This regular feature recognizes achievements, activities, and accolades of Austin Community College District (ACC) faculty and staff. To submit news or suggestions, see the contact information below.

ACC Trustee Gigi Edwards Bryant has been chosen as the recipient of the 2021 Western Regional Trustee Leadership Award by the Association of Community College Trustees (ACCT). The award will be presented during the 52nd Annual ACCT Leadership Congress October 13-16, 2021. Bryant will also be the sole nominee from our region for the prestigious M. Dale Ensign Trustee Leadership Award. 

Austin Community College District was selected to receive the 2021 ACCT Western Regional Equity Leadership Award. This distinction also will be presented during the 52nd Annual ACCT Leadership Congress in October. As a Regional Award Recipient, the college becomes the sole nominee from our region for the prestigious Charles Kennedy Equity Award. The awards recognize the college’s equity-focused work and initiatives. 

Drs. Molly Beth Malcolm and Shasta Buchanan are being recognized in the Austin American-Statesman’s Extraordinary Women campaign. The monthly tribute series from the Statesman spotlights extraordinary women in our community. 

ACC Learn OER, created by ACC Faculty Librarian Carrie Gits as part of a national initiative, was featured as a recommended resource on the June 3 episode of the Teaching in Higher Ed podcast with Bonni Stachowiak. The episode titled “Creating and Extending Open Education” recommended the modules and described them as “…a wonderfully accessible course to get in there and learn some of the vocabulary, some of the ways things work, and I think a really easy way to get in and start to learn how you might be able to incorporate OERs.” As an OER, the content is currently available on the web and used in higher ed throughout the country. The full episode and transcript are available here.

ACC Health & Kinesiology Professor Dianne Kesslinger’s Yoga course achieved Quality Matters (QM) national certification/standing. The following faculty librarians provided curriculum support for copyright clearance for media inclusion, identifying content, and content citations: Health & Kinesiology Subject Bibliographer (media/print/paper) Jorge López-McKnight, E-Resource Librarian Adrian Graham, ACC Copyright Specialist Courtney Mlinar, and Cypress Creek Faculty Librarian Linda Clement

ACC GIS student Daniel Miranda is the 2021 Urban and Regional Information Systems Association (URISA) Texas Scholarship first-place winner. URISA is an organization that provides a community-based resource for the Texas GIS community. Read more about Daniel and other scholarship winners and view their winning maps here.

ACC Education student Jennifer Ebert is one of only eight students internationally to be named a 2021 Oberndorf Scholar. The $1,000 Oberndorf Lifeline to Completion Scholarship is awarded to PTK students who have overcome a financial barrier that could prevent completion of college. Read more about her achievements here

ACC’s Advanced Manufacturing chair, Dr. Laura Marmolejo, and Certified Production Technician program student Sarah Martinez were featured in a segment by Spectrum News highlighting ACC’s work to meet Central Texas manufacturing growth. The news was featured in the Association of Community College Trustees’ nationwide newsletter.

ACC Welding graduate Sarah Stork was recently featured in the American Welding Society’s monthly publication, Welding Journal magazine. The piece highlighted her educational journey at ACC and her accomplishments over the years. Read more here.  

Two ACC students were recognized in the 2020-2021 International Student Literary and Art Awards hosted by the League for Innovation in the Community College. ACC student Cole Doss won first place in the Fictional Short Story category of the 2020-2021 Student Literary Awards for his short story “A Million Blessings.” ACC student Brent Gillentine won the Juror’s Choice Award in the League’s 2020-2021 Student Art Awards with his porcelain art piece, “Alone.” Learn more here.

ACC student Yunseo Hur has been selected as one of 25 students to receive Phi Theta Kappa’s Spring Walgreens Pharmacy Technician Certification Scholarship. As a Walgreens Pharmacy Technician Certification Scholar, Hur will receive a $250 scholarship award to help pay for Pharmacy Technician Certification exam fees. 

Do you know a student or 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 at [email protected].