A Bright Evening for Clark College Foundation

A multimillion-dollar gift of land, a matching grant for STEM, and a prestigious Presidential Award bestowed to a regional trust–these were all on the menu this year at Savoring Excellence, Clark College’s annual donor appreciation dinner and program.

President Robert K. Knight announced a $3.1 million gift of land from the Boschma family as the location of Clark’s next satellite campus during the May 21 event. When combined with private and state funding, the transaction consists of a $5.67 million land purchase by Clark College Foundation. The new campus will be located in Ridgefield, Wash., on 59.24 acres.

Knight said that future students and the North County community will reap the greatest benefits of the Boschma family gift.

“For our students, the door of opportunity and access will be opened wider. For the city of Ridgefield, this announcement is monumental,” he said. “Once built, the North County campus will be known as Clark College at Boschma Farms.”

Lisa Gibert, president and CEO of Clark College Foundation, who was instrumental in securing the gift and brokering the land purchase, said the gift sets the tone for the future of North County.

“This type of partnership demonstrates the overwhelming generosity that people of Southwest Washington have for Clark. Making education more accessible for people in the region means greater prosperity for the residents and a brighter economic future,” she said.

Meyer Memorial Trust

In addition to the land gift news, Gibert announced that Clark College Foundation received a $400,000 matching grant from Meyer Memorial Trust to outfit the college’s upcoming science technology engineering and mathematics (STEM) building with equipment and furnishings.

Economists predict that there will be 18,700 STEM jobs in Clark, Cowlitz and Wahkiakum counties by the year 2021. To meet the demand, Clark is poised to be a regional leader in STEM education and job training. The college will break ground on a new public/private-financed STEM building this summer. The more than 70,000 square-foot facility will house many of Clark’s STEM programs at its campus on Fort Vancouver Way. When completed in 2016, the center will serve in partnership with industry and other educational institutions to foster exploration, interactive learning and innovative teaching techniques for women and men.

Meyer Memorial Trust, funded through the estate of Fred G. Meyer, founder of the Fred Meyer supermarket chain, invests in people, ideas and efforts that deliver significant social benefit to Oregon and Clark County, Wash., through inspiring, innovating, partnering and leading to improve the quality of life in those regions.

Community Foundation for Southwest Washington

Also during the Savoring Excellence celebration, Gibert noted that a $25,000 grant from the Community Foundation for Southwest Washington was awarded to Clark to benefit the college’s Pathways program. The grant will assist in helping break cycles of poverty through access to education, literacy training, mentoring and career services.

Murdock Charitable Trust

Sandwiched between song and musical instrument performances by Clark students, Gibert presented her Presidential Award for Excellence during the event. M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust, which provided $250,000 to Clark College in 2013 for new dental equipment, received the accolade. The money purchased modern technology to ensure student access to current advances in the industry and meet federal privacy regulations.

“The grant allows Clark’s nationally recognized Dental Hygiene program to meet rapidly changing technology advancements in the profession. Students must be trained in the use of modern tools in order for them to secure jobs. M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust is also directly affecting the wellness of residents in Southwest Washington because Clark students care for hundreds of underserved patients each year,” said Gibert.

The Firstenburg Family Dental Hygiene Education & Care Center opened earlier this year after undergoing renovations, adding paperless charting software and updating its digital radiography area. The M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust grant enabled the college to purchase instructional cameras, workstation computers, radiology computers, patient privacy materials and vacuum systems.

Savoring Excellence is a yearly event presented by the Clark College Foundation to honor major contributors to the programs and students of Clark College.

See more images from the event on our Flickr page.

Photos: Clark College/Jenny Shadley
Video: Clark College/Nick Bremer-Korb