San Antonio College
Encyclopedia
San Antonio College is a community college
that is a part of the Alamo Community College District
. It is located on San Pedro Avenue, across from San Pedro Park, near downtown San Antonio. SAC is the oldest public two-year college in Texas
. The college has an average semester enrollment of 22,028 credit students and an average annual enrollment of 16,000 other-than-credit students. San Antonio College is the largest single-campus community college in Texas and one of the largest in the United States
.
The college’s thirty-seven-acre campus includes the Scobee Planetarium, a student center with food court, fine arts center, business building, a visual arts and technology center, the Chance Academic building, a nursing center, the Nail Computer Technology building, the Candler Physical Education Center that includes two courts, a regulation indoor swimming pool, racquetball courts, a dance studio, and tennis courts; McCreless Hall, Gonzales Hall, the Koehler Cultural Center
, the president’s home, a chemistry-geology building, the Longwith Radio Television and Film building, a library, and the Campus Police.
San Antonio College provides academic, vocational and professional education that allow students to continue their education at a university or four-year college. SAC is a comprehensive community college that also provides offerings in occupational and technical courses and has assumed the San Antonio Independent School District’s continuing education programs.
In September 1925, SAC was first established as University Junior College under the administration of the University of Texas. However, the attorney general for the State of Texas ruled that the University of Texas was in violation of the state’s constitution by operating a junior college. Therefore the college was passed to the San Antonio board of education
and renamed San Antonio Junior College. In August 1946, San Antonio Junior College was renamed again after control of the school passed from the board of trustees. San Antonio College was adopted as the official name in 1948, and in 1951, SAC was moved to its present location on San Pedro Avenue. Accreditation was granted to the college in 1955 from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools
.
San Antonio College is also approved and accredited by the Board of Nurse Examiners for the State of Texas, the Association of Texas Colleges and Universities, the Texas Educational Theater Association, the Texas Association of Music Schools, the National League for Nursing, the American Board of Funeral Service Education, the American Association of Community and Junior Colleges, the Southern Association of Junior Colleges, the Commission of Dental Accreditation of the American Dental Association, the Committee on Allied Health Education, and the Texas Public Community and Junior College Association.
San Antonio College serves the Bexar County community by providing high quality general education, liberal arts and sciences, career education, continuing education and developmental education. In December 2007, the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board
(THECB) awarded San Antonio College a rating of “exemplary” for seven of its academic programs. However, in January 2008, the rating was revised to include additional programs bringing the total to eleven. The eleven programs receiving this designation are business management, Computer-aided design
, dental assisting, Radio
-TV and Film
, Nursing education, finance
and financial management
, medical assisting, mortuary science
, American Sign Language
/Interpreter Training, public administration
and real estate
. This rating means that all eleven programs exceed the State of Texas’ required standards of excellence in education.
The San Antonio College Recreation Sports department provides scheduled intramural and extramural activities. Extramural activities are organized team sports in which teams compete with ACCD schools and other organized collegiate teams from the South Central Texas region. Intramural activities are organized team sports in which teams compete with other teams organized within the college, and are also scheduled on campus.
Students attending San Antonio College can pursue a wide range of subjects and activities. As a community college, SAC allows students to pursue Associate Degrees and Certifications and take courses transferable to many institutions of higher education. San Antonio College offers 64 different Associates Degrees and 68 certificates. The college has over 300 2+2 articulation agreements with various colleges and universities. The 2+2 articulation agreement serves to facilitate the admission and academic transfer of students from participating Community Colleges like SAC to a participating 4 year college or university within the state of Texas. As students progress successfully toward the completion of the Associate degree, this agreement will ensure a seamless transition of the student's coursework and aids the student by increasing the number of transferable hours.
, the Texas Community College Journalism Association and the Associated Press
. The publication was selected as a National Pacemaker Award winner by the Associated College Press for 2004 and a Pacemaker Finalist for 2005.
In a follow on article the possible alternatives to the Ranger included wolves, salamanders, black panthers, lions, bears, knights and raiders. However, President Robert Zeigler and student representatives want to get the student vote in terms of recommendations. Zeigler said he hopes to finish the decision on the mascot in the 2007-08 school year. The college needs to figure out a way to choose a mascot that augments the ranger but does not replace it, President Zeigler told members of the Student Government Association.
