DATE LINE, PAGE September 2017NUMBER, ETC. GOES HERE PAGE 1 Seminole State College Collegian Seminole, Oklahoma Volume 46 Number 1 September 2017 Faculty and Staff Get Ready for the Fall Semester Faculty and staff at Seminole State College celebrated the beginning of the new academic year with an in-service program built around the theme Start a FIRE INSPIRE. Pictured above, employees gathered August 10 for a group photo wearing shirts with a logo specially designed for this year s activities. Below faculty and staff members participated in a spin-off of the newlywed game during this year s in-service luncheon where several administrative assistants tried to guess how their supervisors would answer a series of questions.
PAGE 2 DATE LINE, PAGE NUMBER, ETC. GOES2017 HERE September WELCOME WEEK ACTIVITIES Seminole State College students enjoyed an array of Welcome Week activities to kick-off the fall semester which began on Monday, August 14. From bamboo planters to dodgeball, there were daily events available for the students both on and off-campus. An Eclipsing Experience Seminole State College students, faculty and staff gathered outside of Tanner Hall on campus August 21 to witness the partial solar eclipse of the sun. Those present took turns viewing the event through one of the College s 10inch telescopes. SSC Hosts Guest Speaker The Native American-Serving Nontribal Institutions (NASNTI) program at Seminole State College invited Governor Edwina Butler-Wolfe of the Absentee Shawnee Tribe for a onehour symposium on Native Women Power. Butler-Wolfe is currently serving her third-term as the governor of the Absentee Shawnee Tribe since being elected in 2013. She is the first female Governor to serve a full-term of office and be elected for a third term. Her focal interests are on educational reform and curriculum advancement. She has served on multiple advisory, planning, and educational committees and boards over the past 26 years. Governor Edwina Bulter-Wolfe of the Absentee Shawnee Tribe
DATE LINE, PAGE NUMBER, ETC. GOES HERE New PLC Students Check Out Campus September 2017 PAGE 3 Sophomore members of the Seminole State College President's Leadership Class helped freshmen PLC members get acquainted with campus August 11 during a photo scavenger hunt as part of a special orientation session prior to the start of classes. HLC Approves Agriculture Degree at SSC Pictured are (L-R) Kylee Burris of McLoud, Zachary Ilbery of Checotah and Wendy Rich, SSC Assistant Professor of Agriculsture Seminole State College received word in August that the Higher Learning Commission has approved the College s request to award students an Associate in Science in Agriculture. The agriculture program was first approved last sum- mer by the Oklahoma State Regent s for Higher Education. During the past year, the College has offered students seven new agriculture courses including Introduction to Animal Science, Introduction to Plant and Soil Science, Introduction to Wildlife and Natural Resource Management, Introduction to Livestock Evaluation, Agricultural Communications, Agricultural Leadership and Agricultural Economics. Now, students who complete these courses along with other degree program requirements can officially earn an associate degree in agriculture at SSC. This degree will equip students to transfer to a four-year college or university to further their education in the agricultural field. Wendy Rich serves as assistant professor for the College s agriculture program. She will also serve as the degree program mentor. She came to the College this summer from Prague Public Schools, bringing with her over eight years of experience in ag education. During her time at Prague schools, Rich worked with students in grades 8-12, teaching agriculture business, communication, leadership and power tech courses as well as animal science. Vice President of Academic Affairs Dr. Tom Mills said, We are excited about this approval. This degree is an outstanding addition to SSC one that we are thrilled to offer our students. Under Wendy s leadership, I believe this program has great potential and will have a long-lasting impact on the College.
