Richland Collegiate High School (RCHS) senior Alicia Reese has been appointed to the U.S. Air Force Academy. Richland College President Kay Eggleston and RCHS Principal Herman Jackson joined Ms. Reese and her parents when U.S. Rep. Pete Sessions called with the good news on Tuesday. Ms. Reese accepted the appointment and scholarship, which is valued at $500,000. Air Force Academy cadets commit to a minimum of five years of active duty military service after graduation.

RCHS is a unique charter school designed to provide a rigorous academic experience for high school juniors and seniors. Students can complete their last two years of high school at Richland College by taking college courses and earning college credits with a focus on mathematics, science, and engineering, or visual, performing, and digital arts. Students have the opportunity to graduate with both their high school diploma and an associate degree, prepared to transfer to a four-year university. For more information, visit www.richlandcollege.edu/rchs.

The Richland College Chamber Singers will join with the Texas A&M University-Commerce Chorale and Wind Ensemble to present the world premiere of "The Temptation of St. Anthony" by composer James Syler as part of the “Music at the Meyerson” series on March 25.

Richland College Chamber Singers, an auditioned 44-voice ensemble directed by Michael Crawford, is one of five choral groups in Richland College's vibrant music department. Choral ensembles from Tarrant County College, Kilgore College and Northeast Texas Community College will also be part of the combined choir for this premiere.

A&M-Commerce music department officials commissioned the Texas-based composer to write a piece for the university's Wind Ensemble and Chorale after premiering Mr. Syler’s "Symphony in Blue" at Carnegie Hall in 2012. Mr. Syler is an adjunct faculty member at the University of Texas at San Antonio and the University of the Incarnate Word.

"Music at the Meyerson" concert, will also include performances by the A&M-Commerce's Piano Division, Brass Ensemble and Wind Ensemble featuring trumpet soloist Daniel Kelly.

The concert will be at 7:30 p.m. on March 25 at the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center in Dallas. Tickets are $10 for general admission and $20 for a limited number of seats in loge boxes. Tickets may be purchased at the door or online at www.tamuc.edu.

To learn more about Richland College Choral ensembles, visit www.richlandcollege.edu/music/choir.

Richland College hosted 247 area high school students for “Engineering the Future,” a special event highlighting the engineering and technology fields of study. The event, held Feb. 17 and Feb. 19, coincided with National Engineers Week. Students from North Dallas, Garland, North Garland, Naaman Forest and Conrad high schools participated in various activities including a rocket launch, meetings with college and university representatives, special presentations by Richland College and Texas A&M University-Commerce officials and a campus tour.

Richland College announces the creation of a new Honors Academy for highly motivated, intellectually curious college students.

The Honors Academy is designed for students who desire to transfer to four-year institutions and who seek an exceptional learning experience in an enriched and challenging academic community in small, discussion-oriented classes with great teachers.

“Richland College created the Honors Academy to provide opportunities for students who desire to distinguish themselves in a globally competitive world,” said Zarina Blankenbaker, Richland College vice president for teaching and learning. “The Honors Academy is a natural step toward achieving Richland’s vision of being the best place we can be to learn, teach, and build a sustainable local and world community.”

Students who meet the Honors Academy requirements are being enrolled now for spring 2014 in sections of core courses including Biology 1407, English 1302, Government 2305 and Psychology 2301.

Honors Academy students will be exposed to higher levels of learning and will spend more time on application and analysis of course material.

In the co-curricular s part of the program, Honors students will participate in local community activities and cultural events that incorporate learning experiences beyond the classroom.

Honors scholars will receive a special designation on their Richland College transcripts upon successful completion of Honors Academy requirements.

The Honors Academy’s faculty fellows for spring 2014 are: Dr. Ricardo Azpiroz, biology; Dr. Kacem Ayachi, government; Miguel Marrero, English; Ifeoluwa Togun, psychology; and Dr. Kendra Unruh, English. In addition to teaching Honors courses, these Richland College professors will attend Honors Academy events and will sponsor co-curricular and extracurricular activities.

The Richland College Honors Academy is open to all qualifying credit students, including new-to-college and transfer students. The Honors Academy will offer merit-based, partial scholarships of $500 to qualified students. To learn more about the application requirements, application process and contact information, please visit www.richlandcollege.edu/honors.

Scan the shelves or peruse the website of any bookseller and you’ll find a plethora of published works on business writing. However, you will find very few books on the art of persuasive business writing.

That is what led Royce Murcherson, a professor of technical writing at Richland College, to pen a new book that helps workers in any industry at any level produce concise and compelling communications.

“There were a bazillion books on business writing out there but none were persuasive,” Dr. Murcherson said. “We’re surrounded by so many messages and they are coming so quickly. In business, we need to make a good impression just as quickly. This new model for persuasive writing is needed now more than ever to help us write documents that get results.”

Dr. Murcherson’s book, The Guide to Persuasive Business Writing: A New Model That Gets Results (Kendall Hunt, 2013), outlines a “common-sense model” for business writing based on the ideas of Stephen Toulmin, a British educator who wrote about and taught methods for developing practical arguments.

Toulmin’s ideas were quite familiar to Dr. Murcherson, who earned a Ph.D. in composition and rhetoric and has taught at Richland College since 1997. In her book, Dr. Murcherson invites readers to think of every business document – whether it is an email, memo, letter, job application or report – as an argument. She outlines Toulmin’s model and provides multiple examples of various forms of business writing.

Dr. Murcherson also gives an overview of business ethics and the importance of tone and professionalism in workplace writing.

“What I teach are puzzle pieces, not a formula,” she said. “You learn how the elements work and adapt them to the kind of communication needed.”

The Guide to Persuasive Business Writing started because Dr. Murcherson knew her students needed to learn these skills but she quickly realized it was more than a college textbook.

She has offered professional development sessions based on her book for faculty and staff members at Richland College and at other institutions in the Dallas County Community College District. Dr. Murcherson’s “Writing to Win” sessions have been received enthusiastically.

“I thought we would do one ‘Writing to Win’ session but it turned into four this fall and another in the spring,” she said.

Dr. Murcherson aims to help people create a successful “narrative” through their excellent business writing.

“On the first day of the job, every day on the job, you will be creating your own narrative, writing your story, creating an image,” she said. “And the quality of your story will depend on how you communicate it. Good persuasive writing will have much to do with this. Make your narrative a bestseller.”