Out of six nominees, Austin Community College (ACC) was selected as DivInc’s Champion of Change Program of the Year for ACC’s Truth, Racial Healing & Transformation Campus Center planning work. The awards were held Friday, March 1, at Austin City Hall.

Carrie Gits, Highland Campus head librarian and OER specialist, at Texas Community College Teachers Association Convention, presented sessions for faculty librarians and classroom faculty supporting and teaching in Integrated Reading/Writing curriculum. Content focused on the college’s varied roles in Open Education including finding, adopting, and adapting OER to meet course learning outcomes in Developmental Education.

Charlotte Gullick, Creative Writing chair, had her piece, “This Ragged Cat is Not My Heart,” published in the Barnstorm Literary Journal.

Dr. MaryJane McReynolds, Articulation and Transfer Resources director, presented at the 17th Annual Conference of the National Institute for the Study of Transfer Students. The “San Antonio/Austin Region Transfer Collaborative: Lessons from the Field” presentation was a collaborative effort with the Alamo Colleges District and the Ohio Higher Education Department highlighting regional and statewide similarities and differences, and unique challenges to guided pathways implementation.

Clark Peterson, Virtual College of Texas program manager, was elected to the board of the Texas Distance Learning Association as Two-Year Higher Education Director. His term will begin July 1.

Karen Serna, Student Money Management Office director, co-authored an article, "Don't Txt Me L8r, Text Me Now: Exploring Community College Student Preference for Receiving a Text Message from Their Institution,” that was published in the Community College Journal of Research and Practice. She also presented at the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas' RAISE Texas event in December as part of a panel on college savings to discuss the launch of the Rainy Day Savings Program, an incentivized savings program managed by the Student Money Management Office that helps ACC students prepare for an emergency.

Dr. Susan Thomason, Instructional Services associate vice president, co-presented two sessions at Achieving the Dream’s 2019 Conference with colleges from Baltimore, North Carolina and New Jersey. Both presentations focused on aspects of implementing Guided Pathways - specifically how to prepare for implementations and how to engage faculty.

League for Innovations Conference | The League for Innovation in the Community College's annual Innovations Conference is for professionals dedicated to improving and enhancing teaching and learning, leadership and management, and the community college experience. Innovations 2019 took place February 24 to 27 in New York City. The following ACC faculty and staff presented:

• Mark Butland, Speech Communication professor, presented Student Success Poverty Champions: Perspectives on Noncognitive Retention Efforts, Student Emergency Assistance: Planning through Implementation, and Beyond Revenue: Return on Investment for Emergency Aid Programs 
• Steve Christopher, Special Populations executive director, presented Student Emergency Assistance: Planning through Implementation and Beyond Revenue: Return on Investment for Emergency Aid Programs.
• Dr. Charles Cook, Provost and Academic Affairs executive vice president, presented It's All About Partnerships With K-12, Universities, Business, and Government.
• Melissa Curtis, Enrollment Management associate vice president, presented Examining Equity in Enrollment Practices, Guided Pathways and New Student Enrollment: Leading through Change, Student Emergency Assistance: Planning through Implementation, and Beyond Revenue: Return on Investment for Emergency Aid Programs.
• Matthew Figg, Institutional Analytics director, presented Student Emergency Assistance: Planning through Implementation and Beyond Revenue: Return on Investment for Emergency Aid Programs.
• Dr. Guillermo “Willie” Martinez, Student Engagement and Analytics associate vice president, presented A Love Story: Student Engagement and Analytics and Guided Pathways and New Student Enrollment: Leading through Change.
• Susan Meigs, English instructional associate, presented Instructional Associates: A Model for Harnessing the Power of Adjuncts.
• Dr. Nora De Hoyos Comstock, ACC Board of Trustees, presented It's All About Partnerships With K-12, Universities, Business, and Government.
• Carolynn Reed, Mathematics department chair, presented Math Corequisites: Merging Content with Activity-Based Courses.
• Colleen Hosking, Mathematics associate professor, presented Math Corequisites: Merging Content with Activity-Based Courses.
• Dr. Ruth Reinhart, Student Support Services associate vice president, presented Guided Pathways and New Student Enrollment: Leading through Change.
• Dr. Richard Rhodes, ACC President/CEO, presented It's All About Partnerships With K-12, Universities, Business, and Government.
• Anaka Rivera, Government instruction associate, presented Instructional Associates: A Model for Harnessing the Power of Adjuncts.
• Rosa Rodriguez-Alvarez, Counseling associate dean, presented A Retention Strategy: Creating Successful CARES Teams.
• Dr. Rachel Ruiz, Student Services dean, presented A Retention Strategy: Creating Successful CARES Teams.
• Linda Smarzik, Computer Science and Information Technology dean, presented Building a Competency-Based Education Model for Graying America's Technology Crisis.
• Samantha Soebbing, Chemistry associate adjunct professor, presented Instructional Associates: A Model for Harnessing the Power of Adjuncts.