Catch the Next welcomes Dr. Richard Armenta as a Consultant for the remainder of the semester to play a leadership role in the recruitment process for new Ascender Colleges.  Dr. Armenta’s persistence played a critical role in the establishment of the Austin Community College Ascender program which he led until his retirement last December.

Since 2017, Dr. Armenta served as Dean of Student Affairs for the ACC’s Hays Campus assisting staff with advising, student retention efforts, and overall student conduct concerns. Prior to this position, he served as the first Articulation Officer for the College, then as Dean of Students for the Rio Grande Campus, and later as Associate Vice President for Student Success where he was responsible for assisting the college in officially achieving its Hispanic Serving Institution Status from the US Department of Education; developing the first LGBTQ district wide committee; representing ACC on the Greater Austin Area My Brothers’ Keeper initiative; and bringing the Ascender Program to ACC. In 1985, Dr. Armenta held the position of Campus Dean for ACC’s Ridgeview Campus, helping transition the faculty and staff to the Rutherford Campus during development of the Northridge Campus where he served as its founding Campus Dean in 1989. Dr. Armenta also worked on the design and development of the Cypress Creek Campus that opened in 1991. Dr. Armenta also established the college’s Office of Institutional Effectiveness under President Bill Segura.

Armenta received his bachelor’s degree in Mathematics in 1970 from the University of Arizona prior to beginning his first professional assignment teaching inner city middle school students in Tucson Public Schools and Mesa Public Schools in Arizona. He completed a Master’s degree in Student Services in 1972 at the University of Connecticut and earned a Ph. D. in Higher Education, Policy and Governance in 1984 from Arizona State University.