District President Dr. Neil Matkin was featured on News Radio KRLD 1080’s CEO Spotlight. The radio segment typically features interviews with prominent leaders and CEOs in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. The on-air radio interview with KRLD Business Analyst and host David Johnson took place this month. The conversation focused on a variety of topics including the 40th anniversary, the opening of the college’s newest campuses, dual credit, an emphasis on forming educational programming that meets workforce needs, Collin’s academic partnerships that provide students more opportunities, possible plans for future expansion of the college, and much more. Click here to listen to the full interview.
Collin College will offer a new bachelor’s degree in Software Development starting Fall 2025. Thanks to the hard work and commitment of Dr. Jon Hardesty, vice president of academic affairs, and his team, the college received final approval for the fifth baccalaureate degree from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges on April 4. The program, which will be offered at Collin College’s Frisco Campus, builds upon the college’s current Associate of Applied Science degree in Software Development. For more details on the application process and admission details, click here.
Collin College has been named a 2025-26 Military Friendly® School, as well as a Military Spouse Friendly School. This is the 10th consecutive year the college has been recognized with a Military Friendly designation. Institutions which earn Military Friendly® School designations have been evaluated using both public data sources and responses from a proprietary survey which measure factors including student retention, graduation, job placement, loan repayment, persistence (degree advancement or transfer), and loan default rates for all students and, specifically, for student veterans. More than 1,800 schools participated in the 2025- 26 survey with 830 earning special awards for going above the standard. Collin College was awarded the silver designation in the Large Community Colleges category. The 2025-26 Military Friendly® Schools list will be published in the May and October issues of G.I. Jobs magazine.
The Collin College Law Enforcement Academy has integrated the use of Motorola V700 body cameras into its curriculum, elevating its police training. This critical technology promotes transparency, policing accountability, and public trust, all critical elements for cadets in their future careers. The cameras, a donation from Motorola Solutions, are a useful tool for instructors and students to analyze performance, identify areas of improvement, and provide real-life scenarios to shape future law enforcement officers.
Collin College recently received $1.3 million in training grants from the Texas Workforce Commission’s Skills Development Fund to train the employees of 13 local businesses. Collin will deliver 26,000 hours of customized training to more than 840 new and current employees at these businesses. A check awarding ceremony held at the Collin Higher Education Center on April 9 included comments by TWC Commissioner Representing Labor Alberto Treviño III as well as Collin and Workforce Solutions for North Central Texas officials and a representative from Flexlink Systems, one of the businesses that received a grant.
Student Lauren Limburg was accepted into the NASA Community College AerospaceScholars (NCAS) activity. This six-day online experience provided participants like Limburg with the opportunity to interact and network with NASA engineers and scientists. The program is often seen as a stepping stone for a future career in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM).
Students in Dr. Tamara Basham’s ENVR 1402 course volunteered to clean up a creek after a field trip to the Plano Environmental Education Center in late March.
The 2025 Collin Jazz Fest, held March 28-29 at the Wylie Campus, brought together 31 middle and high school jazz bands from across the region for a total of 637 participants for a weekend of music, education, and celebration. Each participating ensemble had the unique opportunity to receive an on-stage clinic from esteemed festival adjudicators immediately following its performance. Outstanding bands were recognized with plaques, while exceptional individual performers received certificates for their achievements. This year’s Jazz Fest featured world-renowned jazz saxophonist and educator Jeff Antoniuk. Special appreciation goes to Professor Kevin McNerney for his leadership in organizing the Collin Jazz Fest, music faculty and adjudicators, and to Wylie Campus Provost Dr. Mary McRae, the Wylie Campus administrators, and dedicated support staff whose efforts made this event a success.
Collin College’s Robotics Team went undefeated in all matches during the Storm Robotics Competition 2025 at the University of Oklahoma earlier this month. The team performed very well against all state universities and won the first-place award and the highest-score award. Team members pictured here are (left to right): Sadev Patel, Joel Teel, Ayaan Aamir, Professor Yiping Wang (advisor), Natalie Lei, Jennifer Cepeda, and Yaxin Guan. Other major contributors to the team are Joshua Purushothaman, Arian Baishya, Alexandra Huffman, Conner Smith, Alex Swearingen.
