Local higher education leaders plan for growth
Local higher education leaders plan for growth
Written by Mandy Hobby and Julia Kennedy Jayes Thursday, 07 September 2006
Edna Rehbein, Ph.D., Director of Round Rock Higher Education Center
Dr. Edna Rehbein, director of the Round Rock Higher Education Center, describes the center’s first year in one word: smooth. “We really opened without a glitch,” Rehbein said smiling. “Everything went so smoothly. We were able to start planning for the future in December and we are geared up for more.”
Rehbein began planning with Texas State University in the spring of 1996 about the possibility of opening the RRHEC in Round Rock to better serve Williamson County.
TSU began offering upper division classes in 1998, using one portable building at Westwood High School and grew to 15 portables when they left last summer for their new home off University Blvd.
Q. Describe a typical day for you.
A. My day usually consists of meetings and talking to people in the community. Especially in this first year of being open I have been doing a lot of community relations. I talk to representatives from the hospitals, the school district, counselors and students.
Q. What would you like the community to know about the Round Rock Higher Education Center?
A. I would want them to know that we are about quality education and providing opportunities for everyone. Education goes on forever and we want them to be a part of everything we offer.
Q. What are your goals for the future of the RRHEC?
A. I would definitely like to offer more day programs that would allow the campus to be a full service one. I don’t want to leave behind the evening commuters, but would like to expand what we offer. We would also like to have more student activities and organizations. We want to become a traditional campus while still being non-traditional. We have to find that balance. We would also eventually like to have more buildings like a student center or lounge work area, as well as a wellness center for students and faculty.
Education: Bachelor’s from Randolph-Macon Women’s College in Virginia, Master’s in Spanish Language from University of Texas at Austin, PhD in Spanish Literature from UT
Family: Married to David for 30 years, three children
Contact Information 716-4422, E-mail: edna@txstate.edu
"My favorite teacher was my fourth grade teacher, Mariam Altfather. She focused on me and gave me special attention which gave me confidence. I was never a great reader, but I loved to sing. We performed The Sound of Music in her class, and it really helped me, especially with my reading."
Steve Kinslow, Ph.D.,Austin Community College President
It’s a thought he tries not to focus on, but Steve Kinslow, President and CEO of Austin Community College, has worked for the college for longer than most of his students have been alive. He began working for ACC in 1977, and clearly, his commitment to accessible and affordable higher education has been gratifying for him.
The list of community service boards he serves reads more like a novel than a bio, and it leaves you wondering when he finds time for his day job – until you realize that community outreach is his job; or a big part of it, at least.
Q. Describe a typical day for you.
A. A lot of my day is spent on community service throughout the ACC service
area. Internally, I spend the other 50% of my time working on master planning for ACC.
Q. What would you like the community to know about the Round Rock Higher Education Center?
A. The Round Rock Higher Education Center (RRHEC) is certainly a major step forward in terms of access to higher education for people in the Round Rock area. But it isn’t the entire answer. ACC’s presence at RRHEC is missing the facilities to support workforce education in areas of high demand and science education – all of which require specialized equipment, laboratories, and access to lots of space and facilities.
Q. What are your goals for the future of the RRHEC?
A. Our long term goal is to have a comprehensive presence for ACC, which would include the facilities, equipment, and faculty needed for workforce education. We envision a separate ACC campus in Round Rock, independent of Texas State University. It would take at least three to four years and a community commitment to make that vision a reality. Currently, only one-fourth [of the population] of RRISD is within the ACC taxing authority.
Education: Ph.D. from the University of Texas at Austin, a Master’s Degree from Southern Methodist University, and a B.A. from the University of Texas at Arlington.
Family: I’m single, but still have strong family ties. I have two godsons, Sam, age 9 and Nathan, age 7; and a grand-nephew, Ayden age 2. The three of them occupy a good deal of my time!
Contact information: 223-7598, E-mail: ceo@austincc.edu
"My favorite teacher was Elizabeth Field. She was my seventh grade teacher for English and History and I was scared to death of her before ever setting foot in her classroom. But she turned out to be a phenomenal teacher. She was a real character and she was always doing outrageous things to capture our attention. Even two years later, ninth grade, I realized that my teachers were really just re-teaching what she had already exposed us to."
0 Comments 
