An honor graduate, a PhD., a polyglot and a former police officer were among the new employees who introduced themselves Thursday at the Barton Community College Board of Trustees meeting.
Barton President Dr. Carl Heilman commented that several key positions were filled in time for the fall semester.
“I’m very impressed with how the college was able to respond to the high number of vacancies,” Heilman said. For example, Dr. Kathy Kottas, executive director of nursing and health-care education, introduced two new nursing instructors, Karla Johnston and Renae Skelton, who were hired in June. The department is now fully staffed with teachers, Kottas said. There are 92 students enrolled in the program.
Other employes hired in July introduced themselves, sharing some interesting information about themselves:
Ousmane Camara, assistant men’s and women’s soccer coach, is a former Barton student athlete. Born in Conakry, Guinea, Camara is a polyglot, fluent in five languages: English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, and his native tongue Susu.
Anna Voss, assistant softball coach, is also a former Barton student athlete. She was one of two students to receive the 2012 Barton Outstanding Graduate award.
Dr. Amanda Alliband, chemistry instructor, recently completed her PhD. at Wichita State University.
Also introducing himself was Tony Davis, assistant track and cross country coach, who was hired in June. Davis noted that in addition to his experience as assistant coach at Allen Community College, he is a former Florida police officer. He also is a former track and field athlete for the Cougars.
New employees for other Barton offices, including Workforce Training, Fort Riley and Grandview Plaza, were also introduced Thursday.
The board discussed another personnel matter in executive session for 20 minutes. There was no further explanation, as the session was closed to protect the privacy of the person(s) being discussed.
The board approved several more new employees on a consent agenda. Those hired for the Barton County campus were: Chris Elliott, part-time bus driver; Sara Hoff, Nursing Remediation and Adult Healthcare programs coordinator; Bruce Locke, instructor and coordinator of Criminal Justice; Matt Engstrom, assistant Dance Line and cheerleader coach; Steven Little, business instructor; and Jonathan Lovercamp, assistant athletic trainer. A part-time faculty contract was also approved for Brandon Green, instructor of military programs.
Position changes/new contracts were approved for Stephanie Joiner, who received a faculty contract to teach English and will serve as an athletic mentor; and for Amanda Schnoebelen, who received a Dance Line and cheerleader head coaching contract. Previously, Joiner was head cheerleader coach, and did not have a faculty contract, while Schnoebelen had been the head Dance Line coach but not head cheerleader coach.