{"id":2205,"date":"2013-10-05T19:20:52","date_gmt":"2013-10-05T19:20:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.theaccent.org\/?p=2205"},"modified":"2013-10-05T19:20:52","modified_gmt":"2013-10-05T19:20:52","slug":"campus-closeup-acc-district-past-present-and-beyond","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/accent\/campus-closeup-acc-district-past-present-and-beyond\/","title":{"rendered":"Campus Closeup: ACC District: Past, Present and Beyond"},"content":{"rendered":"

Story by Carizma Barrera, Campus Editor
\nMichael Sismilich, Audio Editor contributed to the reporting of this article,
\nPhotos by Keri Gabriele, Photo Editor<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

What\u2019s the perfect birthday gift for the college that has everything \u2014 a birthday party in its very own shopping mall.<\/p>\n

On Sept. 17, the ACC District community celebrated the college\u2019s 40th birthday at the Highland Mall, which is soon to become the ACC Highland Learning Center. Over 200 business and community representatives joined students, faculty and staff to remember the past, celebrate the present and look toward the future.<\/p>\n

\u201cBack when I started at ACC we didn\u2019t have computers,\u201d Linda Morrison, director of center operations said. \u201cWe had no facilities, and basically no equipment.\u201d<\/p>\n

Morrison, an ACC employee for 40 years, remembers when ACC depended on the Austin Independent School District for classrooms and supplies.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe even shared the same board of trustees back then,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Morrison started her career with ACC as an administrative assistant to the registrar and registered the college\u2019s first student in 1973. Over the years she has taken several continuing education classes to keep up with frequent and rapid advances in technology. She has seen ACC grow from a single campus to nine campuses serving an area of more than 7,000 square miles.<\/p>\n

\u201cI could write a book about it,\u201d Paul Duffy, a recently retired ACC professor and counselor, said jokingly.<\/p>\n

Duffy was a part of ACC\u2019s first graduating class on May 15, 1974. Fifteen students received associate degrees that day \u2014 a far cry from the more than 2,000 degrees ACC awarded for the 2011-2012 academic year. Although few in number, those first degrees were meaningful.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy relationship with ACC has been such an important time of my life,\u201d Duffy said. \u201cWhat I got from the early days at ACC was a unique and immeasurable experience.\u201d<\/p>\n

When Duffy attended ACC in the 70s, the college only offered 30 academic programs. It now offers over 200 fields of study from nursing to culinary arts.<\/p>\n

Culinary arts students Charles White and Michelle Norris, along with several of their classmates, prepared and served the food and desserts provided at the 40th birthday celebration.<\/p>\n

With over 35 years in the catering business, White is in his final year at ACC. He said he chose to return to school to stay up-to-date with the newest techniques.<\/p>\n

\u201cACC has given me the opportunity to apply myself,\u201d White said. \u201cI believe ACC was put here to give every man a chance at the same quality education as the University of Texas.\u201d<\/p>\n

Norris said ACC has given her confidence and reassurance that she is in the right field.<\/p>\n

In addition to the food, music and professional workshops, the ACC community got a glimpse of the college\u2019s future during the birthday bash.<\/p>\n

Holding the celebration at the Highland Mall showcased many aspects of ACC\u2019s master plan. The first phase of the Highland Mall project will include the nation\u2019s largest Math Emporium, science and learning labs and swing space for classrooms as other campuses undergo renovation.<\/p>\n

The Highland Mall was Austin\u2019s first indoor mall, however business declined over the years and the area lost much of the vibrancy it enjoyed during its heyday. ACC\u2019s plans includes measures meant to revitalize the area.<\/p>\n

RedLeaf Properties, a real estate investment and development company, is working to redevelop more than 40 acres of existing mall parking lots into a mixeduse space. Residential, hospitality, retail and office spaces are being designed along with green space for a park.<\/p>\n

Bryan Kaminski, a representative for RedLeaf, said once ACC attracts a projected 6,000 students to the area, businesses will want to build there. Although the full extent of these plans may be decades from completion, Linda Morrison predicts ACC will be nationally known for the Highland Learning Center.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s just not a lot of colleges that have bought a mall \u2014 we have a whole mall,\u201d Morrison said. \u201cPeople will want to come here to see what we have and go back to their schools to see what they can implement. It\u2019s going to be state-ofthe- art.\u201d<\/p>\n

Audio Editor Michael Sismilich contributed to the reporting of this article.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\"LIVING<\/a>
LIVING TIME LINE — Past and present members of ACC’s board of trustees enjoy a walk down memory lane during the college’s 40th birthday gala Sept. 17 at Highland Mall.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"FIRST<\/a>
FIRST ALUMNI — Paul Duffy, ACC graduate of 1974, shares his memories of the college with the audience at the 40th birthday bash.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"SWEET<\/a>
SWEET DEAL — ACC culinary arts students gain recognition and experience during the celebration. The students prepared and served the food and deserts provided at the reception.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"CELEBRATE<\/a>
CELEBRATE IN STYLE — ACC culinary arts students show off their skills at the college’s 40th birthday party held Sept. 17 at the Highland Mall.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"ICONIC<\/a>
ICONIC — First ACC President Dr. Thomas Hatfield and current President Dr. Richard Rhodes share cake-cutting duties at birthday celebration.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"PEP<\/a>
PEP TALK — Board of trustee member Dr. Barbara Mink takes the stage with ACC President and CEO Dr. Richard Rhodes.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Story by Carizma Barrera, Campus Editor Michael Sismilich, Audio Editor contributed to the reporting of this article, Photos by Keri Gabriele, Photo Editor<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4015,"featured_media":2253,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[32,38,142,358,378,417,466],"class_list":["post-2205","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-40th-birthday","tag-acc","tag-carizma-barrera","tag-keri-gabriele","tag-linda-morrison","tag-michael-sismilich","tag-paul-duffy"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/accent\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2205","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/accent\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/accent\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/accent\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4015"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/accent\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2205"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/accent\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2205\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/accent\/wp-json\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/accent\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2205"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/accent\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2205"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/accent\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2205"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}