Category: Campus News

Winners Announced for ECC Writing Contest

December 14, 2022 | Campus News Inspiring Excellence

After much debate East Central College judges decided the winners of the English Department’s annual Fiction and Creative Non-Fiction Writing Contest for ECC Students.

That’s according to Josh Stroup, English instructor/English and humanities chair, adding that the awards for the winning students are: First place, $100; second place, $50; and third place, $25.

Listed below are the 2022 winners!

Fiction Winners:

First Place – Lindsey Nichols’ “After”
Second Place – Lucas Howland’s “Hunters”
Third Place – Jaden Bursey’s “Treebark & the Forest of Fireflies”
Honorable Mention –Ruthie Cordia’s “Key West”

Creative Non-Fiction Winners:

First Place – Kati Barnes’ “Comparison Paper”
Second Place – Lilly Savant’s ” Facebook’s Unethical Privacy Practices”
Third Place – Joanna Hoskin’s “Lion’s Lake: Sharing the View with Others”

“If you see these students, please give them a round of applause. They deserve it,” Stroup said.

He noted that the winning entries will be in the next Lit and Art Review.

“On behalf of the English Department, I would like to thank all those who submitted to this contest, helped judge — Linda Barro, Katie Holtmeyer, Dr. Kami Hancock, and Dr. Aurelia VonTress — or helped spread the word,” Stroup said.

Keep an eye out for the Poetry and Research Writing Contest slated for the spring.

Alum, AEL Director Presented with Missouri Community College Awards

East Central College Trustee and alumni Dr. Eric Park and Adult Education Program Director Alice Whalen were selected among their peers to receive 2022 Missouri Community College Association (MCCA) awards.

Park was presented with the 2022 Distinguished Alumni Award for his service to ECC, his community and growing his professional career with roots planted at ECC where he graduated with an associate degree in May 1982.

Whalen was selected as the 2022 Administrative Professional Leadership Award recipient for her work in expanding adult education services throughout the ECC service region and for her dedication to adult education at the state level.

In addition, ECC student Carly Hamlyn spoke during the closing event of the convention. Carly is an Early College Academy student attending Washington High School and ECC. She also is president of the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society at ECC.

The MCCA Annual Convention was held in St. Louis Nov. 29 through Dec. 1. In addition to Park and Whalen, three others from ECC were nominated for awards.

Leigh Kolb, associate professor of English and Journalism — Excellence in Teaching Award nominee.
Amy DeMiere, Division of Arts and Sciences program assistant — Classified Staff Achievement Award nominee.
Jill Harrison, nursing adjunct — Outstanding Adjunct Faculty Award nominee.

The MCCA is a statewide organization representing the 12 Missouri community colleges and their faculty, staff, students and administrators.

MCCA provides services to its member institutions in four main areas – advocacy, education, information and networking

Dr. Eric Park

For more than 35 years, Dr. Park has been a successful investment adviser. He is a co-founder of LPL Financial investment firm in Washington. He has received several national awards for his dedication to quality investment management.

Dr. Park was elected to the ECC board of trustees in 2016 and reelected in 2022. Dr. Park attended ECC after serving in the U.S. Army. He earned an associate degree in 1982 followed by a bachelor’s degree, two master’s degrees and a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Missouri-Columbia.

He also has served as an adjunct instructor at ECC and has long been active with the ECC Foundation board.

ECC president Dr. Jon Bauer, said Dr. Park epitomizes the best of community college alumni.

“Eric used his academic foundation at East Central to earn advanced degrees in his field, become a leading professional in the investment world, yet has always made it a priority to give back to his community, his college, and those around him,” Bauer said.

Alice Whalen

Whalen has been the AEL director at ECC since September 2014. Since then, she has expanded the program from offering programming in six communities to 13 communities throughout the ECC service region.

The AEL program offers day and evening HiSET classes and English Language Acquisition courses at an average of 150-200 hundred students per year.

In 2015, under her leadership and direction, Alice worked with the South Central Missouri Literacy Council in Phelps Country to add four counties, Crawford, Gasconade, Franklin, and Montgomery, to create the East Central Literacy Council. The council also has its own county committees, which include an advisory council and fundraises for the ECC AEL program to cover additional AEL student expenses.

Overall, Alice knows the importance of community involvement and understands how multiple barriers effect a student’s ability to start and complete their education. Alice’s positive energy at the college and throughout the ECC service region is contagious as she strives to make sure anyone who wants to enhance their lives through education can do so.

To read more about Dr. Park, Whalen and all of the nominees for MCCA Awards, visit www.mccaconvention.com/mccaawards.html.