Zeigler suggested to members that the campus bring an animal mascot and integrate the animal and the Ranger, creating a softer image for the Ranger. Nonetheless, no decision has been currently forthcoming regarding the status of the school's mascot. The decision on a new mascot will gather input by the student government, administrators, faculty, chairs and students, however President Zeigler has ultimately claimed the right to change the college's mascot in the event a decision is made.
The School pride colors
red
black
and royal blue
Community college
A community college is a type of educational institution. The term can have different meanings in different countries.-Australia:Community colleges carry on the tradition of adult education, which was established in Australia around mid 19th century when evening classes were held to help adults...
that is a part of the Alamo Community College District
Alamo Community College District
The Alamo Community College District is a community college system serving the greater San Antonio, Texas area. ACCD consists of five colleges which operate with a high degree of autonomy: San Antonio College, St. Philip's College, Palo Alto College, Northwest Vista College, and Northeast...
. It is located on San Pedro Avenue, across from San Pedro Park, near downtown San Antonio. SAC is the oldest public two-year college in Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
. The college has an average semester enrollment of 22,028 credit students and an average annual enrollment of 16,000 other-than-credit students. San Antonio College is the largest single-campus community college in Texas and one of the largest in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
The college’s thirty-seven-acre campus includes the Scobee Planetarium, a student center with food court, fine arts center, business building, a visual arts and technology center, the Chance Academic building, a nursing center, the Nail Computer Technology building, the Candler Physical Education Center that includes two courts, a regulation indoor swimming pool, racquetball courts, a dance studio, and tennis courts; McCreless Hall, Gonzales Hall, the Koehler Cultural Center
Koehler Cultural Center
The Koehler Cultural Center is located on the campus of San Antonio College. The Center was donated to San Antonio College and houses part of the school’s arts department. The center is also known as the Koehler house/mansion and is a focal point for the educational and social life of the college...
, the president’s home, a chemistry-geology building, the Longwith Radio Television and Film building, a library, and the Campus Police.
San Antonio College provides academic, vocational and professional education that allow students to continue their education at a university or four-year college. SAC is a comprehensive community college that also provides offerings in occupational and technical courses and has assumed the San Antonio Independent School District’s continuing education programs.
History
Board of education
A board of education or a school board or school committee is the title of the board of directors or board of trustees of a school, local school district or higher administrative level....
and renamed San Antonio Junior College. In August 1946, San Antonio Junior College was renamed again after control of the school passed from the board of trustees. San Antonio College was adopted as the official name in 1948, and in 1951, SAC was moved to its present location on San Pedro Avenue. Accreditation was granted to the college in 1955 from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools
Southern Association of Colleges and Schools
The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools is one of the six regional accreditation organizations recognized by the United States Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation...
.
San Antonio College is also approved and accredited by the Board of Nurse Examiners for the State of Texas, the Association of Texas Colleges and Universities, the Texas Educational Theater Association, the Texas Association of Music Schools, the National League for Nursing, the American Board of Funeral Service Education, the American Association of Community and Junior Colleges, the Southern Association of Junior Colleges, the Commission of Dental Accreditation of the American Dental Association, the Committee on Allied Health Education, and the Texas Public Community and Junior College Association.
Academics
Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board
The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board is an agency of the Texas state government that oversees all public post-secondary education in Texas. It is headquartered at 1200 East Anderson Lane in Austin....
(THECB) awarded San Antonio College a rating of “exemplary” for seven of its academic programs. However, in January 2008, the rating was revised to include additional programs bringing the total to eleven. The eleven programs receiving this designation are business management, Computer-aided design
Computer-aided design
Computer-aided design , also known as computer-aided design and drafting , is the use of computer technology for the process of design and design-documentation. Computer Aided Drafting describes the process of drafting with a computer...
, dental assisting, Radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
-TV and Film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
, Nursing education, finance
Finance
"Finance" is often defined simply as the management of money or “funds” management Modern finance, however, is a family of business activity that includes the origination, marketing, and management of cash and money surrogates through a variety of capital accounts, instruments, and markets created...
and financial management
Managerial finance
Managerial finance is the branch of finance that concerns itself with the managerial significance of finance techniques. It is focused on assessment rather than technique....
