Local information technology firm JMARK and Ozarks Technical Community College partnered to create the JMARK Cybersecurity Lab. JMARK’s strategic investment in the college’s cybersecurity program helps create career avenues for students to work at JMARK or other local companies. Cybersecurity debuted at OTC in the fall of 2022. Immediately, cybersecurity was one of the most…
Karli Hedge has always been interested in the World. “My older brother bought me an encyclopedia set when I was little,” Karli said. “I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve read it.” However, the Clever High School student’s natural curiosity had a drawback. “When I went to schedule classes for my junior year at…
The 2024 Ozarks Technical Community College Commencement Ceremony student speaker is Robert-Thomas Gumersell. The 21-year-old Springfield native is receiving his Associate of Arts in General Studies and a Certificate of Specialization in Honors Studies. Robert-Thomas, known around campus as R.T., started attending OTC as a dual-enrolled home school high school student when he was 18.…
Nine Ozarks Technical Community College students were honored today, Thursday, April 11, at the Missouri Community College Association (MCCA) Student Leadership and Phi Theta Kappa (PTK) Awards Luncheon at Stephens College in Columbia. The PTK/MCCA All-Missouri Team recognizes high-achieving two-year college students who demonstrate academic excellence, intellectual rigor, leadership, and service that extends their education beyond the classroom to benefit society. …
JMARK CEO Tom Douglas will give the commencement address at Ozarks Technical Community College’s graduation ceremony on Thursday, May 16, at 5 p.m. Great Southern Bank Arena on the Missouri State University campus is the site for the graduation ceremony. JMARK is a Springfield-based information technology company with a “People First, Technology Second” philosophy. “Good people aspire…
The Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society (PTK) awarded Ozarks Technical Community College Table Rock Campus President Dr. Robert Griffith with the Paragon Award for New Presidents. Dr. Griffith was honored during PTK Catalyst 2024, held April 4-6 in Orlando, Fla. Catalyst is the society’s annual convention. Dr. Griffith is one of just 24 college presidents…
Educators devote limitless time, and often their own resources, to helping students pursue their passions. To recognize the contributions of Missouri’s leading agricultural teachers, Nationwide and the Missouri FFA Foundation are honoring exceptional teachers as semi-finalists for the Missouri Golden Owl Award. This was the inaugural year for the Golden Owl Award contest in Missouri.…
Mallory Grant, a student at Ozarks Technical Community College’s Richwood Valley Campus, has been named a 2024 Coca-Cola Academic Team Silver Scholar and will receive a $1,250 scholarship. Grant graduated from Nixa High School in 2022 and plans to graduate from OTC in May 2024 with an Associate of Arts in Business. The Coca-Cola Scholars…
Robert-Thomas Gumersell, an Ozarks Technical Community College student, has been named a 2024 Coca-Cola Academic Team Bronze Scholar and will receive a $1,000 scholarship. Gumersell graduated from Home School in 2022. He plans to graduate from OTC in May 2024 with an Associate of Arts degree and a Certificate of Specialization in Honors Studies. The…
It will come with little fanfare other than a quick mention in the news and an even quicker cutaway to the floor of Congress, but this September will mark 30 years of the Violence Against Women’s Women Act. Since its enactment in 1994, VAWA has been instrumental in supporting survivors, enhancing legal protections and fostering…
Ozarks Technical Community College student group Politically Active will host “Springfield Votes” on March 20. The event will allow voters to meet with all candidates running for the Springfield School Board in the April 2 election. “Springfield Votes” will run from 5-7:30 p.m. in the Robert W. Plaster Center for Advanced Manufacturing on the OTC Springfield Campus. …
Ozarks Technical Community College’s Graphic Design Technology students earned 21 medals, two prestigious Judges’ Awards and Best of Show at the 2024 Heartland Addy Awards. The event recognized the top advertising of 2023 for the Heartland Chapter of the American Advertising Federation. The 2024 Addy Awards were held on Saturday, March 2, at Downstream Casino…
