The state Board of Nurse Examiners has issued a commendation to Associate Degree Nursing Department faculty and staff for their students' outstanding performance on the state licensing exam. In 2003, 96.4 percent of ACC's ADN graduates passed the exam, with a 100 percent pass rate for graduates of the Fredericksburg distance learning program.

Retired English instructor Edward Lundy, Ph.D., has been awarded a Fulbright Scholar grant to serve as an American studies lecturer at the University of Jordan in Amman through July 2004.

Martha Meacham, Ph.D., design specialist in the Instructional Technology and Distributed Learning Department has published information on streaming media as part of the Encyclopedia of Distributed Learning. Sponsored by the Fielding Graduate Institute, the encyclopedia defines and applies the best practices of contemporary continuing education.

Michelle Gonzalez, senior computer support tech in the Student Recruitment Office, completed her associate's degree in local area network systems network administration at ACC in December.

American Sign Language Professors Nathie Marbury and Byron Bridges have developed a three-videotape set of instructional material titled "ASL: The Basics," which serves as a supplement to a beginning ASL curriculum. The video allows for at home practice and review of commonly used ASL vocabulary using three-dimensional models.

The following ACC faculty and staff are serving on the board of the Austin Area Chapter of the Texas Association Of Black Personnel In Higher Education (TABPHE) for 2003-2004. They are

• President: Frank Taylor, Riverside Campus manager
• Vice president: Jesse Jackson, Ph.D., professor of speech
• Recording secretary: Loretta Edelen, community outreach director
• Parliamentarian: Nashid Rashid, government adjunct
• Historian: Marilyn Lee Taylor, Rio Grande Campus manager

Financial Aid Director Terry Bazan made a presentation on financial aid "needs analysis" methodology during a legislative training workshop for the Joint Select Committee on Higher Education. The Texas Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators sponsored the
workshop, which was held Jan. 20 at the state Capitol. In addition, Terry also served on an ad hoc focus group for the U.S. Department of Education during its Electronic Access Conference recently in New Orleans.

Richard Baldwin, professor of computer information technology, has drawn praise from the College Board in a review of his online Java tutorials developed to help students and high school teachers prepare for the Advanced Placement exams for computer science. The College Board reviewer calls the tutorials "an excellent resource" with a Q&A format that is especially effective for review by students and teachers alike.

Mariano Diaz-Miranda, Ph.D., professor of history, will serve as a panelist for the "Zoot Suit Workshop and Symposium" scheduled May 6-8 in conjunction with 25th anniversary performances of the hit musical "Zoot Suit" at the Paramount Theatre. The University of Texas and the Long Institute of Latin American Studies are co-sponsoring the symposium as part of ArtesAméricas, a cultural awareness initiative that presents the best in Latin American and U.S. Latino performing artists.

Thomas Applegate, ACC executive dean and president of the Association for Career and Technical Education, was quoted in the Dec. 30 issue of the Wall Street Journal in the article "Technical Training's Popularity Grows as Path to Strong Career."

Girl Scouts-Lone Star Council board members recently commended Barry Silverberg, director of the Center for Community-Based and Nonprofit Organizations, for board training he recently provided that was both "informative and engaging."

Marketing adjunct Pat Patton and management adjuncts Ray Vaughan and Betty Helton have partnered with Edventure Consultants and U.S. Navy recruiters to have students work with the Navy on an advertising project. Previous advertising projects have involved General Motors Buick and Chevrolet Divisions, Apple Computer, and the Caswell House of Austin. The initial Navy briefing was given to four ACC locations via interactive video technology, with support from Interactive Video Specialist Burt Burton and the Distance Learning staff.

Jere Hammer, associate professor of nursing, has joined the Texas Nurses Association Education Redesign Task Force, which has been charged with proposing a new education model that meets the role of nursing in the future and to prioritized the changes necessary to support their new model.

Professional Development Specialist P. John Caporusso is featured in the February-March issue of Different Strokes, a supplement to Massage & Bodywork magazine for Associated Bodywork & Massage Professionals. Caporusso discusses steps to becoming a massage therapy instructor in the article "The Art of Massage Instruction: The ABCs of Where to Start."

The Blood and Tissue Center of Central Texas has recognized ACC as one of the top three donation collectors among higher education institutions for 2003. ACC collected 240 units under the volunteer leadership of Sue Bloodsworth, technical office assistant in the Communications Division.