PAGE 4 DATE LINE, PAGE NUMBER, ETC. GOES2017 HERE September SSC Welcomes Presidential Leadership Class XI Seminole State College has chosen 22 students for Class XI of the SSC Presidential Leadership program. PLC is a two-year scholarship program created to help students develop leadership skills and provide personal and professional growth opportunities. The Presidential Leadership Class provides students with unique opportunities to foster their leadership skills while developing academic growth, said Seminole State College President Lana Reynolds. We look forward to working with these outstanding students. They will have some great opportunities throughout the year to meet with state leaders, learn about state government and philanthropy, study leadership styles and volunteer their time, she said. The scholarship program was established to provide educational classroom and extracurricular activities to enhance leadership skills of students. Responsibilities of PLC members include volunteering for community service programs and campus events. School officials throughout the College s service area of Seminole, Lincoln, Pottawatomie, Hughes and Okfuskee counties are invited by President Reynolds to nominate high school seniors as candidates for the scholarship program each December. Other students are nominated by business owners and school officials. Participants are selected based on ACT scores, academic performance in high school and demonstrated leadership ability. Freshman members of the President s Leadership Class XI SSC Leadership Class XI Freshmen members of the Seminole State College President s Leadership Class X, pictured left to right, are: (seated) Chandler Lipe, Ashley Elmore, Genesis Dockery and Lucy Sargent; (standing) Billy Morgan, Destanie Jacoway, Hunter Dugan, Zach Ilbery, Gavin Cox, Adam Choate, Gavin Aldridge, Miranda Shupe, Hayden Thompson, Colton Smith, Mayce Croce, Gage Wright, Leona White, Kelsey Ross, Jordan Parks and Deinna Burkitt. include: Asher Barron of Shawnee; Elizabeth Bond of Shawnee; K.C. Bryan of Bowlegs; Will Cotner of Seminole; Kaylie Davidson of Seminole; Daryian Fancher of Harrah; Triniti House of Holdenville; Cal Howard of Seminole; Cassidy Johnson of Bristow; Macyn Kinkade of Shawnee; D.J. Lee of Holdenville; Bo LeFlore of Shawnee; Meghan Mickle of Midwest City; Breana Murphy of Choctaw; Wyatt Norton of Earlsboro; Chaz Orr of Norman; Sidney Osborn of Seminole; Kristopher Scott of Seminole; Ernest Sego of Tecumseh; Cami Sosbee of Wewoka; Kaitlyn Trunk of Okemah; and Gavin Winchester of Prague. Sophomore members of the President s Leadership Class X, returning for a second year in the program, include: Gavin Aldridge of Earlsboro; Adam Choate of Seminole; Gavin Cox of Seminole; Hunter Dugan of Tecumseh; Ashley Elmore of Shawnee; Zachary Ilbery of Checotah; Destanie Jacoway of Tecumseh; Kelsey Ross of Holdenville; Miranda Shupe of Chandler; Colton Red Smith of Stroud; Hayden Thompson of Depew; and Gage Wright of Stroud. The freshmen attended an orientation session at the College prior to the start of classes. They were also guests, along with their parents, at a reception held at the Jasmine Moran Children s Museum on Tuesday, Aug. 22, where they heard about the history of the Museum and the importance of volunteerism from Museum founder and former SSC Regent Melvin Moran. During the fall semester, the students will participate in a variety of activities, including a challenge adventure team-building course, a visit to the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation in Oklahoma City and a tour of the Chickasaw Cultural Center in Sulphur. The group will also volunteer at the Oklahoma Regional Food Bank and visit the Oklahoma Blood Institute in Ada. For more information about the PLC, contact SSC Director of Community Relations Kristin Dunn, who serves as coordinator of the program, at 405-382-9218 or at k.dunn@sscok.edu. Have suggestions or story ideas for the Collegian? Do you know someone who wants to be on our email list? Let us know at s.little@sscok.edu!
DATE LINE, PAGE NUMBER, ETC. GOES HERE September 2017 PAGE 5 SSC Board of Regents Convene for August Meeting At their August 17 meeting, the Seminole State College Board of Regents heard reports about the opening of the new academic year, accepted a compliance review report and approved two items under the Consent Agenda regarding academic programs at the College. During the President s Report, Lana Reynolds updated the Board about recent backto-school activities on campus and the upcoming SSC Educational Foundation Golf Tournament on Friday, Sept. 8. The College s 2016-2017 Annual Report was also presented a document highlighting accomplishments, achievements and activities from the past academic year. As the first and only item of business, the Board approved the final report from a compliance review by the Office of Management and Enterprise Services. Two items were then approved under the Consent Agenda. First, the board approved a revision to the Memorandum of Understanding with Gordon Cooper Technology Center regarding a new Physical Therapy Assistant Program. The revision will reduce the number of participants from 16 to 12 per cohort, as is reflected in the College s accreditation application. Next, they approved the deletion of the Associate in My SSCOK Software Celebration Arts in Language Arts degree a result of low productivity as a declared degree. Students interested in this field may now choose an English, language arts or speech emphasis within the Liberal Studies degree. Board members present at the meeting were: Chair Bryan Cain, Marci Donaho, Curtis Morgan, Ryan Franklin and Kim Hyden. The next SSC Board of Regents meeting is scheduled for Thursday, October 26, 2017. Seminole State College employees gathered August 11 to celebrate a new campus-wide software transition. The new system maintains all standard campus operations including course scheduling, enrollment, payroll and accounts payable. It also enabled the launch of the new online portal named My SSCOK, where students can access transcripts, grades, financial aid and other information. Faculty and staff enjoyed cake, cookies and punch to recognize the hard work of the College s software transition team and the new My SSCOK portal. Campus Connect is now My SSCOK Your Portal to: Student Records, Financial Aid, Campus Life, Transcripts & more First Day Experience Login at: my.sscok.edu Seminole State College faculty and staff members served as Campus Experts to help students navigate campus during the first few days of the fall semester. During this First Day Experience, SSC employees greeted students, helped them locate buildings and classrooms and handed out water and candy.
