Goal I. Access to Higher Education
SAC has received a $1 million grant ($250,000 per year over a four-year period) from the U.S. Department of Education for the Evening, Weekend, and Distance Education Division to direct an Upward Bound Program for neighboring Fox Tech High School students.

Dr. Eric Reno and Dr. Martha Trevino, NLC Director of Grants & College Development presented at the Randolph Metrocom Chamber of Commerce Luncheon on October 9th. Both Reno and Trevino presented information on The Watts Lower Valley School District #33 that will be housed on the new NLC campus. In addition to learning the history of the schoolhouse, attendees learned about fundraising opportunities as well as other ways to assist with the project.

Congressman Ciro Rodriguez visited PAC to speak with students on “The College Cost Reduction and Access Act,” Oct. 11. According to Congresspedia, the Act seeks to lower the cost of higher education by reducing lender subsidies by $19 billion and then investing those funds in programs that increase grant amounts to students, improve access to student loans, cut interest rates on student loans, provide for the repayment of parts of the loans through employment or service in areas of national need, and reward colleges for lowering costs to students. The Congressman also toured construction sites on Campus, and received an overview of the Gateway to College Program.

Goal II. Student Support
Frank Elston, President and CEO of the Baptist Health Foundation of San Antonio, awarded a $500 scholarship to 17 San Antonio College students who are majoring in Emergency Medical Services (EMS) or Substance Abuse & Counseling. According to President Elston, the amount the foundation was able to provide increased from $1,500 last year to $8,500 this year.

The NLC Business Club held a workshop on personal finances on October 10th. Shaun Kennedy, Broadway Bank President, addressed the group on establishing and managing credit and the relationship of debt to personal income.

Goal III. Workforce Development
The SPC Automotive Technology Department continued to provide instruction to auto technicians currently employed in dealerships throughout Texas. In addition, the City of San Antonio’s Fleet Maintenance Department will partner with SPC for training aimed at improving automotive skills of City employees with the ultimate goal of attaining the Automotive Service Excellence certification.

John Aken, Interim Lead Instructor of Aviation Technology, met with the U.S. Air Force ROTC director at Medina Valley High School to finalize a private pilot ground school class PAC will offer to ROTC Honor Students as part of the dual credit program during the Fall 2008 semester.

Goal IV. Capacity To Serve
Dr. Thomas Clarkin, History professor at SAC, co-authored a two-volume study guide for the second edition of Give Me Liberty!: An American History, a two-volume U.S. History textbook written by Columbia University Professor Eric Foner and published by W.W. Norton & Company.

Recently, NVC distributed 11 Automatic External Defibrillators (AED) in alarmed boxes on campus. Additionally, there is one AED in the College Heath Center and one located in the NVC Ambulance. An Automated External Defibrillator (AED) is a semi-automatic computerized medical device programmed to analyze heart rhythm, recognize rhythms that require defibrillation, and provide visual and voice prompts for the device operator. Ten NVC staff members have undergone extensive training to serve as AED volunteer operators.

St. Philip’s College has been notified that programs in Physical Therapy Assistant, Respiratory Care Therapy/Therapist, and Cooking and Related Culinary Arts have qualified for exemplary status based on an institutional effectiveness evaluation conducted by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. This prestigious recognition signifies excellence in quality educational experiences in post-secondary institutions.

Barbara Mayo, Humanities Chair at NLC, attended the Texas Speech Communication Association convention in San Antonio where she was installed as president for the 2007-2008 year. Senator Judith Zaffirini was the keynote speaker and received the Communicator of the Year award.

Goal V. Organizational Communication
On October 9, Dr. Eric Reno met with Col. Dann Carlson, Commander of the 425th Flight Training Squadron that is based at Randolph Air Force Base.  Col. Carlson provided Dr. Reno with a tour of the facilities at RAFB, the history of the 425th (also known as the “Wing Man Squadron”). During his visit, Dr. Reno also explored NLC’s involvement and relationship with RAFB.

Stacey Johnson, Interim Vice President of Academic Affairs, has been named one of “The 100 Most Influential Sports Educators in America” by the Institute for International Sports. A committee composed of coaches, athletic administrators, journalists and academicians, and chaired by David Bloss, a former sports editor for the Providence Journal, made the selection. Joining Johnson are notable athletes such as Tiger Woods, Cal Ripken Jr., and Billie Jean King.

We have an increasing number of events and activities district-wide and are taking the opportunity to showcase such events on Time Warner Cable channel 98 and Grande cable channel 23. This section of the Chancellor’s Weekly Report provides a schedule of the programming for our regularly scheduled times of 12 – 2 pm on Saturday and 9 – 11 am on Sunday. Programming varies due to the timing of Board and committee meetings, groundbreaking ceremonies, etc. The programming for the coming weekend is as follows:

Saturday, 10/27, 12:00 – 2:00 p.m.
Regular Board Meeting of October 16, 2007

Sunday, 10/28, 9:00 – 11:00 a.m.
Employee Development Day, October 8, 2007