QUICK TAKES - APRIL 2019

• Board of Regents Chair Carol A. Scott led a special recognition for Claudia Jackson, Executive Director of Strategic Communication and Government Relations, who will retire on April 30 after more than 42 years of service to Del Mar College. During her tenure, Jackson managed marketing, branding, web and print publications, public relations, media relations, advertising and government relations for the institution. Regent Scott reflected on first meeting Jackson through the Corpus Christi Press Club and their Grid Iron Show with the honoree serving as a mentor and role model to Scott as a young public relations professional. Jackson filled leadership roles at district and national levels with the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE), serving as a role model for college and university professionals across Texas and the country. Along with her team in the College Relations Office, she won numerous awards through CASE, the National Council for Marketing and Public Relations and other organizations focused on marketing and public relations professionals’ work in higher education across the United States. Most recently, her governmental expertise served as a resource for the Texas Association of Community Colleges. Jackson’s involvement outside of higher education extended to Leadership Corpus Christi, Leadership Texas and the United Corpus Christi Chamber of Commerce. She was also a leadership team member for the BoldFuture for the Coastal Bend, a two-year community visioning project designed to shape the direction of the area. During the April 23 meeting, other regents commended Jackson for her unique creativity, especially with special events planning; her welcoming assistance to new regents as they joined the Board; and her consistent, forthright and transparent relationship with local journalists as they kept the community informed about the College’s business. DMC President and CEO Dr. Mark Escamilla noted that he and Jackson walked the halls together of the Texas State Capitol during six legislative sessions, working on behalf of Del Mar College’s students and community colleges across the state. To honor Jackson for her dedication to the College and most importantly to its students, the Claudia Jackson DeFries Scholarship for single parents was established through the DMC Foundation. Individuals can donate online to help endow this scholarship to assist Del Mar College students through perpetuity by visiting https://give.delmar.edu/campaign/help-for-single-parents-scholarship/c241313.

• Sushil Pallemoni, Director of Institutional Research with Institutional Effectiveness and Assessment, received the Outstanding Professional Practice Award for Best Visual Display of Information from the Texas Association for Institutional Research. Pallemoni’s dashboard, “Degrees & Certificates by Institution and Region,” provides data covering degrees and certificates awarded over a four-year period (2014-2017) by each institution in Texas in a visual and interactive format. The dashboard was created to help Del Mar College administrators view and compare the institution’s trends with other large colleges in the state. “Degrees & Certificates by Institution and Region” also provides visual representation of demographics of students receiving awards. The dashboard has helped several Texas peer institutions view their data and regional totals in a visual format. The “Region & Institution” tab provides total awards given out and trends, along with a bubble chart that displays total awards given out in each of the state’s nine regions. The dashboard provides data in both tabular format and charts so users can view data and corresponding trends for each metric: region, award type and institution. Each element on the dashboard drives the other and allows users to compare and drill down into the data by specific region, award type or school. To view and click through the winning dashboard, visit https://tabsoft.co/2Hx7kQp.

Click on each image below to enlarge.

• The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) Commission on the Accreditation of Early Childhood Higher Education Programs awarded accreditation to Del Mar College’s Child Development/Early Childhood Program for its Associate in Applied Science (AAS) degree. The program is with the Human Sciences and Education Department under the leadership of Departmental Chair and Professor of Child Development/Early Childhood Kristen Wilkerson, along with Associate Professors Dr. Amy Mintz and Benita Flores-Munoz. The accreditation makes the College’s program the 12th in Texas to receive the NAEYC’s nod of approval by meeting their criteria. NAEYC is the sole accreditor of early childhood programs, and their commission provides accreditation at the associate, baccalaureate and master’s degree levels across the United States. (Read the full news release about the program’s NAEYC accreditation at https://bit.ly/2MIgf5Q)

• Leticia J. Wilson, STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) Embedded Academic Advisor–Biology with Del Mar College’s Natural Sciences Department, received the Texas Academic Advising Network (TEXAAN) 2019 Outstanding Academic Advisor Award. TEXAAN represents academic advising excellence across the state and selects each year’s recipient based on evidence of that individual meeting goals set forth by the organization. The award recognizes an individual whose primary role at their institution is direct delivery of academic advising services to students. TEXAAN supports the professional standards defined by the National Academic Advising Association (NACADA) and the core values of academic advising. Wilson joined Del Mar College in May 2012 and provides advising, intervention and transfer information to Natural Sciences STEM-declared majors as well as collaborates with DMC Outreach and Recruitment and the Hispanic Serving Institution STEM Coordinator. She has also shared her expertise on “best practices” in STEM advising with colleagues at the College.