The Office of Institutional Effectiveness’s fall newsletter features Duplication Services Supervisor Nancy DeLeon and her department for ranking at the top of ACC’s Internal Customer Survey for the fifth consecutive year. Duplication Services has a satisfaction rating of 91 percent to 93 percent this year.

Dr. Linnea Fletcher, Biotechnology Department chair, helped review proposals for the National Science Foundation’s Course, Curriculum, and Laboratory Improvement program. The review panel met July 28-31 in Arlington, Va.

Three Information Technology staff members participated in specialized Datatel training Oct. 4-8 in Fairfax, Va.  They are Kathy Galaviz, applications development manager; Linda Pope, senior programmer analyst; Theresa Harkins, support services director; and Thomas Sigg, assistant computer operations manager.

Mary Leonard, Developmental Reading Department assistant chair, received the Developmental Educator of the Year Award at the annual College Academic Support Programs conference held in October at South Padre Island. Leonard also has been appointed to serve on an ad hoc committee overseeing developmental education for the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board.

David Cuddeback, Rio Grande Campus physics lab assistant, served as a volunteer judge for the Capitol BEST (Boosting Engineering, Science, and Technology) robotics contest Oct. 16 at Pflugerville High School. This is the fourth year Cuddeback has volunteered in this event.

Debbie Fredrickson, ACC school district distance learning manager, coordinated a videoconference between Manor High School’s health technology students and the Advocate Christ Medical Center in Chicago. Manor students were able to experience what it is like to be in an operating room during heart bypass surgery. The videoconference allowed students to question doctors and nurses during the procedure.

The Texas Physical Therapy Association awarded ACC Associate Professor Karen Jacobs, the TPTA Outstanding Physical Therapist Assistant Faculty Award at the TPTA’s annual conference and conclave Oct 7-9. As part of National Physical Therapy Month, ACC’s physical therapist assistant students and faculty provided blood pressure screenings, body fat analysis, and massage at the Riverside Campus.

Charles Wukasch, professor of English as a Second Language, has written the book A Rock Against Alien Waves: A History of the Wends (Concordia University Press, $10). The book tells the history of the Wendish minority in Germany.

Dr. Martha Meacham, instructional design specialist with Instructional Development Services, will present “Computer-Mediated Communication—A Good Fit with Adult Learning” at the New Media Consortium’s Online Conference on Social Computing in November.

Instructional Development Services has awarded several Innovation Grants for upcoming internal projects. Listed here are the title of the grant projects, grant recipients, and description of the projects:

• “Career Opportunities for the Social Services,” Dr. Liz Coccia and Dr. Rick Thompson, professors of human services: Create a video to help students gain a better understanding of the specialty areas within social services and the academic preparation necessary for a career in each area.

• “Creation of a Library of Virtual Lab Experiences of Best Practices in Early Childhood Education,” Gale Spear, Child Care and Development Department chair: Provide child development students with a visual image of the teaching methods and practices used at the ACC Lab School so that students enrolled in curriculum, child development associate, and guidance classes more clearly understand developmentally appropriate practices in early care and education.

• “Improvement of the Info Game,” Red Wassenich, professor of library services: Improve content and interactivity of the Library Services tutorial by allowing students to select only portions needed and altering tutorial quizzes to discourage cheating.

• “UNIX II—Common Objectives and Labs,” Michael Martino, adjunct instructor of computer information systems: Improve the student experience and success rates across all sections by providing a standardized model for UNIX II lab exercises.