College Recognizes Most Outstanding Employees KC Kickoffin the Plaza
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SEPTEMBER 2016 College recognizes most outstanding employees Kilgore College honored its Most Outstanding Employees at opening day ceremonies this year. Each year, KC employees vote for peers who they think are “most outstanding” at what they do. Categories include Executive/Management/ Supervisory; Professional/ CHRIS GORE MARY MARTIN KRISTI POWERS KENYA RAY Technical/Support; Director of Admissions Professional Support Assistant Human Resources Program Director/Instructor, Administrative/Office & Registrar Business, Tech. & Public Services Payroll & Benefits Manager Corrosion Tech Executive/Management/Supervisory Administrative/Office Support Professional/Technical/Support Faculty Support; and Faculty. KC Kickoff was held for the first time in the new Lee Mall/ Mike Miller Plaza Sept. 1. A record turnout of KC students KC Kickoff in the Plaza: and employees attended the event. Photo by Jamie Maldonado/KC Activities begin for reaffirmation of college As the new school year begins, it’s time to kick off activities related to KC’s Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) reaffirmation of accreditation to be voted on in June 2019. A reaffirmation timeline was e-mailed to all employees Aug. 23. The timeline is broken down Four KC instructors awarded by NISOD for excellence into columns for general activities that relate to the Kilgore College is pleased compliance certification and to announce that four KC activities that relate to the instructors are recipients of Quality Enhancement Plan the annual National Institute (QEP). for Staff and Organizational Two important dates are submission of the Compliance Development (NISOD) Certification document in Excellence Award. March 2018 and the on-site Instructors honored RONDA HOWE JEANNE JOHNSON JULIE LEWIS TINA RUSHING committee visit in Fall 2018 with the award are Ronda Chemistry Music Mathematics Psychology (exact dates TBA). KC is Howe (chemistry), Jeanne required to develop a QEP Johnson (music), Julie Lewis outstanding commitment and Leadership Excellence held as part of the reaffirmation (mathematics) and Tina contribution to their students in conjunction with NISOD’s process. Sarah Booker, Rushing (psychology). and colleagues. annual conference. math instructor, will NISOD’s Excellence Award Recipients of the award were Each Excellence Award serve as Chair of the QEP recognizes faculty, staff honored in Austin during recipient received a specially Development Team for KC. and administrators each NISOD’s annual International cast, pewter medallion. Continued on Page 3 year who demonstrate an Conference on Teaching and More info click here President’s Perspective by Dr. Brenda Kays Welcome New Employees! SACSCOC Reaffirmation... Business, Tech., Lang. Develop. & Public Service: A Time for KC to Shine! Joshua Stapp, Instrumentation & Electrical Last week you received a communication from Technology instructor, earned an AA degree Dr. Staci Martin outlining a very well-planned and from Texas State Technical College. Stapp thorough approach to accomplishing our decennial has worked for Discreet Controls Integration, reaffirmation with the Southern Association of Petrohawk (Kinder Morgan) and J-W Operating Co. Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges Dr. Brenda Kays (SACSCOC). Kilgore College is grouped into what is Joshua Stapp East Texas Police Academy: I&E Instructor commonly known in accreditation circles as the “Class of 2019.” This designation means that a formal decision from the SACSCOC Board regarding KC’s ability to Jamie Council, ETPA professional support maintain its status as an accredited institution will be issued in June of 2019. assistant, earned a BA degree from I have always valued the partnership between my institution of higher LeTourneau Univ. and an AAS from KC and education and SACSCOC. I haven’t always been in total agreement with every has worked for Gladewater ISD as a Head action or philosophical stance taken by the organization, but I do recognize the Start Aide and for the ETPA from 1997 valuable role that our accrediting body plays as a buffer between the college through 2005. No photo available. Jamie Council and the Department of Education. I do know that Dr. Belle Wheelan, President ETPA Clifford King, ETPA instructor, earned a BA of SACSCOC, spends a lot of time in Washington, D.C., helping bureaucrats degree from UT-San Antonio. King worked and lawmakers understand what it is like to be on a college campus standing as a public safety officer for Highland Park frontline with students. While oftentimes it feels as if our federal reporting Department of Public Safety and as a police requirements are quite onerous, I know that they would be much worse without recruit for the Dallas Police Department. No SACSCOC’s advocacy. photo available. I also laud SACSCOC for its pursuit to maintain relevancy in its processes. I was around in the old days when reaffirmation used to mean dealing with Enrollment Management & Marketing: Beth