More than 300 people attended the third annual Collin Leadership Policy Summit, Nov. 13 at Frisco Campus. The half-day summit included panel discussions exploring regional issues of interest on a wide array of topics. Featured guests at the keynote panel, “Building a Stronger Workforce,” included the Commissioner of Education for the Texas Education Agency, Mike Morath and University of North Texas President, Dr. Harrison Keller. Other panel topics included “Building a Stronger Healthcare Ecosystem,” “Bridging the Skills Gap,” “Expanding Educational Access Through University Partnerships,” “Campus Safety and Security,” “Fostering a Culture of College and Career Readiness,” and “The Why Behind Collegiate Academies.”
The Collin College Foundation received a naming rights sponsorship gift from CORE Construction for the Construction Build Lab at the Technical Campus on Nov. 19. Proceeds from the generous gift will benefit the Construction Management program. Construction Management students and alumni, employed by CORE Construction, were in attendance along with CORE executives, college faculty, staff, and the district president.
Jill Stine, a buyer on the Purchasing team, has earned the designation of Certified Professional Public Buyer (CPPB). Overseen by the Universal Public Procurement Certification Council (UPPCC), the CPPB program is one of the most highly regarded and well-respected certifications among procurement professionals and their employers in the public sector. The designation is considered a milestone in a buyer’s career.
Scott Donaldson, director of the Collin College Law Enforcement Academy (CCLEA), has been named to the executive board of the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) International Managers of Police Academy and College Training (IMPACT) Section. Donaldson is a longstanding member of the IACP IMPACT Section. Before coming to Collin College, Donaldson served for 10 years as a Training Coordinator for the Tarrant County College Criminal Justice Training Center in Fort Worth, in addition to time on the Tarrant County Disaster Management Task Force and the Department of Homeland Security Action Team and as Coordinator of the TSA Office of Law Enforcement/Federal Air Marshal Service Crew Member Self-Defense program. For more about the IACP IMPACT Section, click this link.
Collin College’s Communications Department won multiple honors in the National Council for Marketing and Public Relations (NCMPR) District 4 Medallion Awards for its work publicizing programs externally. The department earned Gold in the excellence in writing – short form, postcard, and unmanipulated photography categories. The department won silver in unmanipulated photography and bronze in logo design and manipulated photography. District 4 of NCMPR includes community colleges from Arkansas, Colorado, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, and Wyoming.
Collin College Theatre Alum Noa Riddle starred as Hamlet in a production at Stone Cottage in Addison in October and November. Riddle had been featured in multiple Collin College Theatre productions during his time at the college. The play was presented by the Classics Theatre Project.
Stefan Ateek, an adjunct professor of Social Work at Frisco Campus, received the 2024 Most Valuable Person Award for the Arab America Foundation in October in Dearborn, Michigan. In announcing the award, a news release called Ateek “a respected leader in the academic and Arab American communities,” especially in developing and managing criminal justice programs, and listed other honors. See the news release here.
Dr. Leslie Richardson and Collin College’s Mindfulness Committee recently launched the college’s inaugural urban sketching event. Urban sketching encourages participants to slow down and observe their surroundings carefully, promoting a sense of presence and awareness. This practice helps reduce stress and enhances overall well-being by allowing sketchers to focus on capturing the essence of their environment in real time. Dr. Richardson is an English professor at Plano Campus.
The Dental Hygiene, Simulation Lab, and EMS departments recently conducted mock medical emergency scenarios with their students. These scenarios help dental hygiene students learn to handle common medical emergencies that might occur in a dental office. Simulation Lab and EMS instructors act as patient actors, simulating medical crises that dental hygiene students must manage collaboratively until EMS arrives. When EMS students and instructors arrive as the dispatched response team, they work with the dental hygiene students to transition patient care seamlessly.
