Four employees will represent Snead State Community College at the 2019 Chancellor’s Awards Ceremony on Sunday, Nov. 24, in Montgomery.
Chancellor’s Awards recipients are chosen in the categories of Administrator, Faculty and Support Staff. This year’s Chancellor’s Awards recipients from Snead State include Associate Dean for Online Learning Michael Gibson in the Administrator category, Chemistry Instructor Dr. Vinod Mishra and Computer Science Instructor Dack Phillips in the Faculty category, and Accountant Vickie Barnes in the Staff category.
“Our Chancellor’s Awards winners are examples of how our faculty and staff step up to meet the needs of the College and our students. They give 100 percent to their jobs on a daily basis, and the College is better for having them as part of the Snead family,” said Snead State President Dr. Robert Exley.
In his third year at Snead State Community College, Mr. Gibson possesses over 23 years of full-time experience in higher education. Prior to becoming the Associate Dean for Online Learning, he worked at Calhoun Community College from 2012-2016 and Athens State University from 2007 to 2012. He earned Bachelor of Science, a Bachelor of Arts and Master’s degree from the University of Alabama in Huntsville, an OLC Instructional Design certification, and Quality Matters Coordinator and APPQMR certifications. For the last year, Mr. Gibson served as the Interim Associate Dean for Career Technical Education, overseeing the Aviation, Computer Information Systems, and Industrial Maintenance Technology programs. He managed grants from the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) and the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education program.
Dr. Mishra has served as Chemistry Instructor at Snead State since August 2014. He earned a Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of Allahabad in India. Prior to coming to Snead, he was the Assistant Professor of the Department of Medicine at the University of Alabama in Birmingham. During his tenure at the College, he developed and began online course offerings in Chemistry, providing students with more course options.
Just starting his fifth year at Snead State, Mr. Phillips serves as the Computer Information Systems Instructor, teaching programming, networking, IT administration and cybersecurity courses. He earned an Associate in Applied Science degree in Computer Science from Wallace State Community College in Hanceville and Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Computer Science from Auburn University. He holds certifications in CompTIA A+, Network+, Security+ and EC-Council Certified Ethical Hacker. He spent 10 years as an IT Systems Administrator at Union State Bank in Pell City and a year prior to that as an IT and Operations Manager at Harris Insurance in Birmingham.
Ms. Barnes has worked at Snead State almost eight years in the role of Accountant, assisting the Director of Finance in preparing financial statements and corresponding notes. She organizes the College’s payroll and works with the entire department on Accounts Receivable, Grants and Contracts. Ms. Barnes earned a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting and an Associate’s degree in Biology. Prior to working at Snead State, she served as the Compliance Officer/Accountant for Associate Medical Specialties Inc., a division of USA-Healthcare-Alabama, LLC, in Cullman. She was recently accepted into the Alabama Community College System Business Officers Leadership Program and is a current member of the Alabama Association of College and University Business Officers and the Alabama Community College System Financial Managers Association.
The Chancellor’s Awards began 29 years ago as a way to reward and encourage outstanding performance, creativity, and dedicated service. The awards are sponsored through the Chancellor’s Office with the Alabama Community College System. The awards ceremony is held in conjunction with the annual conference hosted by the Alabama Community College Association.