PAGE 6 DATE LINE, PAGE NUMBER, ETC. GOES HERE September 2017 SSC Global Studies Travel to China On May 15, 2017, Assistant Professor for Business and Education Jeff Cheng took 18 students and faculty members to China. During the two-week trip they visited Beijing, Xi'an, Shanghai, Wuzhen and Hangzhou. On their tour, they saw the Great Wall of China, the Tombs of the Ming Dynasty, Tian'an Men Square and the Forbidden City.
DATE LINE, PAGE September 2017NUMBER, ETC. GOES HERE PAGE 7 SSC Receives $500 Thousand Donation from Crawford Memorial Pictured (left to right) are: Dr. Jim Utterback, SSC President Emeritus; Lana Reynolds, SSC President; Anna Crawford, Brian s mother; Kenneth Crawford, Brian s father; Frank Novotny, Brian s grandfather; Doris Novotny, Brian s grandmother; and Jeramy Rich, SSC Educational Foundation Chair. The Seminole State College Educational Foundation recently received a $500,000 donation from the Brian Crawford Memorial Foundation a gift that will launch fundraising efforts for a new College baseball stadium and honor the memory of a local student-athlete. In 2005, Prague High School senior Brian Crawford passed away after losing control of his vehicle during his morning drive to class. He was ejected from his vehicle after swerving to avoid a collision with the car in front of him, saving the life of a mother and her three children inside. Brian s father, Kenneth Crawford, who is now retired from the Tinker Fire Department, explained that after his son s passing, a coworker first began a memorial fund for Brian. This memorial has grown and developed into the Brian Crawford Memorial Foundation, an organization that has worked over the past 12 years to raise money for a baseball complex to be named in memory of the young athlete. The Crawford Foundation has hosted a yearly memorial youth baseball tournament to help raise funds for this project, an event that has brought in teams from over 20 states, including Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas, Nebraska and Kansas. Crawford explained that he and his family have searched over the years for the right opportunity and location for this baseball complex. After meeting with SSC officials and learning about their efforts to fundraise and construct new fields of their own, he knew it was the right fit. He and the Crawford Foundation pledged an amount of $500,000 toward the project and in turn, the complex will be named in memory of his son. Crawford said words can t describe how it feels to be part- nering with SSC on this project. We ve worked and worked to raise money for this complex, and now it has a home. We still have more funds to raise, but we are all on the same page and we all want this project to be successful, he stated, adding, This started as something for Brian, but I feel like it has grown into something much bigger. It s a project that can bring people together, including others who have lost loved ones. President Emeritus Dr. Jim Utterback, who will be working closely with the College s Foundation on this project, expressed his appreciation to the Crawford Foundation, stating, The sudden loss of a child is never easy and something no parent should have to suffer through. I admire the way Kenneth and his family have taken this tragedy and turned it into something positive. With the help of this major contribution, we can begin working to turn this field- of-dreams into a reality. While becoming a namesake for the late Brian Crawford, the new baseball field and facilities will also provide the College s nationally-recognized baseball program with a state-of-the-art complex. It can be used to attract games and tournaments throughout the state and beyond bringing in potential tourism dollars to local hotels, restaurants and other businesses. This facility will benefit not only the community, but also generations of young athletes for years to come. The College holds a finance and lease agreement with the SSC Educational Foundation for the development and construction of this new baseball complex. This agreement allows the Educational Foundation to develop financing for this project and proceed with construction with the understanding that the College will lease the facility upon completion.
PAGE 8 DATE LINE, PAGE NUMBER, September ETC. GOES 2017 HERE SSC Sports Schedules for Fall Semester Men's Golf Women's Golf Women's Tennis Men's Tennis Women's Soccer Women's Volleyball Softball Baseball Stay up to-date on all SSC Athletics @ www.sscathletics.com SEMINOLE STATE COLLEGE ATHLETICS