Goal III. Workforce Development
Dr. Cindy Griffith, Dean of Workforce Development and Continuing Education, and Universal City’s Economic Development Services Director, Ms. Kim Turner, continued their coordinated visits to businesses in the Northlake Business Park last week. The purpose of the meetings is to acquaint business leaders with Northeast Lakeview College, determine their employment needs, and discuss future educational opportunities and partnerships through the Workforce Development and Continuing Education division.

Goal IV. Capacity To Serve
Northeast Lakeview College held Hats Off to Northeast Lakeview College – A Reflection, Recognition, and Rewards Celebration on May 10th. Its purpose was to recognize the many accomplishments and tremendous growth Northeast Lakeview College has undergone during the 2006-2007 academic year and look ahead to the 2007-2008 year. Additionally, faculty and staff were recognized for various achievements including tenure awards, those receiving doctoral or other academic degrees, and other achievements. Northeast Lakeview College hopes to make this event an annual tradition.

Goal V. Organizational Communication
Northeast Lakeview College Dean of Workforce Development and Continuing Education, Dr. Cindy Griffith, was honored to serve as the keynote speaker for Judson Independent School District’s GED Graduation Ceremony on May 16th. Twenty graduates were presented with certificates to celebrate their success in reaching this important educational milestone. As Dr. Griffith challenged the graduates to become lifelong learners and continue their education, she also encouraged them to consider Northeast Lakeview College as their first choice for academic courses and workforce programs in the future.

Goal I. Access To Higher Education
Northwest Vista College has submitted a HUD HSIAC grant proposal for the construction of a permanent childcare facility on our campus. Recently, Parent-Child Incorporated lent its support for the proposal and agreed to operate the facility should the grant proposal succeed.

Goal IV. Capacity To Serve
The site preparation for the first phase of NVC’s Capital Improvement Program will begin during the week of May 21. The first parking lot located north of the current portables is expected to be completed this summer while the construction of physical plant facilities should to be completed by April 2008. The first two buildings, Redbud Learning Center and Juniper Hall Academic Center, are expected to be completed by August 2008. Cypress Campus Center and Live Oak Hall Academic Center are expected to be completed by November 2008 and December 2008 respectively.

Northwest Vista College has established an Institutional Review Board (IRB) with approval from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office for Human Research Protection. The training for IRB members was conducted on Thursday, May 10.

Chaired by Dr. Roberto Gonzales, the NVC IRB is comprised of six faculty members and four staff members. Dr. Edwin Barea-Rodriguez, Associate Professor of Neurobiology at UTSA, will serve as an external member of the IRB. The charge for this IRB is to function as an ethical review board. It will approve, monitor, and review research activities sponsored by the College which involve human subjects, with the aim to protect the rights and welfare of these subjects. Funding from the Department of Education’s Minority Science and Engineering Improvement Program has enabled NVC to implement this IRB.

Goal I. Access To Higher Education
PAC had a 34 percent increase over last year’s number in students participating in its Commencement Ceremony, May 11. Two hundred and ninety-one students crossed the stage at Freeman Coliseum, representing approximately 900 degrees and certificates earned by students during this academic year.

Goal II. Student Success
PAC Conjunto students opened the final day of the Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center “Texas Conjunto Festival 2007” at Rosedale Park, May 12. PAC Music Instructor Juan Tejeda was the curator of the citywide festival that drew thousands of spectators to the three-day event to hear musical performances by Conjunto legends and rising stars.

Goal IV. Capacity To Serve
PAC’s Learning Resources Center hosted a “MySpaces@Your Library: Blogs and Wikis and RSS” half-day workshop led by Dr. Diane Neal, Texas Woman’s University, May 10. The workshop, attended by librarians and staff from all five ACCD libraries, was designed to provide library staff members with information and techniques on the latest internet technologies such as podcasting, social networking and folksonomy.

Goal V. Organizational Communication
Palo Alto College will be participating in a citywide initiative entitled “Walk & Roll 2007 Corporate Challenge” to promote a better quality of life in the San Antonio region during the month of June. The Alamo Area Council of Governments (AACOG) and the San Antonio-Bexar County Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO), sponsors of the event, challenge area citizens to practice "smart miles.” Smart miles refers to efficient and healthy modes of transportation that reduce trips to the gas pump, save money, improve air quality, and provide health benefits

Goal II. Student Success
St. Philip’s College Commencement Exercises were held on Friday, May 11, 2007, at Municipal Auditorium. With over 800 degrees awarded this term, approximately 400 students participated in the graduation ceremony--a record number of participants. More than 3,600 family members, friends, and other guests attended the graduation ceremony which was supported by the largest representation of faculty and staff. The Commencement speaker was Art Hall, San Antonio City Councilman from District 8, speaking on the “Challenges and Opportunities Which Await Them as Graduates of St. Philip’s College.”
The Interpreting Services Department offered its first four-week American Sign Language Workshop which is available, and free of charge to St. Philip's College faculty, staff and students.

