Goal I. Access to Higher Education
NLC and Judson ISD held a press event on October 3 at the Judson ISD Board Room to announce the TG Public Benefit Program $200,000 grant awarded to fund College Connections:Making Dreams a Reality. A total of 147 need-based scholarships totaling $122,000 will be awarded to JISD 2008 seniors to attend NLC in Fall 2008. As the project fiscal agent, NLC advisors will deliver the college presentations and workshops on each of the JISD high school campuses and provide a two-week academic camp in Summer 2008 to those scholarship recipients in need of remediation.

PAC took the first step in preparing for the ACCD College Connections program with the Harlandale and Edgewood Independent School Districts. The program prepares students for college and works toward a 100 percent participation rate.

Goal II. Student Support
Veronica Rosas-Tatum, instructor of Business and Management at PAC, chaperoned eight SGA students to the American Student Government Association’s national conference held in Washington, D.C. In addition to workshops and visits to national attractions, the students met with Congressman Ciro Rodriguez and took a tour of the Capitol, led by a student intern from UTSA. This was SGA’s first attendance at this type of conference and the information, networking and insights gained were incredible.

Goal III. Workforce Development
SPC Culinary Arts faculty and students participated in the annual Taste of San Antonio, a three-day event sponsored by the San Antonio Restaurant Association. Faculty and students helped prepare and serve the gala event dinner. Students were also involved in staging and producing the American Culinary Federation Professional Chef Competition in which local chefs competed against each other.

Mary Cottier, SPC Math Department faculty member and former chair, presented at the California Community College Association for Occupational Education Conference in Palm Springs, CA. The presentation, titled “Contextualizing Developmental Education for Student Success,” detailed the SPC/ Project Quest initiative that assists students seeking degrees in Allied Health programs.

Bruce Burger, Landscape and Turfgrass Management Advisory Committee member and superintendent of the Quarry golf course, and David Morales, a recent PAC Turfgrass and Golf Course Management graduate, appeared on the cover of September’s Golf Course Management Magazine.

Goal IV. Capacity To Serve
On October 3 Pat Terrell, executive assistant to the NLC president, represented NLC at the “kick-off” for the Andy Roddick Foundation’s “Andy Roddick Youth Tennis Program,” held at Our Lady of the Lake University. Over 500 individuals attended the event. The goal of the program is to focus on tennis and life skills for disadvantaged elementary children in the San Antonio area. NLC is a developing an AAS degree in Tennis Technology.

The Facilities Department reports that demonstration classrooms have been renovated at the Pat Booker Road location. These classrooms include a variety of whiteboard products and different lighting systems with variable lighting controls. The demonstration classrooms allow users from all colleges and the district departments to determine which product is the best use for their applications. This design change is saving CIP funds and will help the project construction schedules.

Dr. Mary-Ellen Jacobs, associate professor of English at PAC, participated in the Cross-Cultural Forum for Professional Development sponsored by the Women's Global Connection, held at the University of the Incarnate Word. Dr. Jacobs discussed her experiences of facilitating a workshop on interactive teaching strategies for secondary school educators in Bukoba, Tanzania, this summer.

SAC President Robert Zeigler was honored at the 11th Annual La Prensa “Celebrate Hispanic Heritage” Awards Gala 2007 at the Omni Hotel. Dr. Zeigler was cited for his outstanding leadership of the largest single-campus community college in Texas.

San Antonio College’s Dental Assisting and Medical Assisting programs have been ranked as “Exemplary” by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. The Exemplary ranking is given to academic programs that exceed the Coordinating Board’s expected standards of excellence. Both the Dental Assisting and Medical Assisting programs have received this ranking in previous years.

The ACCD Foundation Board held its annual meeting on October 5. The Board approved the revised Foundation bylaws and established a new committee structure. Jackie Van de Walle will continue to serve as chair; Tino Duran is vice chair. Also, Audrey Grams, former Service Learning Director at SAC, has been hired as the new ACCD Coordinator for Donor Relations.

Goal V. Organizational Communication
ACCD’s annual Employee Development Day was held on October 8 at the AT&T Center. Approximately 1,700 faculty and staff attended the day-long event, which provided an overview of our strategic plan, Baldrige and Good to Great. Participants also attended brainstorming sessions designed to garner input related to the core competencies; the input is being compiled and will serve as a resource in strategic planning efforts. Development Day is the one day per year that all ACCD employees come together for activities, networking and to renew relationships with colleagues.

Save the Dates!

October 25, 2007 Chancellor’s Gala at the Pearl Stables from 6-9 p.m.

Nov 2 and 3, 2007, Board Retreat in Kerrville. Friday evening reception and Saturday retreat (until approximately 3:00). More information to follow.

Saturday, 10/20, 12:00 – 2:00 p.m.
Regular Board Meeting of October 16, 2007

Sunday, 10/21, 9:00 – 11:00 a.m.
Employee Development Day, October 8, 2007