On Monday, August 18, more than 60 new Austin Community College District (ACC) faculty members camped out in Highland’s Presentation Hall to begin their onboarding. Starting with muffins and I-9s at 8 a.m. and wrapping up with paperwork and swag at 4 p.m., they learned a little bit about everything.
ACC Chancellor Dr. Russell Lowery-Hart set the tone for the day, introducing them to ACC’s values and our “love students to success” mantra. ACC’s vice chancellor of Instruction, Dr. Gaye Lynn Scott, echoed the message, relating her own journey from a community college focused on access 25 years ago to one focused on caring. Attendees met their new shared student: Ashley, a composite of the typical ACC student—a 27-year-old working parent and first-generation college student who thrives when given access to affordable education and support services.
The orientation event, hosted by ACC Human Resources, exposed newcomers to as many of ACC’s programs as possible in a speed-dating style exercise. Every eight minutes, attendees would visit a different roundtable, each facilitated by program experts. In an hour and a half, they were introduced to everything from library services to the Theory of Change, employee relations, and more.
Among those new faculty members are 5 former ACC staffers, 1 of whom was an hourly employee, and 18 of whom are brand new to the College. All told, the College hired 95 new full-time faculty members to meet the semester’s surge in enrollment.
Orientation was just the beginning for these new faculty members. A week full of boot camp activities is prepping them to open the classroom doors on Monday. We welcome them all to ACC!
Contributed by ACC Human Resources