Amarillo College is pleased to announce its upcoming Men in Healthcare career exploration event, which is from 8:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 26 in Building A, Room 109 at the West Campus, 6222 SW 9th Ave.This event is part of the College's ongoing effort to encourage and support men in pursuing non-traditional gender careers, particularly in the healthcare field.

Texas Mutual Insurance Company is awarding a $100,000 grant to Amarillo College (AC) to continue funding AC’s Safety and Environmental Technology program, which provides workplace safety and health courses for community employers, employees and the general public.This is the 10th consecutive year that Texas Mutual, the state’s leading provider of workers’ compensation insurance, has given a grant to the college to support its risk management program. 

Amarillo College’s Kristin McDonald-Willey, who serves as AC’s Director of Admissions and Registrar, was selected to serve on the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) Coordinating Board Manual work group with other college and university Texas state reporting leaders.“It’s wonderful to work with people who truly want to improve and streamline the work we do as community colleges,” she said. “It is always nice to work with peers, and it’s good to know the state offers us all a chance to provide feedback.” 

Area high school students will experience what it is like to be an AC student during career exploration events at Amarillo College. AC will host different career exploration events during the next four months. Students should register for the free events that include the chance to talk to faculty, sit in a class, compete in contests, and/hear a special speaker. 

Students from across the region will gather at Amarillo College’s Innovation Outpost to take on challenges related to national security scenarios Thursday, Feb. 20 and Friday, Feb. 21. College and AmTech students with an interest in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics will meet for the event that starts at 10 a.m. Thursday. Dr. Jamelle Conner, AC’s president, will officially welcome students, college, and high school staff and Pantex partners to the Pantex Challenge. 

The exploration of complex family dynamics and relationships is a thematic element in John Patrick Shanley’s Italian American Reconciliation.  This gritty, bittersweet romantic comedy will be brought to life Feb. 20-23 at Amarillo College.  “I saw this show at one of the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festivals that we go to every year,” said Monty Downs, director, and AC theatre instructor. “I thought it was a lot of fun.  I then learned it was written by Shanley (Moonstruck and Doubt) and liked it even more.”  

Amarillo College’s Mark White, who serves as the executive vice president and general counsel, was elected to serve as the president of the Texas Association of Community College Attorneys (TACCA). TACCA is an organization for community college attorneys, both in-house and those serving their clients from law firms.

Amarillo College will host a meet and greet for Dr. Jamelle Conner, the new president of Amarillo College next week. Faculty, staff, students and community members are invited to the reception set for 11 a.m.-noon Tuesday, Feb. 11 in the College Union Building, Second Floor. “We want to take time to welcome Dr. Conner along with everyone who wants a chance to meet her,” said Jay Barrett, chairman of the Amarillo College Board of Regents. “This is a great chance to connect her with the Amarillo College community.” 

Amarillo College’s Career and Employment Services will host three industry-specific job fairs for students and employers in February. The fairs will begin with an Industry Career Fair from 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. and 5-6:30 p.m. Monday, Feb. 17 at Amarillo College’s East Campus. The second, an Engineering Career and Transfer Fair, will be held from 10 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 19 at Amarillo College’s Washington Street Campus, College Union Building, Oak Room. 

Amarillo College’s Innovation Outpost will offer entry-level and expert-level IT certification courses and exams beginning Feb. 3. “These programs are designed to help individuals earn CompTIA certifications quickly and affordably,” said Linda Muñoz, dean of Innovation Outpost operations and programming. “They are perfect for anyone eager to gain the skills and credentials needed to succeed in the fast-growing tech industry.”  

The Keep Us Live! series will continue with a Valentine treat “Jam with Love 2025” at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 11 at the Concert Hall Theater on AC’s Washington Street Campus.The AC music faculty and students will assemble to share music of love that nurtures the Valentine spirit. “This is a chance for anyone who may be feeling cooped up by the mid-winter’s blustery conditions to get out and listen to some spirited strains of optimism, hope, and love,” said Dr. Bruce Lin, director of piano at AC. 

Amarillo College Graduate Samuel Bauman started working at Amarillo Gear as a CNC machinist while he was a student at AC. The California native was living in Borger when he became aware of Amarillo College’s welding program. “I heard it was a great program, so I enrolled to learn more,” he said. “I enjoyed those classes, but when we did a CAD modeling assignment in our machining class, I knew this was what I wanted to do.”

The Board of Regents on Tuesday selected Dr. Jamelle J. Conner as the first female president of Amarillo College.Conner, the vice president of student affairs at St. Petersburg College in Florida, was one of two finalists for the AC presidency. Her selection as the15th president of AC marks the culmination of a 17-month national search to replace Russell Lowery-Hart, who resigned from AC in September of 2023 to become chancellor at Austin Community College.

When Jesus Marquez was in middle school, he dreamed about being a secret agent, never imagining he would actually get to work at Pantex as part of Amarillo College’s STEM Scholars Program. Marquez, who completed an electrical-engineering internship last summer at Pantex, has been chosen to serve as the student speaker at AC’s Fall Commencement, which is at 7 p.m. Friday, Dec. 13 at the Amarillo Civic Center.

Amarillo College is pleased to announce that Alicia “Jill” Williams has been named dean of Moore County Campus (MCC) Operations, filling the vacancy created by the recent retirement of longtime dean Renée Vincent.Williams, who in May was elected to a three-year term on the Dumas ISD board of trustees, has for the past year and a half served as assistant director of continuing education and workforce development at the MCC-Technical Campus.

The two individuals who have been selected as finalists to become the next Amarillo College president are scheduled to attend separate 75-minute open forums Dec. 9-10 in Ordway Hall on AC’s Washington Street Campus.The open forum featuring Dr. Frank Sobey will be from 3:15 to 4:30 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 9.

The Amarillo College Theatre Arts Program in December will proudly present Proof, an award-winning drama that explores how the fine line between genius and mental illness affects family dynamics.The play, which has been described as a mystery, a love story and a psychological thriller all in one, features a cast of four and takes place on the back porch of a house in Chicago’s Hyde Park.

The Board of Regents on Tuesday, Nov. 19 invited the two finalists for the presidency of Amarillo College to present their visions for the College during separate on-campus public forums and interviews tentatively set for Dec. 9th and 10th, but subject to the candidates’ availability.The two finalists are Dr. Jamelle J. Conner, vice present of student affairs at St. Petersburg College, a four-year public college in Pinellas County, Fla.; and Dr. Frank Sobey, vice president of academic affairs, at Amarillo College. See their biographical information at actx.edu/president.

Amarillo College students were well represented in the winner’s circle, securing top-three finishes in multiple events, at the U.S. Information Technology Collegiate Conference (USITCC) South Central Regional, which was hosted Nov. 7-8 at AC.The event, which drew a network of IT programs from colleges and universities as far distant as Missouri and Tennessee, featured seven competitive categories: App Development, Office Solutions, Systems Analysis, Network Design, Security, PC Troubleshooting, and Database Design.

Amarillo College is pleased to announce that its Communications and Marketing Department has captured five national marketing awards – three at the topmost Gold level – from a leading authority on outstanding achievements in digital marketing for education.The prestigious accolades come courtesy of the 12th Annual Education Digital Marketing (EDM)Awards, and AC captured Gold awards in the categories of Digital Publication—Teaching for Transformation magazine, Social Media Content Campaign—Bright Future, and Total Digital Marketing Program—Bright Future.