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Accomplishments | College of Champions

Following is a list of major achievements earned by students, employees, and the institution during the 2011-12 academic year.

INDIVIDUAL STUDENT HONORS

  • Laurie Covarrubias was among 20 students selected nationwide to the prestigious Phi Theta Kappa All-California Academic First Team and the All-USA Community College Academic Team.
  • Hirbod Rahimi was selected to the 2012 Phi Theta Kappa All-California Academic Third Team.
  • Alfredo Ontiveros was named NSCAA National Community College Men’s Soccer Player of the Year.

STUDENT GROUP and TEAM HONORS

  • The Men’s Soccer Team, under the leadership of Coach Juan Sanchez, won its third consecutive state championship title and second consecutive national title.
  • The Women’s Basketball Team, under the leadership of Coach Brian Crichlow, won the state championship for the fourth time in seven years.
  • The Cyber Watch West Team won the National Cyber League Championship.
  • The Men’s Wrestling Team captured the Southern California Wrestling Championship title.
  • The Women’s Cross-Country Team captured the conference championship title.
  • Mt. SAC’s Athletics Division captured nine conference championships (Baseball-M, Basketball-M, Basketball-W, Cross Country-W, Football, Soccer-M, Tennis-W, Track & Field-M, Track & Field-W).
  • The Chamber Singers and Singcopation were invited to compete in a prestigious international choral competition in China, scheduled for November 2012.
  • The Jazz Band won the Reno International Jazz Festival.
  • The Forensics Team Mt. SAC Forensics Team won an overall gold medal at the recent Phi Rho Phi National Championship Tournament in Schaumburg, Ill. The team placed second among the 58 community colleges competing and also finished second in the Individual Events Sweepstakes. Notably, the team placed third in the Debate Sweepstakes, marking Mt. SAC’s first award in this category in more than a decade. The Forensics Team also won the “World Premiere Award” and multiple jury awards at American Readers Theater Association National Tournament and finished the 2012 competitive season earning four awards at the China Open Tournament held at Shanghai University of Finance and Economics in China.
  • Over 20 Honors Program students were presented at the HTCC Conference at UCI. Six of them presented at the Southern California Conference of Undergraduate Research; at least four students attended these conferences as volunteers.
  • The 2012 Mt. SAC Relays was a huge success, attracting over 12,000 competitors, including more than 100 athletes who represented their respective countries in the Summer Olympiad in London.
  • Mt. SAC’s Health Occupations Team won medals at the Health Occupations Students of American’s National Leadership Conference in Orlando.
  • Mt. SAC Turf Teams placed in the top ranks at the 8th annual Student Challenge competition of the Sports Turf Managers Association's 23rd Annual Conference and Exhibition in Long Beach. Mt. SAC entered a record four teams into the competition, including a first-ever female team. Two of the teams finished in the top three places—silver and bronze honors. The other two teams finished among the top 10 against a field of 37 national team competitors.
  • The Flying Team captured second-place honors at the annual Pacific Coast Intercollegiate Flying Association’s Safety and Flight Evaluation Conference, earning them an invitation to the national SAFECON competition in Kansas. In addition to ranking second overall, Mt. SAC brought home the prestigious Safety Trophy and held onto the Top Two-Year School Trophy for the 21st consecutive year. Mt. SAC students received 22 individual awards, including first-place finishes in the Instrument Flight and the Preflight Inspection categories.

EMPLOYEE RECOGNITIONS

  • Instruction VP Dr. Virginia Burley received two honors: the Distinguished Administrator Award by the Phi Theta Kappa international community college honor society, and the Carter Doran Leadership Award by the California Community Colleges Chief Instructional Officers.
  • Math Department recipients of the first Mt. SAC Presidential Awards for Teaching Excellence display their certificates (l-r) Math Professors Dolores Chavez, Heidi Parra, Gary Long, Melody Summers, Christine Sun, Cameron Troxell, Kambiz Khoddam, and Phebe Hosea received the first Mt. SAC Presidential Awards for Teaching Excellence & Innovation for excellent work in teaching/learning basic skills courses and in aligning course sequences.
  • Electronics Professor Jonathan Hymer received the Presidential Award for Curriculum and Pedagogy for performing excellent work at the program or course level that led to improvements in curriculum design or course delivery.
  • Biological Sciences Professor and Histotechnology Program Director Jennifer MacDonald, English Professor Betsy McCormick, Fine Arts Professor Susie Rubenstein, High School Outreach Specialist Elmer Rodriguez, Student Activities Coordinator Edwin Romero were selected as Educators of Distinction by the Associated Students.
  • Coach Mike Goff was named SCC All-Sports Women’s Coach of the Year for Track and Field.
  • Men’s Soccer Coach Juan Sanchez was named NSCAA Regional Community College Coach of the Year.
  • Head Football Coach Bob Jastrab was named the Conference Coach of the Year for the fifth consecutive year.
  • Doug Todd was named South Coast Conference Women’s Cross-Country Coach of the Year.
  • Communication Professors Jeff Archibald, Danny Cantrell, and Shae Hsieh coached the award-winning Forensics Team, which won regional, state and national titles during the year.
  • History Professor April Tellez and Paralegal Services Adjunct Professor Roberta Lahr-Dolgowin were honored with the Inspiring Women Award by the Associated Students as part of its Women’s History Month observance in April.
  • Communication Specialist Mike Taylor won the Gold Paragon Award for feature writing, given by the National Council of Marketing & Public Relations.
  • Marketing & Communication Director Clarence Brown won the All Pro Award by the California Community College Public Relations Organization for career achievements as a marketing and communication professional.
  • Safety, Health Benefits & Risk Management Director Karen Saldana received the “Loss Control Pays” Incentive Award on behalf of the college for its proactive use of loss control programs and measures. The award was given by the Alliance of Schools for Cooperative Insurance Programs.

INSTITUTIONAL RECOGNITIONS

  • The Continuing Education Division earned full accreditation by the Western Association of Schools & Colleges Accrediting Commission for Schools. The CED Dean is Donna Burns.
  • The Athletics Department won the 2011-12 South Coast Conference Supremacy Award. The Kinesiology, Athletics & Dance Division Dean is Joseph Jennum.
  • The Marketing & Communication Department won seven statewide marketing awards and two national honors of distinction for communication tools and designs developed to promote programs and services that benefit students.
  • MT. SAC opened CyberWatch West Center (CWWC), the nation’s second NSF cybersecurity center and the only such center in the western United States. The NSF grant-funded center addresses the need to train and educate information security professionals, who are lacking in business and industrial sectors.
  • The Mt. SAC Chapter of the California Nursing Students Association received the state organization’s award for “Outstanding Community Health Project.” Faculty advisors are Denise Condra and Arleen Fiorito.