Riverbat Experience 2023
ACC faculty and staff gathered Friday, July 14, 2023, for the inaugural Riverbat Experience: Student Success Summit hosted by the Provost’s office.
Approximately 250 people joined in person at the DoubleTree Hotel (6505 N. Interstate Hwy. 35) and virtually to learn about the programs, initiatives, and achievements affecting student success at ACC.
Following welcome remarks, ACC Chancellor Dr. Richard Rhodes kicked off the events with a student panel. Attendees heard from recent ACC alumna Marissa G. and nursing students Buruke T., Ke’Von M., and Jamie C. They discussed their experiences at ACC, what started their passion for their future careers, and the people and events that have had an impact on their education.
After the panel concluded, ACC Provost Dr. Monique Umphrey spoke about the importance of understanding the entire Riverbat journey for students and how faculty and staff can improve the Riverbat experience for both students and their colleagues.
You can watch the entire Student Success Summit at the link below.
Key Note Speaker
During the Riverbat Experience: Student Success Summit, Dr. Art McCoy, educator, equity advocate, and consultant, presented the keynote address on Equity & Belonging: Bridging gaps of the heart, head, hand, habitat, and humanity.
Dr. McCoy is president and CEO of SAGES, a superintendent emeritus, Saint Louis University Distinguished Fellow, Superintendent-in-Residence for the School of Education, and champion for “Jobs and Justice” for the St. Louis Regional Business Council’s STL.works program.
At age 19, he became Missouri’s youngest certified teacher. He was a school principal by age 23, District Gifted Director after earning his doctorate at 25, and Ferguson-Florissant’s first African-American superintendent/CEO.
Under his leadership as superintendent, multiple graduating classes achieved 100% graduation, with career and college placement. He was selected by Missouri’s Governor to lead Harvard’s Pathways to Prosperity grant state initiatives and served on over 35 boards
In 2006, he founded SAGES to “Sever Attainment Gaps Existing in Society,” advising corporations like Cigna, Mastercard, Edward Jones, World Wide Technology, and various community colleges and universities. He has raised over $40 million that’s been used in creating community homeless shelters, grocery hubs, school health clinics, and more.