Speaking of SAC

Dr. Gourjoine Wade, San Antonio College Vice President for Student Success, fills in for SAC President, Dr. Solis, this week and SAC Student Government Association President, Mia Smith, also joins the show. Hot Mustard and the group take a deep dive into Student Success. The conversation reveals what Student Success really means and how it is achieved at San Antonio College.

https://www.alamo.edu/sac/about-sac/leadership/college-executive-team/vice-president-for-student-success/

Dr. Francisco Solis, San Antonio College President, and Hot Mustard talk about the impact of former SAC President, Dr. Robert Zeigler, and Professor Emeritus, Johnny McCain. Dr. Solis talks about SAC Scores Day, a day SAC holds each semester to see what the college is doing and where it needs to go. Dr. Solis explains the metrics being measured and how SAC can stay relevant while raising the bar going forward.

Dr. Francisco Solis, San Antonio College President, and Hot Mustard welcome Edward Rodriguez, new director of the San Antonio College Fire Academy. Edwards’s career spans 23 years in multiple leadership and firefighting roles. The San Antonio College Fire Academy has a long-standing reputation with high graduation and employment rates since 1969. Students can also pursue an associate degree in Fire Science at SAC to advance in their firefighting career. SAC offers two associate degrees in the field, including Fire Science and Fire Service Leadership. Both degree programs are available fully online.

https://www.alamo.edu/sac/academics/program-index/fi...

Dr. Francisco Solis, San Antonio College President, and Hot Mustard discuss the Superbowl, the halftime performance, and the “Superbowl flu”. SAC is hosting Valentine’s Dance on Thursday, February 12th in the Loftin Student Center. If you and your partner met on campus, please share your story with Lisa Garcia, lgarcia303@alamo.edu. Early Voting starts on Tuesday, February 17th and San Antonio College is an early voting center. People can vote in the SAC Victory Center, Room 117.

Dr. Francisco Solis, San Antonio College President, talks with Hot Mustard about Black History events put on by the Black Student Alliance at SAC. They also talk about the various opportunities offered by the Office of Student Life. OSL offers volunteering, on campus activities and off campus activities. Dr. Solis talks about the importance of taking advantage of these opportunities.

Dr. Francisco Solis, San Antonio College President, and Hot Mustard welcome Mia Smith to the show. Mia is the current San Antonio College Student Government Association President. She is in her second year at SAC and plans to graduate this may with a Criminal Justice Degree. Mia talks about her journey and how the SAC Student Government Association works with, and for students.

Dr. Francisco Solis, San Antonio College President, and Hot Mustard welcome students back for the first day of the Spring 2026 Semester! Dr. Solis talks about SAC’s participation in the MLK march and gives updates on the current construction projects around campus. Also, the Office of Student Life is hosting Weeks of Welcome; full of events and giveaways for students!

Dr. Francisco Solis, San Antonio College President, talks with Hot Mustard about Artificial Intelligence, AI, in Higher Education. The pair discuss the use of AI in the admissions process at Virginia Tech and the California Institute of Technology. San Antonio College is currently laying the groundwork for the use of AI by faculty and students.

Steven Mintz, history professor at the University of Texas at Austin, was quoted in a Business Insider article saying, "When 400 students can generate identical essays in 30 seconds, the problem isn't the students. The problem is the assignment." Mintz is moving...

Dr. Francisco Solis, San Antonio College President, and Hot Mustard talk with Christal Rodriguez, Distinguished Graduate in Math. She is the mother of three kids and takes classes online as she currently lives in Corpus Christi. She has been inducted into Phi Theta Kappa, the international honors society for community college students, and the National Society of Leadership and Success.

Christal talks about choosing SAC and the Alamo Colleges because they offered free books, an important consideration for someone who has bills to pay. She took 18 hours in the Spring, 18 hours during the summer, and 12 hours this...

