Members of the new ACC Community Chorus sing during their first rehearsal on August 26. 

The Board of Regents approved the 2014-15 fiscal year tax rate during their meeting on August 28.

The rate will be 20.4 cents per $100 of property value which is an increase from the 19.9 cents tax rate this year. The board approved the rate with a 5-1 vote.

Regents Karlis Ercums, Cheryl Knape, `Bel Sanchez, Jody Droege and Doyle Swindell voted for the rate while regent James "Bart" DeWitt voted against it. Regents Pete Nash, Mike Pyburn and Mac Barrow were not present.

The board approved the 2014-15 budget during their meeting in July.

The $27.23 million budget is a 5 percent increase from the $25.89 million budget for the 2013-14 fiscal year. The budget includes three new faculty positions, three full time staff positions, five part time staff positions, funding for a master facilities plan and some facilities improvements. Debt payments in 2014-2015 for the Science/Health Science Building bonds will be $1.56 million.

ACC is projected to receive about $7.38 million from state appropriations, $7.04 million in tuition and fees along with $12.97 million in property tax revenue.

Read the full story about the Regents meeting.

ACC started the fall semester on August 25 with classes, food and fun activities.

The Nursing program received a $231,704 grant from the Texas Comptroller's Office to help fund the purchase of equipment to be used in health care simulations.

The Jobs and Education for Texans (JET) Advisory Board approved approximately $5 million in grants to help public junior colleges and technical institutes purchase training equipment. Grants were awarded to 16 applicants following a review process.

Some items that will be purchased include human patient simulators, such as SimMan 3G and SimMan Essential.

"The use of simulation in education is not new and continues to evolve," said  Dr. Debbi Fontenot, Nursing director at ACC. "Nursing faculty are able to provide realistic health care scenarios that students may not otherwise get a chance to experience during the clinical rotation. These scenarios may be as basic as caring for a patient following surgery, to a maternity patient hemorrhaging, or a patient experiencing a heart attack. The nursing students must assess the patient and intervene appropriately. The students report simulations are incredibly stressful, but great learning opportunities."

From left: ACC grant coordinator Sarah Currie-Harrell, ACC President Dr. Christal M. Albrecht, student Krissie Swan, of Galveston, Matthew Mitchell,of Dickinson U.S. Congressman Randy Weber, student Christopher Del Bello, of Manvel and ACC grant coordinator Chase Burgin.

The recipients include three students from ACC.

The expansion project will employ about 10,000 construction workers, create 4,000 related jobs in nearby communities and add 350 permanent positions at the Baytown facility.

Among those from ACC who received scholarships are Krissie Swan, of Galveston, for $2,500, Matthew Mitchell, of Dickinson, for $1,500 and Christopher Del Bello, of Manvel, for $1,000.

More than 50,000 construction trades and petrochemical workers will be needed in the next decade across the Texas Gulf Coast region as refineries expand their capacity and replace retiring workers.

To help fill the demand for skilled workers, ExxonMobil has committed $1 million to the Community College Petrochemical Initiative, a collaboration between nine Texas Gulf Coast community colleges, including ACC.

The initiative aims to recruit and train the next generation of petrochemical workers.

Learn more about the initiative or call 281-352-6540.

The Office of Student Activities will begin the first year of Dolphins Lead: ACC Student Leadership Institute this fall.

Dolphins Lead is a year-long program where students learn valuable leadership skills that will help them as they advance in their career and education.

Each month, a new area of leadership will be discussed including networking and making contacts; goal setting; budgeting; professional communication and dress; taking and giving criticism and more.

"Students who successfully complete Dolphins Lead will learn some of the techniques and skills needed to rise above the competition and successfully achieve their goals," Student Activities Coordinator Amanda Smithson said.

An informational session will be held Tuesday, September 9 at 12:30 p.m. in the Texas Room in the ACC Student Center. Dolphins Lead meetings will take place every other Tuesday at 12:20.

Read more about the program. 

To learn more about Dolphins Lead please call 281-756-3686 or email studentactivities@alvincollege.edu.

"It's wonderful to realize how many people in our community want to sing and to provide an opportunity for them to do so," he said.

The Community Chorus will have its first performance of Handel's Messiah on December 9 at 7:30 p.m. at Alvin First United Methodist Church. The group will perform two concerts a year.

Visit the ACC website to learn more about the music program or call 281-756-3500. 

Learning Lab Director Dr. Lynda Vern, Human Services/Substance Abuse Counseling Chair Jerry Carrier, Office Administration faculty Crystal Price and Accounting and Business Division Chair Tom Branton.

Employees were honored for working 40, 35, 30, 25, 20, 15 and 10 years.

40 years

ACC employees receiving award for 40 years of service are: Learning Lab Director Dr. Lynda Vern, Human Services/Substance Abuse Counseling Chair Jerry Carrier, Office Administration faculty Crystal Price and Accounting and Business Division Chair Tom Branton.

35 years

ACC employees who have worked at the college for 35 years are: Sports and Human Performance faculty Dr. Gary Coffman, Court Reporting faculty Laura Noulles, Shipping & Receiving manager Brenda Briers, Accounting and Business Department Chair Norman Bradshaw and Court Reporting faculty Jim Preston.

ACC employess who have worked at the college for 30 years are: Executive administrative assistant Marylu Parvis, Court Reporting faculty Karen Downey and Dean of Students JoAn Anderson.

25 years

ACC employess who have worked at the college for 25 years are: housekeeper Barbara Merchant, Dual Credit advisor Gwendolyn Burgess, Enrollment Services specialist Elaine Elkins and Housekeeping supervisor Paula Castillo.

Visit the ACC Website for a complete list of recipients. 

The Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing announced that it reaffirmed the accreditation for the Associate Degree Nursing program.

The accreditation will continue for the next eight years. It was last approved for accreditation in 2006.

ACEN affirmed the accreditation after a site visit to the college in February. The review included a self-study report, a report on the site visit, a review of the college catalog as well as a recommendation from the commission's program evaluators and evaluation review panel.

"The ADN program faculty should be commended for this high rating," ACC Nursing director Dr. Debbi Fontenot said. "Writing the self-study, preparing for, and participating in the site visit took a tremendous amount of effort; all done, while continuing full teaching loads."

ACEN plans to review the accreditation reaffirmation again in the spring of 2022. The ACC program was first accredited by ACEN in 1982.  

Parry, en garde and riposte are just some of the things students will learn about in the upcoming fencing class offered at the college.

The college is providing the course for the first time this month. The course will be taught by John Trojanowski, of Dickinson, who is a certified fencing referee.

"You can pick it up at any age," he said.

There are three forms of fencing: foil, epee and sabre. Trojanowski said the course will focus on foil.

Students will learn the basics of foil in the course, which will start on September 15 and end December 1. Classes will be from 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. in the ACC Gym.

Each class will consist of footwork and bladework drills, plus supervised bouts and free play. The class is open to students of all ages 12 years and older.

Foils, jackets and masks will be provided. Students are asked to bring gloves such as those used for gardening, motorcycles or general work.

Students are asked to wear t-shirts or similar; pants that cover legs and allow freedom of movement such as sweatpants, warm-ups, etc.; athletic shoes, sneakers or tennis shoes. Students are asked not to wear shorts, jeans, boots, sandals or flip-flops.

Cost for the course will be $150 for students living inside the district. There is an additional $20 charge for those living outside the district.

To learn more about how to sign up, visit the CEWD website or call 281-756-3729.