In Brief: January 2024

A group of Respiratory Care students attended the American Association of Respiratory Care (AARC) International Congress in November in Nashville. Two students were awarded grants from the American Respiratory Care Foundation. Kristin Streed received the Jimmy A. Young Memorial Educational Recognition Award and Shannon Smith received the Morton B. Duggan Memorial Educational Recognition Award.

Collin College took first place in the National Sputum Bowl competition and received a sportsmanship award during the AARC congress. This is the second national championship for the college, which also won in 2017. Organized in a quiz show format, Sputum Bowl is a respiratory care knowledge competition to test student and practitioner knowledge on subjects including anatomy and physiology, diagnostics, pathology, mechanical ventilation, neonatal/pediatric care, airway management, pharmacology and more. Two teams of three face off in 10-minute games trying to buzz in with the correct answers before the other. Collin College’s team of Jason Shim, Kimball Wiser, and Arian Saber won the championship award. In addition to bragging rights, the team will have the opportunity to travel to Galway, Ireland, to visit the headquarters of Aerogen, the Sputum Bowl’s vendor sponsor this year. A second competition team was given the Fred Helmholz Award winners for sportsmanship as voted on by all competing teams. 

Dean Daphne Babcock of Wylie Campus has been selected as the new Chair of the Wylie Chamber Board! She started her post in January.

Coach Jim Sigona earned his 700^th career head coaching win on the road on Jan. 10 against Ranger College. Sigona has coached at Collin since the men's basketball program's inception.

Three Collin College music students were named to the Texas Community College Band Directors Association (TCCBDA) All-State music ensembles for 2023-24. The students will perform with the All-State Symphonic Band as part of the Texas Music Educators Association convention at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center in San Antonio on Feb. 10. The students named to the All-State Symphonic Band are Lucinda Gatesman, flute; David Sparks, tuba; and Liam Watson, bass clarinet.

Reina Williams, executive director of the library, began her 2023-2024 term as a Delegate on the Americas Regional Council (ARC) and OCLC Global Council. As an ARC delegate, she represents OCLC member libraries in the Americas (Canada, the United States, the Caribbean, Mexico, Central America, and South America). She convenes with library leaders worldwide on issues important to libraries, including the latest technologies and innovations being implemented in libraries today.

Ann Blackman presented “Integrate the EDUCAUSE Digital Learning Strategy Framework at Your Institution” via a poster session at the Educause 2023 Annual Conference in Chicago. The presentation was based on her work as co-chair for the Educause Working Group, published in the Educause Review in May 2023. See that work at the following link. https://er.educause.edu/articles/2023/5/a-framework-for-developing-an-institutional-digital-learning-strategy

Dr. Tracey McKenzie recently traveled with sociology students to Tulsa, Oklahoma, to visit the Greenwood District. Built by Black entrepreneurs, Greenwood was one of the wealthiest and most successful Black American communities in the nation until the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre. Students learned about the massacre and about the community’s resilience and rebuilding, which was followed by a second destruction from “urban renewal.” Students visited the Greenwood Rising Museum and took a walking tour guided by a descendant of the massacre. As an added bonus, students attended a Dia de los Muertos festival in Tulsa. On the return home, students visited the Oklahoma City Museum and Memorial, the site of the 1995 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building and learned about the causes and consequences of extremism and domestic terrorism.   The trip brought to life concepts being studied in class, offering students a deeper and richer learning experience and an opportunity to reflect on the value of education in understanding the world.

Katherine Rios and Tim Accountius recently received the NIGP Certified Procurement Professional (NIGP-CPP) certification. The NIGP-CPP reflects a holistic view of what procurement leaders do in the performance of their work. It includes procurement techniques (like planning, solicitation, and contract administration) traditionally covered in other procurement certification programs. It also emphasizes three critical focus areas that lead to success regardless of their specific role: strategy, business principles and operations, and leadership.

The college’s new Esthetician program launched at the Courtyard Center with 15 students in its first cohort group. 

All six graduates of the Veterinary Technology Class of 2023 passed the national exam on their first try. Nationally, the first attempt pass rate is 70%, but Collin College is 100%.

In partnership with the Finance team, the Training and Development team supported 83 employee requests to participate in the Employee Dependent Tuition Benefit program. Spring 2024 marks the first semester Collin College offered this benefit to employees.

Nursing Professor Kim Jordan-Washington completed her Doctor of Nursing Practice degree at Chamberlain University, with a concentration in Educational Leadership.

Andrea B. Szlachtowski passed all qualifying written and oral exams and coursework for her Ed.D. in Higher Education from Texas A&M University-Commerce and is now officially a doctoral candidate.

Amber Allen started her two-year term as president of the Board of Registered Polysomnographic Technologists (BRPT) on Jan. 1. The BRPT is the globally recognized credentialing body for sleep technologists. https://www.brpt.org/about/board-of-directors/

In December, Collin College received two TRUE grants from the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. One $154,154 grant supports the Collision Technology program. Another grant, awarded to a consortium of Collin, Tyler Junior College, and Trinity Valley Community College, will enhance the certified nurse's aide (CNA) and phlebotomy programs at all three schools.

The Technical Campus supported Allen Community Outreach (ACO) with its 2023 Blanket Drive. Two gigantic boxes were filled and delivered to ACO late in December to help members of our community who are in need. The college is also finalizing an Adult Education Literacy Grant proposal that ACO has agreed to support with some of its terrific programming. 

Associate Dean Rachel B. Walker has completed the Keller Citizens Academy, a robust 10-week program that provides an overview of everything the city does to support the citizens of Keller.