Author: Matthew

philosopher, iconoclast, technoboy, musician, conjuration battle-mage, dean

Happy Administrative Professionals Day!

Administrative professionals:

I want to take a moment to tell you how much I appreciate your work, your dedication, and your presence on our campuses and in our departments. The work you do makes our mission happen — serving students and our communities.

When I talk to colleagues about our mission as professors, I like to point out that the days of renting a classroom, professing a discipline, and conferring degrees, single-handed, ended in about AD 1300. As professors, we don’t — and can’t — go it alone. It takes all the people at the institution, top to bottom, to make our work as professors possible — especially our administrative staff. You are not a luxury! You’re on the front lines of our mission, every day.

Keep up your great work and attitude! If there’s anything I can do to make your work more effective, please let me know.

Everyone else:

Think about your day. Whatever challenges you’re facing today, think of all the tasks you’d have to undertake first, just to go about your business, if you couldn’t rely on administrative assistants to prepare the way for you.

Now, isn’t that a pleasant thought? Personally, I would resign and try my luck as a döner vendor in Vienna.

Come back to reality now, and take a moment to thank an admin.

New Spanish courses added!

News flash

The Spanish Program just added two more online courses this summer to help you meet your goals.  You can complete your summer language study plans with Spanish III (2311) or Spanish IV (2312), both just added to the 11-week term!

If you want to review and/or quickly meet your goals, we also offer intensive six-week summer courses, back to back — which means you can take Spanish I and II or Spanish III and IV this summer.

¿Adónde vas? Our online sections fill quickly, so sign up now!

Want a little help? ¡No te vayas! See an ACC advisor or get in touch with the Department of Foreign Languages (512-223-0061)

A special treat

Each year since the beginning of Vision+Voice five years ago, I have looked forward to the reception. We unveil the posters that unite our V+V poets’ work with ACC art student creations. We hand out the coveted anthology of the year’s poems. We’re treated to our poets reading their poems, to congratulations and addresses by dignitaries like Dr. Rhodes and Dr. Cruz, thank-you’s to parents and teachers. And we have really, really good food.

Right to left (I think): Dr. Cruz, Brad Richard, me, Polly Monear (the Executioner), and of course, Dr. Joker Rhodes. There’s one in every crowd.

This year’s reception was especially lovely, with a return appearance by Brad Richard, whose reflections on the V+V poems brought tears to my eyes. (And I wasn’t the only one.) Brad has done so much for poetry that it’s hard to know where to begin a thank-you note. Maybe this will be a start?

Continue reading “A special treat”

Reflection on An American Lyric

My guest author today is Desiree Morales, who writes in response to Claudia Rankine’s Citizen, the Big Read book choice for 2017-18. Desiree Morales is the Entrepreneurship Coordinator for the Career and Technical Education Department of the Austin Independent School District. She is currently completing her first year as part of AISD’s Cultural Proficiency and Inclusiveness Cohort. Her poetry has appeared in What Rough Beast, Conflict of Interest, and Truck. (I highly recommend Desiree’s poem “Anthropocene,” from What Rough Beast.)

I was at the Blanton a few weeks ago standing in Ellsworth Kelly’s Chapel, and I just breathed for a little while. I was exhausted from a full day with the AISD Cultural Proficiency and Inclusiveness cohort—a group of forty educators learning how to do equity work in our schools. It’s the most grueling work I have ever loved to do, and I wish there was no reason for me to do it. Tonight I’m back to hear Claudia Rankine read and discuss Citizen, An American Lyric, and I’m filled with contradictory sentiments again: I’m excited to hear one of the great poets of my life read from a painful book I wish we didn’t need. 

Continue reading “Reflection on An American Lyric”

A new opportunity for honors students!

Become an Honors Ambassador

(And get paid.)

We’re announcing an exciting new job opportunity with the ACC Honors Program. For the 2018-2019 school year, we will be debuting a team of Honors Ambassadors, leaders drawn from the ranks of our own Honors student population. Ambassadors will engage in recruitment and outreach activities at ACC campuses and area high schools. They will also develop liaisons with Student Services, maintain an active social media presence, conduct classroom presentations, and host Honors events.

Are you an ACC honors student? Help us build our honors community! You’re in the best position to speak about the transformative experiences of Honors. Hone your leadership and presentation skills, contribute to the community, and give something back to ACC for its investment in honors students and professors.

We’re hiring 8-10 ambassadors to work about 30 hours per long semester. Initial interviews will be held in late April; candidates should be available in early summer (May-June) and late August (prior to the start of classes) for two training sessions. If you would like to be considered, but are uncertain of your availability in the summer, let us know in the application, which you can find here: https://goo.gl/forms/xIXTQ50N9Y0buifF3

Honors students have always been the program’s most valuable asset. Your passion and dedication are the reason we teach these classes. We encourage you to be our advocates at ACC and beyond, and we look forward to working closely with you as the Honors Program enters a new phase.

 

Creating a culture of peace

News from ACC’s Peace and Conflict Studies program

Peace and Conflict Studies is hosting its Spring Symposium this Friday. The Spring Symposium, now in its seventh year, was originally developed and conceived by students within the Peace and Conflict Studies program as a way to engage the wider community on the issues of peace and conflict transformation that are central to the discipline. Over the years, the Spring Symposium as has explored themes related to peace, conflict, and social justice and has featured numerous communities, groups, and disciplines both at ACC and in the surrounding community.

This year’s symposium is being held in conjunction with Continue reading “Creating a culture of peace”

Let’s Lead the Way

Thanks to Frank Cronin for a return appearance as guest blogger. Today, Frank’s topic is the Leg’s mandate concerning DevEd and paired sections, along with an LAHC initiative to improve the paired sections infrastructure.

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Let’s Lead the Way

The Texas Legislature in the 2017 session passed a bill requiring 75% of DEVED courses  in higher education to be paired with college level courses by 2020.  The INRW department in its current and earlier forms, DEVR and DEVW, has done these kinds of pairing since the early 2000s: Continue reading “Let’s Lead the Way”

Are You Ever Too Old for a Field Trip?

My guest blogger today is Travis Mann, from the department of Business, Government, and Technical Communications. I met Travis in the smoke from wieners cooking on a little grill during a River Bat Bash at Cypress. By the time we finished our conversation, they’d run out of hot dogs. Next best thing: a trip to the learning lab. Continue reading “Are You Ever Too Old for a Field Trip?”