This regular feature recognizes achievements, activities, and accolades of Austin Community College District (ACC) faculty and staff. To submit news or suggestions, see the contact information below.

ACC Chancellor, Dr. Richard Rhodes, will become chair of the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) board of directors on July 1. The AACC is the primary advocacy organization for the nation’s community colleges and represents nearly 1,200 two-year, associate degree-granting institutions and more than 12 million students. Its 32-member board acts on behalf of the institutional members to create and maintain a vision for AACC and to determine and ensure that the organization adheres to appropriate standards of performance.


Ursula Pike, ACC DigiTex associate director, was featured in Austin Monthly magazine in a story titled “10 Questions with Debut Author and Austinite Ursula Pike.” Pike discusses her background, her experience in the Peace Corps, and why she wrote her novel, “An Indian among los Indigenas: A Native Travel Memoir,” which debuted April 6. Read more here.


Pictured from left to right, Lea Alvardo, Ellen Crofts, Everardo Jesus Camacho, Brent Gillentine, and Peter Bonfitto (ACC Gallery Director). Photo by Nora de Hoyas Comstock.

Five ACC Studio Art students received Austin Art League Awards Scholarships based on work that they entered in the 45th Annual ACC Student Art Exhibition. The Austin Art League hosted a luncheon in mid-May to honor the students and have them speak about what motivated them to create these works. Each student will receive a $1,000 scholarship. The 2021 scholarship recipients are:

  • Lea Alvardo, March, 2020, colored pencil
  • Ellen Crofts, Sorting, 2020, oil on canvas
  • Brent Gillentine, Alone, 2021, porcelain
  • Saina Keith, Adoniah, 2020, mixed-media drawing
  • Everardo Jesus Camacho, 2021, Mexican Veggies, watercolor on paper

ACC is acquiring a couple of the works for the Art Department’s permanent collection. 


Michelle Landrum, Dental Hygiene department chair, received the Distinguished Service Award from the Association of State and Territorial Dental Directors (ASTDD). She won this award for her years of dedicated service to improving oral health for infants and children both locally and national. 


Dr. Gretchen Riehl, Workforce Education associate vice president, presented at the annual conference for the Texas Administrators of Continuing Education (TACE) on effectively engaging business partnerships on April 14. Don Tracy, Corporate and Community Programs director, is on the board of TACE and ACC’s Continuing Education division was well represented at the conference.

Do you know a faculty or staff member who has accomplished something notable outside the classroom or in their community? We want to hear about them. Contact Vicky Garza Gonzalez at [email protected].