Pulaski Technical College: two year community college in central Arkansas

2003 Archived Faculty & Staff Achievements

November 2003

Rhonda Carroll, department chair for Education and Academic Success, has been selected to serve as political liaison committee chairperson for the Arkansas Association of Developmental Educators.

Ann Fellinger and Kim Halpern, instructors of developmental English, are working with Dr. Pam Cicirello, regional postsecondary consultant for PLATO Learning, Inc., to design hybrid courses in English Skills and English Composition Fundamentals to be taught in spring 2004.These courses will be designed to use PLATO curricula as the primary source of instruction.

Nancy Reedy, instructor of reading, and Shelley Oberste, instructor of developmental mathematics, pioneered this curricula design with Dr. Cicirello in fall 2002 for College Reading and Intermediate Algebra courses that were taught in spring 2003.In the spring and summer, Rashunda Johnson, instructor of developmental mathematics, and Rhonda Carroll, department chair for Education and Academic Success, worked with Dr. Cicirello to design Elementary Algebra and Reading Improvement course structures for classes this fall.These designs, created and implemented at Pulaski Tech, will be used as models for all of the PLATO Learning clients across the United States.

Cindy Harkey, vice president for student services, recently attended the Arkansas College Personnel Association meeting in Eureka Springs. Harkey is treasurer of the organization.

Carol Langston, dean of college relations, has been elected to another three-year term on the North Little Rock Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors. She also will chair the chamber’s public relations and marketing committee.

Dr. Mark Johnson, vice president for administration and planning, has been named chair of the chamber’s education committee for 2004.

Dr. Dan Bakke, college president, holds a permanent position on the board.

Nancy Reedy, instructor of reading, has been selected to coordinate the Associate of Arts in Teaching degree and to begin designing a program to meet the paraprofessional needs of our community's teacher's aids under President Bush's No Child Left Behind initiative.

Boylee Hamilton, adjunct instructor of information technology, has been named the Pulaski North county administrator for the Arkansas Department of Human Services. Pulaski North consists of all areas of the county north of the Arkansas River. Additionally, Hamilton has been elected to the Arkansas Single Parent Scholarship Fund Board of Directors.

Ron Selby, adjunct instructor of music, will be one of the bass soloists in the Arkansas Choral Society's Dec. 4 concert at First Christian Church on Mississippi Avenue in Little Rock. He will perform a bass recitative and aria from Handel's "Messiah." The ACS has performed "Messiah" at Christmas time for more than 75 years. The program will also include selections from the Oxford Carols by John Rutter. Additionally, the Senior High Band from Abundant Life Schools, which is directed by Selby, was selected to perform a concert at the 2004 Christian Instrumental Directors Association National Conference at Lee University in Cleveland, Tenn. The band will perform a 25-minute concert featuring the works of David Holsinger, James Swearingen and Jim Curnow.

Joyce Taylor, executive director of the Pulaski Technical College Foundation, has been elected to serve as the membership chair of the Association of Professional Fundraisers - Arkansas Chapter, the professional association of individuals responsible for generating philanthropic support for nonprofits and charitable organizations and advancing philanthropy. Taylor has served on the AFP Executive Board for four years.

Summer Brown, enrollment coordinator, Augusta Farver, paralegal technology instructor, and James Short, Student Government Association president, attended the American Student Association of Community Colleges conference. Tumbleson and Farver are SGA advisers.

Gary Winkler, adjunct instructor of business, has completed a master’s degree in curriculum and technology from the University of Phoenix Online.

October 2003

Several Pulaski Technical College employees played key roles in 2003 WorldFest activities in Little Rock in September. Mayo Johnson, computer information systems instructor, served as co-chair of the annual event, which is sponsored by the City of Little Rock Racial and Cultural Diversity Commission. Pulaski Tech volunteers included Dianne Butler, Summer Brown, Calvin Mahone, Mark Johnson, Vondra Armstrong and several Pulaski Tech students.

Mary Deville, training specialist at the Business and Industry Center, has been elected 2004 president elect for the American Society for Training and Development (ASTD). In November, the Arkansas Chapter will send her to the ASTD Leaders Conference in Arlington, Va., which is designed to prepare chapter members for leadership roles.

Carol Langston, dean of college relations, served as publicity and fundraising chair for the Sept. 11 Market: Arkansas event sponsored by the North Little Rock Chamber of Commerce.

John Marshall, environmental/safety technology instructor, represented his alma mater, South Dakota State University, at the Sept. 26 inauguration of Dr. Joel Anderson as chancellor of the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.

Billy Parchman, drafting and design technology instructor, applied for and received a $30,000 grant from the Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas for the Pulaski Tech YouthBuild program. The grant will finance construction of two affordable homes for low-income residents in North Little Rock.

Raymond Williams, computer information systems instructor, and Pulaski Tech's Academic All-Star Tinkhani "Tink" Gwamba are spearheading a project to refurbish and prepare "out of date" computers for use as Internet stations by people in Tink's home country of Malawi. The project has sparked interest with several Malawi business leaders and a UNICEF representative.

Julie Wright, instructor of psychology, and Sherry Robertson, instructor of English, presented "Grieving to Healing: Writing Your Way Through the Journey" during the Arkansas Association of Two-Year Colleges conference in Hot Springs. Robertson and James Becker, Social Sciences Department chair, also presented a program on "Redressing Writing Deficiencies in a Psychology Class," while Carla McDaniel and Robertson presented "Torn Between Two Cultures: Assimilation vs. Pluralism."