Dr. Francisco Solis, San Antonio College President, talks with Hot Mustard about Veterans Day. San Antonio College’s Veterans Affairs Office will hold a ceremony for SAC’s student veterans. Student veterans make up about 14 percent of our student population. During the ceremony, SAC will officially receive the 2025 Veteran Education Excellence Gold Award from the Texas Veteran’s Commission. This annual award has been given since 2021, and SAC has been honored every year with the Gold Award. We will be joined by Chancelor Dr. Mike Flores and Texas State Senator José Menéndez for the event to recognize our veterans...

Dr. Francisco Solis, San Antonio College President, talks with Hot Mustard about First Generation Students. This week SAC is celebrating its First-Generation Students with First-Gen week. Students have several opportunities to attend workshops centered around their success in the classroom and beyond. SAC will also host the First-Gen Fest, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 6, on the SAC Mall. The event will feature music, games, and food. There will also be campus resources on hand to offer help to SAC’s first-gen community.

This week’s guest is Tracy Floyd, Dean for Student Success, one...

Dr. Francisco Solis, San Antonio College President, talks with Hot Mustard about a San Antonio College holding a Fall Commencement Ceremony for the first time. The Fall Commencement is for students who completed their degree plans over the summer or at the end of this semester. Students who are eligible to graduate in December need to complete their graduation application this week – the deadline is Friday, October 31. Graduation candidates will be able to start picking up their caps and gowns starting on Monday, November 17.

SAC is hosting a Blood Drive on Thursday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m...

Dr. Francisco Solis, San Antonio College President, talks with Hot Mustard about the San Antonio College Library. Lee LeBlanc, Director of Library Services, joins the pair to talk about the amazing work the SAC library does. The library has added several innovations over the last several years to help students at SAC, proving it’s not a room with shelves of books anymore.

Going back to the time of COVID, the library was one of the first places to add several soundproof study pods inside its space. The library also added larger pods to give groups of st...

Dr. Francisco Solis, San Antonio College President, talks with Hot Mustard about a San Antonio College recently being awarded the Seal of Excelencia. The honor is awarded by Excelencia in Education, a national leader in supporting and promoting student success. SAC is one of only five U.S. colleges to be recertified this year. Five other colleges received the honor for this first time.

Boeing made a $100,000 gift to SAC as part of the college’s Centennial anniversary celebration. The gift will benefit the John L. Santikos Micronaut Center at the Scobee Education Center.

SAC ha...

Dr. Francisco Solis, San Antonio College President, talks with Hot Mustard about National Night Out and the SAC Sundial. Dr. Keith Jamison, Chief of Public Safety for the Alamo Colleges District, joins the two to talk about the National Night out event at SAC. The community is invited to meet members of the Alamo Colleges Police Department and learn about campus resources and ask questions about safety and security on campus.

Photographer, Samara Penny, talks about her experience with the SAC Sundial. The Sundial is SAC’s student online news source. Dr. Pedro Cabrera, Discipline Coordinator for th...

Dr. Francisco Solis, San Antonio College President, and Hot Mustard welcome Dr. Gourjoine Wade, Vice President for Student Success. Dr. Wade is in charge of several offices that deal with students when they first arrive at SAC until they graduate. The departments include Admissions, Financial Aid, Advising, Wellness, Student Life, Student Accessibility, and Success Coaching.

Dr. Wade brings more than 20 years of experience advancing student access, success, and equity across diverse college communities. Dr. Wade earned his doctorate in higher education leadership and a master’s in higher education administration from Walden University, as well as a ba...

Dr. Francisco Solis, San Antonio College President, talks with Hot Mustard about a recent Gallup Poll that finds the perceived importance of a college education has hit a new low. According to the poll, 35% of Americans believe that a college education is “Very Important,” 40% believe it is “Somewhat Important,” and 24% “Not Too Important.” In 2013, 70% of Americans felt that a college education was “Very Important.”