, medical assisting, mortuary science
Mortuary science
Mortuary science is the study of dead bodies through mortuary work. The term is most often applied to a college curriculum in the United States that prepares a student for a career as a mortician or funeral director. Many also study embalming to supplement their mortuary science studies. Some...
, American Sign Language
American Sign Language
American Sign Language, or ASL, for a time also called Ameslan, is the dominant sign language of Deaf Americans, including deaf communities in the United States, in the English-speaking parts of Canada, and in some regions of Mexico...
/Interpreter Training, public administration
Public administration
Public Administration houses the implementation of government policy and an academic discipline that studies this implementation and that prepares civil servants for this work. As a "field of inquiry with a diverse scope" its "fundamental goal.....
and real estate
Real estate
In general use, esp. North American, 'real estate' is taken to mean "Property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals, or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this; an item of real property; buildings or...
. This rating means that all eleven programs exceed the State of Texas’ required standards of excellence in education.
Campus Life
The San Antonio College Recreation Sports department provides scheduled intramural and extramural activities. Extramural activities are organized team sports in which teams compete with ACCD schools and other organized collegiate teams from the South Central Texas region. Intramural activities are organized team sports in which teams compete with other teams organized within the college, and are also scheduled on campus.
Students attending San Antonio College can pursue a wide range of subjects and activities. As a community college, SAC allows students to pursue Associate Degrees and Certifications and take courses transferable to many institutions of higher education. San Antonio College offers 64 different Associates Degrees and 68 certificates. The college has over 300 2+2 articulation agreements with various colleges and universities. The 2+2 articulation agreement serves to facilitate the admission and academic transfer of students from participating Community Colleges like SAC to a participating 4 year college or university within the state of Texas. As students progress successfully toward the completion of the Associate degree, this agreement will ensure a seamless transition of the student's coursework and aids the student by increasing the number of transferable hours.
Student Newspaper
San Antonio College also hosts The Ranger, an award winning student newspaper. The Ranger student newspaper is a laboratory project of the journalism classes in the Department of Journalism-Photography. The newspaper is published on Fridays except during the summer, holidays and examinations. The Ranger is also a member of the Texas Intercollegiate Press Association, the Associated Collegiate PressAssociated Collegiate Press
The Associated Collegiate Press is the largest and oldest national membership organization for college student media in the United States. The ACP is a division of the National Scholastic Press Association...
, the Texas Community College Journalism Association and the Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
. The publication was selected as a National Pacemaker Award winner by the Associated College Press for 2004 and a Pacemaker Finalist for 2005.
The Mascot
San Antonio College's mascot is the Ranger. The origins of the mascot are derived from the Texas Ranger Division. However, due to controversy surrounding the use of the Ranger as a mascot, students were given the opportunity to present ideas and drawings for a new mascot. According to an article written in the Ranger, history Professor Nora E. McMillan stated that the controversy is whether during the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, the Texas Rangers were an elite group of law enforcement agents or vigilantes.In a follow on article the possible alternatives to the Ranger included wolves, salamanders, black panthers, lions, bears, knights and raiders. However, President Robert Zeigler and student representatives want to get the student vote in terms of recommendations. Zeigler said he hopes to finish the decision on the mascot in the 2007-08 school year. The college needs to figure out a way to choose a mascot that augments the ranger but does not replace it, President Zeigler told members of the Student Government Association.
Zeigler suggested to members that the campus bring an animal mascot and integrate the animal and the Ranger, creating a softer image for the Ranger. Nonetheless, no decision has been currently forthcoming regarding the status of the school's mascot. The decision on a new mascot will gather input by the student government, administrators, faculty, chairs and students, however President Zeigler has ultimately claimed the right to change the college's mascot in the event a decision is made.
