Difference between revisions of "School:South Plains College"
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Revision as of 15:34, 2 May 2016
Contents
South Plains College
Background
In 1958, the college opened its doors primarily as a two-year academic transfer institution, the first such college in Texas in over ten years. South Plains College(SPC) welcomed the expansion of community colleges in Texas, arguably the most significant development in Texas' higher education in the last half of the twentieth century. SPC has continued to grow and expand, opening an extension at Reese Air Force Base in 1970, and a technical branch in Lubbock in 1973. In 1977, the college acquired and refurbished the West Texas Hospital building in downtown Lubbock, and in the fall of 1978 established the Lubbock Campus at the site. With the closing of Reese Air Force Base in 1997, the college acquired, through public conveyance, six educational buildings at the base. Thus, South Plains College continues to develop the unfolding intellectual environment of a community. A community that is taking responsibility for the future.
Encouraging Innovation and Entrepreneurship
- NASA Community College Aerospace Scholars(NCCAS)
-Bridges Program
-Student Government Association
- Phi Theta Kappa
These opportunities are some of the few that are available at SPC. However, of them the only truly active ones are the NCCAS and bridges program, as far as getting students involved in innovation and entrepreneurship. Fortunately SPC offers a class that challenges students to create an innovative product. These items are designed to solve some the major issues of the modern world. Some of these projects include:
- Solar powered DC outlet
- Styrofoam drone
- High efficiency incinerator
- Stair stepping furniture dolly,
- and many more that have yet to be designed by the brilliant young minds coming to South Plains College.
These two programs and this one class only reach a very small portion of the student body and this needs to drastically change.
Encouraging Faculty Innovation and Entrepreneurship
Though there are some faculty that are no strangers to entrepreneurship and thinking with an innovative mindset, this does not appear to be something that is really pushed for on campus. Part of our goal is going to be to change this mindset and introduce a new way of thinking for all the staff and faculty. We want there to be a push in the direction of I&E. If our focus is only on seeing our students graduate and transfer to 4 year universities or start a job after getting their certificate, we will not move forward. So we need to have a strong push for I&E amongst the facutly. If we instill this mindset in the people running things, then we can guarantee it will trickle down to our students, opening up a new way of thinking for everyeon that passes through SPC.
Actively Supporting the Unviersity Technology Transfer Function
As of right now there are no policies in place supporting IP Policies at SPC. We do not have a technology transfer office, and from my research I found nothing in regards to intellectual property of students, and supporting the transition from IP to patenting and marketing the actual product. This is something that will need to be addressed over the long haul.
Facilitating University-Industry Collaboration
<span style="font-size:small;"</span>The present situation in regards to innovation on campus has made this something that is non-existent as well. There are no research parks, innovation hubs, or anything of the sort on campus. However the Math and Engineering department are in the process of writing a grant proposal for a new facility on campus for STEM majors to come together in collaboration. This will be the perfect place for a maker-space to take hold and will set the groundwork for establishing policies in regards to the Technology Transfer Function indicated above.
Engaging with Regional and Local Economic Development Efforts
<span style="font-size:large;"</span>One of SPC's main goals is to assist in the economic development of the surrounding area. In 2008 SPC commissioned Economic Modeling Specialists, Inc. to do a study trying to find the socioeconomic impact of SPC on the surrounding areas. The results were very promising, with SPC stimulating the economy by about 2.3% of the total income. However, these results stem mainly from student spending and employment of former students in the area. If our students were to create a lasting impact on the community through innovative ideas and products, the stimulation of the economy by SPC would increase substantially.
Below is the Landscape Canvas for Texas Tech University, a campus that we at SPC are partnering with. Looking at their system, though it's not perfect, would give good insight on what we can do to improve our own culture of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, so we can have a working landscape canvas ourselves. Lets make it our goal to bring I&E to SPC by the end of 2016, and give our future fellows and students something to work with.
Landscape Canvas 2016
