Awards and Recognitions
Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award (2005)—Richland College is the first community college ever to receive the
Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, presented jointly by
the President of the United States and the Secretary of Commerce. This award is considered the nation’s highest honor for
performance excellence.
Texas Award for Performance Excellence (2005)—Richland
College is the first accredited institution of higher education in
Texas to receive the Texas Award for Performance Excellence,
presented by the Governor of Texas and the Quality Texas
Foundation. This award is considered Texas’ highest honor for
performance excellence.
Tech Titan of the Future Award (2005 and 2008)—in 2005,
Richland’s articulated AS engineering degree received the first
Metroplex Technology Business Council’s Tech Titan of the Future
Award. This award recognizes one DFW educational institution
for its innovative approaches to promote tech-related knowledge
transfer and to provide support for students choosing engineering
and technology-related disciplines. In 2008, the Richland Collegiate High School of Mathematics, Science, and Engineering
(RCHS) at Richland College received the Tech Titan of the Future
Award in recognition of its innovative approach to “closing gaps
in the K-16 Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM)
student pipeline into our region’s engineering technology-related
workforce.”
Earl W. Eames Award (2008)—United Nations Association Dallas Chapter in partnership with Richland College and the LeCroy Center for Educational Telecommunications received the United Nations Association of the United States of America’s national Earl Eames Award for its progress and contributions in the use of electronic communication technology. Richland College’s “Going Global with the UN” project consists of 52 half-hour videos covering the work of the UN toward accomplishing the Millennium Development Goals and addressing issues of health and environment education, poverty and development, war and peace, and gender and aging.
The National Association of Community College Teacher Education Programs and Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society (2007)—Richland College is the recipient of the Exemplary Teacher Preparation Program Award for three decades of curricular leadership.
Achieving the Dream (2009)—Richland was selected as one of 20 community colleges in seven states to join a national Lumina Foundation initiative to help more community college students succeed, particularly those students who traditionally face the most significant barriers to success, including students of color and low income students.
Association of American Colleges and Universities (2007-Present)—Richland College is one of only two community colleges featured in the AAC&U report, College Learning for the New Global Century. As a leading example of incorporating four “Essential Learning Outcomes” that form the core of a 21st century education, this recognition builds on Richland’s AAC&U ”Greater Expectations” Consortium experience and its role in AAC&U’s “Liberal Education for America’s Promise” initiative.
The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching (2006)—Richland College is one of only four community colleges selected among 62 U.S. colleges and universities for the new elective Carnegie Foundation Curricular Engagement and Outreach & Partnerships Classification, demonstrating institutionalized practices of community engagement that show alignment among mission, culture, leadership, resources, and practices.
Vanguard Learning College Project (2000-2005)—Richland College was one of 12 American and Canadian community colleges selected by the international League for Innovation in the Community College to develop institution-wide Learning College models during a five-year project.
National Service-Learning Project (1997)—Richland College was one of seven mentor colleges for the American Association of Community Colleges’ National Service Learning Project, “Broadening Horizons.”
American Productivity and Quality Center (APQC)—in 2000, Richland College was awarded one of five “Best Practice” U.S. institutions based on a national benchmarking study to identify best practices in developmental and ESOL education.
National Conference Athletic Championships—Richland’s five non-scholarship athletic teams are the first in NJCAA or NCAA history to hold simultaneously three national titles (in men’s soccer, women’s soccer, and baseball) and have won more than a dozen national championships.