On September 16, Clark College employees gathered in the O’Connell Sports Center gymnasium for the traditional Opening Day ceremonies. While much of the program was familiar to longtime employees, this year’s event brought a few new elements.

The first and most noticeable was the college’s new leader: Interim President Dr. Sandra Fowler-Hill, who is serving a one-year term as interim president while the college seeks a permanent replacement for retired president Bob Knight. Fowler-Hill joked that, while she has attended many such celebrations during her decades-long career in higher education, here at Clark, “this is my first Opening Day–and my last Opening Day.”

Board of Trustees chair Jane Jacobsen thanked Dr. Fowler-Hill for coming out of her retirement as the president of Portland Community College’s Rock Creek campus to step into the interim role.

Trustee Paul Speer outlined the process for hiring a new president, reiterating that the Board of Trustees was “transparent, equitable and inclusive.” The college has posted updated information about the presidential search on its website.

Opening Day was also the occasion to announce two new employee awards. The first was the Exceptional Administrative-Exempt Award, recognizing a class of employees that fall neither into Classified staff nor faculty categories. Administrative-exempt staff include many administrators, managers, directors, executive assistants, and other employees who are not eligible for overtime compensation.

“We realized there’s a group of employees who haven’t had an opportunity to have their excellence recognized,” said Dr. Fowler-Hill.

The second new award was announced by Associate Vice President of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Rashida Willard. The Lora Whitfield Social Equity Award will be awarded to a member of the Clark College community who has demonstrated a sustained commitment to advancing equity, Willard said. It is named in honor of early childhood education professor Lora Whitfield, who died in July. Dr. Debi Jenkins read a poem to honor Whitfield’s memory.

Social equity was a significant theme in a presentation on the college’s progress toward Guided Pathways from Willard, Vice President of Instruction Sachi Horback, and Vice President of Student Affairs Bill Belden.

“It is on us to make sure all our students complete and persist,” said Willard. “We can’t put it on our students to succeed in a broken system. We need to fix the system in order for everyone to succeed.”

Old traditions were also honored at Opening Day, including the recognition of employees for their years of service. Four employees–Mike Arnold, Lynn Boydston, Lisa Hasart, and Vicki Weese–were recognized for having worked at the college for 30 years. Vice President of Human Resources and Compliance Stefani Coverson also announced the recipients of the 2019 Exceptional Classified Award: Amanda Brown and Ian Beckett.

The recipients of the 2018-2019 Exceptional Faculty Award, who were announced at Commencement, were recognized again and provided with plaques honoring their achievement.

Dr. Fowler-Hill concluded the event by saying, “It’s an honor to be your interim President this year. You are dedicated, passionate and steadfast in your work to support our students. I have rolled up my sleeves to join you in this work and support you every way I can.”

Photos: Clark College/Jenny Shadley
More photos can be found on Flickr.