{"id":44904,"date":"2017-11-14T14:07:15","date_gmt":"2017-11-14T14:07:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/?p=44904"},"modified":"2017-11-16T17:58:53","modified_gmt":"2017-11-16T17:58:53","slug":"earning-as-faculty-and-staff-activities-accomplishments-and-accolades-16","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/2017\/11\/14\/earning-as-faculty-and-staff-activities-accomplishments-and-accolades-16\/","title":{"rendered":"Earning A\u2019s: Faculty and staff activities, accomplishments, and accolades"},"content":{"rendered":"

T<\/em>his regular feature recognizes activities and honors of ACC faculty and staff. To submit news or suggestions, see the contact information below.<\/i><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Congratulations to <\/span>Dahlia Anzaldua-Torres<\/b> for receiving the Star Award from LGBT Equity Committee. The Star Award is given to an individual who goes above and beyond in support of the LGBTQ community within ACC. <\/span><\/p>\n

She received this award on Spirit Day, October 18, which had more than 140 participants. Spirit Day stands against bullying and shows support for the LGBTQ community.<\/span><\/p>\n

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GW Hildebrand<\/b>, Criminal Justice Department Chair and Professor, attended the annual International Criminal Investigative Analysis Fellowship at the FBI Academy in Virginia from September 25-29. More than 40 fellows from around the world received training in unique disciplines dealing with violent and interpersonal crimes and also worked a number of active cases from various venues. Hildebrand is also the Vice President of the Fellowship. About ICIAF: <\/span>http:\/\/www.iciaf.org\/<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

ACC at the Texas Book Festival<\/b><\/p>\n

The ACC Creative Writing Department hosted a table at the Texas Book Festival, featuring the following authors and their works: Casey Rogers, Charlotte Gullick, Irwin Tang, Brian Yansky, and Vive Griffith. Charlotte Gullick also moderated the panel, \u201cStories of Family, Stories of Self,\u201d with authors Jose Antonio Rodriguez, Barbara Gonzalez Cigarroa, and Carolyn Osborn.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Dr. Amardeep Kahlon<\/b> was named one of ten Teaching Innovators by the Chronicle of Higher Education for \u201cusing fresh approaches\u201d in the classroom to help students succeed.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Chronicle sought nominations from its readers via social media, from college teaching advocates, and from higher-education leaders, who represented different fields and diverse types of institutions. The final selections were made by a group of Chronicle editors and reporters.<\/span><\/p>\n

Kahlon\u2019s online, competency-based courses allow students to progress at their own pace, but doesn\u2019t let them get ahead of themselves. According to the Chronicle\u2019s article, Kahlon\u2019s approach is \u201cdistinctive because of how she has tailored her teaching to individual learning styles with a method she calls \u2018read it, watch it, do it.\u2019\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

You can read the full article, \u201c<\/span>Tailoring Courses to Fit Students\u2019 Learning Styles<\/span><\/a>,\u201d on the Chronicle of Higher Education website. Note: link may be paywalled or subscription-only.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Herbert Coleman <\/b>was selected to present at 2018 SXSWedu. His Future 20 Session, “Fidget Spinners, Mindfulness and Flow,\u201d will address the research and the relationship of flow to learning, specifically:\u00a0<\/span>the research on both fidget spinners and mindfulness in education;\u00a0<\/span>the topic of flow or concentration in learning and how it’s achieved; a<\/span>nd to provide some answers on how flow states develop and when they are most appropriate for learning.<\/span>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Randy Wedlund<\/b>, <\/span>Officer Leanne Brantner,<\/b> and <\/span>Dillon Carter<\/b> participated in the Leander ISD Educational Excellence Foundation (LEEF) Mudstacle on October 14. <\/span>Christien Rawlins <\/b>and her family were their coaches and cheerleaders for the event. Funds raised through this event support and expand LEEF programs, such as innovative teaching grants, textbook scholarships for dual credit students, free children\u2019s books, and college readiness initiatives.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

JoAnn Benfield <\/b>served as a deaf music interpreter at ACL Fest, visualizing rhythms and rhymes through American Sign Language. <\/span>Read more>><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

ACC at the sixth annual Texas Association of Mexican American Chambers of Commerce Women of Distinction Awards luncheon on October 27.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Virginia Fraire<\/b>, Ph.D., <\/span>vice president of student services,<\/span> selected as one of Texas Association of Mexican American Chambers of Commerce (TAMACC) 2017 Women of Distinction. She was honored alongside <\/span>11 other outstanding Latina leaders at the sixth annual Women of Distinction Awards luncheon on October 27.<\/span><\/p>\n

