Annual Rankings Reaffirm STC's Position As Top College

National education journal Community College Week’s annual community college rankings released in June 2010 continue to rank South Texas College as one of the top 100 community colleges in the nation. STC ranks in the top 100, out of more than 1,100 community colleges, in awarding associate degrees. The college also ranks third overall in awarding associate degrees to Hispanic students.

“It is a great day to be at South Texas College because every day is full of achievements focused on student access and success,” said Juan Mejia, STC chief academic officer. “This May we graduated a record 3,200+ students and educated more than 27,000. In fall 2010 we expect that more than 30,000 students will entrust their educations, and thus futures, in our hands. We are so fortunate to be in the Rio Grande Valley, which has helped us through its support and belief in our abilities, once again, to reach this very important milestone.”

According to the publication’s annual report “Top 100 Associate Degree Producers,” STC also ranks in the top 50 in the nation for awarding degrees in the fields of criminal justice; multi/interdisciplinary studies; parks, recreation, leisure and fitness studies; and security and protective services.

Community College Week ranks colleges based on the number of degrees granted annually. The data is collected from the U.S. Department of Education.

For additional information about the publication and its national rankings visitwww.ccweek.com.

For additional information South Texas College visitwww.southtexascollege.edu or call 956-872-8311.

Palmfest 2010 Seeking Entertainers

On October 2 – 3, 2010 the fifth annual PalmFest Folklife Celebration will be held at the McAllen Convention Center located at Ware Road and Expressway 83 in McAllen. PalmFest emphasizes the cultural and ethnic diversity of the Rio Grande Valley of Texas and will once again partner with the City of McAllen to bring this grand festival to the community. Main attractions include: The McAllen Heritage Center – McAllen history museum presents "Heritage Village" exhibits and attractions that celebrate our history, the expanded Fajita Cookoff competition "Smoking since 1976", Rental Worlds - "Kids-Ville" with kids rides and inflatables for day long fun and the expanding PalmFest “El Mercado” an outdoor shopping area! PalmFest will once again bring two fun filled days that promise live entertainment, food, music, culture and good old-fashioned fun for everyone!

This year, along with all the PalmFest favorites, look for more museum exhibits, art exhibits and demonstrations that are joining the line up.

PalmFest will offer multiple stages and performance areas. Organizers are seeking singers and musicians including blues, bluegrass, conjunto, country, folk, gospel, harmony, jazz, mariachi, rock, symphonic, and others. 
Ethnic folk, ballet, flamenco, folklorico, Indian, salsa, belly dancers and other dancers are being sought.

The Rio Grande Valley has many ethnic groups such as African, Argentinean, Australian, Austrian, Belgian, Brazilian, British, Cajun, Canadian, Chilean, Chinese, Croatian, Cuban, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Egyptian, Filipino, French, German, Greek, Hawaiian, Hungarian, Indian, Iranian, Irish, Japanese, Korean, Latin, Lebanese, Mexican, Middle Eastern, Native American, Norwegian, Pakistani, Polish, Peruvian, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Scottish, Scandinavian, Swedish, Spanish, Thai, Ukrainian, Venezuelan, Vietnamese, Welsh and others. Participation by all these groups and other nationalities residing in the Rio Grande Valley is desired!

Also trick ropers, storytellers, magicians, martial arts, poets, and other acts are on the want list. Folk crafts made from ceramics, cloth, glass, horsehair, metal, paper, wood and other materials are being sought for the educational demonstrations and cultural exhibitions.

PalmFest 2010 promises to be an even bigger entertainment event and welcomes your inquiries. For information about PalmFest entertainment, please its website:www.palmfest.com or call Assistant Entertainment Coordinator Brenda Terán at (956) 460-1778 or email: bteran@palmfest.com.

For more information about the festival or other levels of participation, to be a vendor at El Mercado, or to be a sponsor call the festival hotline at (956) 682-5566.

Family Art Quest at IMAS

McAllen - The International Museum of Art & Science invites you explore your museum like never before with Family Art Quest, an ongoing interactive and stimulating scavenger hunt activity for families and children for all ages.

This summer’s Family Art Quest offers two new activities to help families explore the IMAS art galleries. Younger children will enjoy borrowing a bright blue IMAS backpack filled with treasure hunt clues. The fun unfolds while they carry a toy hummingbird as they count the hummingbirds in the John Gould lithographs or hold their own wooden angel as they look for angels in the ICONS: Stained Glass Windows exhibit.

Older children will have fun borrowing a copy of the Gem & Mineral Collection Scavenger Hunt as they discover which rocks are from outer space and which rock they might have brushed their teeth with this morning. Come hunt for treasure in our galleries with our Family Art Quest program.

Family Art Quest is available at any time during your visit, and is included in General Admission and is FREE for IMAS Members. For more information call IMAS at (956) 682-1564.

Commissioner Aida Ramirez to Host Town Hall Meetings

Residents of District 4 are welcomed and encouraged to attend two town hall meetings, hosted by City Commissioner Aida Ramirez,Tuesday August 10 andWednesdayAugust 11, 2010.

This is an opportunity for District 4 residents to provide a community perspective on City matters. Commissioner Ramirez will welcome input and ideas and give a follow-up presentation regarding the general direction of the City.

Tuesday, August 10,2010

Time: 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Place: Palmview Community Center Celebration Hall (3401 Jordan Rd., McAllen)

Date:Wednesday, August 11,2010

Time: 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Place: Los Encinos Police Community Network Center (2901 W. Olga, McAllen)

For more information, call City Commission Liaison Elma Vela at (956) 681-1002.

UTPA to re-open Monday, July 5

TO:                University Community

FROM:           Office of University Relations

DATE:            June 29, 2010

RE:                UTPA to re-open Monday, July 5

The University of Texas-Pan American campus will  officially re-open for business Monday, July 5 in the wake of Hurricane Alex.

UTPA administrators along with police and environmental health and safety officials have inspected the buildings and grounds on the main campus and satellite locations and have declared them safe for faculty, students and staff to return.

Students and faculty are expected to show up to class at their regularly scheduled times while staff are to report to work for their regular business hours. A make up schedule for canceled classes will be announced at a later time.

We hope you and your family made it safely through this ordeal, however if you still feel you need time to take care of personal business or cannot make it to class or work due to the hurricane's aftermath, please notify your professor or supervisor to make arrangements.

For further information, visit www.utpa.edu.