Summary
The annual Innovation Celebration featured ideas to support student success and awards for Ozarks Technical Community College’s top employees.
The annual Innovation Celebration featured ideas to support student success and awards for Ozarks Technical Community College’s top employees.
OTC’s full-time employees gathered at the White River Conference Center to celebrate the college’s student-centered culture on Tuesday, Feb. 20.
At OTC, faculty and staff continuously create new ways to support students, improve on-campus life and provide opportunities for growth beyond coursework.
Trailblazer Awards Support Employee Excellence
The Trailblazer Award is OTC’s highest form of peer recognition. Annually, faculty and staff across the OTC system nominate colleagues for this honor. A vote of their peers selected six winners.
Trailblazer Award Winners – Faculty
- Jennifer Dunkel, English Instructor
- Phil Forrester, Music Instructor
- Gabe McLaughlin, Dept. Chair Transportation
Trailblazer Award Winners – Staff
- Jason Bound, Supervisor – College Grounds and Custodial
- Corey Charle’, College Navigator – Technical Education
- Kim Lyons, Help Desk Coordinator
Mini Grants to Boost Student Success
Student Success Mini Grants recognize focused and affordable projects that directly affect students and enhance their OTC experience. Five projects were selected to receive $1,000 in funding.
- Warm Welcome Center & Safe Study Space
Creation of a welcome area and study space in Lincoln Hall. Funds will be used to install a welcome desk in the Health Sciences Navigation Center and purchase lighting and furniture for a study area.
- Multilingual Support Initiative
This project will create a support system for students who need language assistance to foster a more inclusive and efficient educational environment. Funds will be used to purchase a language translation device and a partnership with a translation service.
- A Simple Calculation: Tools for Student Success
This project will purchase business and science calculators for students to use in classrooms and testing centers.
- Hamra Library Game Collection
The OTC Hamra Library will start a collection of board and role-playing games to support the college’s goal of increasing student engagement.
After the employee recognition and presentation of grants, Chancellor Higdon sat down with OTC Table Rock President Robert Griffith for a wide-ranging conversation about the college’s future.
“Our mission is the community’s mission. We have to be what the communities we serve want us to be,” Dr. Higdon said. “We have to respond to business, industry, economic and social needs to get people educated as economically as possible in the fields people want.”
Over the five years of the Innovation Celebration, grants awarded at the event funded initiatives like a disc golf course, a professional clothes closet for students, and the college’s jazz band.
