Austin Community College will showcase the future of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields at ACC Highland Wednesday, June 19. “We Bought a Mall: Reshaping Education and Revitalizing a Community” will be held in conjunction with the U.S. News STEM Solutions national conference. Attendees include experts in STEM careers and executives from top technology companies.

For a live stream of the event, visit austincc.edu/highland.

“With its leadership on STEM education and skills training, ACC is helping build ladders of opportunity to grow the American middle class,” says Acting U.S. Secretary of Labor Seth D. Harris. “Colleges like ACC recognize that for communities across the country, skills development is often at the leading edge of economic development. With the help of smart federal investments in innovative public-private partnerships, these schools are providing crucial training opportunities that lead to the certificates and credentials that companies in high-growth STEM industries like biosciences and advanced manufacturing expect to see from their employees on day one.”

The event will include live demonstrations from ACC STEM programs and remarks by college, state, and national officials, including:

• Seth D. Harris, acting secretary of the U.S. Department of Labor
• Edie Fraser, CEO of STEMconnector
• Sajan Pillai, CEO of UST Global, an international information technology company
• Brian Kelly, editor and chief content officer for U.S. News and World Report
• Dr. Richard Rhodes, ACC president/CEO
• Jeffrey Richard, chair of the ACC Board of Trustees

ACC Highland will increase the focus on STEM completions. The first phase of redevelopment, set to open in fall 2014, will include the college’s Math Emporium – the largest in the nation. The Math Emporium will be an open lab with 600 computer stations that allows students to work through developmental math at their own pace. Proposals for future phases of Highland redevelopment include a regional workforce research and development center, a STEM/health sciences simulator lab, professional incubator space, and more.

“STEM fields are more than traditional science and math. With the importance of technology, these skills are absolutely necessary for more jobs than ever,” says Dr. Richard Rhodes, ACC president/CEO. “ACC is focused on developing new and better ways to teach students what they need to know to hit the ground running in the workforce – and we believe what we’re doing here in Central Texas can serve as a model for the nation.”

For more information on ACC Highland and a live stream of the event, visit austincc.edu/highland.