Seminole State College hosted its annual Night at the Lights event on Dec. 4 at the Reynolds Wellness Center in Seminole. Local families enjoyed the community Snowman Wonderland light display, as well as cookies and hot chocolate provided by the College. Dozens of SSC students manned crafting stations, helping children create crafts.
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Seminole State College has been recognized by the Oklahoma State Department of Health as a Certified Healthy Campus. Community Drug Overdose Prevention Coordinator Zane Winters (left) presented the award to SSC Wellness Committee Chair Mechell Downey (right) on Dec. 1.
Certified Healthy Campus was created in 2011 to recognize both public and private post-secondary campuses and career technology centers that promote health and wellness for their faculty, staff, students, and even visitors. Promotion of health and wellness can be done in a variety of ways including passing policies that encourage healthy lifestyles and making facilities available for physical activities.
Seminole State College has named Dr. Misty Gray to the position of Acting Nursing Director. Gray replaces Crystal Bray who is leaving the college to accept a position as the Nursing Education Consultant with the Oklahoma Board of Nursing.
Gray has 16 years of experience in home health and hospice, orthopedics, surgery, NICU, nursery, post-partum and emergency nursing. She has also spent seven years as a nursing instructor.
She graduated with her associate degree in nursing from SSC and holds a bachelor’s, a master’s and her doctorate from St. Gregory’s University, Oklahoma Baptist University and Grand Canyon University, respectively.
She also has extensive experience working with state and national accrediting bodies.
“We are very fortunate to have Dr. Gray at the college and appreciate her willingness to take on this critical role on campus,” SSC President Lana Reynolds said.
During her first week as Director, Gray hosted area nursing and health care professionals serving as an advisory board for the program for a luncheon on campus. Those in attendance
included: Cathy Broome, Shawnee CNO, SSM Health; Holly Kirkland, Hospice Coordinator, SSM Health; Christa Williams, AHEC/Student Coordinator, McAlester Regional Health Center; Megan Moore, Nurse Educator, McAlester Regional Health Center; Dr. Darcy Duncan, Director/Associate Professor, School of Nursing, East Central University; Ashley Fichtner, Director of Partner School Outreach, Gordon Cooper Technology Center; Molly Delaney, Instructor, Wes Watkins Technology Center; Alma Reagan, Emergency Department Director, SSM Health; Brandi Ray, Director of Nursing, Creek Nation Community Hospital in Okemah; and Leah Burns, Education Manager, Bethany Children’s Health Center.
Reynolds said the College was appreciative of Bray’s long-time service as an instructor and recently as director of the program.
“We want to thank Ms. Bray for her tireless efforts to carry this important program out of the dark days of the COVID pandemic and to lead a great team in producing knowledgeable and caring nurses,” President Reynolds said.
Earlier in the fall semester, SSC’s nursing program was awarded a congressionally directed grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration in the amount of $1,050,000. The grant is set to bring transformative changes to the department, focusing on the development and expansion of simulation labs.
Gray previously served as a Simulation Lab Coordinator at East Central University and is certified in Simulation Instruction and Management from Robert Morris University.
“We believe her expertise will be instrumental in utilizing new technologies in the classroom and preparing the next generation of nurses,” President Reynolds said.
Seminole State College employee Brooks Nickell received the Randy Talley Rising Star Award at the Oklahoma College Public Relations Association (OCPRA) fall workshop on Nov. 15 at the UCO Boathouse in Oklahoma City.
Continue reading “SSC Employee Receives Rising Star Award”
Seminole State College Psychology Professor Christal Knowles spoke on a panel about human trafficking at the Pavilion on the grounds of the Governor’s Mansion on Nov. 15. The panel was sponsored by the Oklahoma Commission on the Status of Women (OCSW) and was titled “Solutions, Initiatives and Strategies to Stop Human Trafficking in Oklahoma.”
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Seminole State College President Lana Reynolds was awarded the Distinguished Leadership Award at Leadership Oklahoma ‘s Fall Forum on October 19 at the Helmerich Research Center at OSU-Tulsa.
The Forum event centered on the theme “AI: Byte into the Future” and featured several experts speaking on the burgeoning field of artificial intelligence. The forum featured two keynote speakers: Hart Brown, CEO of Future Point of View, a consulting firm that assists companies in implementing technology to create competitive advantages; and Wilder Lopes, the Chief Architect for Machine Learning at Permion, a company specializing in the development of advanced AI capable of learning and cognitive modeling.
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Three Seminole State College employees were honored at the 56th annual Oklahoma Association of Community Colleges Conference held on Oct. 6 at Tulsa Community College. During the event, Nursing Program Director Crystal Bray was named SSC Faculty Member of the Year, NASNTI Director Kay Wallace was named Professional Staff Member of the Year and Lead Custodian Christie McKee was named Classified Staff Member of the Year.
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Administrators from East Central University and Seminole State College met this week in Seminole to discuss possible collaborations, partnerships and opportunities for shared services between their institutions. The meeting was organized by former ECU President John Hargrave who serves as a Trustee for the SSC Educational Foundation. Pictured (left to right) are: Dr. Sarah Peters, ECU Associate Provost and Dean of Graduate Studies; Dr. Amanda Estey, SSC Vice President for Academic Affairs; Darrell Morrison, ECU Executive Vice President for Administration and Finance; Melanie Rinehart, SSC Vice President for Fiscal Affairs; ECU President Wendell Godwin; SSC President Lana Reynolds; ECU President Emeritus Hargrave; Dr. Bill Knowles, SSC Vice President for Student Affairs and Dr. Denver Stickrod, ECU Vice President of Enrollment Management.
Seminole State College will host its annual Constitution Day event on Sept. 15 at 10 a.m. in the lecture hall located just inside the Enoch Kelly Haney Center. This year’s event will feature a presentation by Professor of Government Jeffrey Christiansen titled “James Madison: Father of the Constitution.” The event is free and open to the public. Continue reading “James Madison’s Influence to Be Explored at SSC’s Constitution Day Event”
Seminole State College hosted its annual in-service event for all full-time employees on Aug. 9 in preparation for the fall semester, beginning Aug. 14. This year’s theme was “Together We Grow.”
SSC President Lana Reynolds welcomed employees, discussed accomplishments of the last year and talked about upcoming campus events.
Captain Dalton Jackson, of the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Police Department, spoke to SSC employees about campus safety and what steps to take in an active shooter situation.