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STUDENT AND ALUMNI ACHIEVEMENTS
Marielena Aguirre Foster and Goldie Johnson-Pompey named 2026 All-Arizona Academic Scholars.
Johnson-Pompey was also named a Coca-Cola Academic Team Scholar.
Vanessa Tulley named 2026 Outstanding Adult Learner of the Year by Coalition on Adult Basic Education (COABE).
Javier Medrano, Goldie Johnson-Pompey, Cyan Sauer, and Jeremy Schall awarded Maricopa Community Colleges Chancellor’s Civic Leadership Medallion.
Kelly Sukkah named Maricopa Community Colleges 2026-27 Student Governing Board Member.
Shaniqua Hopkins, Monse Rodriguez, and Alex Prince received the 2026 Waves of Student Excellence award at inaugural ceremony.
Hopkins was also named a 2026 Nina Mason Pulliam Legacy scholar and Rio Salado’s first Entrepreneur of the Year in 2025.
Our Phi Theta Kappa (PTK) chapter earned many awards including these national recognitions in 2026: Top 100 Chapter (top 5% internationally); Five-Star Chapter; Distinguished Chapter Officer Team Award: Marielena Aguirre Foster, Kelly Sukkah, Goldie Johnson-Pompey, Elizabeth Hannan, and Jeremy Schall; and Distinguished Chapter Officer Award, Marielena Aguirre Foster.
Desert Vista High School dual enrollment grad Rafael Mather Alvear awarded Flinn Scholarship and is on track to earn three associate degrees.
Esteban Salinas named High School Equivalency (HSE) Workforce Student of the Year and Ángel Gaytan Betancourt named English for Speakers of Other Languages Workforce Student of the Year by Arizona Association for Lifelong Learning.
Bryce Cristiano, Ajay Day-Coleman, and Lennon Audrain honored as first Alumni Hall of Fame inductees.
COLLEGE ACHIEVEMENTS
Great Colleges to Work For® recognition with Honor Roll status for: Professional Development, Mission and Pride, Confidence in Senior Leadership, Faculty & Staff Well-being, Shared Governance, and Faculty Experience.
Adult Education Program of the Year Award from Arizona State Department of Education.
Bachelor of Arts in Elementary Education and Special Education earned National Council on Teacher Quality A rating.
Preparing to introduce Bachelor of Applied Science in Law and Legal Studies fall 2027.
Higher Education Innovation Entrepreneuring Excellence Award.
Bellwether Workforce Development award finalist.
Tempe Union High School District dual enrollment teacher Amber Struthers named Arizona Technology Council STEM Teacher of the Year.
KJZZ won nine Edward R. Murrow regional awards and five Public Media Journalists Association awards. Reporter Gabriel Pietrorazio won a National Headliner Award.
NISOD Excellence Awardees: Project Manager of Instruction Dulce Angulo; Project Manager of Technology Services Jeremy Lofgreen; Program Supervisor for the Office of the President Kevyn Miller; and Program Manager of Administrative Services Jessica Smith.
Faculty Chair for English as a Second Language and Reading Mijolae Henley received a Paragon Advisor Award and Student Services Technician Michele Kemp received a Distinguished Advisor Award from PTK.
Faculty Chair for Math Donna Tannehill received American Association of Community Colleges Distinguished Faculty designation and Homer Sarasohn Award.
Dean of Student Affairs Rachelle Clarke and Program Officer of Community Engagement Reina Ferrufino selected as Arizona Community Colleges Leadership Academy fellows.
League for Innovation in the Community College Excellence Awardees: Faculty Chair for Communication Julie Cober; Instructional Services Manager, STEM Initiatives Gordon Inman; Director of Testing Diana Pinon; and Director of Instructional Services Jennifer Shaffer.
President Kate Smith named first-place recipient of Terry O’Banion Provocateur Award from the League for Innovation in the Community College.
Student Services Analyst Diana Betts received Maricopa Community Colleges Outstanding Service to Students award.
PARTNERSHIP ACHIEVEMENTS
Awarded nearly $1 million grant by National Science Foundation to expand semiconductor education in Arizona.
