OCCC Chair of Political Science Laura Halstied received the first-ever Outstanding Recognition for New Full-Time Faculty award at the recent Academic Affairs Faculty and Staff Recognition Luncheon.
Halstied, who transitioned from adjunct faculty to a full-time role in August 2025, said she was caught off guard when she learned she had been selected for the honor.
“I was very surprised, pleasantly, because I have met other professors who are new to OCCC,” she said. “So it was nice to be recognized and chosen above other people who are obviously very qualified and are already making a difference here at the college.”
The award is a newly introduced category recognizing faculty members in their first full-time roles. Halstied said being its first recipient added to the significance.
“Yeah, that was pretty exciting when I heard that it was a new award,” she said. “I was just excited and happy, and I’m glad that it was kind of like validation that maybe I’m doing an okay job, which is nice.”
Halstied’s path to her current role reflects both professional experience and personal connection to the college.
Before joining OCCC full time, she worked for five years on a GEAR UP (Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs) grant at the University of Oklahoma, helping expand post-secondary opportunities for students across 30 school districts in the state. Earlier in her career, she taught social studies in Oklahoma City at both the middle school and the high school levels.
Her ties to OCCC, however, go back even further.
“I am a first-gen college graduate in my family, and I also started college at OCCC when I was in high school,” Halstied said. “So I see myself in our students.”
Halstied said her teaching philosophy centers on supporting students who often balance multiple responsibilities outside the classroom. She described her approach as “asset-based,” focusing on students’ strengths while offering flexibility and understanding.
“I understand the many roles that they’re having to play as they’re navigating college,” she said. “So I just really want to see them succeed.”
That perspective was shaped early in her time at OCCC as an adjunct instructor. One of her first classes, held in the evening, left a lasting impression.
“I remember, (while) teaching here in person, that the students were just so kind,” Halstied said. “Obviously, they were juggling so many things, but they brought so much engagement to the course. And I just remember at the end of the course, that first eight weeks, thinking, ‘This is awesome. This is so much fun. And I’m so glad I’m here.’”
Now serving as department chair, Halstied said she is still adjusting to new responsibilities but remains focused on student success.
“I’m very new to chair,” she said. “I just took over as chair in January, so this is my first (full) semester as chair. So I feel like I’m still learning that role.”
Outside the classroom, Halstied spends much of her time gardening, with a particular focus on supporting pollinators. She is currently working to create a habitat for monarch butterflies by planting native species and milkweed, a plant essential to the monarch life cycle.
“My goal is to have a really big, basically, monarch way station for the monarchs to stop at and plant their eggs and have more butterflies as they fly through,” she said.
The project reflects both a personal passion and a broader environmental effort to support declining pollinator populations.
“If you can, everyone should try to be a pollinator in some ways, since it’s a big need,” Halstied said. “Plus, they’re just really pretty.”
As Halstied continues her first year as a full-time faculty member and department chair, she said the recognition she recently received serves as encouragement to keep building on her work with students and colleagues.
For Halstied, the award represents more than individual achievement. It highlights the value of connection, persistence and support in higher education.
