Babs King
Barbara “Babs” King has lived a life of service: She’s served her family, her country, Richland College and the community.
As a student, Babs worked hard to excel in her classes at Richland College, maintaining a 3.53 GPA. This was no small feat, as Babs became a single mother to her two sons in 1980. In 1981, she was hired as a secretary in the Facilities Department at Richland College. With the dream of one day becoming a teacher, Babs started taking classes at Richland in 1983 as a part-time student and continued taking classes until 1993, all while raising her boys.
Babs served her country by joining the United States Navy as a reservist. She served in a Public Affairs Unit and earned certification with honors in Journalism. She had the opportunity to work at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., for the Chief of Naval Operations.
Babs has served the community by teaching craft classes on a volunteer basis at the Garland Senior Center, the Wales House in Dallas, and for the Emeritus Program at Richland College. She also has participated in projects such as providing a quilt panel for the AIDS quilt displayed in Washington, D.C., Race for the Cure events, and recently providing lap quilts for the Castle Manor Nursing Home project “Blankets of Comfort” sponsored by the Garland News. Babs continues to help her fellow Thunderducks, most recently co-chairing a silent auction which raised money to assist a co-worker seriously injured in a car accident. Currently, she volunteers as the editor for the Dallas Community College District’s Retiree’s Association newsletter, RET-Express.
She has taught craft classes and English as a Second Language classes at Richland for Continuing Education. Babs retired from Richland College in 2003, but continues to work part-time as Coordinator of Institutional Research. In this capacity, she supported Richland’s efforts in earning the 2005 Texas Award for Performance Excellence and the 2005 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. Babs was named the 2003-04 Excellence in Teaching Award recipient for CE/Adjunct Teaching, and the 2006-07 Part-time Professional Support Staff Employee of the Year. She also is a recipient of the NISOD award.