More than 2,500 Austin Community College District (ACC) faculty and staff gathered at the Highland Campus or online for General Assembly 2025 — a day of learning, collaboration, inspiration, and joy. Employees are invited to relive the day by watching the full program, exploring the virtual resource fair, and sharing key takeaways and highlights from the event.
A Powerful Morning
In-person attendees were greeted at various entrances by event staff wearing bright gold t-shirts and provided with a color-coded Bat Buck that indicated their assigned watch party room. Virtual attendees simply logged on to the General Assembly website.
ACC Chancellor Dr. Russell Lowery-Hart kicked off the morning program by recognizing and celebrating more than 800 employees, including:
- Theory of Change and Chancellor’s Leadership Institute participants
- Teaching and leadership award winners
- Faculty fellows
- Teaching & Learning Academy graduates, facilitators, and program leads
- Department Chair Academy graduates and new Department Chairs
- New faculty and staff
- Employee association officers
- Riverbat Bravo Excellence Award recipients — including ACC’s employee of the year, Skyler Bagby
The morning featured the premier of this year’s General Assembly video, “Building a Culture of Love… Together.”
The keynote speaker was Dr. Patrick Lee, president and CEO of Central Health. His inspiring keynote presentation, “Leading with Love,” anchored this year’s theme of Building a Culture of Love…Together. He unveiled a new leadership guide for his organization and shared five tips to lead with love:
- Focus on the People
- Develop a culture of professional diastole
- Foster relational trust by reducing the vulnerability of others
- Make sure the right people are in the right seats on the bus
- Administer policies with kindness and common sense
Russell followed up with a presentation on where the College is, where we are headed, and how we will get there. He shared a sense of urgency to prepare for what he called the perfect storm that’s brewing so that we won’t have to make decisions in an emergency. He said that we are about to face some significant challenges locally, nationally, and globally, but we won’t let them stop us from reaching our North Star Goal of 70% completions by 2030.
We have about 18 months to ramp up. Our focus in the year ahead will be to root ourselves in one of two primary roles — teacher or helper — and center our attention in the following spaces:
- Doubling down on our professional development and training.
- Holding ourselves accountable to student navigation and run-around time.
- Lowering the time to degree.
Russell’s presentation was followed by a surprise guest speaker, Dr. Nina Almasay. She shared lessons learned from the top five mentors in her life: her father, a professor, a patient, a student, and her son.
The full program—including Russell’s remarks, Dr. Lee’s keynote, the pre-show slides, opening video, feature video, student video, and closing credits—is now available on Panopto (ACC login required). View the videos here. Photos from the event will be available on the General Assembly website in the coming weeks.
An Afternoon of Learning & Connection
With the conclusion of the morning program, in-person attendees were instructed on where and how to pick up their lunches. More than 900 meals were served.
Employees also visited the General Assembly Resource Fair where 31 departments and programs tabled to showcase their services, events, and opportunities. Virtual Resource Fair details are available on the General Assembly website.
After lunch, attendees were directed to their afternoon breakout sessions. Room locations and Zoom links for individual sessions were sent directly to attendees via Google Calendar. There were 47 afternoon breakout sessions featuring timely and critical topics.
Share Your Thoughts
Now, we want to know how the day went for you. Take a moment to complete the General Assembly 2025 Evaluation. The deadline is Friday, October 10, 2025.
Your feedback helps the College understand what worked well and what could be improved, ensuring General Assembly continues to be an inspiring and meaningful experience for all Riverbats. From program content to logistics, your input directly shapes how we plan next year’s event.
Employees can also check out the General Assembly 2025 Padlet to view and share highlights from colleagues from across the College.
Record Your Professional Development
Faculty and staff who attended General Assembly 2025 may receive up to 5 hours of Professional Development Training credit. Instructions for entering your training in Workday are provided in the Event Resources & Downloads section on the General Assembly website.