Each year, the Austin Community College District (ACC) Chancellor and Board of Trustees honor outstanding ACC faculty and staff who have been selected for the Leadership & Teaching Excellence Awards. ACC congratulates the 2024 award recipients!

Back Row: Louisa Spaventa, Jessica Hejny, Daniel Dewberry, Frank Curry, Theodore Krause, Dr. Steven Sodders. Middle Row: Travis Jackson, Dr. Wendy Elle, Tracie German, Dr. LaKisha Barrett, Dr. Daira Wilson, Tenea Harvey, Matthew Evins. Front Row: Chancellor Dr. Russell Lowery-Hart, Jennifer Garcia, Geneva Monroe, Melissa Vetter, Dr. Susan Warner-Sanchez, William Coode. Not Pictured: Joseph Martinez, Vincent Foster, Dr. Sadaf Sajjad

The Leadership Awards

ACC celebrates outstanding staff who demonstrate strong leadership and have gone above and beyond the duties listed in their job description for the ACC community.

  • Administrator of the Year: Dr. Susan Warner-Sanchez, Associate Vice Chancellor, Teaching & Learning Excellence Division (TLED)
  • Classified Employee of the Year: Jennifer Garcia, Administrative Assistant III, Campus Manager, Rio Grande Campus
  • Faculty Leader of the Year: Dr. Wendy Elle, Professor, English and Department Chair, Composition and Literary Studies, Liberal Arts Humanities & Communications Division
  • Professional-Technical Employee of the Year: Matthew Evins, Director, Academic Technology, Teaching & Learning Excellence Division (TLED)

Chancellor’s Leadership Excellence Awards

  • Tracie German, North Regional Director, Campus Operations
  • Jessica Hejny, Associate Professor, Sonography Department
  • Travis Jackson, Executive Assistant, Chancellor’s Office
  • Geneva Monroe, Regional Coordinator, Student Life

Teaching Excellence Awards

The ACC Teaching Excellence Awards honor one full-time and one adjunct faculty member who promote special learning opportunities, student interaction, depth/breadth of knowledge in a subject area, and innovation.

  • Louisa Spaventa, Adjunct Faculty, Composition & Literary Studies
  • Melissa Vetter, Professor, Dental Hygiene

DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nursing Faculty

The DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nursing Faculty honors nursing faculty who inspire their students to remember that nursing is more than tasks and technology.

  • Tenea Harvey, Professor, Professional Nursing

eFaculty of the Year Award

This award recognizes an outstanding ACC faculty member who has creatively utilized appropriate internet-based technologies to teach online and/or hybrid courses at ACC.

  • Dr. Daira Wilson, Professor, Professional Nursing

NISOD Excellence Awards

The National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development (NISOD) has emphasized the importance of teaching and leadership excellence in institutions of higher education.

  • Dr. LaKisha Barrett, Professor, Biology
  • William Coode, Adjunct Faculty, History
  • Frank Curry, Professor, Photography
  • Daniel Dewberry, Adjunct Faculty, Professor, Management
  • Matthew Evins, Director, Academic Technology, Teaching & Learning Excellence Division (TLED)
  • Vincent Foster, Adjunct Faculty, Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration
  • Jennifer Garcia, Administrative Assistant III, Campus Manager, Rio Grande Campus
  • Tenea Harvey, Professor, Professional Nursing
  • Theodore Krause, Professor, Architectural & Engineering CAD
  • Joseph Martinez, Adjunct Faculty, Mathematics
  • Dr. Sadaf Sajjad, Provost Allyship Fellow, Psychology
  • Dr. Steven Sodders, Professor, Music
  • Dr. Daira Wilson, Professor, Professional Nursing

The Piper Professor Nominee Award

The Piper Professor Nominee Award is a statewide award that recognizes outstanding full-time faculty in the teaching profession. 

  • Dr. Sadaf Sajjad, Provost Allyship Fellow, Psychology

The League Excellence Awards

In recognition of the long tradition of excellence in community college teaching and leadership, the League Excellence Awards (formerly Roueche Award) celebrate outstanding contributions and leadership by community college faculty and staff.

  • Dr. Wendy Elle, Professor, English and Department Chair, Composition and Literary Studies, Liberal Arts Humanities & Communications Division — Faculty Leader of the Year
  • Tracie German, North Regional Director, Campus Operations – Chancellor’s Leadership Excellence Award
  • Jessica Hejny, Associate Professor, Sonography Department – Chancellor’s Leadership Excellence Award
  • Travis Jackson, Executive Assistant, Chancellor’s Office – Chancellor’s Leadership Excellence Award
  • Geneva Monroe, Regional Coordinator, Student Life – Chancellor’s Leadership Excellence Award
  • Louisa Spaventa, Adjunct Faculty, Composition & Literary Studies – Teaching Excellence Award
  • Melissa Vetter, Professor, Dental Hygiene – Teaching Excellence Award
  • Dr. Susan Warner-Sanchez, Associate Vice Chancellor, Teaching & Learning Excellence Division – Administrator of the Year

Learn more by visiting our 2024 Awards Celebration webpage. Congratulate the awardees by visiting our dedicated Padlet to offer words of encouragement and support!

For questions, contact the Faculty Development team at [email protected].