ACC President Dr. Rodney Allbright, left, was honored by Alvin Mayor Gary Appelt with a proclamation recognizing his 38 years as president of the college during a council meeting on May 1.

President Dr. Rodney Allbright, left, hugs his assistant Marylu Parvis during a reception where faculty and staff honored his tenure at ACC.

During his time at ACC, Dr. Allbright has seen many changes which includes the construction of a mega-structure that more than doubled the size of the campus, the creation of the Law Enforcement Academy, the development of the Child Lab School and more. He also has overseen four accreditation reaffirmations with the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools and developed a budget process that involved input of the college faculty and staff.

The Board of Regents approved $339,000 in grant funds to build a Process Technology training unit during their meeting on Thursday, April 24.

The unit will be used by students to learn about the different instrumentation used in process technology as well as certain chemical processes. The grants were provided by the Texas Comptroller's Office.

The nationally-ranked ACC Baseball team took on the Sugar Land Skeeters in two exhibition games on April 16 and 18 at Constellation Field.

ACC lost to the Skeeters 10-1 on the April 16 game which included the pitching debut of Houston Rockets star Tracy McGrady. The basketball legend gave up three straight hits before ending the first inning allowing one run.

The Dolphins also came up short 6-2 against the Skeeters on April 18.

The team played its final home game on Saturday and will start the NJCAA Region 14 Tournament next week. The Dolphins finished the season as Co-Champions with Galveston College for the Region 14 South Zone. 

For a schedule or up to date scores, visit www.gamechanger.io.

You can also check out pictures from the games at the ACC Flickr site. 

Business owner Jody Droege will face insurance agent Patton Ritter for the Board of Regent Position 4 seat during the May 10 election. Incumbent Brenda Brown did not file for reelection.

Incumbents Mike Pyburn and Cheryl Knape will run unopposed for Positions 5 and 6, respectively.

Winners will serve an unpaid, six-year term.

The Board of Regents will meet on May 20 to certify the vote of the election.

Country singer Cory Morrow will lead off the Alvin Live Summer Concert Series on June 12.

The Alvin Live Summer Concert Series features another stellar lineup for 2014 starting with Texas Country Music singer Cory Morrow on June 12.

The Summer Concert Series is sponsored by the ACC Foundation. Funds raised from Alvin Live performances are used for ACC Broadcast Communications student training, equipment and scholarships.

Morrow is a Houston native and has a wide following throughout the Southwest thanks to his extensive touring and lively, dynamic performances.

His hits include Beat of Your Heart, Ramblin' Man, Lead Me On and Texas On My Mind a duet he performed with Pat Green. Morrow has independently sold more than 200,000 albums.

The concert series also includes tropical coastal-style singer Kelly McGuire on July 10 and the jazz band Kelly Dean Group on August 14.

To get more information or to purchase tickets online visit the website or call 281-756-3600. 

Dr. Rodney Allbright, left, presents student Krista Weaver with the President's Award on April 28.

The college recognized several students for academic excellence during the annual Awards Day ceremony on April 28.

Among the winners were Krista Weaver, of Alvin, who was awarded the President's Award.

While attending ACC, Weaver has served two years as a Student Ambassador. She has also served as secretary of the Student Government Association, a member of the Church of Christ Student Fellowship and is a student worker in the Enrollment Services Center.

Weaver plans to attend Sam Houston State University to obtain a Bachelor Degree in Communications.

Diagnostic Cardiovascular Sonography student Ha Vi, of Friendswood, was awarded the Dean F.J. Phillips Memorial Scholarship for $900. Vi is a member of the ACC chapter of Phi Theta Kappa, the Society of Non-Invasive Vascular Technology. She has also participated in the Student Leadership Conference, the ACC Fall Fitness Fair, and the Alvin ISD Health Fair.

Melissa Holesovsky, of Danbury, received the Dean's Scholarship for $350. Holesovsky is currently pursuing an Associate's Degree in Early Childhood Education and will seek a Bachelor's Degree after finishing at ACC.

The winners of the ACC Foundation Excellence Awards are, from right, Diagnostic Cardiovascular Sonography chair Jessica Murphy, academic advisor Toby Herzog, Accounts Payable specialist Ronda Rezek and ACC Foundation president Jody Droege.

The Innovative Initiative Grants are designed to encourage, facilitate, recognize and reward innovative and creative approaches to fulfill the mission of Alvin Community College. The grants will be used for the 2014-15 academic year.

"These grants allow faculty and staff to develop new initiatives to support student success and a positive environment at ACC," President Jody Droege said.

Grants were awarded to support the Upward Bound Program, Dual Credit instructors, students needing career advisement, the ACC mascot Blue, an emergency loan program, a visiting artists program, an English as a Second Language program and an election guide project.

Although kids will be out of class during the summer months, they still have opportunities to learn at the Alvin Community College Busy Bodies Kids' College.

This summer's camps will include topics such as engineering, creative writing and illustration, CSI forensics and Lego construction.

Registration for the camps is now open and they are available to kids between the ages of 5-13 years. The first of the four-day camps begin on June 16 and they will continue throughout the summer.

Youngsters act out a scene from The Adventures of Peter Cottontail during the Summer Children's Theatre Festival in 2013.

The Alvin Community College Drama Department will have auditions for its two Summer Children's Theatre productions on May 8 and 9 at the ACC Theatre.

The Festival this year will include Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp and Thumbelina.

The auditions are open to the community and all types of roles are available. Callbacks will be on May 12 at 6:30 p.m.

Alladin and the Wonderful Lamp is the classic Middle East story of a wayward teen who finds a magical lamp with a mysterious genie living inside.

The second production of the summer, Thumbelina, is a play based on the Hans Christian Anderson story about a tiny girl and her various adventures.

To try out for the plays, actors should prepare a one-minute monologue that best showcases their ability. Tryouts begin at 6:30 p.m. Anyone under the age of 16 must be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian.

Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp will run from June 23-2620 at 10 a.m. There will be a 7:30 p.m. performance on June 26. Thumbelina will run July 28-31 at 10 a.m. A 7:30 p.m. performance will be on July 31. 

For more information about the Summer Children's Theatre Festival, or to buy tickets, visit the Drama website or call 281-756-3606.

Student Elizabeth Thomas, left, and Art instructor Jackie Lidell.

After spending three and a half years learning pottery, painting and jewelry arts at Alvin Community College, Elizabeth Thomas decided it was time to enter her artwork into a juried show for the first time.

She entered her sculpture, Doves in Flight, at the Texas City Art Festival which opened on Sunday, April 13. To her surprise, Thomas won the three-dimensional art category for the show.

"I was really surprised," she said. "I didn't think I would win."

Also winning at the Texas City Art Show was her instructor Jackie Lidell, who encouraged Thomas and her other students to enter their work.

Liddell entered a watercolor painting of her grandson playing under water and received first place in the two-dimensional category. There were 356 entries overall in the Texas City Art Festival this year.

ACC Art Department Chair Dennis LaValley said he was proud of Thomas and Liddell's accomplishment.