SAC’s student population has consistently grown for the past five years, since the end of the pandemic. Students find value in earning an associate degree or a certificate. Local employers are also seeking employees...

Dr. Francisco Solis, San Antonio College President, talks with Hot Mustard about cellphones in the classroom. NEISD and Alamo Heights ISD recently announced they are going to allow students to use their cellphones in between classes and during lunch. Both districts consider those times not part of “school days”.

SAC observes Patriot Day on Thursday, September 11th on the SAC Mall. The First Responders Academy will hold a memorial service at 9 a.m. to remember the first responders that gave their lives during the September 11th tragedy.

Dr. Francisco Solis, San Antonio College President, talks with Hot Mustard about the recent swearing-in ceremony with the Student Government Association. The SAC SGA is holding a Blood Drive on Tuesday September 9, 2025 in the Loftin Student Center.

Weeks of Welcome is still going on in the SAC mall area and in Loftin. Students can make the most of their time on campus by joining one of the many clubs at the Student Organization showcase.

The First Responders Academy will hold a Patriot Day memorial service Thursday, Sept. 11, at 9 a.m. in the SAC Mall. The...

Speaking of SAC is back on KSYM, with Dr. Francisco Solis, the 14th President of San Antonio College. Dr. Solis and Hot Mustard talk about the SAC Centennial and the Founder’s Day Celebration on Saturday, September 20th.

SAC also welcomed the new Vice President for Student Success, Dr. Gourjoine Wade. Previously, he served as the Vice President for Student Affairs at Texas Lutheran University. He’s no stranger to campus. He recently served as an adjunct professor. Tim Pair was recently named SAC’s new Director of Advising. Before coming to SAC, Tim served for 30 years in bot...

Last episode of the Spring 2025 Semester! Dr. Francisco Solis, San Antonio College Interim President, talks with Hot Mustard about the past year. SAC earned the prestigious Carnegie Leadership for Public Purpose Classification while achieving record breaking enrollment. While many schools across the nation have seen a drop in enrollment. SAC and the Alamo Colleges are bucking the trend as more students are enrolling in campuses.

Dr. Solis talks about the recent election. Bexar County voters approved a $987 million bond proposal from the Alamo Colleges District. The bond will pay to acquire, improve, construct, equip, and...

Dr. Francisco Solis, San Antonio College Interim President, talks with Hot Mustard about the Alamo Colleges District winning the 2024 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. It is the nation’s highest presidential honor for performance excellence. This is the second time the Alamo Colleges District has received this award since 2018. We were first honored back in 2018. The Alamo Colleges District is the only educational institution to earn the back-to-back.

The SAC speech team took home several awards at the Phi Ro Pi National Speech Tournament in Virginia. Individual students won gold, silver, and bronze awards while the speech te...

Dr. Francisco Solis, San Antonio College Interim President, talks with Hot Mustard about managing schoolwork while enjoying Fiesta. San Antonio College is hosting two longstanding official Fiesta Events: the Multicultural Conference and Fredstock. Both taking place next week!

Dr. Erik Hillskemper, Department chair of English, speech, humanities, and education, talks about the 28th Annual Multicultural Conference. This year the theme is “More than Meets the Eye” and we have organized five events starting on Monday, April 28. The conference includes a documentary screening, storytelling, an art show and more.

alamo.edu/sac/mcc

Dr. Rube...

Dr. Francisco Solis, San Antonio College Interim President, talks with Hot Mustard about events around campus. Hot Mustard gives an update on the KSYM Pledge Drive, KSYM managed to raise over $25,000 that goes toward licensing and equipment costs.

The SAC Mortuary begins holding monthly dinners with the funeral director. The Dinner with the Funeral Director series provides the opportunity for the funeral director, Jennifer Floyd, to talk about the benefits of pre-need planning. More and more people are pre-planning their funerals to save loved ones from the stress of doing it during such an emotional time. The...

