Recognitions and Distinctions

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 A.S. engineering degree received the first Metroplex Technology Business Council's Tech Titan of the Future Award for its innovative approaches to promote tech-related knowledge transfer and to provide support for students choosing engineering and technology-related disciplines. In 2008 Richland 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" through its Richland Collegiate High School.

WasteWise College/University Partner of the Year (2010) - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Resource Conservation and Recovery named Richland as the winner in the country's first national voluntary solid waste reduction program for its waste prevention activities, expanded recycling efforts, and policy of purchasing products with recycled content.

RecycleMania (2010) - Richland ranked first in the state of Texas and seventh in the nation in the Grand Champion category of the 10-month national college and university RecycleMania competition for Richland's efforts in recycling 81 tons of mixed paper, cardboard, plastic bottles, and aluminum cans, all spared from area landfills.

The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching (2010) - Richland was one of 19 high-performing community colleges selected to become one of the Founding Colleges of the Carnegie Statistics Pathway (Statway) Network and into the Carnegie Collaboratory. This ambitious endeavor seeks to develop an accelerated pathway for developmental mathematics through transfer-level statistics in one year.

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 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.

Earl W. Eames Award (2008) - United Nations Association (UNA) Dallas Chapter in partnership with Richland and the LeCroy Center for Educational Telecommunications received the UNA/USA's national Earl W. Eames Award for its progress and contributions in the use of electronic communication technology.

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.

American Productivity and Quality Center (APQC) (2000) - Richland 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.

Business and Industry Environmental Award (2009) - The Richardson Chamber of Commerce honored Richland for designing/constructing the college's 118,000 sq. ft. science building adhering to Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Platinum-level Green Building Rating Criteria.

2010 Topping Out Award (2010) - Richland College Garland Campus was named by the Metroplex architectural and construction community as one of the Top Ten Finalists for having the first public project built as part of the masterplanned redevelopment for downtown Garland and the first LEED Gold-certified project in Garland.

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