Dear Rio Salado Community,
As we transition into a new academic year, I invite you to join me in reflecting on the meaningful work we accomplished in 2022-23, in hopes that it inspires continued greatness this coming year.
Below you will find links to stories about prominent successes we achieved during the 2022-23 academic year. They represent a fraction of what we reported, and the amazing things we do every day as a community.
I encourage you to visit this blog regularly for exciting developments such as news about our Tempe Chamber partnership to create a Workforce Skills Accelerator and acceptance with the City of Tempe into the National League of Cities Good Jobs, Great Cities.
As you will see, we made significant progress achieving our Strategic Plan goals, as reflected in the new programs we created— including our first set of bachelor’s degrees— our DEIB work, partnerships, grants, awards, and other achievements.
I hope you take great pride in knowing your work as students, faculty, staff, partners and community supporters creates a rippling effect every day— increasing equitable access to higher learning and student success, which ripples into better jobs, wages, and socio-economic opportunities.
Thank you for making Rio Salado College shine in 2022-23 and your continued commitment to academic excellence. I look forward to seeing what we accomplish in 2023-24!
With gratitude,
Kate Smith
Rio Salado College President
I also encourage you to watch this video and read about Rio Salado’s inspirational Class of 2023 High School Equivalency and college graduates.
- Meet our 2023 All-AZ Academic scholars, Emma Harlow and Martha Salter.
- Students Brianna Bonnell and Beka Namachanja presented research in Washington, D.C.
- Student Meredith Jackson led the design and launch of our Alumni Network.
- Alumnus Cordero Holmes was named City of Phoenix Living the Dream awardee.
- HLC Approves Rio Salado College bachelor's degrees.
- State Farm and Rio Salado launched an exciting partnership.
- The Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers and Rio Salado partnered to create a new associate degree program.
- Rio Salado was selected to serve as a sub-grantee for a four-year, $4.6 million, multi-institution grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF).
- Rio Salado joined MCCCD and Education Design Lab to celebrate the launch of the Maricopa Growth Engine Fund. The lab highlighted our work and presented a check for $300,000 (part of a $1.2 million grant) to support our work developing high demand microcredential pathways in IT and advanced manufacturing.
- Rio Salado’s Avanzar Project received a $2,939,518 Department of Education Developing Hispanic-Serving Institutions (DHSI) Title V grant. Rio Salado received HSI designation in 2021.
- American Family Insurance Institute for Corporate and Social Impact donated $90,000 to fund an Early Childhood Education Program for dual students.
- Our Lake Michigan College Powered by Rio partnership will expand with 20 Rio Salado language courses in Japanese, Spanish, German, and Chinese.
- Rio Salado launched its partnership with Guild Education Marketplace as an online provider, serving employees from Fortune 500 companies.
- Master Electronics selected Rio Salado to serve as the online educational provider for its employees as part of a new partnership with MCCCD.
- Rio Salado joined MCCCD and Education Design Lab to launch the Maricopa Growth Engine Fund, part of a $1.2 million grant to support our work developing high demand microcredential pathways in IT and advanced manufacturing.