Melissa Johnson and Steven Alford appear in “Far Away.” Photo courtesy of Jose Bustamante.

ACC’s award-winning Drama Department opens its 2007|08 Season with Caryl Churchill’s “Far Away” on Friday, October 19, at 8 p.m., and runs Oct. 20, 21, 26, 27, and 28. Friday and Saturday performances are 8 p.m., and Sundays are 2 p.m. Directed by Guest Director Laura Somers, “Far Away” is a gripping play about the world we treasure and the horror we have made of it. Tickets are $6 for the public, $3 for students and seniors, available at the door. You can find “the door” at Rio Grande Campus Gallery Theatre.

The ACC Jazz Ensemble performs at the Texas Jazz Festival Saturday, October 20, at the Corpus Christi Heritage Park Cultural Center in Corpus Christi. Under the direction of Dr. Tom Husak, the talented ensemble will perform classics such as “At Last” and “Begin the Beguine” and premiere Husak’s “Lilly Lou,” from his “Jazz Americana Suite.”

Release 18 is coming! Release 18 is coming! Datatel’s Colleague database via UI, UI Web, and Online Services will be unavailable four days — from 7 p.m. Wednesday, October 24, through 8 a.m. Monday, October 28 — while undergoing an upgrade to Release 18. Systems that will NOT be affected include: ACCeID, Blackboard, Library Services, telephone services, ACC email, ACCeTime, ACCeHire, ACCeStaffing, PA System, and student web application.

Student Life presents an ACC first — The Diversity Outreach Student Conference on Friday, October 26, at the Eastview Campus. “The purpose is to teach students, faculty, and staff the issues, the importance of diversity, and to be able to take action — to get involved,” says Toniette Haynes, Student Life coordinator. “Because ACC is so diverse, it is very important that we take time to actually learn about each other and to understand.” Participants will experience forums, presentations, skits, and peer facilitation that focuses on all aspects of diversity. The conference begins at 8:30 a.m. with breakfast and runs until 5 p.m.

Trustees want to hear from students. The ACC Board of Trustees has scheduled forums to discuss ACC matters with students. The remaining forums will be held from 11:30 a.m. until 12:30 p.m. at the following locations:
• Wednesday, November 14: Riverside Building G, Student Lounge, No. 8129
• Thursday, February 7: South Austin Campus, Student Lounge, No. 1120
• Tuesday, February 19: Northridge, Student Lounge, No. 1112
• Thursday, March 6: Eastview Campus Building 2000, Student Lounge, first floor
• Tuesday, March 25: Pinnacle Campus, Student Commons, No. 108

ACC students, faculty, and staff: Listen up! Want to save BIG on Adobe software? You can now purchase Adobe software at the Academic Superstore. As part of a new agreement reached with Adobe, students can join faculty and staff in receiving huge discounts of 20 percent, 40 percent, 50 percent or more. All it takes is proof of eligibility; an ACC ID will do.

America’s all-politics, all-the-time cable network made a recent stop at ACC’s Northridge Campus. C-SPAN’s Campaign 2008 bus and “Road to the White House” tour rolled in on October 11. Students, faculty, and staff got the opportunity to tour the mobile studio and then C-SPAN turned the cameras on students, asking about the upcoming presidential race. The interviews are expected to air in upcoming episodes of “Road to the White House.”

Employees: Donate to a Great Cause! Dr. Steve Kinslow has challenged employees to match his $7,500 pledge to the ACC Foundation as part of the State Employee Charitable Campaign (SECC). Once employees reach this amount, the ACC Foundation will match the combined donations of $15,000 for a grand total of $30,000 – all for College Connection scholarships. That’s turning your $1 into $4!! Deadline is Wednesday, October 31. To donate to the ACC Foundation, just choose code 228065 on the donation form provided by your campus SECC representative.