Board Accolades June 2017

Congratulations goes to Stan Repka, Director of the DMC Regional Police Academy with the Public Safety Education Department, all faculty and staff associated with the program and the Class of Spring 2017 made up of eight cadets, including Travis W. Hunt, Oscar R. Martinez, Arthur L. Moreno, James R. Schmidt, Tammy L. Stewart, Jason L. Vead, Harley D. Vickers and James M. Whitlow. The cadets received their Basic Peace O certificates and pins during a May 25 ceremony on the West Campus after taking the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement examination with all eight cadets passing the test on their first attempt. Their accomplishment makes the group the 17th class in a row to complete the exam with a 100 percent pass rate. Additionally, three cadets were given special recognition during the ceremony, including Whitlow as Valedictorian, Hunt as Salutatorian and Vead as the recipient of the Top Skills Achievement Award. Way to go, cadets, and we’re Viking proud of you!

Kudos goes to Board of Regent Sandra Messbarger, a member of the Corpus Christi Symphony Orchestra (CCSO) Board of Directors and one of the organizers of the “Pops in the Park” concert held April 22 at Whataburger Field. More than 6,800 people attended the sixth annual event featuring the CCSO. Themed “The Great American Road Trip,” the orchestra took the audience on a musical adventure across the United States from New York to Chicago, down to Texas and out to the Wild Wild West with tunes ranging from pops to light classical favorites played to a synchronized Harbor Bridge light show. The magical evening ended with the night sky filled with reworks.

Under the leadership of Dr. Rito Silva, Vice President for Student Affairs, and use of Civitas Learning, Del Mar College catapulted past a 5 percent target to increase graduation applications by attaining a 26 percent increase from Spring 2016 to Spring 2017, boosting those applications from 687 to 865. Working under a U.S. Department of Education Title V grant aimed at increasing Hispanic graduation applications, the College committed last year to increasing graduation applications by 20 percent total over the five years of the grant. In partnership with Civitas Learning, DMC employees realized this goal the first year. The strategic completion initiative is powered by data and insights from the Civitas Learning platform and uses a graduation coach model with faculty and advisors acting on the data. Dr. Silva noted in a news release distributed by Civitas, “The success of the completion initiative has a huge return on investment for the college. The data and insights provided by Civitas Learning made increasing our applications and hitting our five-year goal within year one possible.” Congratulations for exceptional results! Read the news release: http://bit.ly/2qCkAb8.

The Leadership Corpus Christi Alumni Association named Dr. Benjamin “Ben” Blanco, Professor of Business with the Business Administration Department, as their 2017 Alumnus of the Year. Dr. Blanco is a graduate of LCC30 and has dedicated countless hours of service to the organization, the community and education. As a DMC faculty member, he was honored by students as Teacher of the Year three times, voted Advisor of the Year and received the Excellence in Teaching Award in 2006 and 2010. He also created and oversaw the College’s Marketing Club that won “Club of the Year” annually. Dr. Blanco currently serves on the board for Junior Achievement and oversees the Disney College Program. He also teaches as an Adjunct Professor at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi and e University of the Incarnate Word. For the LCCA, Dr. Blanco has served on ve steering committees, as the LCC30 Board of Governor, on the executive board for three years and presents at opening retreats annually to each new class. Congratulations, Dr. Blanco, for receiving this latest honor!

Thank you to College Legal Counsel Augustin “Augie” Rivera, Jr. and Board of Regents Sandra Messbarger and Gabriel Rivas III for representing Del Mar College during the Collegiate High School and Harold T. Branch Academy graduation ceremonies. CHS and Branch Academy students accepted the rigorous challenge of taking college credit classes while still in high school. Eighty-two (82) students from both institutions combined graduated rst from Del Mar College on May 12 with degrees or certi cates––in many cases both––before receiving their high school diplomas the following week. Del Mar College congratulates these hardworking graduates and wishes them well on their next endeavor! 

Congratulations goes to everyone with Workforce Development and Corporate Services for winning second place forthe entry “Del Mar WORKS! Marketing Campaign” during the 2017 Texas Administrators of Continuing Education (TACE) conference in April. e entry was submitted as part of TACE’s Marketing Showcase and highlighted the specialty phone number, 883-WORK, that the division uses to connect customers to a variety of workforce programs and continuing education opportunities o ered by the College. e division frequently updates messaging to connect callers to new programs and classes, and the phone number has been used on varied collaterals ranging from bus wraps, billboards and bags to folders, yers and hard hat shaped stress balls designed by College Relations O ce sta . e competition included 14 entries from community and junior colleges from across Texas with conference participants voting to select the best marketing pieces.