RB visits Dell Children's Medical Center
R.B. the Riverbat and two ACC nursing students spent some quality time cheering up patients at Dell Children's Medical Center. Student Danielle Butler called it a great opportunity to be involved with the community she will be helping once she graduates. Watch the heartwarming video of their visit.

ACC participates in the Austin Pride Parade
This was the fifth year that ACC participated in the Austin Pride Parade. While the official theme of the parade was Boogie Wonderland, ACC students who participated on the planning committee voted for "The Power in Me" superhero. More than 75 employees and students, including R.B. the Riverbat, participated. The college also tabled for the first time at the festival and shared information about college programs, services, and career paths.

National Association of College and University Business Officers tour HLC 
On July 13, ACC hosted 35 members of the National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO), which held its annual meeting in Austin July 11-16. 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. NACUBO members toured the Highland ACCelerator and Building 4000 and heard presentations from Neil Vickers, executive vice president of Finance & Administration, who spoke broadly about ACC facilities districtwide and Tommy Kosarek, representing Barnes Gromatzky Kozarek Architects, who highlighted elements of the award-winning design of HLC Building 1000.

Moon Party celebrates first walk on the moon 
In celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission, the Department of Physics, Astronomy, and Engineering hosted a Moon Party at the Round Rock Campus on July 16. The festivities included hands-on science activities, a portable planetarium, talks on the history of space flight, and a guided viewing of Moon and Jupiter through telescopes and astronomical binoculars. The activities - as well as Moon Pies - were enjoyed by over 130 people.

ACC/St. Edward's articulation agreement
ACC and St. Edward's University launched a new partnership to streamline transfer opportunities for bachelor's degree-seeking ACC students. The articulation agreement was announced July 10. Thirty-five percent of St. Edward's students are ACC transfers.

TLED Summer Software Day 2019 hosts 330 ACC Employees
330 ACC employees attended the annual Summer Software Day on July 26 to keep up to date with their tech skills. 37% trained in Adobe Creative Cloud, 22% gained Blackboard skills, and 41% attended workshops about equitable learning environments. All workshops gave employees a chance to explore technologies available to them at ACC for teaching and completing day-to-day tasks. ACC is the first community college in the nation designated an Adobe Creative Campus. The program is available at no cost to college employees. Learn more online.

ACC Nursing Best of the Best Awards finalist
ACC's Nursing Program was selected as a finalist in the 2019 Austin American-Statesman Best of the Best Awards for nursing schools. Voting took place in July and the winner will be recognized in a special print and online section once the votes have been tallied. The program was a finalist in the 2018 Best of the Best and secured the most votes to win the Best of the Best title. ACC's first cohort of RN-to-BSN students graduated on August 9.

MBPT Open House
The Music Business, Performance and Technology (MBPT) Department hosted its annual open house Saturday, July 27. Faculty presented details about college programs and new degree plans. Attendees were then led on a tour through the recording studios, Audio Smart Lab, and other MBPT facilities, ending in the Lecture Hall with a Live Sound and Drum demonstration.

Student Life awarded Governor's Volunteer Award for commitment to volunteering
ACC's Office of Student Life is the 2019 recipient of the Higher Education Community Impact Award - Community College as announced by the OneStar Foundation and Texas First Lady Cecilia Abbott, Honorary Chair of the 2019 Governor's Volunteer Awards. ACC was selected because of the wide variety of student leadership, campus engagement, and experiential learning opportunities Student Life provides. Read more here.

ACC wins statewide 2018-19 Outstanding Male Student Program Award
In early August, Student Life's Male Leadership Program (MLP) was awarded the statewide 2018-19 Outstanding Male Student Program Award for community colleges. ACC staff and students accepted the award at the Texas Male Student Leadership Summit at the University of Texas at Austin, a convening with over 400 young men and professionals of color representing K-12, community colleges, and universities across Texas. This award is part of the Texas Education Consortium for Male Students of Color.