Dr. Francisco Solis, San Antonio College Interim President, talks with Hot Mustard about San Antonio’s Election. The SAC Student Government Association hosts a forum for District 1 candidates. In May SAC will hold a forum for the Mayoral runoff election. The May election will also include a bond proposal from the Alamo Colleges District. The Board of Trustees has proposed a $987 million bond to acquire, improve, construct, equip, and renovate facilities across the District.

The SAC Drama program hosts Wendy for the next two weeks in the McCreless Theater. The play is a new interpretation of the cl...

Dr. Francisco Solis, San Antonio College Interim President, talks with Hot Mustard about William R. Sinkin Eco Centro. Named after William R. Sinkin, a long-time San Antonio community leader, who was a champion for many causes, including renewable energy. Eco Centro is a community and environmental sustainability center at San Antonio College that provides information and resources to positively address environmental and social challenges.

Rose Flores, Director of the Sinkin Eco Centro, talks about resources available to the public and how people can get involved.

Cory Foshee, SAC’s Environmental Club, invites students to join th...

Dr. Francisco Solis, San Antonio College Interim President, talks with Hot Mustard about SAC’s Strategic Plan. Every three years, SAC brings together our key stakeholders to identify and anticipate the changes needed to guide the college in the future. SAC hosts a visioning session just for students from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 27 in VAC 120 with another online session for faculty at 1p.m. Friday, March 28.

SAC begins offering a Level 1 certificate to be certified as a life coach beginning in the 2025-26 academic year. It will be a one-year program with classes ta...

Dr. Francisco Solis, San Antonio College Interim President, talks with Hot Mustard about SAC’s Veterans Affairs Program. SAC has about 2,200 students who are either veterans or military connected, making up about 13% of SAC's student population. SAC’s Veterans Affairs Office has been recognized for four years in a row with the Veteran Education Excellence Recognition Gold Award. This is the highest rank given by the Texas Veterans Commission’s Veterans Education Program.

Tim Pair, Director of Student Success for Veterans Affairs, talks about the services offered at SAC’s Veterans Affairs Program. Valerie Coronado and Michael Robideau...

Dr. Francisco Solis, San Antonio College Interim President, talks with Hot Mustard about Fredstock. Fredstock is moving closer to the middle of the SAC campus on Thursday, May 1, 2025. Fredstock is a music festival put on by students of the Music Business program at San Antonio College.

Dr. Solis talks about the planning process for SAC’s Centennial celebration. He also gives a brief history of SAC and how it started at Main High School with night classes. Main High School was located where Fox Tech is located today. The 100 Years celebration is coming up in September!

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Dr. Francisco Solis, San Antonio College Interim President, talks with Hot Mustard about the transfer fair. Students can stop by and meet with representatives from local and area universities and start planning for their next academic choice. Colleges love our SAC students. They find our students are ready to succeed on their campus. We have heard from college presidents that SAC students do better at their schools than students who started on their campus.

Congratulations to the SAC drama program for winning several awards from BroadwayWorld San Antonio, a website that covers the local theater...

Dr. Francisco Solis, San Antonio College Interim President, talks with Hot Mustard about the recent executive orders and how the district and SAC navigate them. Dr. Solis asks people to be patient as SAC works to understand and comply with federal orders. He also talks about the Texas legislature and the bills they have planned for the current session.

SAC celebrates Black History Month with a kickoff in the SAC Mall area. Several black-owned businesses and community organizations are on campus from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesday February 5th. There will be weekly events throughout the...

Dr. Francisco Solis, San Antonio College Interim President, welcomes students back for the Spring 2025 semester. Dr. Solis talks with Hot Mustard about enrollment and how San Antonio College is beating the national trend. Students are showing they believe in the value of a SAC education. Students are finishing up certificates and finding jobs in careers that pay good wages. Many of those jobs are in high demand areas, such as medical and dental technicians, nursing, firefighting, law enforcement, and court reporting to name several areas.

Work continues across campus to meet the growing and changing demands of...

