HutchCC News

In light of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the recommendation of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to limit mass gatherings until at least May 10, Hutchinson Community College will not be holding its traditional in-person commencement ceremony on Friday, May 8 in the Hutchinson Sports Arena.

“The academic achievements of our students deserve to be properly recognized and celebrated”, stated HutchCC President Dr. Carter File. “Toward this goal we are planning a virtual ceremony to be held at the regularly scheduled time – Friday, May 8 at 7:00 pm.”

The virtual ceremony will include many of the same elements as the traditional ceremony, including the reading of names for each graduate who submits the necessary items and the production of the commencement program, which will be available on the College’s website. For those unable to tune in at the scheduled time, the ceremony will be available on-demand for future viewing.

The pinning ceremonies for Licensed Practical Nursing, Associate Degree Nursing, Health Information Management and EMS that are normally scheduled in conjunction with the all-college commencement will also not take place in the usual format. More information on these events will follow when format and timing is finalized.

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The Hutchinson Community College Board of Trustees opened its March meeting by welcoming its newest member, Mo Penny.  Mr. Penny was elected to replace Darrell Pankratz, who recently retired from the Board. With the addition of Mr. Penny, all seven members of the Board of Trustees have the distinction of being graduates of HutchCC.

The Board also met the 13 student-athletes from its men’s and women’s track and field teams that qualified for the recent NJCAA national indoor championships.

In addition, the Board conducted several business items, including a report on the College’s ongoing Strategic Planning initiatives and an update on the Student Dining Facility Expansion Project. After some early delays, the project is progressing well with hopeful completion early in the fall semester.

Dr. Tricia Paramore, chair of the Natural Sciences and Mathematics department, reported HutchCC recently hosted the Boy Scout Merit Badge College at which more than 400 scouts earned over 1,000 merit badges.

The next meeting of the board will be on Thursday, April 9 at 7:00 p.m. in the Shears Technology Center Justice Theater.  The public is invited to attend.

For more information on Hutchinson Community College, visit the college website at www.hutchcc.edu.

Emmy Award winning journalist and the co-host of ABC’s Nightline Byron Pitts will kick off the 2020 Ray and Stella Dillon Lecture Series at Hutchinson Community College. Pitts’ lecture will be Tuesday, March 10 at 10:30 am at the Hutchinson Sports Arena.

Pitts shares his incredible story of perseverance and strength and inspires audiences to reach for their dreams. Sharing anecdotes and details of his own personal challenges while growing up - including his struggles with illiteracy and a profound speech impediment - he encourages audiences to strive past struggles to achieve success, and challenges us all to be brave enough to “step out on nothing” to help others reach their own goals.

Raised by a single mother in a working class neighborhood in Baltimore, Pitts was illiterate until the age of twelve and had a persistent stutter. Capitalizing on his desire to play football, his mother mandated he receive B’s or above in school in order to play. With that focus, Pitts learned to read and went on to attend Ohio Wesleyan University.

Known for his thought-provoking coverage and his commitment to exceptional storytelling, Pitts is a multiple Emmy award winning journalist and is a co-anchor of ABC’s Nightline. In 2013, Pitts became an anchor and the Chief National Correspondent at ABC. Prior to working for ABC, Pitts was the Chief National Correspondent for CBS Evening News With Katie Couric. He was also CBS’ lead correspondent at Ground Zero immediately following the September 11th attacks and won an Emmy for his coverage.

Tickets to the lecture are currently on sale at www.hutchcc.edu/dls and at the HutchCC Campus Store in the Parker Student Union. School groups may register at www.dillonlectureseries.eventbrite.com; students of all ages are permitted to attend at no charge.

Pitts will appear at a press conference for members of the media prior to the lecture.  The press conference is scheduled at 9:45 a.m. in the Media Interview Room of the Hutchinson Sports Arena.

2020 is the 39th season for the Dillon Lecture Series on the HutchCC Campus.  For more information on the Dillon Lecture Series, or to become a patron, call Robin Woodworth at 620-665-3505 or visit the college website at www.hutchcc.edu/dls.

The award-winning vocal jazz program at Hutchinson Community College will present its first major concert of the spring on Thursday, February 20. The concert, Singin’ & Swingin’, will begin at 7:30 pm and be held at the Stringer Fine Arts Center on the campus of Hutchinson Community College. Both vocal jazz ensembles, Badinage and Sonance, will be performing.

Selections will include captivating vocals of a wide variety of swing tunes, Motown, samba or “The Great American Songbook” and feature artists such as Stevie Wonder, Cole Porter and Sting. The programing will also include charts arranged by Phil Mattson, Kerry Marsh, Darmon Meader, Amanda Taylor and Steve Zegree.

Tickets for the concert are just $10.00 for adults, $8.00 for senior citizen, $5.00 for high school students and children, with Hutchinson Community College students/faculty/staff admitted free with college ID. Tickets are available by calling the Fine Arts ticket office at 620-665-3503.

For more information on the Fine Arts Department at Hutchinson Community College, visit the college website at www.hutchcc.edu/finearts.

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