ACC Annual Awards Celebration
This year’s Teaching and Leadership Excellence Awards Celebration was hosted by TLED’s Office of Faculty Development and took place in person at the Rio Grande Campus (RGC). With over 145 Riverbats and their supporters in attendance and over 200 who tuned in virtually, it was an unforgettable evening celebrating our 2025 ACC Award Winners! It was an inspiring night filled with joy, pride, and heartfelt recognition. Thank you to all who attended or watched the livestream.
We’re excited to share media from the event so you can revisit and relive the celebration. Use the links below to view and share:
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- For those unable to attend or who want to relive the night, watch the event recording
- Rewatch or share the awardee video spotlights on Panopto and YouTube
- Add and view congratulatory messages for the awardees on our dedicated Padlet
- View photos from the evening. To access the photos you will need to be logged into your ACC credentials.
A huge thank-you to everyone who helped make the evening so meaningful—from the Awards Selection Committee to nominators, awardees, and the many friends, family members, and colleagues who joined us. It’s our honor and privilege to recognize the faculty and staff who have been selected for the Teaching and Leadership Excellence Awards each year.
We also want to recognize the individuals who helped bring this celebration to life:
Distinguished Guests
Dr. Russell Lowery-Hart
Dr. Manny Gonzales
Aaron Henry
Steve Jackobs
Miriam A. Smith
The Night’s Emcee
Ana Rummer
ACC String Trio
Jose Flores
Melissa Melendez
Emily Montoya
ACC Campus Operations and Campus Management
Zannie Garvin
Marisela Averette
Mackenzie Bell
Rhonda Nixon
ASL Interpreters
Jen Borland
Caroline Chabolla
Melissa March
Maria Nelson
Event Multimedia Services
Balan Villanueva
Dan Goldberg
Juan Ortiz
Tiffany Wines
Maria Youngman
Photography Services
Ava Crum
Collin Eason
Office of Faculty Development
Dr. Theresa Glenn
Angelica Adame
Chelsea Biggerstaff
Aimee Finney
Valeria Flint
Alyssa Gonzales
Silke Morin
Office of Faculty Communications
Bethany Swoveland
Gwen Holford
Michelle Atkinson
Brooke Angelo
Savannah Azize
Dr. Rachel Barrera
A’leya Campbell
Robert Foster
Eric McCoy
Shea Scott
Amanda Trimble
Instructional Media Productions
Victor Sibaja-Molina
Rich Brown
Melissa Griffith
Corey Kline
Anthony Ortiz
Araceli Rangel
ACC Floral
Rafael Rios
Mocktail Services
Sans Bar
The Leadership Awards
ACC celebrates outstanding employees who demonstrate strong leadership and have gone above and beyond the duties listed in their job description for the ACC community.
Chancellor’s Excellence Award Winners
Misty Campbell
Coordinator, Continuing Education
Darlene Elder
Administrative Assistant, Campus Management
Dr. David Fonken
Dean, Science, Engineering and Mathematics Division
Bernadette Hinterlong
Science Lab Technician, Biology
Dr. Amber Kreischer
AVANCE to College Program Coordinator
Dr. Laura Marmolejo
Dean, Advanced Manufacturing
Kyle Nutter
Faculty, Welding
Dr. Ursula A. Parker
Faculty, Integrated Reading & Writing (INRW)
Stefanie Vermillion
Associate Director, Student Affairs Communication
Mirosalva Zuniga
Director, Student Affairs Communication
Faculty Leader of the Year
Stephanie Long
Associate Dean, Faculty Center for Learning Innovation (FCLI), Provost Office and Professor, Geographic Information Systems (GIS), DMC&AT
Administrator of the Year
Dr. Jonathan Tyner
Dean, Student Affairs
Classified Employee of the Year
Doralena Yanes
Executive Assistant, Student Affairs Operations
Professional-Technical Employee of the Year
Sarah Lisenbe
Director, Student Affairs Strategic Projects & Operations
Teaching Excellence Awards
The ACC Teaching Excellence Awards honor one full-time and one adjunct faculty member who promotes special learning opportunities, student interaction, depth/breadth of knowledge in a subject area, and innovation. Nominations are made by students, faculty and staff, and the honorees. Recipients are selected by a committee and presented with an award and a $1000 cash prize.
Top Teaching Excellence Award & League Excellence Award
Dr. Lei Ji
Faculty, Economics
Marcia Hill
Faculty, Associate Degree Nursing
NISOD Teaching Excellence
Michelle Iskra
Faculty, Composition & Literary Studies
Jodi Oates
Faculty, American Sign Language
Christian Raymond
Faculty, Radio & Television & Film
Savannah Rugg
Department Chair, Agricultural Sciences
Ray Sandoval
Faculty, Student Development
Emi Schuster
Faculty, World Languages
Martha Soto
Faculty, Jewelry
Dawson Williams
Faculty, Architectural & Engineering CAD
DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nursing Faculty
The DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nursing Faculty honors nursing faculty who inspire their students to remember that nursing is more than tasks and technology. The DAISY nurse faculty is one who ensures that both the art and science of nursing are brought to every patient experience. This award celebrates nursing faculty for their inspirational influence on the nurses of today and tomorrow.
Alison Thompson
Faculty, Nursing
eFaculty of the Year Award
This award recognizes an outstanding ACC Faculty member who has creatively utilized appropriate Internet-based technologies to teach online and/or hybrid courses at ACC. The recipient must have designed and taught one or more online or hybrid courses with an imaginative approach, well-designed course materials, instructional strategies, and a demonstrated rapport with the course participants.
Laura Trellue
Faculty INRW, CLS, Student Development
The Piper Professor Nominee Award
The Piper Professor Nominee Award is a statewide award that recognizes outstanding full-time faculty in the teaching profession. Higher education institutions must be invited to submit a nominee and only ten professors are selected to receive this award each year. Awards of $5,000 are given to those selected for their superior teaching at the college level.
Felix Villarreal
Faculty, Biology
NISOD Excellence Awards
The National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development (NISOD) has emphasized the importance of teaching and leadership excellence in institutions of higher education. Recipients of the NISOD Excellence Award are recognized at the annual International Conference on Teaching and Leadership Excellence, and this award honors the world’s best in higher education. Please join us in congratulating the following ACC faculty and staff members receiving the NISOD Excellence Award.
Front Row (left to right): Ray Sandoval, Emi Schuster, Savannah Rugg, Chancellor Russell Lowery-Hart
Middle Row: Jodi Oates, Martha Soto, Alison Thompson, Christian Raymond
Back Row: Sarah Lisenbe, Dawson Williams, Doralena Yanes, Michelle Iskra
Not pictured: Laura Trellue
The League Excellence Awards
In recognition of the long tradition of excellence in community college teaching and leadership, the League Excellence Awards (formerly Roueche Award) celebrate outstanding contributions and leadership by community college faculty and staff. Selected by a committee, recipients will be recognized at an awards celebration at ACC and have the opportunity to attend the League for Innovations Conference in the spring.
Front Row (left to right): Marcia Hill, Darlene Elder, Felix Villarreal, Bernadette Hinterlong, Chancellor Russell Lowery-Hart
Middle Row: Stefanie Vermillion, Dr. Ursula A. Parker, Stephanie Long, Misty Campbell, Dr. David Fonken
Back Row: Mirosalva Zuñiga, Dr. Amber Kreischer, Lei Ji, Kyle Nutter, Dr. Laura Marmolejo, Dr. Jonathan Tyner
Contact
Please contact the Office of Faculty Development at facdev@austincc.edu, if you have any questions.