This regular feature recognizes the achievements, activities, and accolades of Austin Community College District (ACC) faculty, staff, and departments and will be updated regularly. To submit news or suggestions, fill out this form.

Austin Community College District (ACC) was recognized by the Community Advancement Network (CAN) for its dedication to mental health support. The College received the Transformation Impact Award for helping make CAN’s Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) Challenge a success. MHFA is a training that teaches us to recognize the signs and symptoms being exhibited by someone experiencing a mental health challenge or crisis and how to respond accordingly to provide the right kind of support. 

ACC was one of six partners—including the City of Austin, Integral Care, One Voice Central Texas, Travis County, and the University of Texas—who had more than 75 employees trained on MHFA. The awards presentation took place at CAN’s Annual Celebration on March 25.

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Computer Science Faculty Dr. Michael MacLeod has become a super user of the Chameleon cloud environment. He has taught more than 400 students using the Chameleon system. He recently published a blog post on chameleoncloud.org titled “A Holistic Approach to Teaching Cloud Computing.” He is also engaged with the University of Chicago (UC) to conduct research in the Chameleon system in the holistic approach to teaching cloud computing, the development of approaches to teaching Software Defined Networking, and the development of data analytics using Hadoop, an open-source framework for storing and processing large datasets. MacLeod is currently writing an artifact for UC for Chameleon in conjunction with the research he is conducting.

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InnovATEBIO Executive Director Dr. Linnea Fletcher represented ACC at the Biotech Across America State Symposium in Washington, D.C. She was at the forefront, discussing how local ecosystems like Austin’s are shaping the future of the industry.

“Biotechnology is more than an industry—it’s a national imperative. At InnovATEBIO, we are committed to equipping educators with the resources, training, and industry partnerships needed to deliver high-impact, career-focused education. By supporting educators, we strengthen regional innovation and ensure the U.S. remains globally competitive in biotechnology,” said Dr. Fletcher.

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ACC Honors student Parker Garcia is a semifinalist for the prestigious Cooke Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship from the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation. ACC connected with Parker about the recognition and his academic journey. He said that the support from Associate Dean of the Honors Program Dr. Anne Marie Thomas, Job Skills & Readiness Manager Jana McCarthy, and Transfer Services Executive Dean Dr. Renee Esparza helped him rebuild his relationship with education and pushed him to grow as a student and a leader. Read his story on the Student InfoHub.

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Chemistry major and Honors Program student David de Leon will head to Northwestern University for a highly competitive 10-week research internship in synthetic biology this summer. He shared the story of this growth at ACC, and he credits the Honors Program and faculty mentors who challenged and supported him along the way, including Drs. Kissaou Tchedre, Arif Karim, Conrad Miller, and Ricardo Mastroleo, with much of it. Read his story on the Student InfoHub.

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