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ranger Serving San Antonio College and the Alamo Colleges
An independent forum of free voices
Volume 91 Issue 1 • Sept. 12, 2016
210-486-1773 • Single copies free
New department plans outreach efforts Faculty, staff in Fotoseptiembre exhibit at EcoCentro
A new master plan awaits bond election.
Chancellor pay up 6 percent
By Kyle R. Cotton
kcotton11@student.alamo.edu
See VISION, Page 7
Architecture students build for charity event in North Star Mall Page 3
online now
New college vision seen
This college should be a place where the surrounding community is always engaged with this campus, President Robert Vela told faculty and staff Aug. 16 at fall convocation, where he shared some of his vision for the next few years. In a one-on-one interview with The Ranger Sept. 1, Vela expanded on his vision including the importance of the capital improvement projects bond, his outreach initiatives and involvement of the surrounding community. “The thing for me is to ensure that our community, our backyard knows that SAC is here for them, and part of that is creating opportunities either through construction, redesign or collaborative shared spaces like more pocket parks or green areas so that we can partner to let our community know that we are here for them,” Vela said. “We need to create more opportunities that we can collaborate with our community so that our students know that on weekends or whatever they’re welcomed here. … Right now we have very rigid structures around SAC, so these spaces, especially like a front door needs to be an open area.” Efforts to create an entrance for this college include the welcome center, the victory center for veterans and active military and a proposed shared green space where Vela sees a farmers market or showcase of students’ talents regularly. The green space will replace student parking east of Moody Learning Center. “I want to create more of a collaborative environment for our community and the college,” he said.
Canstruction
By Wally Perez
gperez239@student.alamo.edu
Flip Parkour Club President Edwin Velazquez demonstrates a flip Wednesday at the organizational showcase in the mall. The club has seven members and meets 12:30-1:30 p.m. Mondays in the craft room of Loftin. Alison Graef
A renewal to Chancellor Bruce Leslie’s contract includes a base salary of $403,123 — almost 25 percent more than the chancellor of the Dallas County Community College District. Joe May, chancellor of DCCCD, one of the community college districts that the Alamo Colleges continue to compete with, according to District 1 trustee Joe Alderete, has a base salary of $300,000, according to his 2014-2017 contract. Leslie’s contract included a 6 percent raise, a monthly automobile allowance of $1,500 and a monthly cell phone allowance of $166. Along with Dallas County Community College District, The Ranger acquired chancellor contracts from two other college districts in Texas — Tarrant County College and Houston Community College. Cesar Maldonado, chancellor of Houston Community College District, earns a base salary of $310,000 according to his 2014-
See CHANCELLOR, Page 7
Chancellor pushes transfer success Alamo Colleges credentials still important, chancellor says. By Wally Perez
gperez239@student.alamo.edu
Obtaining a bachelor’s degree, rather than just receiving an associate degree or transferring, is another area of focus at the Alamo Colleges moving forward, Chancellor Bruce Leslie said. Leslie discussed his vision during district convocation Aug. 15, which involved not just shipping students out, but assuring they’re prepared to complete a baccalaureate at the transfer institution. “I’m trying to change our thinking on this,” Leslie said in a phone interview Aug. 31. “We’ve always looked at transferring as something that we want to achieve, but after transferring, we tend to forget about them.” Leslie said students who achieve a successful transfer to a university might be forgotten because they are no longer the college’s students, and therefore, no longer the college’s responsibility. “To be honest, we haven’t really cared about how successful they are once they’ve transferred in the past,” Leslie said. Leslie said it’s not that transferring isn’t important — in fact, increasing the percentage of students who successfully transfer is one of the Alamo Colleges’ goals. Leslie said the main idea is to change the thought process a little bit — it’s not just the transfer; it’s the baccalaureate completion. The transfer may have been the focus for administrators, but faculty don’t need to change their thinking. Although transferring is a goal, history Professor Mike Settles said the major goal has always been making sure students are successful after they leave the Alamo Colleges. Settles said faculty should be concerned with the students while they’re here and after they leave, not forget them once they’re gone. “Our purpose is to prepare these students to be
successful once they leave our classes, successful in life and successful in the academic levels and challenges beyond here,” Settles said in an interview Sept. 7. Settles said with productive grade rates as another area of focus for faculty, he believes administration’s goal of graduating more students is actually hurting them after they leave. “We’re pressured to pass people whether they learn anything or not,” Settles said. “You can put a nice high grade on their transcript and a smile on their face while sending them on to the next level, but if they can’t compete there then you’ve done them no favors whatsoever; you’ve just set them up for failure.” Settles said he wants to see his students achieve good grades, but they must earn them. Other than preparedness, Leslie said there are other issues that cause students who transfer not to be successful. Students may take too many hours at the community college level and some of the courses may not transfer, which equals time and money lost, Leslie said. “In some cases, students may lose their Pell Grant funding due to this,” Leslie said. There is only so much money in the Pell Grant that students can have before turning to loans if necessary, Leslie said. Many students don’t know about the three-peat rule, which forces students to pay out-of-state tuition for classes on the third try, Leslie said. These reasons, among other fiscal-related issues, may create obstacles for students that make the path to a bachelor’s degree more difficult or halt their progress altogether. Leslie said, the Alamo Colleges need to take the advice and message it gives to high schools that funnel into the colleges. “We need to produce students who are collegeready, meaning they’re capable of completing college, not just coming here,” Leslie said. “We need to
See TRANSFER, Page 7
Visual arts Professor Debra Schafter explains that her proposal for the visual arts program should be funded at the student activity fee meeting Sept. 1 in the president’s conference room because the guest speaker, Ricky Armendariz, a UTSA professor and local artist influenced by Mexican-American mixed media, would be beneficial for art students. Deandra Gonzalez
Activity fee funds 3 By Brianna Rodrigue
sac-ranger@alamo.edu
Three organizations received funding at the semester’s first Student Activity Fee Committee meeting Sept. 1 in the president’s conference room in Fletcher Administration Center. The two faculty members and five student members awarded $9,521 of the $43,000 the committee can spend this academic year. The $43,000 is a portion of the proceeds from the student activity fee for which students pay $1 per semester hour. The American Institute of Architecture student club was awarded $6,000 to attend the AIAS Forum hosted by Wentworth Institute of Technology and Massachusetts College of Art and Design Dec. 28-Jan. 2 in Boston. The Beta Nu chapter of Phi
Theta Kappa received $2,800 to attend the Phi Theta Kappa Regional Conference at East Texas Baptist University Oct. 7-9 in Marshall. The visual arts program’s Film and Lecture Committee was awarded $721 to host a lecture by artist and UTSA Professor Ricky Armendariz 10:50 a.m.-12:05 p.m. Oct. 27 in Room 120 of the visual arts center. Mark Bigelow, interim director of student life, chaired the meeting. Only two of the four faculty representatives attended — English Professor Laurie Coleman and American Sign Language Instructor Brian Barwise. The five student representatives are all members of the Student Government Association
See FEE, Page 7