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August 20, 2015
Vol. 1, Issue 20
Board of Trustees

Chairman of the Board
Anna U. Bustamante
District 3

Vice Chair
Dr. Yvonne Katz
District 7

Secretary
Joe Alderete, Jr.
District 1

Asst. Secretary
Clint Kingsbery
District 8

Denver McClendon
District 2

Marcelo S. Casillas
District 4

Roberto Zarate
District 5

Dr. Gene Sprague
District 6

James Rindfuss
District 9

Sami C. Adames
Student Trustee

Chancellor

Dr. Bruce Leslie
Alamo Colleges

Alamo Colleges - San Antonio College Hosts Challenger Center Conference 
 Former NASA astronaut Col. Eileen Collins (USAF, retired) was the keynote speaker at the Challenger Center Conference Legacy Luncheon.







The Scobee Education Center at Alamo Colleges - San Antonio College recently hosted the 2015 Challenger Center Annual Conference and Board Meeting, August 9-13. The event was sponsored by the Alamo Colleges.

San Antonio College was selected to host the annual conference because it features the first-of-its-kind, next-generation Challenger Learning Center. Conference attendees included representatives from the network of more than 40 Challenger Learning Centers around the world. During the four-day conference, attendees connected, shared best practices, discussed new programming and technologies, and strategized ways to expand and deepen the organization's educational impact. The conference agenda included presentations from Challenger Center educators and outside experts from a variety of fields, providing centers with up-to-date information, program ideas and networking opportunities. 

The highlight of the conference was the opportunity for conference attendees, San Antonio College students and staff and community members to video chat live with astronauts in the International Space Station via a NASA educational downlink. In addition to the downlink conversation with astronauts Scott Kelly and Kjell Lindgren, audience members participated in a question and answer session and heard from several high profile speakers, including former astronauts, Joe Acaba and Eileen Collins.
 

Alamo Colleges' Students Recognized for Accomplishments in the CIMA Research Program 
A group of 33 students from the Alamo Colleges participated in the second annual CIMA-LSAMP Symposium and presented their research projects.
At the second annual CIMA-LSAMP Symposium and Awards Ceremony, 33 Alamo Colleges' students presented the results of their research projects and were recognized for their accomplishments. The CIMA Alliance (Ciencia, Ingenier�a, y Matem�ticas Aliados, or Alliance for Science, Engineering and Mathematics) summer program, in partnership with the University of Texas at San Antonio and Texas A&M University-San Antonio, offers undergraduate research opportunities to minority students interested in science, technology, engineering and mathematcs (STEM) fields. The Alamo Colleges' students conducted their research project with the guidance of faculty from UTSA and Texas A&M University - San Antonio.

Alamo Colleges - St Philip's College is the lead college for the CIMA-LSAMP program, broadening the participation of under-represented minorities in STEM majors. Sample research projects included: Serial manipulator for an assistive floor cleaning robot; visualization of EEG data; and influence of precipitation, temperature and wind speed on mosquito populations in residential areas of San Antonio, Texas. 

 

 

Gilbert Becerra is Alamo Colleges -
Palo Alto College's new vice
president of student success.

Becerra Named Vice President of Student Success at Alamo Colleges - Palo Alto College

At their regular meeting August 18, the Alamo Colleges Board of Trustees approved Gilbert Becerra as Alamo Colleges - Palo Alto College's newest vice president for student success. Becerra will officially assume the position on September 14, 2015.

Becerra, a former San Antonio resident, has over fourteen years of progressive student affairs experience with an expansive portfolio including enrollment management with various student populations such as first-time-in-college, transfer, international, and non-traditional. In his most recent role, Becerra served as dean of student outreach and enrollment services at Del Mar College in Corpus Christi, Texas.

Becerra holds a bachelor's degree in government/Mexican-American studies from the University of Texas at Austin and a master's in business administration in marketing from Our Lady of the Lake University in San Antonio. 

 

The Alamo Colleges mission is: empowering our diverse communities for success. Our vision is: the Alamo Colleges will be the best in the nation in student success and performance excellence. The Alamo Colleges is one district with five community colleges serving more than 90,000 students annually from Bexar County and seven other counties in our service area. We provide an affordable, quality college education that leads to associate degrees, certificates and transfers to four-year universities. Hundreds of thousands of Bexar County residents who have come through the Alamo Colleges education programs are major contributors to the economy and culture of San Antonio.