Austin College

Austin College’s Adams Observatory will open to the public on Friday, September 16, from 8:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. for a late summer Star Party. The event will be held rain or shine, though the use of telescopes may not be possible in the case of inclement weather. Skygazers should expect to see double stars and globular clusters through the telescopes. The event is free, open to all, and fully accessible to those with mobility conditions. Register to attend: www.austincollege.edu/starparty. 

The event takes place in the College’s IDEA Center, 1108 E. Richards Street, with parking nearby. Visitors should meet in the IDEA Center’s first-floor Oscar C. Page Atrium, just inside the building’s main entrance, to begin their star tour. Austin College physics faculty Dr. David Baker and Dr. David Whelan, along with Austin College student volunteers, will facilitate tours for guests, while Sherman Public Library children’s librarian, Cassie Wickline, will hold a children’s space-themed story time.

Adams Observatory houses the largest research telescope in North Texas and smaller telescopes will complement the views available from the rooftop. “This is a unique opportunity to see amazing things in the night sky that you normally can’t see with the naked eye,” Baker said. “Something stirs inside of you when you look through a telescope of this size.”

Austin College, a private national liberal arts college located north of Dallas in Sherman, Texas, has earned a reputation for excellence in academic preparation, global awareness, pre-professional foundations, leadership development, committed faculty, and hands-on, adventurous learning opportunities. One of 40 schools profiled in Loren Pope’s influential book Colleges That Change Lives, Austin College boasts a welcoming community that embraces diversity and individuality, with more than 50 percent of students identifying as persons of color. The residential student body of approximately 1,300 students and an expert faculty of more than 100 educators allow a 12:1 student-faculty ratio and personalized attention. Related by covenant to the Presbyterian Church (USA), Austin College cultivates an inclusive atmosphere that supports students’ faith journeys regardless of religious tradition. The College, founded in 1849, is the oldest institution of higher education in Texas operating under original name and charter.

How can schools keep students and faculty safe while holding classes on campus? PCR testing is key, say Austin College and Grayson College officials — so they’re working with GoGetTested.com to help keep each campus safe. 

Students, faculty, staff, and members of the Texoma community can visit GoGetTested.com to make an appointment in about a minute, and can visit an on-campus test site to get tested usually in less than five minutes after arriving on site. Results come back to individuals in 40 hours — and often much sooner.

“Even with all of the safety protocols we follow, our ability to reduce virus transmission by identifying those who are positive for COVID was hampered by the lack of reliable, timely testing,” said Austin College President Steven P. O’Day, J.D. “Now, however, GoGetTested has made PCR testing, the most sensitive and accurate test, easy to obtain. We have seized this opportunity by establishing an on-campus testing site.”

Both colleges use Polymerase Chain Reaction, or PCR, tests for students, faculty, and staff.  At Austin College, the campus community’s morning begins with a required Health Screen every day using the Austin College Mobile App, reporting any symptoms and/or contact with a test-positive case of COVID-19. At Grayson College, the GoGetTested.com testing center helps to support the college’s daily screening and check-in processes.

“We’re very pleased with GoGetTested’s accuracy, reliability and portability,” said Austin College Chief Marketing & Communications Officer Lynn Z. Womble, Ph.D. “We were notified on a Thursday of the partnership, and the mobile center was on campus and ready to test the following Monday. We appreciate that the staff is multilingual. The entire process has just been so smooth – they’ve been a delight to work with.”

In addition to testing students, faculty, and staff, the GoGetTested site is open to the general public. In fact, the colleges intentionally put testing centers on the edge of campus to make it easy for the local community to visit. Just register at gogettested.com, and select your site and time.

The Austin College testing location is in the parking lot west of Wright Campus Center, 1301 E. Brockett in Sherman. Austin College testing site hours of operation are:

Monday – Friday: 8:30 a.m. to 11 a.m., 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. 

Saturday: 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Sunday: CLOSED

The public is welcome on weekdays between 11:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m., but waits may be longer due to Austin College campus testing.

 The Grayson College testing location is in the parking lot next to the baseball field at 6101 Grayson Dr. in Denison. Grayson College testing site hours of operation are Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Closed on Saturday and Sunday.

The testing at both colleges is free of charge and open to the public.