Dr. Francisco Solis talks with Hot Mustard about the Empowerment Center. The center helps non-traditional students such as first-generation students, student parents, and English language learners, enter college.

Dr. Helen Vera, Director of the Empowerment Center, talks about her history with the Empowerment Center and the programs offered. The center first opened in March 1981 as the Women’s Center. Its original mission to help women who needed to enter college to help them gain education and independence. Later the center’s mission expanded to help all adults who wanted to come to college after years away from scho...

Dr. Francisco Solis, San Antonio College President, and Hot Mustard countdown to finals week at San Antonio College. They discuss strategies for taking finals. Good luck to all Alamo College students.

They also remind students to make sure they are up to date on their tuition plans. Students who are on payment plans approved by SAC’s Business Office should be aware of upcoming payment deadlines. Students who are late making payments will be charged a late fee. They could also be dropped from their classes.

Links:

San Antonio College Mortuary at https://sa...

Dr. Stella Lovato, San Antonio College Vice President for College Services, joins the program to talk with Hot Mustard about current Maintenance Tax Note renovation projects on campus. SAC is currently renovating Gonzales Hall, Chance Academic Center, McAllister Fine Arts Center, Nail Technical Center, and McCreless Hall.

Jennifer Johnson, Project Manager Lockwood, Andrews, and Newnam, talks about the specific renovations in some of the buildings. SAC has had to make changes on campus that have caused some temporary inconveniences. The project is scheduled to be completed by December 2026, about two years from now.

More information...

Dr. Cassandra Rincones, San Antonio College Vice President for Academic Success, joins the program to talk with Hot Mustard about 8-week courses. SAC aims to offer more 8-week courses across all disciplines. Data shows students have higher success rates in 8-week courses than 16-week courses.

Hannah Pierson, Nursing Junior, and David Putman, Computer Engineering Freshman, talk about their experience with 8-week courses and the benefits.

Students interested in 8-week courses can meet with their advisor or visit alamo.edu/sac/advising

Dr. Francisco Solis, San Antonio College President, and Hot Mustard recap the numbers from early voting. Over 9,500 people voted at the San Antonio College Victory Center during early voting. They talk about the importance of voting and some of the rules at the polls on this election day. SAC hosts an election watch party election night in NACH 218.

SAC celebrates First Gen week with numerous events across the campus. 45.5 percent of students at SAC are the first members of their families to attend college. On Thursday, First Generation students are invited to a networking social...

Dr. Francisco Solis, San Antonio College President, and Hot Mustard talk about the 10th anniversary of the Scobee Education Center. The Center has engaged and inspired the community, especially students, on Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) through education on astronomy and space. The Scobee Education Center is made up of several different parts, including the Scobee Planetarium, Scanlan Observatory, the Challenger Center, and the Santikos Micronaut Center. The oldest part of the center is the planetarium, which opened its doors in 1961. Since then, a million visitors have visited the facility, most of them school-aged children who came during...

Dr. Francisco Solis, San Antonio College President, and Hot Mustard talk about enrollment. SAC reaches a milestone enrolling more than 20,000 students for the fall 2024 semester. After a fall off for enrollment due to the pandemic, SAC’s numbers reached a record total. Employers and transfer schools know that we are offering a great education and look for our students.

SAC offers a new way for students to get to graduation, enrolling in eight-week terms. Instead of a student taking four to five courses during a 16-week semester to receive 12 to 15 hours, the student takes two to...

Dr. Francisco Solis, San Antonio College President, and Hot Mustard start the program talking about a recent study on cell phone usage in the classroom. The study, published in Frontiers in Education, found college students that get short phone breaks in class get higher scores on tests and use their phones less during lectures. The study suggests that one minute breaks are the perfect amount of time.

San Antonio College Observes National Domestic Violence Awareness Month in October. Every year, our Empowerment Center sponsors several events to remember the victims of domestic violence and to...