In Brief: September 2021

The Human Resources, Finance, Purchasing, and Technology teams successfully launched Workday on Sept. 1. While the team is still working through some minor kinks, the implementation has been a success. Congratulations to everyone for all their hard work and dedication to this project.

The following employees completed the Collin College Leading for Excellence Academy in FY2020-2021. The academy is a Collin College Human Resources Professional Development program open to all employees, which provides two-hour knowledge sessions for leaders at all levels. Graduates of the academy have attended 12 knowledge sessions, attempted all self-study assignments, and completed a final project. December 2020 graduates: Andrew Campbell, Christi Cho, Traci DeRose, Kevin Dippel, Jeanne Glapion, Candace Hamilton-Meserole, Scott Hensley, Melody Holmes, Ruchi Mahajan, Meredith Martin, Beenah Moshay, Lupita Murillo Tinnen, Nikhil Patel, William Lee Powell, Traci Ramsey, GAnna Saunders, Holly Stone, Kristen Streater, and Juli Westcott. April 2021 graduates: Amber Allen, Michelle Buggs, Faye Davis, Melanie Durant Reeves, Joshua Estes, Brandy Fair, Mark Fischer, Jennifer Gilchrist, Brad Hennigan, John Hines, Regina Hughes, Donna Smith, Joshua Snyder, Erwin Whitlock, and Carrie Wooldridge May 2021 graduates: Chanda Allen, Shane Apple, Jamie Brinkley, Rachel Bzostek-Walker, Alexis Cade, Melisa Cotton, Lydia Danton, Pamela Darling-Facio, Eric Donihoo, John Guillory, Brad Hinkebein, Scott Knight, Diana Kollman, Carlton Kuhlma, Pamela Lee, Rajan Rijal, Andrea Szlachtowski, Kamilah Willis, Jennifer Wright, and Melanie Yates.

Chadwick Grant, a Collin College student at the Frisco Campus, received the Trane Technician of the Future Scholarship for 2021. He was selected from a pool of finalists based on academic performance, leadership and participation, long-term career and educational goals, financial need, and other criteria. Grant was one of 21 students across North America awarded the scholarships designed to help pay for a technical education as they prepare to enter the field of Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) or Building Automation.

Robin Armstrong, Professor of Theatre, is the recipient of the 2021 Mirabeau B. Lamar Award of Excellence in Education. The Lamar Award of Excellence was established in 1988 under the leadership of Grand Master Graham Childress. The Lamar Medal is awarded to students and educators in recognition of outstanding personal achievement. Armstrong will be honored on Nov. 30.

Plano Campus Provost Dr. Mary Barnes-Tilley was re-appointed to the McKinney Community Development Corporation Board to serve her third term. She currently serves as Secretary of the Board.

Plano Campus Provost Dr. Mary Barnes-Tilley served Blue Bell ice cream to students during the Ice-Cream Social with the Provost as part of Welcome Week on the Plano Campus.

Photography student Cesar De La Cruz was hired at FLOCC Creative Studios after completing his summer co-op there.

Child Development Lab: Texas Health and Human Services performed the annual state inspection, and they had a perfect visit on Aug. 23. The lab school had no violations.

Dr. Elaine Zweig, Professor of Early Childhood Education, was invited to serve on the Texas Womans University Council for Educator Prep.

Renee Dessommes, Professor of Theatre, professionally stage-managed When Pigs Fly and Fun Home with Uptown Players in Dallas.

Dr. Terry Hockenbrough, Director of Business and Community Outreach, has been appointed to the TX-600 Continuum of Care board of directors under the Metro Dallas Homeless Alliance. A continuum of care (CoC) is a regional or local planning body that coordinates housing and services funding for homeless families and individuals.

The Texas Workforce Investment Council, through the Texas Skills Standards System, recently recognized five job clusters of skill standards created by the IT Skill Standards 2020 and Beyond (ITSS 2020) grant working with almost 250 IT/Cybersecurity employer subject matter experts. ITSS staff worked with the subject matter experts to create the standards following the Business and Industry Leadership Team model (BILT) that originated with the National Convergence Technology Center (CTC). Both the CTC and ITSS are National Science Foundation grants based at Collin College. The Texas Workforce Investment Councilis charged by the Texas legislature with administering a voluntary statewide system of industry-defined and industry-recognized skill standards. Using the structured, repeatable BILT process, the ITSS project and employer subject matter experts have identified skill standards in: Data Analytics and Predictive Modeling; Data Management and Engineering; Infrastructure Connectivity Management and Engineering; Technical Project Management; and Technical Support. According to a thank you letter from Anne Dorsey, Texas Skill Standards Administrator of the Texas Workforce Investment Council, recognizing the standards will make them more widely accessible for Texas community and technical colleges to inform their curricula and assessments. The standards will be posted on the Texas skill standards system website (www.tssb.org/texas-skill-standards-repository) soon. Thank you to Dr. Ann Beheler, Principal Investigator for the CTC, and all the employer subject matter experts for their hard work on these skill standards.

Associate Deans Andrea Szlachtowski and Dean Dr. Brenden Mesch attended the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SASCOC) Summer Institute.

Celina Campus Executive Dean Brenda Carter was selected to the Steering Committee of the Leadership Celina Academy. This years is the first Leadership Celina Academy.

Collin Colleges flag was flown proudly at the Wylie Championship rodeo, Sept. 17-18. The college was a sponsor of the United Professional Rodeo Association-sanctioned rodeo, which celebrated its 28^th year.

Collin College loaned Methodist Richardson two ventilators at the request of their Director of Respiratory Care to help the hospital manage their current high patient care needs. Methodist Richardson is a newer clinical site for the Respiratory Care program. Methodist Richardson and Methodist Dallas developed a program to hire one or two Collin Respiratory students in their second year to ensure a steady employment pipeline. This employment opportunity exists in several of our other clinical sites, and currently, 70 percent (14 students) of the current second-year Collin College Respiratory Care class is employed through these opportunities.

National Science Foundation Grants Convergence College Network quarterly meeting was held with 39 educators attending. The meeting featured updates by CTC and ITSS as well as presentations by several colleges.

In partnership with Humanities Texas, the Texas Center for Working-Class Studies at Collin College is hosting The Dust Bowl, a photography exhibition featuring images from the Depression-era Farm Security Administration at the Plano Campus Library from Sept. 13-30.

The Frisco Campus will once again host the State Finals Competition for the Academic Decathlon, Feb. 24-27, 2022. 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. Hosting the event requires roughly 200 volunteers. The primary need for volunteers is on Friday afternoon. This is an excellent opportunity for college service. The link to the volunteer sign-up is www.signupgenius.com/go/60b0e44aba82faafa7-volunteering3. For more information on the TexasAcademic Decathlon, seewww.txacadec.org/.