The honor recognizes her excellence, endurance, tenacity, and bold approach to providing an equitable path to success for all students. <\/span><\/p>\n

Dr. Fraire\u2019s efforts include: achieving her Doctorate in Educational Administration from the Community College Leadership Program from The University of Texas at Austin; serving as the district\u2019s Students Affairs Officer responsible for 11 campuses and more than 70,000 students; engaging in national efforts to transform the student support delivery model from transactional to holistic and equity-centric; demonstrating her community commitment through service on multiple boards including Big Brothers, Big Sisters Foundation, Boy Scouts of America Exploring, and Board of Trustee at St. David\u2019s South Austin Medical Center.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

ACC culinary students and Chef Waggoner competed in the fifteenth annual Paella Lovers United Competition on Nov. 11. They cooked paella over an open fire, which was judged on flavor, texture, presentation, and socarrat, the caramelization of bottom rice.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Patti Singleton<\/b> was mentioned in the Statewide category as Secretary of the Texas Association of the Deaf (TAD).<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Dia de los Muertos Altar at HBC, Nov. 2<\/b><\/p>\n

A message from Dr. Richard Armenta, Associate Vice President for Student Success<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

During \u201cDia de los Muertos,\u201d many of our students have families who construct altars at home and may often visit the cemetery to honor deceased family members and loved ones. \u201cDia de los Muertos\u201d is a celebration of life! This day and the altar are a time of remembrance of those we miss by displaying their pictures or mementos.<\/span><\/p>\n

As an introduction to this custom, students from <\/span>ACC\u2019s Catch the Next Project<\/span><\/a> constructed an altar at the Highland Business Center for \u201cDia de los Muertos,\u201d often translated literally to \u201cDay of the Dead.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Newly Minted Ph.D.<\/b><\/p>\n

Nina Almasy<\/b>, DNP, RN, Department Chair, Associate Degree Nursing, completed her Doctorate in Nursing Practice (DNP) at UT-Austin\u2019s School of Nursing in August. <\/span><\/p>\n

Her DNP scholarly project was development of a Transition to Practice Training Program for nurses who are transitioning to the Long Term Care settings in the state of Texas. This training program was developed for the Texas Health and Human Services Commission and the UT Center for Excellence in Long Term, through a multi entity partnership. Almasy was the content developer for this training program. She presented this at a national conference in September (OCHSNER EBP\/Research conference, poster presentation).<\/span><\/p>\n

Dr. Almasy currently serves as the Department Chair for the Associate Degree Nursing Program at Austin Community College where she leads the faculty, staff, and students across three campuses. Prior to her current position as the department chair, she served as faculty in the Vocational Nursing Program at ACC for 14 years. In this faculty role, she was appointed by the Governor to serve as the Vocational Nursing education representative on the Texas Board of Nursing in 2012.<\/span><\/p>\n

Dr. Almasy has served on shared governance and college-wide committees and the Faculty Senate at Austin Community College. She has been nominated several times for the ACC teaching excellence award and received the Teaching Excellence award from the National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development in 2008. Dr. Almasy is one of the founding members of the Texas DNP Organization and currently serves as an advisory panel member for the UT Center for Excellence in Long Term Care.<\/span><\/p>\n

She earned a baccalaureate degree in nursing from Ahwaz Medical Sciences University, School of Nursing in Iran, a master\u2019s degree in Public Health Nursing from the University of Texas at Austin School of Nursing, and a doctorate in Nursing Practice degree from the University of Texas at Austin School of Nursing. Her direct patient care experiences include medical-surgical and cardiac-telemetry nursing.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Do you know a faculty or staff member who has accomplished something notable outside the classroom or in their community? We want to hear about them. Contact Madelyn Duhon,\u00a0madelyn.duhon@austincc.edu<\/a>.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This regular feature recognizes activities and honors of ACC faculty and staff. To submit news or suggestions, see the contact information below. Congratulations to Dahlia Anzaldua-Torres for receiving the Star Award from LGBT Equity Committee. … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4107,"featured_media":44905,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[474,1005],"class_list":["post-44904","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-facstaff-news","tag-accolades","tag-facstaff-accolades"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44904","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4107"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=44904"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44904\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/44905"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=44904"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=44904"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=44904"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}