EMS Program Director Receives Emerson Excellence Award

November 28, 2022 | Campus News ECC Rolla

East Central College EMS Program Director Jenifer Goodson incorporates innovation and technology to fully prepare EMT and paramedic students to serve their communities.

That’s just one reason of why Goodson is being recognized with the 2022 Emerson Excellence in Teaching award.

“She is extremely devoted to her EMT and paramedic students and their academic success,” said one ECC employee who nominated Goodson.

The Excellence in Teaching Awards program, sponsored by Emerson, annually recognizes educators in the St. Louis metropolitan area who are examples of excellence in their field. Recipients are selected by the chief administrators of their school districts or employing educational institutions.

Goodson has been an instructor at ECC for six years. She was named the EMS Program Director earlier this year. Since then, she has introduced computer adaptive testing and clinical documentation/tracking software to her program to better prepare and assess students in the program.

“Jenifer works tirelessly to create engaging learning experiences to build better connections between the theory material and what the student will need to know for both field experience and national licensure testing,” her nominator wrote.

Goodson has expanded the EMT/paramedic program to ECC’s Rolla location where she

utilizes technology to capture her students at both ECC in Union and Rolla synchronously for lecture, but she also travels between the two locations regularly, so she can engage with all students one-on-one.

In addition, Goodson is leading a redesign of the curriculum between the EMT and paramedic courses to allow for ease of progression from one program and course to the next.

“She is her student’s biggest cheerleader and mentor as they study and prepare for their state and national licensure exams,” the nominator said. “Jenifer is a tremendous asset to ECC and community. She deserves to be recognized for her outstanding effort educating and preparing new first responders to serve our communities for future decades.”

CWD Assists Local Industries Receive $677,000 in State Training Funds

November 22, 2022 | Campus News ECC Rolla

Volpi Foods is one of 19 local industries working with the East Central College Center for Workforce Development (CWD) to secure and utilize state funds totaling $677,000 that is earmarked for training and development.

According to Kathy Price, director of human resources at Volpi foods, the Union meat processing plant is benefiting from $45,000 in the Missouri One Start program, which is funding leadership, safety and industrial maintenance training for its employees.

Price said she learned about the Customized Training funds through an informational meeting for area HR representatives hosted by the CWD; and ECC staff, Cindy Brinker, CWD grant and program administrator, and Melissa Richardson, CWD apprenticeship and business training program coordinator, were essential in assisting Price with completing required documents prior to submission.

“I was not aware that the grant fund opportunity existed until I went to the presentation,” she said. “They also followed up individually with me to see how they could assist Volpi in completing the application and made an in person visit to review the key steps in applying.”

Volpi Foods has been handcrafting artisan cured meat since 1902. The female-operated manufacturer has been run by the same family for 120 years. Chief Executive Officer Lorenza Pasetti is the great niece of Volpi’s founder. She has been in charge of Volpi since 2002.

Customized Training awards through Missouri One Start range from $10,000 to $100,000 this year with awards averaging around $41,000. That’s compared to an average award in 2021 of $23,000. The increase in average awards is primarily due to Missouri One Start more than doubling its budget for workforce projects in Missouri.

Training for the industries ranges from leadership development, safety training, introductory welding programs, project management to LEAN and Six Sigma training.

“We are still finalizing exactly how we intend to spend the money, but our focus will be on leadership training for our managers, safety training for all employees and some specialized industrial maintenance technical training for our maintenance team members,” Price added.

Royal Canin

Royal Canin, Rolla — a leading producer of science-based cat and dog health nutrition — is receiving $30,000 in Missouri One Start program funding that will be utilized for several areas of training.

According to Derric Fane, Royal Canin Technical Manager, the manufacturer produces over 200 unique formulas of pet food, and each formula uses different ingredients.

“That means there is a high-level of variability — some are high in starch, some are high in protein — there are no two jobs alike,” Fane said.

He added that the Missouri One Grant will fund advanced training for Royal Canin employees for both machine operations and maintenance.

“It will include advanced training for our employees so they can train others,” Fane said, “It will be training to sharpen their skill level so in the future, they can pass along that knowledge.”

Founded by a veterinarian in 1968, Royal Canin has more than 50 years of experience in delivering individualized nutritional solutions. The Royal Canin product line offers a range of diets based on size, age, breed, lifestyle and therapeutic requirements.

