Dr. Francisco Solis, San Antonio College President, talks with Hot Mustard about Veterans Day. San Antonio College’s Veterans Affairs Office will hold a ceremony for SAC’s student veterans. Student veterans make up about 14 percent of our student population. During the ceremony, SAC will officially receive the 2025 Veteran Education Excellence Gold Award from the Texas Veteran’s Commission. This annual award has been given since 2021, and SAC has been honored every year with the Gold Award. We will be joined by Chancelor Dr. Mike Flores and Texas State Senator José Menéndez for the event to recognize our veterans.

As part of the SAC 100th anniversary, we invite the community to take part in our SAC Centennial History Harvest. Faculty members in our history program are collecting the oral histories of our former students, faculty and staff. Please share your personal stories of SAC. We would also like to get photos or copies of any SAC items that you may have. By hearing from our SAC community, we hope to gain a better understanding of just what SAC has meant to those who studied here.

Dr. Francisco Solis, San Antonio College President, talks with Hot Mustard about First Generation Students. This week SAC is celebrating its First-Generation Students with First-Gen week. Students have several opportunities to attend workshops centered around their success in the classroom and beyond. SAC will also host the First-Gen Fest, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 6, on the SAC Mall. The event will feature music, games, and food. There will also be campus resources on hand to offer help to SAC’s first-gen community.

This week’s guest is Tracy Floyd, Dean for Student Success, one of the newest members of our College Executive Team. She is a first-generation student and has worked in higher education for 15 years and was recently the Director of Student Success at Northeast Lakeview College She is also a veteran of the US Army where she served as a mental health technician.

Dr. Francisco Solis, San Antonio College President, talks with Hot Mustard about a San Antonio College holding a Fall Commencement Ceremony for the first time. The Fall Commencement is for students who completed their degree plans over the summer or at the end of this semester. Students who are eligible to graduate in December need to complete their graduation application this week – the deadline is Friday, October 31. Graduation candidates will be able to start picking up their caps and gowns starting on Monday, November 17.

SAC is hosting a Blood Drive on Thursday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Thursday. October 30, in the Nursing Building, Room 218. There’s a theme for the blood drive, its called Lucky Draw, and every donor will receive a gift card. Card values range from $10 to $150. The blood drive is sponsored by the SAC chapter of the Texas Student Nurses Association and Alpha Delta Nu, the honor society for nursing students studying for an associate degree.

Shoutout to KSYM’s Patti Garcia, who works in the radio-tv-film program, she will be making her 100th lifetime donation to the blood bank. She says she is dedicating this donation to SAC’s Centennial. Last year, Patti was inducted into the San Antonio Radio Hall of Fame for her long and distinguished career on local radio.

More information on the Fall Commencement Ceremony is at alamo.edu/sac/graduation

Dr. Francisco Solis, San Antonio College President, talks with Hot Mustard about the San Antonio College Library. Lee LeBlanc, Director of Library Services, joins the pair to talk about the amazing work the SAC library does. The library has added several innovations over the last several years to help students at SAC, proving it’s not a room with shelves of books anymore.

Going back to the time of COVID, the library was one of the first places to add several soundproof study pods inside its space. The library also added larger pods to give groups of students a place to get together and collaborate without having to worry about bothering people close by.

The library also pioneered new technologies to make it easier for students to use. It developed an app so students can locate items and check out books from their phones. It installed an Anytime Library self-serve kiosk that is outside of Moody Learning Center. Students can reserve a book, and it will be added to the kiosk where it can be picked up any time of day.

Most Recently, the library added the Smart Lab. The lab features an Anatomage table open to students, faculty and staff. The table allows viewers to examine a human body in stunning detail. Students can see blood-flow animations, joint motions, and follow nerve pathways. Now students studying fields such as anatomy, physics, biology, and more can carry out experiments here at SAC.

The library also set up KidSpot after they found students with children needed a place where they could study and keep their kids occupied. KidSpot has turned into a place where young learners can play or read books while their parents do their homework. It has become a haven for families.

Find out more about the San Antonio College Library at alamo.edu/sac/library

Dr. Francisco Solis, San Antonio College President, talks with Hot Mustard about a San Antonio College recently being awarded the Seal of Excelencia. The honor is awarded by Excelencia in Education, a national leader in supporting and promoting student success. SAC is one of only five U.S. colleges to be recertified this year. Five other colleges received the honor for this first time.

Boeing made a $100,000 gift to SAC as part of the college’s Centennial anniversary celebration. The gift will benefit the John L. Santikos Micronaut Center at the Scobee Education Center.

SAC has two new Deans who have recently joined the College Executive Team. Tracy A. Floyd is our new Dean for Student Success and Dr. Gilbert Castillo has been named Dean for Performance Excellence.

Dr. Francisco Solis, San Antonio College President, talks with Hot Mustard about National Night Out and the SAC Sundial. Dr. Keith Jamison, Chief of Public Safety for the Alamo Colleges District, joins the two to talk about the National Night out event at SAC. The community is invited to meet members of the Alamo Colleges Police Department and learn about campus resources and ask questions about safety and security on campus.

Photographer, Samara Penny, talks about her experience with the SAC Sundial. The Sundial is SAC’s student online news source. Dr. Pedro Cabrera, Discipline Coordinator for the Journalism/Photography/Mass Media program, talks about journalism and what students can expect from the program.

Dr. Francisco Solis, San Antonio College President, and Hot Mustard welcome Dr. Gourjoine Wade, Vice President for Student Success. Dr. Wade is in charge of several offices that deal with students when they first arrive at SAC until they graduate. The departments include Admissions, Financial Aid, Advising, Wellness, Student Life, Student Accessibility, and Success Coaching.

Dr. Wade brings more than 20 years of experience advancing student access, success, and equity across diverse college communities. Dr. Wade earned his doctorate in higher education leadership and a master’s in higher education administration from Walden University, as well as a bachelor’s degree in public administration from Grambling State University.

Learn more about Dr. Wade at https://www.alamo.edu/sac/about-sac/leadership/college-executive-team/vice-president-for-student-success/

Dr. Francisco Solis, San Antonio College President, talks with Hot Mustard about a recent Gallup Poll that finds the perceived importance of a college education has hit a new low. According to the poll, 35% of Americans believe that a college education is “Very Important,” 40% believe it is “Somewhat Important,” and 24% “Not Too Important.” In 2013, 70% of Americans felt that a college education was “Very Important.”

SAC’s student population has consistently grown for the past five years, since the end of the pandemic. Students find value in earning an associate degree or a certificate. Local employers are also seeking employees with additional education. They are working with SAC to train and educate employees as their fields face dramatic changes.

GALLUP Article:

https://news.gallup.com/poll/695003/perceived-importance-college-hits-new-low.aspx