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,…
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…
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…
Three Ozarks Technical Community College students were named 2023 Coca-Cola Leaders of Promise Scholars and will each receive a $1,000 scholarship. The Coca-Cola Leaders of Promise Scholarship Program helps new Phi Theta Kappa members defray educational expenses while enrolled in associate degree programs. Scholars are encouraged to assume leadership roles by participating in Society programs…
In a noteworthy nod to the health of its professional environment, confidence in its leadership, and overall employee satisfaction, Ozarks Technical Community College earned the distinguished Honor Roll status in the 2023 listing of Great Colleges to Work For. The listing, produced yearly by the national Great Colleges to Work For® program, ranks colleges nationwide.…
rootEd Missouri, a statewide initiative designed to boost outcomes for students in rural communities by placing dedicated advisors in rural high schools to provide students with college and career planning support, today announced Steven Fouse will serve as its first executive director and will guide the next chapter of the successful initiative. Fouse brings to rootEd Missouri more than 15…
Four of our region’s leading institutions announced the creation of the Alliance for Healthcare Education on Aug. 29. The Alliance is a bold, collaborative approach that will develop the talent to meet – and exceed – our region’s health care workforce needs for decades to come. The new entity is an unprecedented partnership between CoxHealth,…
Ozarks Technical Community College released its new Strategic Plan, “Dream.Plan.Build. 2023-2028,” at an employee kickoff event, today, Wed., Aug. 16. The new plan focuses on three commitments for the college: Student Success, Institutional Excellence and Local Communities. College leadership created the guiding document to establish OTC as a national leader among community colleges. “OTC is…
Cassie Mathes is the new chief marketing and communications officer for the Ozarks Technical Community College System. A Joplin native, Ms. Mathes has more than two decades of experience as a higher education communicator and journalist. She began her duties on July 25. “We are lucky to bring someone with Cassie’s breadth of experience in…
A college and career advisor at Monett High School was today surprised with rootEd Missouri’s “Advisor of the Year” award, which recognizes exemplary efforts to help high school students in rural communities develop and achieve strong plans for life after graduation. Samantha Towles was announced the winner at a special ceremony hosted by rootEd Missouri…
During the just completed school year, Ozarks Technical Community College’s Eagle Breakfast program served over 800 more students than it did in the previous year. Program participants continued to achieve better grades and persist in their courses during the 22-23 school year. Eagle Breakfast is a no-cost meal for any OTC student at all college locations.…
Ozarks Technical Community College students competing at the SkillsUSA National Leadership & Skills Conference earned three bronze medals. The event was held June 19-23 in Atlanta, Ga. OTC sent 27 students to the competition, including five high school students. The three medalists were: Brennan McNabb, a 2008 graduate of Republic High School, won a Bronze…
Ozarks Technical Community College’s Veterans Upward Bound (VUB) program will host open houses for veterans and active military members to learn how VUB can help them access postsecondary education. The VUB event at OTC Springfield is on July 18. On July 19, VUB will host an open house at the OTC Waynesville Campus. Both sessions…
