Pulaski Technical College: two year community college in central Arkansas

2012 Faculty & Staff Achievements

July 2012

Mike McMillan, Instructor of Computer Information Systems, recently published "Learning Python Programming", an instructional video course on learning how to write computer programs using the Python programming language, and "Advanced C++ Programming", a course on the advanced use of the C++ programming language. The courses are published by Infinite Skills (www.infiniteskills.com), a worldwide leader of software training solutions. The courses are available via CD and online download, and are part of the Safari Online video library. Starting this Fall, Infinite Skills will be making many of the courses Mike has published available for free to students enrolled in his programming courses.

June 2012

Two members of the PTC Computer Services staff earned CompTIA certifications after participating in this summer's IT Division boot camps. Congratulations to Robert Wirges for earning A+ Certification and Preston Trodgen for earning Network+ Certification.

May 2012

Bruce Schulte, instructor of physics and chemistry, has written an article that appears this month in the issue of Meteorite Magazine, the international quarterly on this subject.

The article details student involvement in the STEM fields, where the Murchison meteorite with its wealth of organic compounds brings great interdisciplinary opportunities for study - astronomy, physics, chemistry, geology and biology. With the article are photos of former PTC students who are pursing degrees as ASU and UAF.

Mike McMillan, Instructor of Computer Information Systems, recently published "Web Programming with Python", an instructional video course on using the Python programming language to perform a wide variety of Internet and Web programming tasks, from screen scraping, to building simple web servers, to creating web frameworks. The course is published by Infinite Skills (www.infiniteskills.com), a world-wide leader of software training solutions.

April 2012

David Glover, director of Administrative Computing, has been appointed to serve on the POISE Users Group Board of Directors. He will serve a three-year term beginning this spring. Glover’s appointment should help give Pulaski Tech some great insight into the directions that ESP-Tulsa and Jenzabar may be moving their respective service and product offerings over the next three to four years. The first board meeting will be held in conjunction with the upcoming JAM/SCPUG Conference in Dallas.

April Gentry-Sutterfield, adjunct theater instructor, has written the play Lily & the Apple Seed as Wildwood Park’s latest Art in Education production. The play will tour Arkansas schools through April.

Sandy Longhorn, instructor of English, published a review of Allison Joseph’s My Father’s Kites, a book of poems, in the February issue of Gently Read Literature. Longhorn also has new poems in The Cincinnati Review (a print journal from the University of Cincinnati) and the online journals blossombones and The Collagist. Her poem “Etude” was included in the recently published A Face to Meet the Faces: An Anthology of Contemporary Persona Poetry. On March 2, Longhorn appeared on the panel “Redefining Lyricism” at the annual conference of the Association of Writers and Writing Programs. While at the conference, Longhorn also read her poetry at several off-site readings.

Angie Macri, instructor of English, has a poem included in the latest print volume of Birmingham Poetry Review, and her work is showcased online in the new poem of the month feature for The Pinch. In addition, Macri’s piece “Aubuchon Creek” was chosen to be the first poem in the, A Face to Meet the Faces: An Anthology of Contemporary Persona Poetry. She has had poems published in Measure, Prime Mincer, San Pedro River Review and Bluestem.

Werner Trieschmann, adjunct instructor in theatre arts, is writing and directing a short play on Mozart for the Fort Wayne Philharmonic in Fort Wayne, Ind. Mozart Revealed will have its debut in late April.

Amy Baldwin, instructor of English, had a new book The College Experience published by Pearson in February. The new title has been written for the four-year university student success market. In March, Amy and her co-author, Dr. Brian Tietje, Dean of Continuing Education at California Polytechnical State University, presented "Helping Diverse Student Populations Succeed with the 4E's" at the Pearson Student Success Forums in New Orleans and San Diego.

The third edition of The Community College Experience was also published in February. Baldwin also presented a pre-conference workshop on student success courses with Dr. Donna Younger at the First-Year Experience Conference in San Antonio and a pre-conference workshop on social media with Steve Piscitelli and Dr. Robert Sherfield at the National Association of Developmental Education Conference in Orlando. Baldwin is currently developing an online professional development course for instructors of student success courses, as well.

Dr. Barry McVinney, Chair of the Department of Fine Arts and Instructor of Music, has been in the orchestra pit for the four-week run of The Wiz at the Arkansas Repertory Theatre. On March 12, he was the featured jazz artist at The Afterthought.

Anna Mitchell, adjunct instructor of visual art, won third place in Wadsworth Cengage Learning’s Gardner's Art through the Ages "Get Into Gardner's" contest. Art history classes at PTC use Gardner's Art through the Ages textbook, and the contest required correctly deciphering riddles pertaining to famous art works included in the book.

Yolanda Mitchell, instructor of Speech Communication, successfully defended her dissertation on March 12 and earned her Ed.D. in Higher Education Administration from the UALR College of Education. Her dissertation was titled "Factors Associated with Instructor-Student Interaction and Community College Students' Intent to Persist.” Mitchell will graduate on May 19.

Susan Gail Taylor, adjunct English instructor, has been asked to write a book review on Collaborative Approaches to the Digital in English Studies for Computers and Composition. She conducted IRB-approved research last semester entitled "Vlogging, Service Learning and the 21st Century First-Year Composition Classroom: How New Media Expression and Community Engagement Can Benefit the Writing Classroom” and presented that research at the Far West Popular Culture Association conference. In April Taylor will present it again at the Pop Culture Association national conference and is submitting the finished paper to Computers and Composition.

March 2012

Congratulations to Michelle Verser, who received the Distinguished Advisor Award for her work with the Beta Zeta Omega Chapter of Phi Theta Kappa. The chapter attended the Oklahoma/Arkansas Regional Convention Feb. 24-25 in Edmund, Okla., where Michelle was recognized. She is now eligible for the Hallmark Award at the International Convention in April. The chapter also received several awards including the Five Star Level, which is the highest level attainable in the Five-Star Chapter Development program.

February 2012

Dr. Barry McVinney, instructor of music, will be performing with the orchestra throughout the Arkansas Repertory Theatre’s production of The Wiz running March 9-April 1.

McVinney plays flute, saxophone and clarinet. He can also be heard March 12 at The Afterthought in Little Rock, where he plays with a combo jazz band.

January 2012

Jeanne Williams, program director for early Childhood Development, has earned a doctorate in Curriculum and Instruction from Capella University. Her dissertation was “Smart boards to chalk boards: Professional development for early childhood teachers in rural East Africa.” She has been traveling to Kenya for seven years, training early childhood teachers in an impoverished area of Western Kenya. Congratulations, Dr. Williams!

Leslie Cloer, human resources generalist, recently earned certification as a Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR). The certification, awarded by the Human Resources Certification Institute is the highest level of certification attainable in the human resources profession. She had to pass a rigorous examination to demonstrate a mastery in all of the areas of human resources including: strategic business management, workforce planning and employment, human resource development, total rewards and compensation, employee and labor relations, and risk management. Leslie also serves as a PHR/SPHR certification instructor to help other Arkansas residents obtain their professional level human resources certifications.

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