Actress, producer and writer Dana Powell will give the commencement address at Ozarks Technical Community College’s graduation ceremony on Thursday, May 18 at 6 p.m. The event will be held at JQH Arena on the Missouri State University campus. In addition to all graduates and their families, the public is invited to attend. Powell, a…
OTC’s academic department is on a mission to spread kindness and happiness across the OTC System. A recent study by John Gottman found that for every negative feeling or occurrence, five positive — or happy — feelings can help replace the negative. Bishop’s Bunch is challenging you to pay it forward by sharing five happy things (today, this week, this month…
Meet Dr. Tracy McGrady, OTC provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs. Dr. McGrady handles all things academic-related at OTC, and she’ll be serving up your favorite Starbucks drinks on Tuesday, March 28 from 10-11 a.m. In other words, Tuesday is the perfect day to grab some Starbucks and chat with Dr. McGrady. Be sure to grab a…
Representatives from Ozarks Technical Community College’s chapter of Phi Theta Kappa, the international honor society for two-year colleges, recently returned from the organization’s annual Missouri Regional Convention with several awards in hand. The students and advisors of the college’s chapter were honored with 17 awards and three regional officer positions during the event, held in…
A group of OTC surgical technology students won first place in the 2017 Missouri Association of Surgical Technologists Scrub Bowl competition. The event was held earlier this month at the annual Missouri Association of Surgical Technologists conference. The jeopardy-like competition prepares surgical technology students to take their certification exam upon graduation. We would like to…
Sarah Tindell looks to the sky for her future career path, and she will soon take off in that direction with the help of OTC’s new aviation program. Sarah, 16, is expected to be one of the first students to enroll in OTC’s aviation-focused associate degree program starting in the fall. The degree is being…
Local professionals who are interested in becoming part-time instructors for Ozarks Technical Community College can learn more about teaching opportunities on Saturday, April 1 from 9 a.m. to noon at the Adjunct Faculty Career Fair at the OTC Springfield Campus, Jared Family Atrium. The college is recruiting general education and technical instructors to teach part…
And cut — that’s a wrap for OTC’s first-ever film festival. Nineteen teams competed for 48 hours straight to create a 5-minute film. The catch? Each film had to contain a set of creative elements that included specific visual cues, props, lines of dialogue and music. You can view the films in their entirety here. Keep scrolling for the complete list…
Students representing the various technical programs of Ozarks Technical Community College brought home more than 90 medals from the SkillsUSA district competition, held recently in Monett, Carthage and Joplin. Approximately 130 OTC students attended the event, where hundreds of local technical education students competed in a variety of categories including graphic communications, culinary arts, television production, computer…
If you ask a female friend or relative, it’s likely she can tick off a list of funny or embarrassing stories about “that time of the month.” But for thousands of homeless women across the country, periods are no laughing matter. According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, more than 50,000 women…
Battlefield firefighter Kevin Newton loves to talk about his job and the education he received at OTC. He often tells people that two days a week he lives in a multi-million-dollar house, drives a $500,000 vehicle and wears a $6,000 suit. “Then I tell them, I’m a firefighter and you can become one too at…
Ozarks Technical Community College is one of two Missouri community colleges working with statewide partners to help people who receive Food Stamp benefits gain access to free job training and employment opportunities. SkillUP Missouri is a program piloted by the Missouri Community College Association (MCCA) and the Missouri Department of Social Services, Family Support Division…
Ozarks Technical Community College students will have another scholarship available to them in the fall of 2017 thanks to the Nancy Higdon Memorial Scholarship. The fund, established by Chancellor Hal Higdon in memory of his late wife, has reached $30,000 since its inception in November 2016. This endowment will allow for the scholarship to be…
Tracy McGrady did not dream of being the provost and vice chancellor of academic affairs at OTC until Steve Bishop, the then-current provost, told her that he was going to call it quits. “I wasn’t really thinking about the position but then Dr. Bishop said he was retiring. He also told me he thought I’d…
The OTC Richwood Valley campus marks its 10th anniversary Sunday, Jan. 22. Before Richwood Valley opened, OTC had been offering classes in a small storefront. A decade after its opening, the gleaming, state-of-the-art structure is a fixture in Christian County. It was the college’s first facility located away from the main campus in Springfield, and,…
In January 2007, the OTC Richwood Valley Campus opened its doors for the first time to 547 students. Ten years later, more than 12,000 students have taken classes on campus. Let’s take a look at the impact of the OTC Richwood Valley Campus over the past decade. What a difference a decade makes. To…
A new line of prosthetic devices is coming to the world market this year, and Ozarks Technical Community College faculty member Susan Griffitts was involved in testing and suggesting ideas for the cutting-edge technology and the design of the devices. Susan, who has taught in the Licensed Practical Nursing program at OTC for five years after…
As the spring semester gains momentum, know that OTC has lots of free resources available to you. Whether you need homework help, personal support or job-search assistance, we’ve got your back. Check out the following infographic for five free resources you should know. You can also view a complete list of student resources here. With these…
Ozarks Technical Community College received a $75,000 grant through the U.S. Department of Labor ApprenticeshipUSA State Expansion Grant program this week. The grant, established in partnership with the Missouri Division of Workforce Development, will help the college develop and implement strategies that support the expansion of registered apprenticeship programs. The funds allow OTC to create…
Students who complete 12 or more credit hours are eligible for the Chancellor’s List and Dean’s List. Recognition is based on the grade point average attained during the 12-credit-hour increment. The Dean’s List requires a GPA of 3.50 to 3.84, and the Chancellor’s List requires a GPA of 3.85 or higher. Chancellor’s List and Dean’s List recipients can expect a…
Students, have you recently received a voicemail message like this? “This message is from the Department of Education. In regards to Donald Trump becoming President, all programs for student loan forgiveness will be stopped immediately as soon as he takes office in January. In order for you to qualify, you must apply within the next…
Ozarks Technical Community College will enhance its Industrial Systems Technology curriculum thanks to a $120,000 grant from the 3M Gives Foundation. The grant, written in partnership with Springfield Public Schools and the local 3M-Springfield Plant, will allow OTC to purchase a new training system and affiliated software. The grant will also support continuing education workshops…
The Ozarks Technical Community College System will extend its hours in January to help students prepare for the upcoming semester. The OTC Springfield Campus will be open Saturday, Jan. 7 to assist students with admissions, enrollment, advising and financial aid processes. Every OTC location will be open the following Saturday, Jan. 14. Additionally, several OTC…
Dr. Steven Bishop can sum up his 25-year career at Ozarks Technical Community College with just four words: Lots of happy accidents. Opportunity often came knocking when the soon-to-be-retired provost and vice chancellor of academic affairs didn’t expect it. But every time it did, Bishop took on the challenge, and OTC is better for it.…
Thanks to Springfield’s inaugural Hack 4 Good event, a group of OTC students can proudly say “there’s an app for that,” when people ask how they can share local resources with Springfield’s homeless population. OTC computer information science students, graduates and instructors ─ along with area engineers, developers, entrepreneurs and technologists ─ volunteered around the clock…