Manufacturers Awarded Funds

Through the Missouri One Start Customized Training program the following manufacturers, listed by their locations, were awarded matching training grants:
Paramount Apparel, Bourbon; Homeyer Precision Manufacturing, Marthasville; Henniges Automotive, New Haven; Walker Products and Klauber Machine & Gear, Pacific; Royal Canin, Rolla;
Atro Engineering and Performance Engineering & Manufacturing Racing, St. Clair; Ace Manufacturing and Enjet Aero, Sullivan; Linmark Machine and Volpi Foods, Union; and Clemco Industries, Computech, Enjet Aero, Hodges Badge, Frick’s Meats, WEG Transformers and Parker Hannifin, Washington.

Learn more about the program by contacting the CWD team at training@eastcentral.edu or visit missourionestart.com/.

To learn more about CWD industry training and consulting visit www.eastcentral.edu/cwd/.

ECC Chief Academic Officer Named to State Transfer Committee

November 17, 2022 | Campus News ECC Rolla Inspiring Excellence

East Central College Vice President of Academic Affairs Dr. Robyn Walter will help shape how transfer and articulation agreements among Missouri colleges and universities are developed and maintained.

Walter was appointed last month to the Missouri Department of Higher Education and Workforce Development (MDHEWD) Committee on Transfer and Articulation (COTA). She was appointed by interim Commissioner of Higher Education Leroy Wade to serve through June 30, 2024.

“At ECC, we rely on good transfer partners to provide quality pathways for our students, so I understand the importance of transfer agreements, and how greatly they can benefit students,” Walter said. “It’s crucial to develop collaborative transfer and articulation strategies to serve students and advance our goals for degree completion.”

COTA’s primary responsibilities are to review and make recommendations on transfer issues and study and develop transfer guidelines for traditional and non-traditional credits. That’s in addition to reviewing and recommending resolutions on cases of appeal from institutions or students.

“It is important that students throughout the state are prepared for upper-level coursework when they transfer, and that they receive credit for the courses they have completed,” Walter added.

COTA is comprised of 12 members who are appointed by the Commissioner of Higher Education, and it includes four representatives from public two-year colleges and four representatives from public four-year colleges and universities, one of which must be from the University of Missouri and one which must be from another public four-year institution.

COTA also includes one representative from independent two-year colleges or proprietary institutions, two representatives from independent four-year colleges and universities and one at-large position. Additionally, the commissioner or a designated representative sits as ex-officio voting member of the committee.

Walter has been with ECC since 2003, serving as a faculty member, director of nursing, nursing and allied health program chair, dean of health sciences and vice president of academic affairs since 2020.

She received her Bachelor of Nursing degree from the University of Missouri and her Master’s in Nursing Service Administration from Saint Louis University. She earned her Ph.D. in Nursing at the University of Missouri-Kansas City.

Prairie Dell Road Closed Wednesday, Detour to Union Campus

November 15, 2022 | Campus News

Prairie Dell Road will be closed Wednesday, Nov. 16, between Highway 50 and the roundabout for repairs to a water main break. The closure requires a detour to Progress Parkway for all Highway 50 traffic to campus.

East- and westbound Highway 50 traffic to East Central College’s Union campus will be detoured to Progress Parkway (east of Prairie Dell Road), to Denmark Road.

Take a right on Denmark Road to access the roundabout and campus. It is not known how long Prairie Dell Road will be closed. The community will be notified when Prairie Dell Road reopens.

The closure does not impact traffic northbound on Prairie Dell Road from College Road.

Open House Wednesday at ECC’s Falcon Career Center

November 14, 2022 | Campus News

There will be an opportunity for community members to tour and meet the staff of the new East Central College Falcon Career Center (FCC).

The open house will be Wednesday, Nov. 16, from 4-6 p.m. at the FCC located in Hansen Hall 270 on the ECC campus in Union. There will be snacks and refreshments available.

The Falcon Career Center opened earlier this year to provide a specialized space for learning and connecting with career counseling and social services to support the whole student.

Through the FCC, students will gain confidence knowing that their time and money is a solid investment because they will graduate prepared and connected to their community and job market.

During the open house, Occupational Navigator Sarah Haines and the Wellness Navigator Abbie Unnerstall will discuss the resources available to students for learning and connecting with career counseling and social services.

In addition, representatives of the Adult Education and Literacy (AEL) program and short-term health care careers will be available to answer questions.

International Education Week Guest Speaker in Filipino American Artist

November 11, 2022 | Art Campus News

A Filipino American artist living in St. Louis will be the guest speaker Tuesday, Nov. 15, for International Education Week.

Ria Unson will present on “Filipinos at the 1904 World’s Fair: A Legacy of Race and Empire” at 3 p.m. In Hansen Hall 286 lecture hall. This presentation is open to the public.

