In Brief: August 2025

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The Technical Campus hosted a celebration on July 29 to commemorate the college fulfilling all requirements to be named a certified Toyota and Lexus T-TEN program. The T-TEN program is an industry-leading automotive technician training program that develops factory-certified technicians for automotive dealerships across the U.S. It allows students to earn technician training certifications from the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence (ASE), Toyota, and Lexus and Associate of Applied Science (AAS) degrees in Automotive Technology – Toyota T-TEN Track at Collin College. The partnership between Collin College, Toyota Motor North America, and the T-TEN program began during the 2020-21 academic year. Outstanding work and preparation were spearheaded by professors Sean Boyll and Jeff Basch.

Noah Noronha, David Kadari, and Ibrahim Amin — Texas A&M Engineering Academy at Collin College students entering their sophomore year — won third place in the Lean Six Sigma Competition at the 10th North American Conference on Industrial Engineering and Operations Management (IEOM) held in Orlando earlier this summer. The competition recognizes outstanding Lean Six Sigma case studies. The students’ “Lean Six Sigma in Radiology” paper was judged based on technical content and presentation. The competition rubrics included overall content, data analysis and results, presentation skills, knowledge of the topic, and question responses. The research paper will be available in the IEOM Conference Proceedings and accessible through academic databases and indexing services. The proceedings will be submitted for evaluation in the Web of Science Conference Proceedings Citation Index.

D CEO recently named Monica Velazquez as a finalist for the 2025 Corporate Counsel Awards. Velazquez has been the college’s general counsel since 2019, providing legal advice and representation for the district. Her diligent work and top leadership have been recognized by D CEO for their 16th annual Corporate Counsel Awards. D CEO, part of D Magazine, is a monthly business magazine that serves Dallas-Fort Worth by connecting influential business leaders in the region. The publication announced the region’s top in-house attorneys after judges reviewed dozens of nominations, naming 40 finalists. All finalists will be featured in the October issue of D CEO and recognized at an exclusive awards event this fall, where winners will be revealed. View the D CEO article.

Collin College will soon provide greater online education access to students across the state as a part of the Texas Statewide Course Sharing Exchange Program. The exchange program, which is sponsored by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB), allows students to cross-register for online courses at 24 educational institutions across the state. Collin College will serve as a teaching institution and offer seats to students from course exchange partners. The model increases course options and availability for these students, supporting Texas student completion. First piloted in 2023, Collin College is part of the Texas Statewide Course Sharing Exchange Program’s expansion from 15 educational institutions to 24 this fall.

Frisco Campus Associate Dean Melanie Yates successfully defended her doctoral dissertation, “Evaluating Community College Faculty Preparedness to Teach Students with Non-Visible Disabilities: A Mixed Methods Study,” from Stephen F. Austin State University on July 1.

Health Information Management Adjunct Professor Dr. Salman Moti, a finalist for the Outstanding Adjunct Professor of the Year award last year, completed his master’s degree in education from Harvard University. He also earned Harvard’s Intellectual Contribution Award for 2025 as the top graduate in the program.

Plano Campus Associate Dean Natasha Robinson published a chapter titled “Do Have Kids in Graduate School: Resisting Chilly Advice and Treatment in Graduate School for Prospective Parents” in an edited collection named Parenting While PhDing: Surviving and Improving the Working Conditions of Graduate Student Parents.

iCollin Virtual Campus Professor of Mathematics Martha Chalhoub and Associate Dean Jill Nugent attended Community Science Night at the Frisco Public Library on June 5. Their activity table offered more than 150 attending family groups the opportunity to learn about important North Texas plants and pollinators, such as monarch butterflies.

Part-time Fire Science instructor and Dallas Fire-Rescue Lieutenant John Hampton has been selected to receive a 2025 Star of Texas Award from Texas Governor Greg Abbott. The Texas Legislature created the Star of Texas Award to honor peace officers, firefighters, and emergency medical first responders who are killed or sustain serious injuries in the line of duty. The awards ceremony will be held Sept. 11.

Honda PACT Program Professor Jose Aguilera of the Technical Campus earned one of only six Challenging Spirit Awards at a recent Honda Motor Co. Conference.

Baylor Scott & White Medical Center-Lake Pointe has appointed Dr. Mary McRae, provost of the Wylie and Farmersville campuses, to the Hospital Advisory Board. Dr. McRae will serve a three-year term.

Frisco Campus Cybersecurity Professor Glenn Kimball was awarded a $10,000 National Information Technology Innovation Center (NITIC) mini-grant for his proposal, “Perpetual AI Skill Development through Narrow AI Implementation for Student and Workforce Development.”

Frisco Campus Cybersecurity Professor Dr. Bilal Abu Bakr was awarded a $10,000 NITIC mini-grant for his proposal, “Securing Autonomous AI-to-AI Communication through a Zero-Trust Framework.”

Wylie Campus Professor of English Karen Williams has secured nine scholarships for students thus far this academic year. One scholarship will benefit a lucky Collin Bound participant, and eight scholarships benefited eight students attending College for Kids this summer. We appreciate Williams’ passion for students and her involvement with the K Post Foundation.

Pre-BAT Cybersecurity sophomore student Tyler Mathieson represented Texas in the SkillsUSA National Leadership and Skills Conference (NLSC) held in Atlanta in June. The Technical Computer Applications category of the competition focused on skills like Python programming, scripting, advanced Microsoft Office applications, Linux commands, as well as using AI to solve a complex problem. Mathieson was coached by Computer Networking Professor Allen Smith. Mathieson placed first and went home with a shiny gold medal.

Collin College’s Electronic Engineering Technology program has been named one of the four finalists in the college or university category for the 25th Annual Tech Titans Awards. This innovative competition recognizes North Texas companies and individuals who leverage technology in extraordinary ways. The winner will be announced on Sept. 12 at the annual awards event. Finalists include:
• Collin College, Electronic Engineering Technology Program
• Dallas College, Texas A&M Engineering Academy
• Southern Methodist University, Cox School of Business, Spears Institute for Entrepreneurial Leadership
• The University of Texas at Dallas, North Texas Semiconductor Institute

The Technical Campus hosted the National Toyota T-TEN Instructor Conference earlier this month. This unique collaboration brings together faculty from different colleges and universities across the nation to develop resources for future T-TEN curriculum.

The Technical Campus was featured in a Spectrum News TV story highlighting Automotive student Eliab Garza and his education journey in a workforce program. The news story showed the great facilities at Collin College and its impactful program offerings.

In partnership with the Propane Institute, the Technical Campus hosted its third educator conference, “Train the Trainer,” focused on HVAC and plumbing training. Instructors from Alabama, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Mississippi, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee.

Director of Admissions Nicholas Medina received the distinguished service award from the Chi Phi Fraternity in recognition of his involvement and support throughout the Chi Phi Fraternity’s yearlong bicentennial celebration. He was also recently appointed to the Chi Phi National Board as the Scholastic Counselor.

The Physical Therapist Assistant program had a 100% pass rate for the 14 learners in the 2025 graduating class. 

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