The Collin College Veterans Services Office recently completed a canned food drive benefiting the National Guard Armory Food Pantry in Wylie. The VRC thanks everyone who donated. The drive collected 4,667 items, with Farmersville donating 1,319 pieces. The other campuses donated the following in descending order: Wylie – 941; Frisco – 830; Plano – 556; McKinney – 370; Tech – 151; Celina – 290; CHEC – 220.
Jyoti Kumar, an administrative assistant for Health Sciences and Emergency Services, recently celebrated Diwali – a festival of lights and giving thanks – at the Texas Governor's Mansion. Kumar met Governor Greg Abbott and Texas Secretary of State Jane Nelson.
Celina Campus’ Anthony Peterson Center for Academic Assistance (APCAA) hosted “National Day on Writing” activities on Oct. 16-17. Students wrote “Letters of Gratitude” to Collin College Veterans, submitting more than 30 letters to Collin College’s Veterans Resource Center.
Collin College was awarded a Skills Development Grant for $158,958 to upskill 78 employees from Helm Labs and Unicom Engineering through customized, on-site training.
Celina Campus Executive Dean Dr. Brenda Carter won the Celina Ladies of Influence (CLOI) Award for Education. The CLOI describes itself as a premier organization created by women to empower and propel women into business success through education, mentoring, and service.
Reference Associate Katie Brumbelow and part-time Reference Associate Samantha Tran have been accepted into the yearlong mentoring program of the Community & Junior College Libraries Section (CJCLS) of the Association of College & Research Libraries (ACRL).
Blooming Harvest, Farmersville Campus’ signature event, drew more than 500 people, including 286 community attendees. The campus also hosted a Trunk-or-Treat event with 590 people – the bulk of them community members – in attendance.
Jill Nugent, associate dean of iCollin, recently completed the Quality Matters (QM) credential, Applying Universal Design for Learning.
Dr. Sarah Lee was asked to speak on a panel during Texas Digital Learning Week.
Mathematics Professor Dr. Jason Snyder signed an agreement with Kendall Hunt Publishers to write a Discrete Math textbook for use at Collin College.
History Professor Dr. Bob Whitaker completed a review of World War Two Simulated: Digital Games and Reconfigurations of the Past by Curtis Carbonell for the Journal of Military History.
Dr. Mouna Ben-Hamida was honored by the Women of Impact Foundation with a Woman of Impact award for her work in the community of Collin County.
Rajan Rijal has been selected to be the opening ceremony speaker for the 6th Biennial Conference of Nepali Women’s Global Network (NWGN) in Denton in Denton. NWGN promotes networking, support, and self-reliance among Nepali women through education, advocacy, service, and collaboration with groups that have similar missions.
Automotive student Riley Brouwer is being awarded the Mike Rowe Work Ethic Scholarship.
David Malone, director of Business Intelligence and Data Warehousing, was appointed as chair of the Texas Association for Institutional Research Bylaws Committee.
Dr. Nicolas Valcik, director of Effectiveness Analytics, represented USA Judo at the World Championships in Las Vegas in November.
Rajin Koonjbearry, professor of Cybersecurity, recently completed his Doctor of Engineering degree from George Washington University with a dissertation titled “Impact of Adversarial Learning on XGBoost and Random Forest.”
Students from the Cybersecurity program competed in the National Cyber League Fall 2024 season competition (https://cyberskyline.com/events/ncl), placing 29th out of 532 competing teams. That put the team in the top 5% ahead of schools, including Saint Louis University and the University of Georgia. Diego Trujano, John Edwards, and Sadia Chaudry earned the Diamond Rank by placing in the top 10% of competitors in individual competition, Oct. 25-27. The team competition was Nov 8-10. Professor Rajin Koonjbearry coached the team.
Ninety-three faculty, staff, learners, and community members joined to remove trash from Jean's Creek and the surrounding area at the McKinney Campus on Oct. 28. The crew removed more than 119 bags of trash and various larger items as a part of McKinney's Make A Difference Day and was supported by the McKinney Office of Environmental Sustainability.