 About GoGetTested

GoGetTested, a unique public and private consortium, is the world’s most complete and advanced Covid19 test-and-response operating system. GoGetTested provides testing to symptomatic and asymptomatic people alike. It has no exposure qualifying requirements, and delivers lab results more quickly and accurately than other systems can.

The consortium—which includes Precision Primary Care startup Wellhealth, PE-backed Lab HealthTrackRx, event-management company Victory Marketing, inventory and warehouse management company Lead Commerce, and Silicon Valley-based healthcare fintech startup Wellpay— is able to test tens of thousands of people per day. There is no charge to individuals, and test results are delivered via text and email. Visit us at GoGetTested.com.

 About Austin College

Austin College, a private national liberal arts college located north of Dallas in Sherman, Texas, has earned a reputation for excellence in academic preparation, international study, pre-professional foundations, leadership development, committed faculty, and hands-on, adventurous learning opportunities. One of 40 schools profiled in Loren Pope’s influential book Colleges That Change Lives, Austin College boasts a welcoming community that embraces diversity and individuality, with more than 50 percent of students identifying as persons of color. The residential student body of approximately 1,300 students and more than 100 expert faculty members allow a 13:1 student-faculty ratio and personalized attention. Related by covenant to the Presbyterian Church (USA), Austin College cultivates an inclusive atmosphere that supports students’ faith journeys regardless of religious tradition. The College, founded in 1849, is the oldest institution of higher education in Texas operating under its original name and charter.

About Grayson College Grayson College is in the heart of Grayson County and provides a vital link for higher education.  GC’s central location makes it easy for high school graduates to obtain an affordable education right here at home, or for adults to begin or continue a college-bound track and/or meet professional licensing requirements.

Nominations are open for Austin College’s Athena Award and Athena Young Professional Award. The College’s Center for Community and Regional Development and its Texoma Women Get Connected program will recognize two exemplary leaders with the prestigious ATHENA Leadership Award® and the ATHENA Young Professional Leadership Award at a luncheon on Friday, April 24.

Nominations will be accepted for the 2020 Austin College Athena awards until March 1, with completion of the online ATHENA Leadership Awards® Nomination Form.Local honorees may represent either the for-profit or not-for-profit sector and must work and reside in Fannin, Cooke, or Grayson counties. Past award recipients are not eligible to receive the award, though previous nominees may be nominated again.

Event sponsors and table sponsors are needed for the event. Learn more from the Sponsor Information Sheet. For more information, please contact Ginger Nye at 903.813.2834.

The ATHENA Leadership Award® is presented to individuals who actively assist women in realizing their full leadership potential, have attained and embody the highest level of professional excellence in their business or profession, and devote time and energy to improve the quality of life for others in the community.

ATHENA Young Professional Leadership nominees are emerging women leaders under age 40 who clearly serve as role models for young women both personally and professionally; demonstrate excellence, creativity, and initiative in their business or profession; and provide valuable service to improve the quality of life for others in their community.

Since 2014, the ATHENA Award recipients are Stacy Rake Murphy, owner and principal agent of Nationwide Insurance in Sherman (2014), Brenda Hayward, executive director of Child and Family Guidance Center of Texoma (2016), Michelle Castle, branch manager at Guild Mortgage Company (2017), Luann Daniel, executive director of Women Rock (2018) and Sandy Barber, executive director of Fannin County Children’s Center (2019).

The ATHENA Young Professional Leadership Award has honored Michelle Lemming, president and CEO of Texoma Health Foundation (2014), Hillary Luckett Clark, a Sherman attorney and community leader (2016), Trish Bridges, director of critical care services at Wilson N. Jones Regional Medical Center (2017), Amber Pilcher, banking services manager and regional retail manager for Landmark Bank Denison (2018) and Tiffany Dancer, clinical director for Child and Family Guidance Center of Texoma (2019).  A full list of previous recipients is available online .

The ATHENA Leadership Award Program is administered by ATHENA International, a non-profit women’s leadership organization, along with licensed host organizations and sponsors. Over 7,000 awards have been presented in the U.S. and around the world since the program’s inception in 1982.

Austin College was founded in 1849 and is the oldest institution of higher education in Texas operating under original name and charter. During the 2018-2019 academic year, the campus celebrated 100 years of co-education and continues to host events commemorating women and their achievements.