Ozarka College will hold its 2012 Commencement Ceremony on Thursday, May 17 at 7 p.m. in the John E. Miller Education Complex Auditorium. Students who completed degrees inDecember 2011 and May 2012 will be recognized. Students who willcomplete degrees during Summer I or Summer II courses will also be recognized.
This year’s guest speaker will be Dr. Ed Franklin, Executive Director of the Arkansas Associationof Two-Year Colleges (AATYC).
Dr. Franklin hasover 35 years experience working at community and technical colleges in threestates. He has taught and performed a variety of administrative duties oncampuses ranging from 1,500 to 33,000 students. He has served as a consultantto colleges throughout the United States, has contributed chapters to numerouspublications and has been a featured speaker at more than 100 conferences.
Under Dr.Franklin’s leadership, AATYC has successfully collaborated with two-yearcolleges, business/industry leaders, state agencies and other organizations todevelop regional and sector partnerships, as well as implementing studentsuccess initiatives.
The GEDCommencement Ceremony will be held on Thursday, May 31 at 7 p.m. in the John E.Miller Education Complex Auditorium. There were 185 GEDs awarded to students ofOzarka College’s four counties this schoolyear.
Ruby Johnson,Ozarka College Division Chair for Allied Health, will be the guest speaker.
Johnson has beeninvolved at OzarkaCollege since 1990 whenshe began courses for the Licensed Practical Nursing degree. After completingthe LPN program at Ozarka College, she went on to complete an Associate ofScience in Nursing and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Arkansas StateUniversity and a Master of Science inNursing and Education from the University of Phoenix. She was hiredas a nursing instructor at OzarkaCollege in 2000 andadvanced to the Division Chair position in 2001.
She hassuccessfully grown the nursing program at OzarkaCollege, which has involved extendingclass offerings to the Ash Flat and Mountain View campuses. She was also instrumental in bringingthe Arkansas Rural Nursing Education Consortium (ARNEC) for LPN graduates tocontinue into an RN degree to OzarkaCollege.
The Ozarka KidsAcademy’s CommencementCeremony is also scheduled for Thursday, May 10 at 6 p.m. in the John E. MillerEducation Complex Auditorium to recognize the nine graduates who will beginkindergarten in the fall.
For more information about the Ozarka College Commencement Ceremonies, contact Student Services at 870-368-7371.