The Prairie Restoration Project at Melissa High School, under the direction of Environmental Science professor Bryan Beck, was awarded a $500 grant from the Blackland Prairie Chapter of the Texas Master Naturalists (BPTMN) at the group’s board meeting on Nov. 7. This project is a joint venture between Melissa ISD, Collin College, and the Texas Master Naturalists. The BPTMN will award this to the college to plant native prairie plants on the Melissa High School campus in the spring of 2025. The grant funding should allow the college to plant around 50 more plants to restore an acre of unused land into Blackland Prairie.
Multiple students were awarded national scholarships at the American Association for Respiratory Care Congress in Orlando, Florida. Nicole Gehring received the Brad Ledich Memorial Scholarship Award from the Lambda Beta Society, a $1,500 award given to a first-generation respiratory care college student. The Lambda Beta Society is the National Honor Society for the Profession of Respiratory Care. Chloe Murillos received the 2024 NBRC William W. Burgin Jr., MD, and Robert M. Lawrence, MD, Education Recognition Award from the American Respiratory Care Foundation, including a $7,500 scholarship. Tad Roberts received the Morton B. Duggan Jr. Memorial Education Recognition Award from the American Respiratory Care Foundation, which includes a $1,000 award.
Dr. Lupita Murillo Tinnen will perform in North Texas Performing Arts’ Scrooge! The Musical in December. Dr. Murillo Tinnen, a first-time actor, has been cast as the wine merchant for the matinee and evening shows on Dec. 14 and the evening show on Dec. 20. She will be in the ensemble the other nights. Her son Elian will portray Tiny Tim in the production.
Paul Manganelli, a Geology professor with iCollin Virtual Campus, participated in National Chemistry Week as a member of Collin College's Science Outreach Committee. He presented live demonstrations at the Fort Worth Science and History Museum.
iCollin Virtual Campus professor Meena Beri was invited to serve as a consultant on a two-part National Science Foundation (NSF) grant aimed at strengthening economics teaching.
iCollin Virtual Campus professor Courtenay Jauregui continues to serve on two committees for Frisco ISD: the District Advisory Council and Anderson's Elementary Campus Improvement Team for the 2024-25 academic year.
Melanie Yates, an associate dean of Academic Affairs and Workforce at Frisco Campus, co-authored a chapter in the recently published book Human Flourishing and Higher Education. The chapter, titled “Allowing Human Flourishing in Ability to Enhance Accessibility to Higher Education,” examines issues related to accessibility in public K-12 and higher education. The authors leveraged research and their backgrounds as educators and parents of children with disabilities to suggest strategies to expand educational access and promote human flourishing for students of all abilities.
Collin College was recently honored for being a Department of Labor's Apprenticeship Ambassador and for the work carried out to support modernizing, diversifying, and expanding Registered Apprenticeship programs that benefit workers, employers, and communities. Over the summer, Workforce Solutions and Raytheon produced a video to highlight the Registered Apprenticeship program, featuring Collin administrators, faculty, and students. This video is a short version of the video released on social media and on Raytheon’s Corporate page.
The Frisco Campus will once again host the State Finals Competition for the Academic Decathlon, Feb. 28-March 2, 2025. Forty high schools from around the state will compete for team awards, individual medals, and the chance to compete representing Texas at a national competition. The event provides positive exposure for the college and raises money for the Collin College Foundation. Hosting the event requires roughly 200 volunteers and is an excellent opportunity for college service. The primary need for volunteers is on Friday afternoon Speech and Interview judges. Training materials and in-person demonstrations will be provided prior to the decathlon. Test and Super Quiz proctors will be tasked with ensuring academic integrity during the written tests as well as setting up and transitioning between tests. Volunteers will also be needed to set up and distribute the medals – a lot of medals – at the Awards Banquet, where we celebrate the students' achievements. Non-Collin volunteers are also welcome. Click here for the sign-up form. For more information on the Texas Academic Decathlon, see www.txacadec.org/.