QUICK TAKES - February 2022
RRECOGNITION
During the Feb. 1 regular Board of Regents meeting, the Board granted the prestigious title of “Professor Emeritus of Art” to Kenneth V. Rosier, a retired Chairman of the Department of Art and Drama and faculty member. Rosier’s tenure at Del Mar College spanned more than 32 years, and he was known as an exemplary educator and for his excellent leadership as head of his department from 2003 until his retirement in 2020.
In 1989, Rosier founded the DMC Student Art Association and successfully received several grants supporting student portfolio competitions and exhibitions in the College’s Joseph A. Cain Memorial Art Gallery. The Professor also advocated his art discipline, ceramics, throughout the years by organizing the fall and spring semester “Be-Bop Bowl” sale, which raised over $60,000 for student scholarships and exhibitions.
Rosier’s commitment to teaching and student success is best evidenced by his ongoing efforts to sustain the Art Program’s continued accreditation since 1991 from the National Association of School of Art and Design. In 2019, DMC peers and administrators selected Professor Emeritus Rosier as the College’s Minnie Stevens Piper Professor Award nominee, an invitation-only nomination extended by the Minnie Stevens Piper Foundation to recognize Texas postsecondary educators for their superior teaching.
As an artist, Rosier’s inspiring artwork has been shown in over 130 museum and gallery exhibitions. Additionally, he was a member of notable organizations, including the Kappa Pi International Art Fraternity, Art Museum of South Texas’ Exhibition and Collection Committee and Del Mar College’s Annual National Drawing and Small Sculpture Show Committee.
ACCOLADES
Other faculty and staff are commended for their accomplishments in support of the mission of Del Mar College, including:
• Dr. Leonard Rivera, DMC Dean of Continuing Education and Off-Campus Programs, was elected in January to serve as a board member on the Rural Schools Innovation Zone (RSIZ). Dr. Rivera joins the seven-member RISZ board, which includes three independent school districts: Brooks County ISD, Premont ISD and Freer ISD. The RSIZ has been recognized for its unique and innovative curriculum and program academies, ability to work collaboratively with partnering ISDs to offer students a well-rounded, career-focused education and preparation of all students for post-secondary educational opportunities.
• Rosa Linda Reynoso, DMC Staff Writer/Editor in the College Relations Office, was recently selected to receive the 2022 Distinguished Community College Staff Award by the Texas Association of Chicanos in Higher Education (TACHE). Reynoso will receive the award during the 47th Annual TACHE Conference held Feb. 27 through March 2 in Fort Worth. The award recognizes superior levels of professionalism and accomplishment in the areas of initiative, productivity, critical thinking skills, effectiveness and customer service skills. The award also included a monetary award of $1,000.
• Leticia J. Wilson, Director of Advising Initiatives, co-authored her first peer-reviewed article in The Journal of Appreciative Education (JAE). Titled “Caring Through The Screen: Advising Techniques for Success in the Virtual World,” Wilson collaborated with Benjamin M. Forche and Tyler S. Hall to examine ways to deepen connections and provide support to students in a virtual environment using methodologies known as “Appreciative Advising” and “Appreciative Mindset.” The article was published in the December 2021 edition of the Journal of Appreciative Education, an open-access e-journal committed to promoting educational theories, practices and collaborations from an appreciative, strength-based perspective. Wilson was also nominated and selected to participate in the 2022 Leadership Texas Women Cohort. Leadership Texas is the longest-running and most successful women’s leadership program in the country. Celebrating 40 years in action, Leadership Texas puts women on a path to access learning from influencers across the state.
• MAP Advisors Benjamin Hernandez and Breanne Flores-Contreras conducted a presentation at the Texas Academic Advising Network (TEXAAN) Conference in Austin held Feb. 24-26. Their session, titled “Horse of a Different Color: After-thoughts on Becoming an Academic Advisor During the Pandemic,” details the evolving roles advisors have taken on during the COVID-19 pandemic, relates them to a changing management framework and synthesizes advisors’ expertise gained from different institutions.
Del Mar College Students Selected for Texas Two-Year College All-State Choir
Seven students from the DMC Music Department’s Concert Choir were named to the 2021-2022 Texas Two-Year College All-State Choir after completing a rigorous series of auditions. The Del Mar students will participate during the annual Texas Music Educators Association Convention scheduled in February 2022 in San Antonio. About 200 students from across the state will attend three days of rehearsals with a final concert showcasing their singing talents. Under the direction of Interim Choral Director Dennis S. Richardson, Del Mar Concert Choir students selected include Gabriella Paloma Alvarado, Jake Austin, Ana Colchado, Ariana Adame Gonzalez. Darrel McCusker, Marisol Salazar and Jaxon Smith. The students are vocalists in the studios of Professors Cynthia Longoria and Dr. Raphael Rada.
Virtual reality tutoring demo available at the Student Success Center
The Student Success Center (SSC) Tutoring Lab was selected to participate in a virtual reality (VR) tutoring software pilot program by VRedu. Fifteen tutoring centers across the nation were chosen to demo the new VRedu Virtual Tutoring software using the Oculus Quest 2 VR headset. The SSC received five VR headsets, and students and staff now are invited to demo the units and help create the future of virtual learning. Virtual tutoring expands what is possible in the physical classroom by enhancing reality to create a learning space that parallels student needs and expectations in a world of extended realities.
QUICK TAKES - MAY 2023
QUICK TAKES - APRIL 2023
QUICK TAKES - MARCH 2023
QUICK TAKES - FEBRUARY 2023
QUICK TAKES - DECEMBER 2022
Del Mar College empowers students to achieve their dreams. We offer quality programs, individual attention, outstanding instruction through faculty with real-world experience and affordable costs to credit and noncredit students in Corpus Christi and the South Texas Coastal Bend area. Nationally recognized while locally focused, we’re ranked in the top two percent of community colleges in the country granting associate degrees to Hispanic students (Community College Week). Del Mar College focuses on offering our students programs that match current or emerging career opportunities. Whether students are interested in the fine arts, sciences, business, occupational or technical areas, students get the education they need for the future they want at Del Mar College.