{"id":51916,"date":"2025-04-30T08:57:13","date_gmt":"2025-04-30T13:57:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/?p=51916"},"modified":"2025-04-30T08:57:14","modified_gmt":"2025-04-30T13:57:14","slug":"estrella-barrera-named-accs-new-dean-of-health-sciences","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/2025\/04\/30\/estrella-barrera-named-accs-new-dean-of-health-sciences\/","title":{"rendered":"Estrella Barrera Named ACC\u2019s New Dean of Health Sciences"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Estrella<\/figure>\n

Austin Community College District (ACC) announces Estrella Barrera as the new dean for the health sciences area of study. The role was previously held by Dr. Nina Almasy, who accepted the associate vice chancellor of Health Sciences position last year.<\/p>\n

Barrera brings nearly two decades of progressive experience and a deep commitment to student success to the position of dean. Since joining ACC in 2005, she has also served as adjunct faculty, department chair, and associate dean, consistently demonstrating agile strategic planning, compassionate leadership, and a dedication to academic excellence.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat truly attracted me to the role is the opportunity to lead transformational change. Now more than ever, the principles behind the Theory of Change resonate deeply with me \u2014 they challenge and inspire me to be a better leader for our students, faculty, and staff. I am drawn to the idea that, through intentional action and collaboration, we can create a lasting, positive impact for our students and community,\u201d says Barrera. \u201cThis role enables me to champion purposeful innovation, remove barriers to success, and ensure that every student, faculty member, and staff member has the support they need to thrive.\u201d<\/p>\n

Raised in South Texas just 15 miles from the Mexican border, her upbringing in a vibrant Mexican-American community instilled in her a passion for service, inclusivity, and community engagement. Barrera is a graduate of Texas Woman\u2019s University in Occupational Therapy and holds a doctorate in Organizational Leadership from Abilene Christian University.<\/p>\n

Throughout her career, Barrera has excelled in cross-functional collaboration, securing program accreditations, developing innovative curricula, and implementing process improvements that enhance student learning outcomes. She is adept at balancing innovation with academic rigor and regulatory compliance, ensuring the Health Sciences Division remains at the forefront of educational excellence.<\/p>\n

\u201cI hope that through intentional, student-centered innovation and collaboration, we are developing the next generation of competent healthcare providers, and not just transforming individual lives, but entire families and communities \u2014 building a healthier community for years to come,\u201d says Barrera.<\/p>\n

The hiring committee was composed of a cross-section of the College, including representatives from campus administration, academic areas, operations, and more. Barrera was one of nine candidates interviewed. <\/p>\n

She officially started in the role on April 14.<\/p>\n

For more information about the program, visit austincc.edu\/healthsciences<\/a>. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Austin Community College District (ACC) announces Estrella Barrera as the new dean for the health sciences area of study. The role was previously held by Dr. Nina Almasy, who accepted the associate vice chancellor of … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3930,"featured_media":51917,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[12,13,15,17,19,1],"tags":[4040,2104],"class_list":["post-51916","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business-and-community","category-current-students","category-facstaff-news","category-news-and-announcements","category-students-and-alumni","category-updates","tag-dean","tag-health-science"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51916","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\/3930"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=51916"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51916\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/51917"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=51916"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=51916"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=51916"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}