In Brief: February 2024

Karina Taylor, professor of Veterinary Technology and the 2023 Recipient of the Margi Sirois Veterinary Technician Educator of the Year Award, participated in a virtual town hall on Feb. 2 as a part of the Association of Veterinary Technician Educators 2024 Annual Conversation.

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.

Collin College Law Enforcement Academy took part in a study of training methods recently reported on in an article titled “Integration Improves Learning Outcomes in Police Academy Training” in the Winter Edition of The ILEETA Journal. ILEETA stands for International Law Enforcement Educators and Trainers Association. The study, which also included law enforcement academies in Maryland, Nevada, New Mexico, and New York, argues for training that integrates skills over multiple topics rather than a “silo” approach for best retention. View the article here.

Scott Donaldson, director of Collin College Law Enforcement Academy (CCLEA), has been selected to serve on the International Police Academy Advisory Board (IPAAB) for the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP). Donaldson attended the inaugural meeting of the IPAAB in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), where he participated in a signing ceremony related to the international cadet exchange program established in 2021. CCLEA recently accepted four cadets from the UAE into its basic police officer training program. This collaborative exchange program graduated six cadets from the UAE a little over two years ago. A video of the signing ceremony is available here.

Collin College Theatre Department alum Michael Urie recently performed as “Sir Robin” in the original cast of the new Broadway production of Monty Python’s Spamalot. Urie is now playing “Prince Dauntless” in the NY City Center Encores’ new production of Once Upon a Mattress. He continues to play the role of Brian in the AppleTV+ series Shrinking, now in production for its second season. He is also featured in the Academy Award-nominated film Maestro, where he plays legendary Broadway director and choreographer Jerome Robbins.

The Child Development Lab School at Plano Campus received a four-star rating from Texas Rising Star. This is the highest rating for the Texas Rising Star program, a quality rating and improvement system for Texas childcare programs that participate in the Texas Workforce Commission's (TWC) childcare services program. Texas Rising Star programs meet a level of quality that exceeds the state’s Child Care Regulation standards. “This remarkable accomplishment reflects the dedication and hard work of each team member,” said Dr. Lupita Murillo Tinnen, dean of academic affairs/workforce.

Men’s and women’s basketball alumni and their families filled the stands for the first-ever basketball alum reunion at the Plano Campus on Jan. 27. Alumni helped salute their coaches at halftime of both games and posed with their families and teammates after each game. It was the first time in college history that athletic alumni have reunited. Members of the very first men's basketball team were among the guests.

The Alumni Advisory Council added four new members — Bishop Curry,  Dominic Arzon, Lechelle Grant, and Ashley Shroyer.

Andrea Mersiovsky has been selected to serve on the Celina ISD long-term facilities planning committee for 2024, helping identify facility needs to meet the demands of increasing student enrollment.

The Collin College Cybersecurity program has been honored with the 2023 “Academia Circle of Excellence” and the “Academic Instructor Circle of Excellence” awards by the EC-Council. The 2023 “Academia Circle of Excellence” award, highly valued by the EC-Council and cybersecurity community, is awarded to only five recipients in North America annually. Criteria include commitment to cybersecurity education, student feedback, engagement, certification attempts, student volume, and program development. The 2023 Academic Instructor Circle of Excellence was awarded to Cybersecurity Professor Dr. James Freedle, recognizing his profound impact on teaching, instructional assessment, student experiences, leadership, and engagement with the cybersecurity community. The EC-Council is an internationally acclaimed cybersecurity technical certification body.

A group of 15 Culinary and Pastry Arts students completed the American Culinary Federation (AFC) certification. One hundred percent of the students were certified by ACF in December 2023. This is the first group of Collin College students to receive this certification.

On Feb. 1, friends and families joined thirty-three dual credit students who were inducted into the Psi Alpha Honor Society. Psi Alpha's mission is to enhance America's high school dual credit students' understanding and knowledge of the science of psychology, how psychology benefits society, and the career opportunities available in psychology. Professor Therese Ogle serves as the advisor.

Dr. Diana Hopes, provost of the Frisco and Celina campuses, has been invited by the Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program to serve on a peer-review committee. During her three-year term, Dr. Hopes and other committee members, comprised of other U.S. Fulbright Scholars, will review and assess applications for over 140 countries worldwide. The committee's role is to ensure that highly qualified scholars and professionals will represent American scholarship abroad through Fulbright.

The preliminary board scores from the Texas Board of Nursing (TBON) have been released, and the Vocational Nursing (VN) program had a score of 98.39 on the National Council Licensure Examination for Practical Nurses (NCLEX-PN) for the year 2023. Sixty-two learners took the test, with 61 passing on the first attempt.

The preliminary Associate Degree Nursing (ADN) NCLEX pass rate for all Collin College learners testing in 2023 was 94.71%. One hundred eighty-nine learners took the test, with 179 passing on the first attempt, up almost 5% from 2022, when the college had a pass rate of 90.05%.  

Michelle Millen reached an important milestone in her progress toward her doctorate by being admitted to candidacy for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy with a major in Higher Education at Texas Tech University.

The Society of Women Engineers (SWE) held a Hack-a-thon on Jan 27 consisting of a team event and personal projects. The teams were given the topic “Healthcare Technology for All,” and first place went to a team that created an Arduino-based project demonstrating how eye scans can be used to diagnose different health conditions. The event was put together by SWE student officers Lauren Limburg and Jersey Johnson. Susan Stancy Abraham serves as the primary advisor, but the event also had the support of Tebring Daly, Misty Clark, and Ginnette Serrano-Correa.

The Technical Campus recently held a Construction Industry Education Foundation Trade Days event. Prism Electric, The Beck Group, Walker Engineering, Simpson Strong-Tie, and Milwaukee Tool were some of the more than 20 companies showcasing the construction industry. Craig Johnson, director of Architecture and Construction programs, and Lab Manager Sergio Almanza helped organize the event that drew high school students from as far away as Ennis. The event was featured in a Fox 4 News segment here.

Collin College was mentioned in a Jan. 23 BisNow news story on its work to support and build additional healthcare pipelines. View the story here.