Month-in-review: October 2020

General Assembly
More than 2,500 Austin Community College District employees tuned in to their computers on Friday, September 25, to hear key college updates at General Assembly 2020. TLED hosted ACC's first completely virtual General Assembly with the theme of "College of the Future." The show kicked off at 8 a.m. with an engaging pre-show which featured an ACC quiz and the online livestream and chat began at 9 a.m. Chancellor Dr. Richard Rhodes and Provost Dr. Charles Cook delivered the State of the College Address followed by renowned futurist and keynote speaker Dr. Terri Horton, who discussed the future of higher education. The pre-show playlist and recordings and presentation files are available on the General Assembly website.

New Installations at Highland
Texas native and internationally acclaimed Southwest artist Amado Peña began the installation of artwork he designed specifically for the ACC Highland Campus. The massive mural is titled "Bridges to Success" and contains artwork from local K-12 students as well as ACC students and faculty.

Additionally, a sweet sculpture honors the past. The iconic sundae that used to sit atop Swenson's ice cream counter is back on display.

ACC Selected for CCGEF
Austin Community College is one of six community colleges from across the nation — and the only college in Texas — selected to join a new initiative to deliver focused, market-driven education to close skills gaps in the U.S. workforce. It's called the Community College Growth Engine Fund. ACC will receive $417,000 to create "Fast Track" pathways with employer-validated credentials that lead students directly into the Central Texas workforce. The college will work with the Education Design Lab and the League for Innovation to develop micro-credentials which will be aligned with ACC's existing CE and credit workforce programs.