Ozarks Technical Community College students Mitchell Eddings and Robert-Thomas (R.T.) Gumersell represented OTC during the annual Missouri Governor’s Student Leadership Forum on Faith and Values held February 16-18, 2024, in Jefferson City, Missouri. The Forum challenges students’ character development by encouraging them to reflect on their own decision-making skills, values, and belief systems. Students learn…
Many people can recall spending hundreds of dollars on a college textbook and then choosing to sell it back for pennies on the dollar at the end of the semester or keep it. Now, thanks to Open Education Resources (OER), students never have to make that choice. Open Educational Resources are no-cost teaching, learning…
The number of Ozarks Technical Community College students receiving a financial aid instrument targeted at adult students pursuing training in high-demand fields more than tripled during the last school year. The Fast Track Workforce Incentive Grant is primarily designed for students 25 and older who desire careers in fields like nursing, manufacturing and teaching. For…
Ozarks Technical Community College’s first bachelor’s degree program experienced dramatic growth in its second year. The bachelor’s in respiratory therapy debuted in January of 2023 with a handful of students, but when classes began for the Spring 2024 semester, the new program had 16 first-year students. “This year, we’ve had more time to attract students,…
This spring, Ozarks Technical Community College will provide short-term manufacturing and welding courses that can be completed in two to ten weeks. The classes prepare students for entry-level positions in their chosen fields. For the spring of 2024, the following courses are scheduled for the OTC Springfield Campus. Fundamentals of Computer Numerical Control (CNC) Operation…
During the Fall 2023 semester, the Ozarks Technical Community College Foundation awarded more than $650,000 in scholarships to students for the 23-24 school year. Nearly 300 OTC students received Foundation scholarships, which are funded by donors. The total amount of those scholarships totaled more than half a million dollars. Scholarship amounts range between $1,000 and…
The Ozarks Technical Community College Board of Trustees approved an additional $312,948 to expand the planned Agriculture and Electrical Distribution Systems Building at the Richwood Valley campus. The building project will grow by nearly 3,000 square feet, bringing the facility’s total footprint to 19,600 square feet. The new building will provide additional classroom space for…
All Ozarks Technical Community College locations will be open Saturday, Jan. 6, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. to help students prepare for the upcoming semester. Student services staff will be available at all campuses and centers to assist students with last-minute admissions, enrollment, advising, financial aid, and student account services needs. The Springfield campus will also…
The Ozarks Technical Community College Board of Trustees approved funding for a $2.2 million parking lot project to the north of the Springfield campus at its monthly board meeting today, Dec. 13. The cost includes $1.85 million to DeWitt & Associates for construction. The new parking lot at the corner of Pythian and Hampton will add…
The term “robot surgery” may conjure up images of droids tending to humans in “Star Wars.” But robot-assisted surgery is not a fantasy a science fiction writer conjures up. It is a surgical technique growing in popularity among health professionals. Previously, Ozarks Technical Community College students could only read about robot surgery in textbooks…
Ozarks Technical Community College earned three awards at the MCCA Annual Convention on Thursday, Nov. 9; including OTC partner SRC and its CEO Jack Stack, the OTC Game Changer Grant Committee and rootEd advisor Nicole Thomas. Distinguished Business & Industry Award: SRC and Founder/President/CEO Jack Stack SRC Holdings and Founder, President and CEO Jack Stack…
Three Ozarks Technical Community College students won writing awards for work published in the college’s literary magazine “Go Anywhere: Time(s).” The OTC English department entered the 2022-23 edition of the publication in the Community College Humanities Association’s (CCHA) literary magazine competition. The CCHA selects first, second and third-place winners for individual student work in five…
Ozarks Technical Community College broke ground on its new Airframe and Powerplant (aviation maintenance) training facility at the old Springfield-Branson National Airport terminal today, Monday, Oct. 23. The Airframe and Powerplant program will teach students to service, maintain and repair everything on the aircraft from nose to tail, including engines, the airframe body and mechanical…