The School pride colors
red
black
and royal blue
Notable alumni
Name- Salas A. Martha, Director of Operations, Air Force Worldwide Family Advocacy Program 2008-09
- Lopez L. Alma, Chief Justice, Texas Fourth Court of Appeals 2007-08
- Ward A. White III, Assistant District Attorney 2006-07
- Dr William Breit, University Professor Emeritus 2005-06
- Hector M. Flores, LULAC President 2004-2005
- Cyndi Taylor KrierCyndi Taylor KrierCynthia Taylor Krier, known as Cyndi Taylor Krier , is an attorney, lobbyist, and former Republican politician in San Antonio, Texas. She served in the Texas State Senate from District 26 from 1985 to 1993 and as the administrative judge of Bexar County from 1993 to 2001...
, First Republican woman to be a state senator from San Antonio and the Bexar County administrative judge - Dr Joe W. Neal, University Professor Emeritus 2004-05
- Ana de Portela, Artist 2003-04
- Dr Tessa Pollack, University President 2003-04
- Albert Ortiz, Chief of Police 2002-03
- Norma Rodriguez, San Antonio City Clerk 2002-03
- Sarah K. Radin, Judge 2001-02
- Oscar G. Hernandez, Community Service Administrator 2000-01
- Dr Rudolph Sandoval, University Administrator 2000-01
- Ciro Rodriguez, Congressman 1999-00; 2007-2011
- Dr Martin Basaldua, Physician 1999-00
- Marinella Garcia-Murillo, Community Relations Specialist 1998-99
- Dr James V. McLean, Veterinarian 1998-99
- Dr Cynthia G. Broderick, Public School Educator 1997-98
- Dr Jesse T. Zapata, University Administrator 1997-98
- Tino Duran, Publisher of La Prensa 1996-97
- Al A. Philippus, San Antonio Chief of Police 1996-97
- Dr Robert L. Jimenez, Psychiatrist 1995-96
- Dr Leo Sayavedra, University Administrator 1995-96
- Francis R. ScobeeDick ScobeeFrancis Richard "Dick" Scobee was an American astronaut. He was killed commanding the Space Shuttle Challenger, which suffered catastrophic booster failure during launch of the STS-51-L mission.-Early life:...
, Challenger Astronaut 1995-96 - Dr Judith A. Loredo, College Administrator 1994-95
- Steven C. Hilbig, Bexar County District Attorney 1994-95
- Dr Felix D. Almaraz, University Professor 1993-94
- William Sinkin, Banker 1993-94
- Patsy Torres, Entertainer 1992-93
- Jesse Trevino, Artist 1991-92
- Diana Gonzales, Journalist 1990-91
- Bill Hayden, Founder/CEO CompuAddCompuAddCompuAdd Corporation was an Austin, Texas manufacturer of personal computers. It assembled its product from components manufactured by others. CompuAdd created generic PC clone computers, but unlike most clone makers, had a large engineering staff...
1990-91 - Frank Gonzalez, Oceanographer 1989-90
- Nancy Klepper, Public School Educator 1989-90
- James R. Vasquez, Public School Superintendent 1988-89
- Sarah Garrahan, Judge 1988-89
- Lisa Brown, Archaeologist 1987-88
- Edward Prado, Judge 1987-88
- Dr Jerome Weynand, College President 1987-88
- Capt. Larry Pearson, Navy Test Pilot/Blue Angels Commander 1986-87
- Dr William Kirby, State Commissioner of Education 1985-86
- Albert BustamanteAlbert BustamanteAlbert Garza Bustamante is a former member of the United States House of Representatives from Texas. A Democrat, he was a prominent Hispanic member of the House....
, Congressman 1984-93 - Blair Reeves, Judge 1983-84
- Henry B. GonzalezHenry B. GonzalezHenry Barbosa González was a Democratic politician from the state of Texas. He represented Texas's 20th congressional district from 1961 to 1999.-Background:...
, Congressman 1961-99 - Miguel "Mike" A. Lozano, Jr., Meteorologist & Media Personality
External links
- The Official Website of San Antonio College
- Texas State Historical Association reference to Oldest public junior college in Texas
- The Ranger
- Notable Alumni
- Ranger riding off into the sunset?
- The Online Handbook of Texas
- San Antonio College earns high marks
- President to change mascot
- 11 SAC Programs Ranked “Exemplary”