Dr. Donna McDaniel, chief academic officer and vice president of instruction at Texarkana College, said she is humbled and honored to have received one of the top college administrator awards in the state.
On July 19, she was given the prestigious Carl M. "Chessie" Nelson Administrative Leadership award during the summer meeting of the Texas Association of Community Colleges, held in Horseshoe Bay, Texas.
"I was really overwhelmed. I had no idea I was receiving the award until they called my name at the ceremony," McDaniel said. "I am humbled and honored. Everything I do is as part of a team. We have all worked together and I truly don't feel like it's my award. It's due to all the wonderful people I work with and I sincerely mean that."
The 86th Texas Legislature filed over 7,300 pieces of legislation during its 140-day regular session, passing over 1,400 bills into law. Several dozen bills related to public higher education, political subdivisions, and community colleges were under consideration. Below is a report on significant legislation passed into law related to the operation of community colleges. Bill numbers link to Texas Legislature Online for additional details.
Dallas County Community College District was awarded a grant from the U.S. Department of Labor to start one of the first health-care apprenticeship programs in the country. The grant is part of a $20 million partnership between the U.S. Department of Labor and the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) that aims to create 16,000 new apprentices across the U.S. by summer 2022. DCCCD was the first system announced to participate in the Expanding Community College Apprenticeships Initiative (ECCA). Read more about the grant program.
Excelencia in Education, a nonprofit group focused on Latino student success, on Thursday announced that nine colleges have earned its first annual Seal of Excelencia. Excelencia said the seal isn't an award or ranking but a "prestigious, voluntary and comprehensive certification recognizing an institution’s commitment and ability to successfully serve Latino students."
The Seal of Excelencia is a new voluntary certification for institutions serving Latino students that will facilitate institutional change to close equity gaps and significantly increase Latino student completion and will assist Latino students in making postsecondary education choices. The Seal signals that an institution has developed a comprehensive and systemic approach to accelerating Latino student success and seeks to raise the bar by which institutions are evaluated with regard to serving Latino students.
Four Texas community colleges are among the finalists:
Alamo Colleges
Austin Community College
El Paso Community College
South Texas College
On June 20, Excelencia in Education will live steam the announcement of the inaugural colleges and universities to earn the new certification.
