Author: Kristine Bowers

Congratulations 2020 Award Winners!

Join us in congratulating this year’s winner of the ACC Leadership Award for Faculty Leader of the Year, Vanessa Lazo! This award is given to those who exhibit outstanding leadership, service, and dedication, above and beyond their regular duties, to Austin Community College. Additionally, ACC has submitted Vanessa’s name for The League Excellence Award, which is a national-level award.

Faculty Leader of the Year Winner – Vanessa Lazo

We would also like to congratulate Natalie Andreas for winning a NISOD Excellence Award! This award is given to faculty who promote special learning opportunities, student interaction, and innovation. Additionally, they harbor an extensive breadth of knowledge in their subject area and a profound teaching philosophy. Winners were nominated by their peers as well as students and are selected by a committee of faculty.

NISOD Excellence Award Winner – Natalie Andreas

Winners will be presented with their awards during the April 2021 award ceremony.

Professor Profile: Dr. Michael Endl

Welcome back to the Liberal Art Department’s Professor Profile Series. Last edition we featured an Honors Professor and since it was so well received we decided to feature another! This month we highlight Professor Michael Endl, Honors Astronomy professor.

Welcome to our series, Professor Endl! Tell us about your course and how long you’ve been teaching?

I am teaching the Astronomy Honors Course “Life in the Universe”. This is an intro-level course in Astrobiology for non-science and science majors alike. This semester is the third time I teach it at ACC, but it is heavily influenced by the AST309L course that I have been teaching at UT, starting maybe a decade ago!

In what interesting ways do you engage your classroom?

I totally enjoy teaching an honors course. The interactions and discussions with these bright students are the highlight of my teaching day. I try to have an interesting and engaged discussion in the classroom as much as possible and don’t care too much if it takes time away from my planned lecture. This course also includes a lab part which we primarily spend on the observing deck at RRC campus, using the telescopes to look at planets, nebulae, etc. 

How does teaching an Honors course drive your passion for education?

As I said, the Honors course is the highlight of my teaching work in a semester. It’s fun and keeps me motivated to make this course as interesting and enjoyable to everyone in the class. It also helps with my regular courses, since I can adopt certain things that I see work very well in the Honors course.

Any advice for your students to help them be successful in your classroom?

Just be curious and interested. That’s all you need.

Interested in learning more about “Life in the Universe?” Watch this promotional video here.

The Austin Mosaic Guild

The Austin Mosaic Guild was founded a little over a decade ago in the heart of Austin. A dedicated group of students took a dream and turned it into a reality. Today, the Guild boasts numbers in the hundred and regularly participates in local and out of state community projects. I had the pleasure of sitting down with one of it’s founding members and Communications Director, Dianne Sonnenberg, and Susan Ribnick, Co-President.

Mosaic is so intricate and beautiful- tell me more about this ancient art.

Continue reading “The Austin Mosaic Guild”

Professor Profile: J. Wade Allen

Welcome to the Liberal Art Department’s Professor Profile! This monthly series will highlight a different faculty member and their passion for education.

In this month’s feature we spoke with Professor J. Wade Allen, Professor of Philosophy and Ethics at ACC.

Welcome to our series Professor. How long have you been teaching at ACC? What brought you here?

I’ve been teaching and tutoring at ACC since 2009 and, before that, I was teaching at Houston Community College. What brought me to ACC was twofold: (a) ACC’s Department of Philosophy, Religion, and Humanities is incredibly rich, lively, and diverse, in which the quality of the faculty is comparable to the faculty at a 4-year institution, and (b) I always wanted to live in Austin, with its incredible music scene and outdoor activities.

What originally attracted you to Philosophy and Ethics?

Continue reading “Professor Profile: J. Wade Allen”