September 2003

Dr. Dan F. Bakke, president, has been named to the Executive Council of the Arkansas higher education Presidents and Chancellors organization. The council, which is comprised of chief executive officers from both two- and four-year colleges and universities, meets regularly to exchange information and formulate cooperative legislative and educational initiatives.

Amy Baldwin, distance education coordinator, has been selected to participate in Leadership Greater Little Rock. Now in its 19th year, the program is designed to identify and motivate individuals with leadership potential; acquaint them with community needs, challenges and opportunities; offer a forum of exchange on methods for dealing with community issues; and challenge them to become involved with local issues and the process of decision making.

DeAnna Davis, instructor of dental assisting, has been elected president of the Arkansas Dental Assistants Association. Additionally, she serves on the Arkansas Oral Health Coalition.

Augusta Farver, instructor of paralegal technology, has been named to the 2003 Watson Chapel Sports Hall of Fame. A 1978 graduate of Watson Chapel High School, Farver was a four-year letterman in football, basketball, baseball and track. While in high school, he was named All-Conference (1977), All-Conference Honorable Mention (1976), Outstanding Defensive Back (1977) and Team Captain (1977). He also served as president of the student council and was a member of the Beta Club.

Farver received a bachelor of arts in political science from the University of Arkansas in 1982 and a juris doctorate from the Southern University Law Center in 1986. He was in private practice from 1986 to 1992. From 1993 to 1997, he was a political science instructor at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff and Southeast Arkansas College.

Actively involved in the community, Farver has coached tee ball, served on the board of directors of SCAN, been a Volunteer in Public Schools for Watson Chapel Junior High School band parents and cheerleader parents and the Watson Chapel track teams. He is married and resides in Pine Bluff.

Linda Fordyce, adjunct instructor of sociology, and her husband--in partnership with the Little Rock Parks and Recreation Department and Little Rock Fire Department, are developing a youth hostel to be called "The Firehouse Hostel and Museum."

Lauren Garland, adjunct instructor of respiratory therapy, is presenting a lecture on SARS at the 32nd Annual Arkansas Society for Respiratory Care Conference Sept. 25 in Hot Springs.

Dr. Mark Johnson, vice president for administration and planning, has been appointed co-chair of the Education Committee of the North Little Rock Chamber of Commerce.

Herb Matthews, instructor of biological science, has been named to the Advisory Committee of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Surgical Technician Program.

Ron Selby, adjunct instructor of music, has been elected to the board of directors of the Arkansas Choral Society. The volunteer organization, which has been existance for more than 50 years, promotes and performs two concerts annually in the Little Rock area. The society will perform Handel's Messiah and a collection of Oxford carols at its December concert.

Julie Wright, instructor of psychology, has received certifications as a Licensed Professional Counselor and Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist. She and Sherry Robertson , instructor of English, will present a workshop on "Journaling Through Grief" at the Arkansas Association of Two-Year Colleges conference in October. Additionally, Wright is scheduled to attend the World Conference for Christian Counselors in Nashville this month.

August 2003

Amy Baldwin, distance education coordinator, is completing a manuscript for The Community College Experience , a textbook for college survival courses. The book is scheduled for publication by Prentice Hall in December.

James Becker, chair of the Social Sciences Department, recently completed a psychology textbook review for Houghton-Mifflin Company.

Susan Cooper, adjunct instructor of information technology, currently serves as president of the North Little Rock Boys and Girls Club Auxiliary. The auxiliary supports the club’s board of directors with fundraising efforts and does volunteer work at the club. For more information on joining the auxiliary, contact her at scooper@pulaskitech.edu .

Dr. Mark Johnson, vice president for administration and planning, has been elected chair of the board of directors for New Futures for Youth. New Futures was established in 1988 by a grant from the Annie E. Casey Foundation to help address the needs of at-risk youth in central Arkansas in partnership with organizations such as the city of Little Rock and the Little Rock School District. New Futures has helped develop initiatives such as the Youth Initiative Project, a gang intervention program, Safe Schools/Healthy Students and the Summer Jobs Alliance. “Many of the youth supported by New Futures are likely to wind up as students at Pulaski Tech,” Johnson said. Other members of the board include Little Rock Mayor Jim Dailey and Senator Tracy Steele.

Debbie Kirby, director of library, recently returned from the Harvard/ACRL Leadership Institute for Academic Librarians. The focus of the institute was on leading change in higher education. Library managers from the U.S., Canada and Australia attended the institute. Instructors included Harvard faculty (some of whom wrote the textbooks used in Kirby’s doctoral courses) using the case-study method.

John Marshall, instructor of environmental/safety technology, currently represents Pulaski Tech on the Arkansas Watershed Advisory Committee, a group of state, local and private interests that work to improve water quality in Arkansas streams and rivers.

Jason Martin, instructor of history, has developed a manuscript, Going to Tear Up Hell: A World War II Sailor’s Diary , for which he is currently seeking a publisher.

Mike McMillan, instructor of computer information systems, has finished writing a book, Object-Oriented Programming With Visual Basic.NET , for Cambridge University Press. It will be released in late 2003. He also received a contract from the same publisher to write another book, Data Structures and Algorithms in Visual Basic.NET . It will come out sometime in 2004.

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