Goal III. Workforce Development
Tourism, Hospitality and Culinary Arts received a $1,000 scholarship donation from the San Antonio Tourism Council at the recent Hospitality Showcase and Mixer in celebration of National Tourism Week.

Plans are underway by the Business Information Solutions Department to develop an enhanced computer science program that will focus on discrete mathematics which has become popular in recent decades because of its applications to computer science. The degree plan will also include programming languages like Java, Webpage design, Database and SQL (a standard computer language for accessing and manipulating database systems).

Goal IV. Capacity To Serve
The SPC Service-Learning Program staff continues to work with the Service-Learning Intercollegiate Collaborative (SLIC) to plan the ”College & Community Mini-Conference,” scheduled for June 8 at the American Red Cross Headquarters. This event, organized by a coalition of service-learning programs from six colleges and universities across San Antonio, will provide training and networking for nonprofit and community service organizations in building service-learning partnership. The SPC Service-Learning Program is currently working to develop a panel presentation and the evaluation tools for the event. SLIC anticipates an audience of 75 participants at this event

St. Philip’s College has been awarded a grant of $6,000 from the Rio Grande Fund of the San Antonio Area Foundation for Upgrades to the Watson Fine Arts Center Theatre Lighting System. The system was designed nearly twenty years ago, and needs to be updated both for performances and educational training for theatre students. Recent grants from the San Antonio Area Foundation have provided equipment for the Rose Thomas Writing Center and the Automotive Technology Department.

College staff are collaborating on two National Science Foundation Proposals: one with the University of Texas at San Antonio and the second with Texas State University. Both grant proposals provide opportunities for SPC students to further their education in math and science at the named universities. Funds will be provided for the SPC faculty and students who participate.

Goal I. Access to Higher Education
President Robert E. Zeigler presented $500 scholarships to approximately 40 graduating 5th grade students from neighboring Travis Elementary School. The students can use the scholarship to enroll at San Antonio College after meeting criteria for completing their high school education. This is the second year this scholarship has been given to Travis Elementary School students, which is funded by interest from the San Antonio College endowment fund or other available resources.

On May 15, SAC held the Women Empowered Conference, a free, one-day motivational conference held annually for women who are considering a return to school. Eleven participants received scholarships to attend San Antonio College in the fall 2007. The guest speaker was Maria Vigil, a former student who returned to college at SAC after 25 years out of school and ultimately earned a bachelor’s degree in Liberal Arts Magna Cum Laude with a major in Spanish. This enabled her to achieve her goal of becoming a high school Spanish teacher. Conference workshops provided information on how to overcome fears and gain the confidence to reach personal and educational goals.

Mona Aldana-Ramirez, Program Coordinator for the Center for Educator Preparation in the Continuing Education Training Network, will participate in a panel discussion at the National Science Foundation’s Noyce Scholarship Conference in Washington, D.C. on June 28. The panel will share the efforts of the San Antonio Math and Science Education Coalition, a citywide organization aimed at bringing more interest into teaching math and science. Congressman Charlie Gonzalez will introduce the panel, which consists of representatives from the education departments of SAC, UTSA, Trinity University, St. Mary’s University, and Our Lady of the Lake University.

Goal III. Workforce Development
The Continuing Education Training Network has announced a new “interiorscaping” program, an expanding career field that combines concepts from interior design and landscaping. Recent growth in the demand for interiorscaping technicians is driven by the realization that plants in the workplace increase productivity, decrease absenteeism and improve the mood of employees. Leslie Knopf, owner and operator of the interiorscaping company Foliage Designs, will teach this course.

The Mortuary Science Department has announced its first course to be offered on the Internet: Contemporary Funeral Service Practices (MRTS 1301), a required course towards the AAS degree in Mortuary Science, deals with what society expects from the modern funeral director and embalmer. The course will expose students to the religions in the American funeral services.

Goal IV. Capacity To Serve
San Antonio College held its annual Employee Development Day on May 18. Employees heard presentations by President Zeigler and Executive Vice President Clark on the topic “Honoring the Past, Celebrating the Present, and Creating the Future,” followed by a question and answer period. Then employees could choose from several breakout sessions.

Goal V. Organizational Communication
A Campus Safety Committee has been formed to review the existing Campus Safety Plan and make any recommendations to President Zeigler for possible modifications.