Dr. Fawad Rauf, professor of Electronics Technology at the Technical Campus, recently published the book Beyond I, Human: Consciousness, Creation, and the Road Ahead, which is an “exploration of consciousness, technology, and the human spirit.” The book is available on Amazon.com.
Professors Landon LaRocque and Cesar Lopez-Maldonado created a 10-year anniversary sign for Dr. Matkin, the college’s district president, celebrating his decade of leadership. The metal craftsmanship features a silver star and circular design, showcasing the welding department’s expertise.
Collision Technology Discipline Lead Raven Luna was featured in a story titled “Frame by Frame: How Raven Luna is Shaping the Future of Collision Repair, One Student at a Time” on the AutoBody News website. You can read the article here.
Torrey West, associate dean of Student and Enrollment Services, earned his Ed.D. in Organizational Leadership from Abilene Christian University in February 2025.
Claire Landes, an English professor at the Frisco Campus, successfully defended her dissertation,
Catherine Crowe: the Freethinking Nineteenth-Century “Medium” of Science, Fiction, and Reform, at Texas Christian University in April.
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The Collin College Alpha Mu Tau Chapter of Phi Theta Kappa (PTK) attended the Texas Region Convention in March and received the Texas Top Chapter Award, the Nancy Long Continued Excellence Award for the third year, and the Most Distinguished Chapter, No. 1 out of 94 chapters.
The chapter also earned the following awards:
- Five Star Chapter • Award of Service (to the Texas Region): Jen Morrow • Regional Coordinator Award: Jen Morrow • HIA and CP Participation Award: AMT Chapter
The following individuals were inducted into the PTK Texas Hall of Honor:
- Hanna Cates, DII
- Rachel Tjia, DII
- Alex Acosta, DII
- Jordan Niyogi, DII
- Prisha Bhatt, DII
- Nirav Bhatt, DII
- Raymond Philip, DI
Individuals who completed Transfer Edge were:
- Hanna Cates
- Alex Acosta
- Jordan Niyogi
- Huda Memon
Friend of Texas Award: Ashley McGee
Poster Competition: No. 1 in Fellowship
Hall of Honor for Outstanding Member: Alex Joseph Acosta
Hall of Honor for Outstanding Officer: Jordan Niyogi
Most Distinguished Chapter Officer: Hanna Grace Cates
Distinguished Chapter Officer Team: Alpha Mu Tau 2024 Officer Team
Hall of Honor for Advisor: Dr. Rachel Bzostek Walker
Continued Excellence Award for Advisors: Dr. H. Jessica Hargis and Professor Brandy S. Jumper
Pinnacle Award for Advisors: Dr. H. Jessica Hargis
College Project Award of Distinction: No. 1 in Texas
Honors in Action Award of Distinction: No. 1 in Texas for Theme 6
The Collin College Alpha Mu Tau Chapter of Phi Theta Kappa attended Catalyst, the
PTK international convention, earning the following Hallmark Awards:
Individual Awards
Continued Excellence Award: Dr. H. Jessica Hargis
Continued Excellence Award: Professor Brandy S. Jumper
Distinguished Chapter Officer: Hanna Cates
Hites Scholarship: Huda Memon
Distinguished Regional Officer: Raymond Philip
Distinguished Regional Officer Team
Raymond Philip was elected Division II International Vice President
Chapter/Alumni Awards
Second Runner-Up to Most Distinguished Alumni Association: Alpha Mu Tau Alumni Association
Top 100 Chapter
Distinguished College Project
Distinguished Honors in Action
Distinguished Theme (Theme 6) Award for Honors in Action: (one of only three awarded in the theme)
Beta Alpha Continued Excellence Award (one out of 15 awarded) Second Finalist: Most Distinguished Chapter 2025
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Ten Collin College students will advance to SkillsUSA Nationals in June in Atlanta
after winning gold medals at the Leadership and Skills Conference held in Corpus Christi,
April 2-5. The following students won gold medals at the competition:
- Lisa Dorman and Hank Humble of McKinney – 3D Visualization Team Competition, Advisor Russel Smith
- Noah Durazo of Plano – HVAC, Advisor Mike Brucia
- Vu Mai of Richardson – Collision Damage Appraisal, Advisors Raven Luna and Winferd Vermillion
- Tyler Mathieson of Melissa – Technical Computer Application, Advisor Allen Smith
- Jacob McCord of Richardson – Welding, Advisors Cesar Lopez-Maldonado, Landon LaRocque, and James Yale
- Joshua Meza of Mesquite – Automotive Refinishing, Advisors Raven Luna and Winferd Vermillion
- Lydia Nitz of Plano – Photography, Advisor Lisa Means
- Julian Riley of Frisco – Graphic Communications, Advisor Erin Clark
- Peter Summers of Plano – Collision Repair Technology, Advisors Raven Luna and Winferd Vermillion
- Garrett Williams of Flower Mound – Automotive, Advisor James Yervasi
• • •
This year, 44 Collin College students took part in the competition and doubled the
number of competitions won over last year. All told, Collin students won 10 gold,
seven silver, and six bronze medals, and swept the 3D Visualization, Collision Repair
Technology, Graphic Communication, and Photography categories. Earlier in March, Andrea Molina, a Communication Design student at the Technical Campus, won the SkillsUSA National
Pin Contest.
