ECC Insiders

Dr. Isaiah Kellogg, associate professor of physics, is known for his costumes - and not just during Halloween. He dresses as characters from Star Trek, Fallout and Lord of the Rings. He does so to create an atmosphere that increasing the interest and engagement with his engineering and physics students.

He's been recognized for his unique teaching style - winning the 2025 Missouri Community College Association (MCCA) Innovation Award for transforming ECC’s Introduction to Engineering course into a dynamic learning experience through a gamified, semester-long design project.

Find out more about Dr. Kellogg at: https://www.eastcentral.edu/blog/bringing-engineering-to-life-through-storytelling/

ECC Associate Professor of History Dr. Coreen Derifield’s book We Were Still Ladies: Gender and Industrial Unionism in the Midwest after World War II was published by the University of Iowa Press, and in this episode, she talks to Joel and Leigh about her research and some of the most poignant stories from the book.

Dr. Derifield recently accepted the Benjamin F. Shambaugh Award for the most significant book published about Iowa history in 2025 for the book.

This award is given each year by the State Historical Society of Iowa and was presented in a ceremony in Des Moines, Iowa.

For more, see https://uipress.uiowa.edu/books/we-were-still-ladies

ECC English instructor Katie Holtmeyer’s book of poetry, She Asked Me Where, was published in 2024. She is a pushcart-nominated author, and her work has appeared in Vast Chasm, Stanchion Zine, and Author Magazine, among others.

She received the 2025 Emerson Excellence in Teaching Award, and was recognized as an Outstanding Young Professional through the Washington Area Chamber of Commerce. In this episode,

Katie talks to Joel and Leigh about her writing process and reads selections from She Asked Me Where (adult language).

For more information visit https://www.katieholtmeyer.com/

ECC English faculty discuss the challenges of AI in the English and Humanities classrooms, based on a presentation presented at the Missouri Community College Association annual conference.

The group reflects on the impact based on their research and experiences. Generative AI is a controversial topic in higher education as the faculty discuss their perspectives.

A copy of the group's presentation can be requested, email [email protected]

Kevin Dixon, associate professor of biology at ECC, takes his passion for biology and conservation outside, providing “classrooms” for not only his students, but also the community. In this episode,

Joel and Leigh talk to Kevin about two of the projects that he spearheads: the American Kestrel nest boxes and the prairie restoration project.

The kestrel project started with an observation of kestrels nesting around the Health Science building; Kevin knew they needed a more appropriate space, so he worked on making permanent nest boxes, and with support from the ECC Foundation and World Bird Sanctuary, as well as ECC’s IT Department, happy families of kestrels have grown up in front of our eyes, as the nests are fitted with cameras and broadcast to a YouTube livestream.

It’s a great coincidence that kestrels are the smallest falcons, so perhaps they feel most at home with the ECC Falcons.

Checkout a live stream of the Kestrels: https://www.youtube.com/@ECCBirds

For more information:

https://www.eastcentral.edu/blog/more-than-a-mascot-falcons-nest-at-ecc/

https://www.eastcentral.edu/blog/kestrel-chicks-hatch-as-activity-picks-up-across-campus/

East Central College alum Brad Beeler authored a book about his 25 years of experience as an U.S. Secret Service agent - "Tell Me Everything."

According to the author, The book equips the reader with the tools to connect more deeply, navigate conflict, and turn every interaction into an opportunity to achieve better outcomes.

The book promises to engaging stories and actionable strategies.

Brad's website: https://www.bradleybeeler.com/

Find out what's happening in the 2026-2027 Fine and Performing Arts season at East Central College from a conversation during the morning show on KLPW radio in late June 2026.

The season was discussed by faculty members Jen Higerd, Associate Professor Art/Art Gallery Curator, Aaron Bounds Assistant Professor, Music/Band Director. Leigh wore two hats, as the interview cohost and disussing the Film and Lecture series. The ECC theatre season was included in the preview.

See the entire season https://www.eastcentral.edu/fine-and-performing-arts/

Become a Patrons of the Arts! A patrons sponsorship provides preferred seats to ticketed shows and updates about the season throughout the year.

https://www.eastcentral.edu/foundation/patrons-of-the-arts/

The Rural Community College Alliance (RCCA) are advocates for the nation's rural community colleges. The RCCA helps its member institutions serve the 89.3 million people who reside in rural America. There are 600 publicly controlled rural community and tribal college that provide access to general education for transfer, as well as techncial, vocational and occupations programs.

Joel and Leigh were joined by members of the RCCA board, that include Dr. Leah Barrett of Northeast Community College in Nebraska, Dr. Jon Bauer, East Central College in Missouri and Dr. Ron Slinger of Miles Community College in Montana.

The college presidents share their impressions and opinions of the value and importance of the nation's community colleges.

More information about RCCA can be found at https://ruralccalliance.org/

Leigh and Joel are joined by Justina Wilhelm, the president of Iḷisaġvik College. Iḷisaġvik College is located in the North Slope Borough of Alaska, America's northermost municipality.

Justina took 2 planes and nearly 24 hours to arrive in Union, Missouri for the Rural Community College Alliance national conference, held on the ECC campus in September 2025.

She provides a unique perspective of the community college, located on the northern tip of Alaska - 340 miles from Russia.

There are similarities between her college and U.S. mainland community colleges, but also differences given the location.

Find out more about Iḷisaġvik College: https://www.ilisagvik.edu/

East Central College is part of a consortium with three Missouri community colleges for the MoSEPWorks apprenticeship program, funded by the U.S. Department of Labor's ABA2 apprenticeship program.

The program focus of the consortium is teacher education, health care and manufacturing. Students can start out in a pre-apprenticeship and transition into an apprenticeship.

Apprenticeships are structured, paid training programs that combine on-the-job experience with classroom instruction to develop high-level skills for a specific trade or profession,

Learn more at https://www.eastcentral.edu/blog/ecc-launches-education-apprenticeship-to-strengthen-local-workforce/.