{"id":222,"date":"2023-01-20T19:59:00","date_gmt":"2023-01-20T19:59:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/offices.austincc.edu\/chancellor\/?p=222"},"modified":"2023-08-02T19:59:57","modified_gmt":"2023-08-02T19:59:57","slug":"message-from-the-chancellor-announcing-my-retirement-plan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/offices.austincc.edu\/chancellor\/messages\/message-from-the-chancellor-announcing-my-retirement-plan\/","title":{"rendered":"Message from the Chancellor: Announcing my retirement plan"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Dear Riverbats,&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I hope that the first days of your spring semester have been rewarding and encouraging. We are honored you have chosen ACC for your college journey.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As the new semester begins, I find myself reflecting upon my time here at ACC. Coming to Austin Community College and serving this great community are among my top personal achievements. I am immensely grateful to have served as President\/CEO and then as Chancellor for nearly 12 years now. Being a Riverbat is part of who I am. It is what makes this email a bittersweet one to write.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I want you to know that I will retire as Chancellor later this year. I will be with you through the spring and upcoming summer semesters. August 31, 2023, will be my last day.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I find myself reflecting upon the incredible moments that have made my time here at ACC so memorable and enjoyable.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Over the past 12 years, ACC has been recognized in the region, state, and nation for its innovation.<\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>We passed two<a href=\"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/2022-bond\/\"> general obligation bonds<\/a> totaling approximately $1 billion and created new learning spaces for the community, growing to 11 campuses, including the redevelopment of the former Highland Mall into an advanced and<a href=\"https:\/\/www.austincc.edu\/campuses\/highland-campus\"> state-of-the-art college campus<\/a> with three business incubators (<a href=\"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/incubator\/\">Bioscience<\/a>,<a href=\"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/fashion-incubator\/\"> Fashion<\/a>,<a href=\"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/impactlab\/\"> Manufacturing<\/a>), performing arts spaces, art galleries, simulation centers, a student-run restaurant, and more.<\/li>\n<li>We established new ways of teaching and learning through collaborative learning spaces like the<a href=\"https:\/\/www.austincc.edu\/students\/accelerator\"> ACCelerator<\/a> \u2014 a nationally-recognized learning emporium that delivers personalized learning.<\/li>\n<li>We launched three<a href=\"https:\/\/www.austincc.edu\/academic-and-career-programs\/bachelors-degrees-at-acc\"> high-demand bachelor&#8217;s degree programs<\/a> to provide students a more affordable pathway to an in-demand skill set in the region.<\/li>\n<li>We expanded opportunities to<a href=\"https:\/\/dualcredit.austincc.edu\/?ref=ddm\"> high school students<\/a> in the service area so that they can earn college credit while still attending high school at little to no cost through dual credit, Early College High Schools, Career Academies, and P-Techs.<\/li>\n<li>Our graduation rates climbed and are now ranked as the fastest-growing in the state.<\/li>\n<li>We launched our<a href=\"https:\/\/www.austincc.edu\/students\/career-scholars\"> Career Scholars program<\/a> which covers the cost of tuition and fees at ACC \u2014 up to $5,000 over three years.<\/li>\n<li>We established partnerships with companies such as Tesla, Samsung, Baylor Scott &amp; White, Toyota, NXP, Apple, Army Futures Command, University Federal Credit Union, St. David\u2019s Healthcare, Ascension Seton, and more that help connect students with real-world experience.<\/li>\n<li>We made significant strides to close equity gaps in higher education. ACC was awarded the prestigious Seal of Excelencia from Excelencia in Education, named one of the first 10<a href=\"https:\/\/www.austincc.edu\/business-community\/truth-racial-healing-and-transformation\"> Truth, Racial Healing &amp; Transformation Campuses<\/a> in the nation, and recognized as an Achieving the Dream leader college.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While my last day is still months away, ACC will begin a nationwide search for a new chancellor immediately. Our Board of Trustees will guide this effort, and we will keep you updated.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Please know that it has been my greatest pleasure to serve as Chancellor of Austin Community College. ACC believes college is for everyone, and I am confident our college will continue to grow and thrive in the days, months, and years ahead.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Regards,&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Richard M. Rhodes, Ph.D.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Chancellor<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Austin Community College District<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Dear Riverbats,&nbsp; I hope that the first days of your spring semester have been rewarding and encouraging. We are honored you have chosen ACC for your college journey.&nbsp; As the new semester begins, I find &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/offices.austincc.edu\/chancellor\/messages\/message-from-the-chancellor-announcing-my-retirement-plan\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-222","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-messages"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/offices.austincc.edu\/chancellor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/222","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/offices.austincc.edu\/chancellor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/offices.austincc.edu\/chancellor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/offices.austincc.edu\/chancellor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/offices.austincc.edu\/chancellor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=222"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/offices.austincc.edu\/chancellor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/222\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/offices.austincc.edu\/chancellor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=222"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/offices.austincc.edu\/chancellor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=222"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/offices.austincc.edu\/chancellor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=222"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}