Tonya McMillion on the project.

The colleges Vocational Nursing programs first cohort has a 100% pass rate on the NCLEX-PN licensing exam.

Joyce Sizemore, nursing faculty, earned her Doctor of Philosophy in Education Specialization: Nursing Education from Northcentral University. Her study focused on Attrition in Associate Degree Nursing Programs Impacted by A Sense of Calling and the Desire to Persist: A Quantitative Correlational Study, where the results indicated a strong correlation between a sense of calling and the desire to persist.

Professors of Biology Roberta Cravo and Elaine Fanini organized and led the 15th Annual Health and Safety Fair on March 18 at the McKinney Campus Conference Center. The event was well received and was attended by approximately 150-200 people. The college received many positive comments about the fair. Several people commented that they enjoyed the police department station where they could try on the drunk goggles. The planning team is reviewing all the comments and building a plan for next years event.

The Collin College Law Enforcement Academy was featured in the April 2022 Police Chief Magazine of the International Association of Chiefs of Police. The magazine article has been distributed tothe worlds largest and most influential professional association for police leaders. With more than 31,000 members in over 165 countries, the IACP is a recognized leader in global policing,committed to advancing safercommunities through thoughtful, progressive police leadership.Read the article with the following link: IACP@Work: The Benefits of International Police Exchange Police Chief Magazine