Austin Community College District will honor its 50th anniversary with a series of exciting events and celebrations in 2023. This is a community affair, and we want to hear your ideas! Our anniversary provides a unique opportunity to honor ACC’s past and celebrate our mission to provide access to the American Dream and upward mobility to all who seek it. If you have an event or celebration in mind, let us know!

On Saturday, December 9, 1972, Austin voters said “Yes” to a new community college. Whether Austin needed or could afford a community college had been debated for years. Within nine short months, ACC hired faculty and staff, leased the former Anderson High School building and renamed it Ridgeview, and opened its doors on September 17, 1973 to 1,726 students. What started as an extraordinary vision is today the primary gateway to higher education and career training serving about 70,000 students each year.

In celebration of the college’s founding in December 1972, ACC is reconnecting with our founders — Trustees, administrators, faculty, staff, and students who were here in the beginning. We’d like to thank you and add you to a special list of alumni.

There’s one-degree of separation from Austin Community College. If you didn’t go to ACC, you know someone who did. The ACC Story Project is an effort to collect unscripted stories from the hearts of those who have been impacted by the ACC mission— our students, faculty and staff, founders, partners, and alumni. Become a part of history. By sharing your ACC story.

From scavenger hunts and volunteer opportunities to Founders Day and 50 year reunion, updates and additional information will be added here. All ACC departments and organizations are encouraged to plan your own events or suggest collegewide celebrations.