Food Bank turns to drive-thru system for disbursing fresh produce Published March 27, 2020 By Joe Wyatt While Amarillo College has transitioned to remote delivery of classes, fresh fruits and vegetables will continue to be freely disbursed each Tuesday on the Washington Street Campus courtesy of the High Plains Food Bank. Read more
One AC childcare center remains open for parents who need it most Published March 23, 2020 By Joe Wyatt Thanks to a concerted effort to consolidate staff and keep at least one of Amarillo College’s two childcare centers operational, some essential workers, particularly those in healthcare professions, are able to continue doing their own good work. Read more
AC to pause classes for 1 week and migrate to all-remote delivery system Published March 18, 2020 By Joe Wyatt Stay Informed To stay up-to-date on any changes to AC's COVID-19 Action Plan and access remote-learning resources, please refer to www.actx.edu/COVID19 Amarillo College today entered Phase II of its COVID-19 Action Plan and therefore will pause classes for one week following spring break in order to fully migrate to an all-remote delivery system. AC, which is currently observing spring break, will resume classes on Monday, March 30 – a week later than originally planned – and all classes at that point will be delivered remotely, through a variety of modalities. The decision to enter Phase II is based on President Trump’s request that gatherings be limited to no more than 10 people, and because AC’s minimum class size is 12. To conduct standard in-person classes is now untenable. Additionally, two cases of COVID-19 were confirmed March 17 in Lubbock. “We have no higher priority than to ensure the safety and well-being of our students, our workforce and our community,” AC President Russell Lowery-Hart said. “We have a prudent, solid plan that supports our workforce, keeps people out of harm’s way and helps our students complete their courses and stay on track to graduate.” During Phase II, on-campus services will be limited, but students will continue to have in-person access to advising, disability services, financial aid, social services and technology resources and support. For students lacking adequate technology, The Underground – a well-equipped computer center on the Washington Street Campus, will continue to observe normal hours of operation. Social distancing will be observed in locations that remain accessible, and the College will continue to be informed by CDC guideline. The College will not be moving solely to online classes, Lowery-Hart said, but to tech-supported learning. Instructors will employ a variety of modalities (high and low-tech), and class meetings will be conducted at the specific times they are scheduled. “Amarillo College will continue to be open, and the wealth of our resources will continue to be within easy reach of our students by one means or another,” Lowery-Hart said. “All of us are in uncharted territory, but we’re moving forward with confidence, unity, hope – and a decisive plan.” Read more
College to establish its own coffee shop after Palace Coffee departs Published March 13, 2020 By Joe Wyatt Today, as a result of a mutual agreement reached this week by Amarillo College and Palace Coffee, the coffee shop ceased operations at its AC location, which served the Washington Street Campus since February of 2018. Read more
Book signing at AC Library on March 26 to feature author Marcy McKay Published March 12, 2020 By Joe Wyatt The Amarillo College Library is pleased to announce that it will host a book-signing event featuring local author Marcy McKay in the week following Spring Break. Read more
College garners a total of 11 national Educational Advertising Awards Published March 4, 2020 By Joe Wyatt The Communications and Marketing Department at Amarillo College is pleased to announce that it collected a total of 11 awards, including five venerable Gold accolades, in the 35th annual Educational Advertising Awards. Read more
Trio to represent College at annual South by Southwest Music Festival Published February 28, 2020 By Joe Wyatt Spring Break is just around the corner, and many are making plans to visit warmer climes – possibly to the south or southwest. Read more
AC Mass Media captures Gold at the 2020 American Advertising banquet Published February 24, 2020 By Joe Wyatt Amarillo College mass media students laid claim to a prestigious gold award in the only category they entered at the Amarillo chapter of the American Advertising Federation’s 2020 Advertising Awards banquet on Feb. 20. Read more
National Career and Technical Education Month boosts awareness Published February 21, 2020 By Joe Wyatt Each year, the Association for Career & Technical Education (CTE) designates February as National CTE Month to boost awareness about educational pathways leading to high-wage, high-demand careers in a number of fields. Read more
Film and panel discussion to focus on race relations since Civil Rights era Published February 18, 2020 By Joe Wyatt A film and a panel discussion concerning race relations in America are on tap as Amarillo College observes Black History Month, while continuing this year’s Creative Mind Lecture Series: Reverberations of Conflict: The Legacy of the Civil War. Read more
Photographs by Adriane Little to go on display Feb. 24 at Amarillo College Published February 13, 2020 By Joe Wyatt A photographic retracing of the fictional steps taken through London by one of novelist Virginia Woolf’s best-known characters, Clarissa Dalloway, is the basis for an upcoming exhibit at Amarillo College’s Southern Light Gallery. Read more
College to receive $100,000 safety grant from Texas Mutual Insurance Published February 5, 2020 By Joe Wyatt Amarillo College is poised to continue providing free safety-training courses for area businesses thanks to another generous grant courtesy of the Texas Mutual Insurance Company. Read more
Music Department to present Faculty Recital Feb. 9 at Concert Hall Theater Published January 31, 2020 By Joe Wyatt The supremely accomplished music faculty at Amarillo College will be pulling out all the stops in February when they take the stage to present the eagerly anticipated Faculty Recital. Read more
AC Testing Center earns national recognition for exemplary practices Published January 30, 2020 By Joe Wyatt Amarillo College is pleased to announce that its Testing Center has been awarded prestigious Test Center Certification by the National College Testing Association (NCTA). Read more
Images by René West, curator of Southern Light Gallery, on display Published January 29, 2020 By Joe Wyatt Fusing the disparate photographic techniques inherent in handmade pinhole cameras, digital technology and Van Dyke printing, René West emerged from a Nevada desert with an array of compelling landscapes and self-styled mandalas. Read more
AC and Panhandle PBS invested in May performance of Missa Solemnis Published January 23, 2020 By Joe Wyatt ‘Missa Solemnis’, arguably Ludwig Van Beethoven’s greatest composition, is rarely performed due to its notoriously high degree of difficulty. Read more
Record number of students are named to AC's Fall Dean’s List Published January 12, 2020 By Joe Wyatt The number of students achieving academic excellence at Amarillo College continues to surge as 783 full-time students – AC’s highest tally ever – have been named to the Fall 2019 Dean’s List. Read more
Communications & Marketing wins 5 Gold Awards for AC digital campaigns Published December 20, 2019 By Joe Wyatt The Communications and Marketing Department at Amarillo College captured five Gold-level national marketing accolades in the Education Digital Marketing Awards, sponsored by the Higher Education Marketing Report. Read more
Career Ready You puts HSE and ESL students on fast track to success Published December 20, 2019 By Joe Wyatt When Kaylee Brogden enrolled in the High School Equivalency (HSE) program at Amarillo College, she was not at all concerned with college-credit courses or career trajectories. She simply wanted to obtain the HSE credential. Read more
AC students land summer internships with Sandia National Laboratories Published December 18, 2019 By Joe Wyatt Two Amarillo College engineering students already are gearing up for an especially busy and enlightening summer, one that will entail laboratory testing of non-nuclear components within the nation’s nuclear weapons stockpile. Read more