Unson was born in the Philippines and emigrated to the U.S. at age 13. Unbeknownst to her, Ria’s great grandfather was brought to the 1904 World’s Fair in St. Louis after the American colonization of the Philippines.

By sheer coincidence (or destiny) she moved to the historic neighborhood that once housed the Philippine Exhibit at the fair. Her work explores the continuing legacies of imperialism on identity, migration, and culture. Unson’s art will be in the permanent collection of the History Museum for the 120th anniversary of the Fair.

One of the most popular attractions at the 1904 World’s Fair was the Philippine Exhibit, a 47-acre site that for nine months became home to over 1,000 people on display.

Unson traces the legacy of the fair as a descendant of, her great grandfather, one of those people.

Through this presentation, attendees will learn about how the image of Filipinos constructed at the fair was a method used to gain support for American imperialism and to domesticate the immigrant workers of St. Louis.

ECC and Missouri Baptist Strengthen Transfer Agreement

November 9, 2022 | Campus News ECC Rolla

East Central College and Missouri Baptist University have bolstered the transfer agreements between the institutions.

For the past 20 years, the partnership between ECC and MBU has resulted in highly prepared educators within the community, according to Dr. Robyn Walter, vice president of academic affairs at ECC. This year, ECC and MBU revised the agreement update all the courses that transfer from ECC to the University.

MBU, with a location in Union, allows for students to attend in-person classes without leaving the area. In addition, the University offers many online options and transfer students can attend classes from home.

Walter noted that it is important for the community that educators from this area remain here due to nationwide teacher shortages.

“We appreciate Missouri Baptist’s commitment to teacher education in our community,” Walter said. “We know that when students start at ECC and then complete their teaching degree locally, they are more likely to stay and teach locally — this approach is needed now more than ever.”

According to Thea Abraham, MBU director of records, ECC and MBU have had a strong relationship since the early 2000s.

She said, although MBU is a private university, it accepts all CORE 42 courses that state public colleges and universities accept.

“For two decades we had a strong relationship, and the transferability of courses at ECC has always been very high,” Abraham said.

Abraham echoed the importance of MBU’s accessibility to residents of ECC’s district.

“Students can stay in town, taking classes at home or in-person at MBU’s Union facility, and they don’t have to drive into the main campus,” she said.

Students transferring from ECC to MBU typically are seeking teaching degrees or business-related degrees. MBU also offers a variety of other degree programs.

To learn more about transfer agreements between ECC and colleges and universities, visit www.eastcentral.edu/transfer/articulation-agreements/.

Nine Students Inducted into ECC Rolla Honor Society

November 4, 2022 | Alumni Spotlight Campus News ECC Rolla Inspiring Excellence

Pictured are seven of the nine inductees into the Beta Omicron Phi chapter of Phi Theta Kappa at East Central College in Rolla. From left, are Madison Brown, Serena Macey, Hayden Loeb, Mary Romine, Elise Jeffers, Alicia Ramirez and Kelsea Smith. Not pictured are Gabriel E. Killian and Elysia D. Frayer.

The Beta Omicron Phi chapter of Phi Theta Kappa at East Central College in Rolla inducted nine new members into the honor society during its annual Fall ceremony.

Carson Mowery, an alumna of the chapter and the ECC Campus Life & Leadership coordinator, was the keynote speaker during the in-person ceremony held Oct. 9 when the following students were inducted:
Madison G. Brown, Elysia D. Frayer, Elise M. Jeffers, Gabriel E. Killian, Hayden E. Loeb, Serena C. Macey, Alicia A. Ramirez, Kelsea E. Smith and Mary B. Romine.

Jeffers was installed as chapter president, and Ramirez was named chapter vice president.

At the ceremony, ECC President Dr. Jon Bauer presented ECC Rolla PTK sponsor Dr. Elizabeth Winters-Rozema with a 15-year PTK advisor pin.

PTK is an international honor society for two-year colleges. Members pursue activities that fall under the direction of the society’s hallmarks of Scholarship, Leadership, Service, and Fellowship.

The Beta Omicron Phi Chapter of Phi Theta Kappa at East Central College in Rolla installed Alicia Ramirez, left, as vice president of the honor society, and Elise Jeffers, center, as chapter president. Pictured on the right is Carson Mowery, an alumna of the chapter and the ECC Campus Life & Leadership coordinator. To be eligible for induction, students must maintain a grade point average of at least 3.4 for one semester and maintain a 3.2 GPA after their induction. Students can be pursuing any major, degree or certificate.

For more information about PTK in Rolla, contact Rozema at 573-466-4084 or elizabeth.rozema@eastcentral.edu.