MAC Honors Retirees
May 25, 2023
MAC Honors 2023 Retirees
Over the next several weeks, we'll say goodbye to three of our colleagues who are retiring from MAC. Throughout their many years of service to the college, they have touched the lives of countless students and staff.
We wish them the best as each begins a new chapter this summer!
Roger McMillian
“I will miss my co-workers and the closeness that is shared between the employees of the College. Many of them are my former students, and MAC is fortunate to have the best faculty, staff, and administration there is."
Roger McMillian
Roger McMillian of Park Hills is retiring from MAC this year. Since 2020, he has served as the Provost of Instruction, providing oversight for all instructional programs and serving as the college’s Chief Academic Officer. Over his 26-year career with the college, he served as Professor, Department Chair, and Dean of Career and Technical Education before being named Provost.
After graduating from MAC with an Associate of Arts, Roger completed a Bachelor of Science in Business Education at Southeast Missouri State University, followed by a Master of Education at Southwest Baptist University and a Master of Business Administration at Missouri Baptist University.
Roger says some of the high points of his time at MAC include seeing students going from not wanting to be in accounting class to choosing it as a career and being the lead instructor and administrator for the CISCO Networking Academy at the college since 1999, which allowed him to train many students in the IT field, including techs from many of our local school districts. Being the advisor for Phi Beta Lambda was also memorable.
Roger enjoyed representing Mineral Area College on many local, state, and national committees and organizations, serving in various officer roles with these committees, and especially serving on committees to help reaffirm accreditation.
Prior to MAC, Roger spent a decade working in K-12 education and corporate IT positions. Throughout his career, he’s been involved with many business and career & technical education organizations, including the Southeast District Business Education Association, Missouri Business Education Association, North Central Business Education Association, National Business Education Association, International Society of Business Education, Missouri Association for Accounting Educators, Missouri Council for Career and Technical Administrators, Missouri Association for Career and Technical Education, National Association for Career and Technical Education, and Missouri Community College Association.
Roger received many awards during his career, including the Missouri Community College Association (MCCA) Senior Service Award (2017); MCCA MO Governor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching (2013, 2017); Missouri Association for Career and Technical Education, Post-Secondary Teacher of the Year (2017); MAC Faculty Member of the Year (2013, 2016); MO PBL Adviser of the Year (2007); Outstanding Business Educator, Post-Secondary, North Central Business Education Association (2007); MO Breaking Traditions Educator of the Year (2006); Outstanding Business Education, Southeast Missouri District Business Education Association (2006); Outstanding Business Educator, Post-Secondary, Missouri Business Education Association (2005); Who’s Who in Missouri Business Education (2004); and Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers (2000, 2004, 2005).
Roger says what he’ll miss most are the students and their successes, graduations, and pinning ceremonies, but he notes that social media has provided an outlet to stay in touch and follow the lives of so many former students and the various events occurring at the college.
“It is so exciting to see how they are contributing to society and where their careers have taken them,” he says. “I will also miss my co-workers and the closeness that is shared between the employees of the College. Many of them are my former students, and MAC is fortunate to have the best faculty, staff, and administration there is."
Roger looks forward to enjoying more time with his wife Jane, his children, Matthew (Becky) McMillian and Nicholas (Sammi) McMillian, and especially his grandchildren, Bodhi, Zaylee, Zeah, Marley, and Emerson, who arrives in September.
He already has travel plans made and wants to visit the beach as much as possible! Roger plans to complete a couple of IT certification exams that he still wants to accomplish, and wants to learn to play the guitar.
Esther Blum
“The high point for me has been being a part of the academic journey of the MAC ADN students and assisting students into a nursing career. The success of these graduates is important because they are the future of the nursing profession."
Esther Blum
Professor and Associate Degree Nursing (ADN) Program Coordinator Esther Blum of Bonne Terre is retiring from MAC after 27 years of teaching in the college’s nursing program.
She attended the University of Missouri-Columbia, where she earned a Bachelor of Science in Nursing and Master of Science in Nursing with dual-track focus: Adult Nursing Educator and Adult Nursing Clinician.
Prior to joining MAC’s faculty, she was a staff nurse in the Bone Marrow Transplant Unit and Oncology Unit and Night Charge Nurse at Boone Hospital Center in Columbia. She also was an adjunct and clinical instructor for Saint Louis University School of Nursing.
When asked to reflect on her time at MAC, Esther said, “The high point for me has been being a part of the academic journey of the MAC ADN students and assisting students into a nursing career. The success of these graduates is important because they are the future of the nursing profession. I am proud of them, and I have had many opportunities to interact with many of the graduates in their professional nursing roles as faculty, educators, directors, managers, clinical instructors, staff nurses, etc.”
She also enjoyed being the Club Advisor for the MAC Student Nurses Association, which gave her the opportunity to assist with many local community health projects and help students with writing resolutions for submission to the National Student Nurses Association (NSNA).
“The resolutions offered the opportunity to the nursing students to be active participants in improving health care on a national level. It provided the students a voice as a change agent,” she said. “I am delighted to say that many of the submitted resolutions were adopted by the NSNA House of Delegates.”
Esther is a member of Sigma Theta Tau, the American Nurses Association, and the Missouri Community College Association. She was named the 2023 MAC Faculty Member of the Year by her colleagues.
Her future plans are semi-retirement, where she will slowly “wean herself from full-time work” by continuing to work part-time to maintain her clinical nursing skills. She expects that her daily interactions with students and colleagues will be the thing she misses the most about MAC.
With her additional free time, she plans to spend time with family and friends, including her husband Joe and children Nicholas and Celeste (Cory) Gideon. She also has a bucket list of places and experiences to accomplish, such as seeing the northern lights and trying ice fishing.
Amy McKenna-Jones
“What I have enjoyed the most is the people I have come to know here. Everyone has a story, and it’s always worth the time to talk to them and learn about their joys, their struggles, their passions, and their talents.”
Amy McKenna-Jones
Amy is a graduate of Jefferson College, where she received an Associate of Arts and Associate of Applied Science: Legal, Executive, and Medical Secretary Specialist. She also has a Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education from the University of Missouri St. Louis.
Prior to joining MAC, Amy worked as an Administrative Assistant to several deans and in the Assessment Center at Jefferson College. She also worked as a legal secretary.
She was honored with MAC’s Leadership Award in 2020 and is a member of the Missouri Community College Association.
Amy said she’s learned a lot and appreciates the relationships she’s developed with colleagues while at MAC.
“What I have enjoyed the most is the people I have come to know here. Everyone has a story, and it’s always worth the time to talk to them and learn about their joys, their struggles, their passions, and their talents,” she said. “I will miss so many people here and am grateful for all of those who were there for me during some of the most personally challenging times in my life.”
While she’s retiring from higher education, she’s not ready to fully retire--at which time she plans to travel to all the places on her bucket list and immerse herself in hobbies like photography, scrapbooking, and hiking. For now, she is looking for another position closer to home to help reach her short-term goals of moving to a new home and traveling with friends and family, including her daughter Caroline.