Received $208K grant from Blackstone Charitable Foundation to fund West-MEC dual enrollment HVAC training.
Received $170K from Axim Collaborative to launch an initiative with InScribe to enhance online student connectedness, belonging and persistence — and $100K to collaborate on Building a Foundation for Dynamic, Career-Connected Assessments in the Age of AI initiative.
Thanks to an extraordinary outpouring of generosity from donors and members, our Division of Public Service replaced Corporation for Public Broadcasting funding for our award-winning radio stations KJZZ and KBACH. That support also made it possible for KJZZ to host community panels that deepen understanding of key issues, for KBACH to record local performances — and so much more.
KJZZ’s SPOT 127 Youth Media Center received $18K grant from Thunderbirds Charities.
Selected by Walgreens to provide a customized course that prepares its employees to pursue career advancement as pharmacy technicians. More than 300 Walgreens employees enrolled through our Guild Career Opportunity Platform™ partnership, which helped 3.1K+ workers from 59 companies connect to Rio Salado for higher learning in 2025-26.
Partnered with NACCE Everyday Entrepreneur to launch Small Business Pitch competitions. Diane Ramirez, Zakry Wilstead, and Katie Daily selected as top three winners of spring 2026 competition. Desirée Glaze, Brandon Cole, and Sophie Welter named top three fall 2025 winners.
Café at Rio selected by Tempe Meals on Wheels, Inc. to serve as a provider for community members in need.
President Smith and Lake Michigan College President Emeritus Trevor Kubatzke co-published op-ed;
Competition is an Illusion: How Higher Ed Partnerships Can Increase Access to Online Learning – Sooner than Later.
Chronicle of Higher Education published College, Piece by Piece, an article about Maricopa Community Colleges’ microcredentials, highlighting Rio Salado’s work in this space and insights from President Smith and Faculty Chair for STEM Initiatives Rick Vaughn.
Hosted Riomagining Planning Day with Education Design Lab as part of Reimagining Community College Design Challenge.
ENGAGING
“Giving back” isn’t just something we do — it’s part of who we are. We hosted our 8th annual Dash with Rio, Faculty Auction, and a Comedy Night to benefit the Jo C. Bennett Student Assistance Fund, which helps students with financial hardships. We adopted 21 families and renewed sponsorship of 7th Dream Helping Hearts Annual Holiday Extravaganza to benefit teen mothers. We collected 1,800 pounds of food for Tempe Community Action Agency’s pantry, raised thousands of dollars for United Way and EmpowerEd scholarships, and participated in many other community service projects.
We hosted many events to promote civic engagement, community building, and lifelong learning such as a Juneteenth Poetic Open Mic and Community Reflection engagement, Native American Cultural Awareness and Responsiveness training, and Welcome to America Project workshop.
We also partnered with other organizations to host and sponsor events such as ASU’s AI and Semiconductor Summer Institute for Educators, Tempe Chamber of Commerce’s Federal Briefing with U.S. Senator Ruben Gallego and Innovating the Future of Affordable Housing town hall.
Employees and learners participated in dozens of initiatives to address key issues in higher education. President Smith led the way by taking part in events such as the ASU+GSV panel, Evolving Assessments in the Age of AI and Arizona Community Colleges Leadership Academy panel, Strengthening Leadership for Student Success. President Smith also began serving on Packback and AACC/Education Design Lab Community College Workforce Pell advisory boards, and as the Governing Board Vice Chair for the Presidents Forum.
INNOVATING
Launched Alumni Hall of Fame and Wave of Excellence Awards to recognize leaders committed to academic excellence and service.
Established East Valley Rotaract @ Rio Salado College chapter for students, employees, and members to network and coordinate community service volunteer efforts.
Launched Wavemakers podcast with host Michelle Reese featuring alumni, students, and community leaders discussing the power of higher learning.
The Library team launched Novel 90, a FREE program to help writers complete a novel or novella draft.
The college’s AAC&U Institute on AI Pedagogy and Curriculum team launched several initiatives to integrate artificial intelligence thoughtfully and ethically into teaching and learning including faculty workshops to build AI-enhanced assessments and AI literacy modules for students.