ACC announces Venancio Ybarra, Jr. as the college’s new Computer Science & Information Technology (CSIT) dean. The college is honored to welcome him back — he previously worked at ACC in the late 1990s.
Ybarra has more than 25 years of work experience in higher education as a professor, lead faculty, department chair, and assistant dean at the community college level and more than 10 years of work experience in the computer and electronics industries.
A first-generation college graduate, Ybarra has a passion for community colleges. He is also an advocate for individuals with special needs and those who struggle with home and food insecurities.
“The primary reason I took this position was because of the bachelor’s degree programs we offer in Computer Science & Information Technology. ACC offering bachelor’s degrees in high-wage, in-demand fields at a much lower cost than traditional universities gives students a more cost-effective option locally,” says Ybarra. “Throughout my higher education career, I have always been concerned with the rising expense of tuition at the 4-year level. As a faculty member, I heard — and continue to hear — from students on how the cost of obtaining a bachelor’s degree can be a barrier to continuing their education,”
Ybarra initially started at ACC in summer 1996 when he was hired as a classified Technical Lab Assistant at the start of the Semiconductor Manufacturing Technology (SMT) program at Riverside Campus. His role grew into a Computer Support Technician position due to industry-donated computer-based training software, which required a computer network for students and faculty to access. Due to the growth of the SMT program, he was asked to teach electronics classes as adjunct faculty.
He then went on to a full-time faculty position in Electronics Engineering Technology at Cy-Fair College (later renamed Lone Star College — CyFair in Cypress, Texas), where he was founding department chair and faculty when it opened in 2003 and eventually became associate dean of student learning. Most recently, Ybarra held the position of assistant divisional dean at Tarrant County College.
Ybarra holds an associate degree in Electronics Technology from Alvin Community College, a bachelor’s in Computer Engineering Technology from the University of Houston, and a master’s in Instructional Systems – Education Technology from Pennsylvania State University.
Ybarra is an Innovative Excellence in Teaching, Learning & Technology award recipient, a NISOD Faculty Excellence award recipient, and a Faculty International Exploration Grant recipient. He has served on the Habitat For Humanity – Northwest Harris County Affiliate Board of Directors as well as on several industry advisory committees. He has also served as a Faculty Advisor for student activity organizations such as The Association for Semiconductor & Electronics Technicians (ASET), The Technology Society, The Catholic Student Union, and ¡Xprésate!.