Celebrate Learning! Spring 2014 (Vol 5, Issue 2) | Page 4

In the Spotlight: Congratulations to Dr. Jamie Blevins! Dr. Jamie Blevins, RN, Ed D, Assistant Professor, Nursing Division, has had a Summit Poster accepted for presentation at the NLN Education Summit “Flight of the Phoenix,” in Phoenix, Arizona, September 16-20, 2014. Titled: "Creating a Healthy Work Environment" the presentation will promote policy, guidelines, and procedures to increase civility in the work environment, through the creation of a Healthy Work Environment (HWE) Model called “People & Practice.” This model focuses on people and their practice to help foster a work environment that stresses health & positivity, and is realistic for all. It also provides a guide, which focuses on people and practice, for ways to approach working in an environment that is amenable and conducive to every day living, and holds individuals accountable for their behaviors and actions towards others. Furthermore, the HWE model provides a mental and physical checklist of what is important in creating, living, working and sustaining a healthy work environment. Dr. Blevins’ new model has also been submitted to the National League of Nursing (NLN), Washington, DC for NLN’s Healthful Work Environment Toolkit. Congratulations Dr. Blevins for your work on this very critical issue! (Continued from page 3) Vision and Change to our College at the National Association of Biology Teachers conference in Atlanta, Georgia. This spring, collaboration and integration across disciplines and campuses are key components of Phillips’ newest endeavor at TCC: the JPL Research Challenge Course. This integrative, one-credit, introductory research course grew out of a 5week internship in which Phillips participated at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab (JPL) in California in the summer of 2013. Upon returning from California, Phillips recruited a cross-discipline (biology, chemistry, math, engineering, and physics) team from across the college including seven full-time faculty members (Rosemary Carlson, Roxann Davenport, Kirk Elliott, Thomas Henderson, Patrick Idwasi, Lance Phillips), two part-time faculty members (RaeLyn Butler, and Callen Johnson), Xan Black, who is the coordinator for the Tulsa Alliance for Engineering, and community partners such as Dan Moran, Lab Manager of the Hardesty Center for Fab Lab Tulsa. Dr. Mike Lee and Dr. Amanda Stockton, who are both research scientists at NASA’s JPL, assist in mentoring and providing feedback for the students and faculty. There are currently 14 students enrolled in the course. Students work both independently and collaboratively to identify, design, and conduct an experiment (proof of concept). Authentic research projects such as this offer the students an opportunity to experience how science works in the real world. Three TCC students will be selected by the JPL research team to participate in a 10week summer internship at NASA’s JPL facility in Pasadena, California this summer (2014). The project has received funding support from NASA Oklahoma EPSCoR and the Darden Family Charitable Foundation. The project is currently in the second round for the American Association for the Advancement of Sciences (AAAS) STEM Volunteer grant, and Tulsa Charity Fight Night Grant. “It is important to establish a mechanism at TCC to help fund student research opportunities such as these.” At the end of the day, Phillips’ work is all about providing opportunities for students. “If I can think of one thing that makes me an effective educator is that I love to learn and try to stay current in my field, but most importantly, I deeply care for my students’ personal and educational success,” says Phillips. “I count it a personal triumph and blessing when my students are successful. I look forward to teaching the next generation of biology students.” 4