Shelby County Today

August 23, 2018 - Panola College is pleased to announce the addition of Kindermusik playdates through their Workforce and Continuing Education department. These first two Kindermusik classes will be loaded with old farm favorites, circle dances, and lots of learning. Plus, your little one will leave with a mini-kit including a 10-song download card and an instrument.

Established in 1978, Kindermusik is the leading provider of music-based education for children from birth to age 5. In every Kindermusik class, your child is welcomed into a playful and nurturing environment where they will sing, move, play instruments, and hear stories—all while developing social skills, problem-solving skills, pre-math skills, and a foundation for reading. Our research-based curriculum focuses on whole-child development and helps you understand how your child is developing musically, cognitively, and socially. Learn more about Kindermusik at www.kindermusik.com.

The classes will be offered on Thursday, September 6 from 6:00-6:45 p.m. and Saturday, September 8 from 10:00-10:45 a.m. Call 903-693-2067 or register online at 
https://form.jotform.com/PanolaMain/KindermusikRegistration.

Photo Attached (From left, Back row): Panola College Foundation Board Members - Vicky Hudson, Ginger Borders, Brenda Giles (PC Foundation Chair), Patricia Smith, and Dr. John Ray. Recipients: Grant McMillan, Eddie Kite, Roberta Collinsworth, Jacky Andreatta, Sherri Baker, Jody Harris, Cheri Lambert, Cristie Ferguson, Betty Gruber, Michael Pace, Dwaine Hubbard, and Ginger Cook. (From left, Front row): Emily Zabcik, Amanda Clements, Teresa Beasley, and Shay Joines.

August 17, 2018 - On Wednesday, August 15 Panola College faculty returned to campus excited by a new year. The Panola County Chamber of Commerce welcomed faculty and staff with donuts, coffee and their own enthusiasm for the new semester.

After a brief welcome back by Dr. Billy Adams, Mrs. Brenda Giles, 2017-2018 Chair of the Panola College Foundation, was welcomed to the podium to announce the 2018 faculty and staff grant recipients.

Giles expressed the Panola College Foundation’s gratitude to all those who showed their support to Panola College over the years and then called the grant recipients forward to accept their award.

This year’s grant recipients include:

• Cristie Ferguson & Jody Harris from Library and Student Services, receiving a $1,000 grant for Kanopy, a new video streaming service for students and instruction.
• Emily Zabcik was awarded a field trip to Six Flags over Math for a total of $2,750.
• Jacky Andreatta received $2,473 to purchase aMarcPro and Evac-U Splint system for kinesiology and athletic training.
• Roberta Collinsworth was granted $500 to purchase math-based children literature for “Math for Teacher” courses.
• Eddie Kite and Grant McMillan received a joint grant of $5,000 for a shoot away gun for both women’s and men’s basketball.
• Amanda Clements will be purchasing $4,599 worth of art equipment to update the art labs.
• Dwaine Hubbard received 3 new amps for the band for a total of $1,000.
• Ginger Cook was awarded $6,200 to purchase 8 Yamaha P115-B pianos for the instrumental and vocal music department.
• Shay Joines received $700 to purchase a Canon Digital camera to record and archive events on campus.
• Sherri Baker was granted $2,000 to bring the Jacob A. Riis: How the Other Half Lives Exhibit to the Allison Art Gallery.
• Teresa Beasley and the humanities department received $1,500 to take students on a museum field trip this fall and spring.
• Betty Gruber received $2,782 to purchase new beds for the C.N.A. testing center in Marshall.
• Cheri Lambert and the OTA department were awarded $6,088 to take her students to attend the national OTA conference.
• Michael Pace with the School of Energy received a grant for $1,900 to provide fire extinguisher safety training to the energy program.

Information about how to make a gift to Panola College is available online at www.panola.edu/panola-foundation, or by calling 903-693-2029.

August 2, 2018 - Panola College at our Shelby College location in Center, is offering Certified Nurse Aide Courses beginning August 22-December 5, 2018. We have two options for prospective students. On Monday and Wednesday evenings from 4:00 p.m. – 8:30 p.m., and Tuesday and Thursday evenings from 5:30 p.m. – 9:30 p.m. For more information and to register, contact the Shelby College Center at 936-598-9543 or email: tmccann@panola.edu.

July 18, 2018 - Today, The Chronicle of Higher Education named Panola College as one of the “Great Colleges to Work For” and presented the institution the Honor Roll designation for the seventh consecutive year.

One of the largest and most respected workplace-recognition programs in the country, “Great Colleges to Work For” identifies colleges and universities that work to provide an exemplary work environment for faculty and staff. The results, released today in The Chronicle’s eleventh annual report on The Academic Workplace, are based on survey responses from more than 53,000 people at 253 colleges and universities. The primary factor in deciding whether an institution received recognition was the employee feedback.

“The unity of purpose among faculty, staff, students, the community, and our Board of Trustees is what makes Panola College a great place to work. The word "family" is frequently used to describe Panola College,” said Dr. Greg Powell, President of Panola College. “I am proud of our caring culture and our strong commitment to help students succeed.”

Panola College is listed as one of only 84 institutions that achieved the “Great College to Work For” recognition and one of only 12 two-year institutions to make the Honor Roll, which recognizes distinguished institutions for creating exceptional work environments.

Panola College was also placed on the Honor Roll as a stand out college in its size category for winning honors in 11 categories this year. These categories included:

Collaborative Governance: Faculty members are involved appropriately in decisions related to academic programs.

Compensation and Benefits: Pay is fair, and benefits meet the needs of employees.

Confidence in Senior Leadership: Leaders have the necessary knowledge, skills and experience for institutional success.

Facilities, Workspaces and Security: Facilities adequately meet needs, the appearance of the campus is pleasing, and the institution takes steps to provide a secure environment.

Job Satisfaction: Provides insight into the satisfaction with job fit, autonomy and resources.

Professional/Career Development Programs: Employees are given the opportunity to develop skills and understand requirements to advance in their careers.

Respect and Appreciation: Employees are regularly recognized for their contributions.

Supervisor/Department-Chair Relationship: Supervisors make expectations clear and solicit ideas.

Teaching Environment (Faculty only): Faculty members say the institution recognizes innovative and high-quality teaching.

Work/Life Balance: Policies give employees the flexibility to manage their personal lives.

“Great Colleges to Work For® looks at employee perceptions of the quality of their work environment. It examines aspects of the worker experience in a quantifiable and measurable way. This allows you to act on your faculty’s and staff’s feelings about job satisfaction, interdepartmental collaboration, pride in work and other important areas,” states Liz McMillen, editor of The Chronicle of Higher Education.

Great Colleges to Work For is one of the largest and most comprehensive workplace study in higher education. To administer the survey and analyze the results, The Chronicle worked with ModernThink LLC, a strategic human capital consulting firm that has conducted numerous “Best Places to Work” programs, surveying hundreds of thousands of employees nationwide.