Austin Community College (ACC) hosted 35 members of the National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO) during its annual meeting July 11 through 16.

Members met to discuss innovative practices, showcase solutions, and share effective strategies for managing the challenges faced by campus administrators. Conference sessions were organized by tracks that included Advancing with Technology, Enhancing the Built Environment, Financing the Enterprise, and Improving the Student Experience and Investing in Human Capital, among others.

During its annual meeting, NACUBO members also toured Highland Campus including the Highland ACCelerator. Curtiss Stevens, executive director, provided an overview of the facility's design and functionality.

Following the campus tour, Neil Vickers, executive vice president of Finance & Administration, presented information about ACC facilities districtwide. Tommy Kosarek, representing the Highland Phase 1 architect firm, Barnes Gromatzky Kozarek Architects, joined Vickers and highlighted elements of the award winning design of Building 1000.

The group also visited Highland, Building 4000, and received a tour of the Bioscience Incubator, the first wet lab built in a community college in the state of Texas, led by Nancy Lyon, interim director of the Bioscience Incubator Grant.

"The ACC tour was fascinating! The work-live-play-learn concept for this new green and beautiful community is nothing short of inspirational. That it used to be a windowless shopping mall in a concrete desert is almost unbelievable," says one NACUBO member following the event. "The innovations at Highland are inspiring to all types of institutions."

NACUBO represents chief business and financial officers at more than 1,900 colleges and universities across the country through advocacy efforts, community service, and professional development activities. College and university business officers are charged with guaranteeing the long-term financial sustainability of an institution by increasing its efficiency of operations and space utilization, avoiding risks, and generating cost savings.

By: Catherine Namour, ACC Office of Business & Administration