Wassom hundreds of “must and should” statements. At my first college, we had a whole Lead Accts. Payable room dedicated to the SACSCOC visit. It contained mounds of documents Jamie Maldonado, graphic designer/ and was staffed by a new hire who typed every word of those documents and campus photographer earned a BA degree from SFASU and an AA degree from KC. He meticulously filed them in accordance with the voluminous questions the will finish a MA in photography this year from college had to answer. Most of the visit was focused around counting exercises TAMU-Commerce. No photo available. (i.e.: How many volumes do you have in your library) which may or may not indicate quality. A team would come and spend a whole week poring through Business Office: those “accounting” documents and it wasn’t unusual for an institution to walk Kristan Propes away with 20-25 recommendations regarding improvement. Thankfully, Beth Wassom, lead accounts payable Health Sciences computers are now a mainstay in the reaffirmation process. What once specialist, earned MS and BS degrees in filled a whole room is easily contained on a thumb drive. More importantly, Accounting & Information Management SACSCOC has also shifted its focus from “How many? to How?” (i.e.: How does from UT-Dallas. She worked for Collin the institution prove that its students are mastering the learning outcomes Services where she was an accountant/office supervisor. associated with a particular course or program). Additionally, the college, by virtue of the reaffirmation process, has the ability to select a project or initiative Math, Science, & Health Sciences: that is specific to the needs of the institution based on its student learning Dawn Bahr ADN Instructor data. In reality, SACSCOC now presents us with the opportunity to customize Kristan Propes, support specialist for health our reaffirmation process to serve the needs of students. The vehicle used sciences, was a receptionist at Heaton Eye for that customization is called the “Quality Enhancement Plan or QEP.” The Associates, an administrative assistant only requirement associated with the QEP is that it deal with improving some at Longview Wellness Center and an element of student learning. Students definitely emerge as the winners of that administrative assistant for Region VII. process! Dr. Martin’s e-mail contained a chart illustrating our timeline for reaffirmation. Dawn Bahr, ADN instructor, earned a MS in Nursing from Drexel Univ. and a BS in Krystal Bridwell Sometimes we look at a document like that and catch ourselves thinking “too Nursing degree from Texas Tech. Dawn has ADN Instructor much work for too little reward.” By the books, our reward comes in the form of been working for KC as an adjunct Instructor. continuing eligibility for Title IV funds—it is important that the students who attend KC qualify to receive federal financial aid funds. However, off the books, Krystal Bridwell, ADN instructor, earned BS our reaffirmation journey provides the opportunity for us to shine. It allows us and MS degrees from UT-Arlington and an the opportunity to review every aspect of our institution to ensure that we are AAS degree is from NETC. She has worked for embracing best practices. It may be likened to an annual physical where our KC as an adjunct instructor as well as a nurse at Longview Regional and Good Shepherd doctor examines everything about our being, makes adjustments as necessary, Jonathan Belew and by virtue of that preventative maintenance, we continue to thrive. Our hospitals. Chemistry Instructor reaffirmation visit will allow the college to continue to thrive and give us the Tracy Hicks, ADN instructor, earned two MS degrees, opportunity to showcase all of the wonderful things that are happening at KC in Family Nurse Practitioner and Psychiatric Mental Health support of student learning and success! Nurse Practitioner, from UT-Arlington. She has worked at I hope that you will join me by embracing our opportunity to “show-off.” Longview Behavioral Hospital, Community Health Core, Please lend a hand to the preparation when called upon. Whether it is writing, Special Health Resources, Premier Home Care and has documenting or chauffeuring the visiting team—there will be a role for been working at KC as an adjunct instructor. No photo available. everyone! Until next month, Jonathan Belew, chemistry instructor, earned a MS degree FOLLOW DR. KAYS ON TWITTER! from SFASU and a BS degree from UT-Dallas. He worked @KCBrendaKays for KC as an adjunct instructor and for Paris J.C. SACSCOC Continued from Page 1 Welcome New Employees! The leadership team for reaffirmation also includes Dr. Brenda Kays, Continued from Page 2 president; Dr. Staci Martin, VP of institutional planning and SACSCOC Liaison; Dr. Mike Turpin, VP of instruction; Dr. Mike Jenkins, VP of student Math, Science & Health Sciences: development; Duane McNaney, VP of finance; Nancy Law, assistant to the president; and Charleen Worsham, eLearning director. For questions, please Dr. Joseph Kirchhoff, physics instructor, call Dr. Staci Martin at 903-983-8651 or e-mail her.