Collin College students helped fabricate a patient extraction simulator for The University of Texas at Dallas Emergency Medical Response (UEMR). Collin College welding professor Cesar Lopez-Maldonado serves as a mentor for senior design mechanical engineers at UT Dallas who developed the simulator. The collaboration involved UT Dallas providing materials while Lopez-Maldonado and Collin College students created the metal frame.
Dr. Greg Forge, associate dean at the Farmersville Campus, has been honored with the Allen-Fairview Young Professionals Top 20 Under 40 Award for 2025.
Collin College was selected as the first of 12 sites to host the Honorlock Integrity & Innovation Tour. Collin’s tour date was in late March. Faculty and staff from five campuses came together to discuss AI, academic integrity, and innovation at the one-day session. The event brought nationally recognized thought leaders to campus to lead discussions with participants. iCollin Virtual Campus professor, Dr. Raji Kannampuzha, and Director of eLearning Pamela Darling- Facio presented a session on best practices and practical tips for faculty and student success using the online proctoring tool Honorlock in online courses.
Collin College celebrated its first Collin College Day at the Texas Capitol on March 13, during which 160 students traveled to Austin to engage in the legislative process. Students were honored by the House and Senate Chambers, and a warm welcome was given from the Collin College legislative delegation. They also had the opportunity to engage with several representatives during a Q&A session later that afternoon. Two resolutions honoring the students were passed: House Resolution No. 441 and Senate Resolution No. 247.
The Collin College Child Development Lab School celebrated the Week of the Young Child, April 7-11. This annual event promotes learning, fun, and the importance and value of early childhood education. On April 11, the children enjoyed a mini carnival with face painting, karaoke, a treasure hunt, art, bubble chasing, and a pizza party.
The dual credit department hosted the annual High School Counselor’s Conference on April 2 at the Frisco Campus Conference Center. There were 97 counselors, representing 20 partnering school districts, in attendance. One of the highlights of the event was a drawing for two $1,500 scholarships that the selected counselor can issue to a student of their choosing. The two winning counselors were Kerri Keith from Plano Senior High School and Mia Coleman from Anna High School.
iCollin Virtual Campus faculty, staff, and administrators presented four sessions at the Texas Digital Learning Association Annual Meeting. The presentations showcased best practices, cutting-edge strategies, and student-centered design in online teaching and leadership — spotlighting the iCollin Virtual Campus as a hub for excellence and digital learning leadership in Texas. Presenters included Campus Provost Dr. Sarah Lee, Associate Dean Jill Nugent, Online Student Success Coach Jeremy Walker, Scheduling Specialist Serena Meyer, and Professors Meena Beri, Melissa Johnson, and Whitney Pisani.
iCollin Virtual Campus Professor Melissa Johnson gave a talk at the Allen Public Library about the race to connect the United States by rail from coast to coast. Talking History: The Race of the Century, Building the Transcontinental Railroad, offered the opportunity to learn about the workers who risked their lives to lay the tracks and the engineering advancements of the railroad that ushered in American industrial dominance and the Gilded Age.
iCollin Virtual Campus Professor Thomas Ehrhart gave a presentation at Collin College’s Financial Wellness & Human Resources for Early-Career Professionals Workshop. His presentation was titled Personal Finance for New Employees. Ehrhart also presented The Legal Aspects of Banking at Collin College’s Bankers Financial Futures.
Plano Campus Librarian Reina Williams was inducted into Texas Tech University’s chapter of Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society on April 2.