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 bachelor’s degree in public administration from Grambling State University.

Learn more about Dr. Wade at https://www.alamo.edu/sac/about-sac/leadership/college-executive-team/vice-president-for-student-success/

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 with additional education. They are working with SAC to train and educate employees as their fields face dramatic changes.

GALLUP Article:

https://news.gallup.com/poll/695003/perceived-importance-college-hits-new-low.aspx

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 ceremony will be a remembrance of the first responders who gave their lives during the 9-11 tragedy.

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 both the US Army and Navy.

The SAC Library unveiled their new Anatomage Table, allowing students to virtually examine the human body with stunning detail using advanced medical imaging.

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 renovate facilities across the District. The bond will allocate funds to expand SAC’s nursing program to open a learning facility by the medical center.

More information on the bond is online at alamo.edu/bond-proposal

This episode wraps up Speaking of SAC for the school year. We hope you have a great summer and consider taking summer school this year. Speaking of SAC resumes in August.

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 team won a gold award for Individual Events School Sweepstakes and a silver award for Overall School Sweepstakes. SAC took only three students to the tournament and they competed against 52 colleges from across the country.

Congratulations also goes to Phi Theta Kappa International Honors Society chapter. This month they were honored with the Distinguished Chapter International Hallmark Award. That is the highest distinction a chapter can receive from the international honors organization. PTK is the honors society for two-year colleges. SAC’s chapter also earned a Top College Chapter award and a College Project Regional Award. The organization is more than 100 years old and has more than 1,200 chapters worldwide. SAC’s chapter was started back in 1932.

Fredstock is this Thursday! Fredstock features a variety of sounds including rock, cumbia and fusion from Los #3 Dinners, The Wizard, Powdered Wig Machine, Jason Kane & the Jive, and El Dusty & the Homies. The headliner for the festival is Grupo Metal featuring Chris Perez.

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. Ruben Rodriguez, Music business program coordinator, talks about Fredstock. This is the 16th year that Fredstock has been organized as a free concert and festival by students in the music business program. This year Fredstock has moved to a new day and location. The festival is Thursday, May 1, in the Fletcher Administration Building parking lot at 2:30 p.m. and runs until 10 p.m.

Fredstock will feature a variety of sounds including rock, cumbia and fusion from Los #3 Dinners, The Wizard, Powdered Wig Machine, Jason Kane & the Jive, and El Dusty & the Homies. The headliner for the festival is Grupo Metal featuring Chris Perez.

Fredstock also features local vendors and food trucks! This festival is free and open to the public.

fredstockmusicfest.org