The Weekly News: Week 14
Reflections from this past week
Last
week I had the opportunity to meet with our Nursing faculty, Associate Dean of
Health Sciences, Dean of Business & Health Sciences, and Vice President of
Instruction to learn more about the Nursing Program and the Clark College building
at WSUV. Shortly after our meeting, we received confirmation of the Clark
College Nursing Program’s continued accreditation with Accreditation Commission
for Education in Nursing (ACEN). Congratulations to everyone in our Nursing
program for receiving the largest window of time regarding the next site visit
(2019-2027) and for being recognized by ACEN for “Achievement of Quality and
Excellence in Nursing Education.”
We
celebrated Clark College at Columbia Tech Center’s 10th anniversary last week,
and I was inspired by remarks made by Clark College Associated Student
President Evans Kaame. Thank you to the instructors, staff and
students at Columbia Tech Center who helped host a fun 10-year anniversary
party. Attendees
were able to tour the building and get a glimpse of the learning that happens
there in Mechatronics, Business, and Economic & Community Development
classes. We joined with the Greater Vancouver Chamber of Commerce
to hold a ribbon cutting. Thanks to all who helped. Read more about the event
in this Columbian
article.
I
was honored receive gifts this week on behalf of Clark College from Vancouver’s
sister city of Joyo, Japan, presented by Nami Inoue, a faculty member in our
Japanese language program who grew up in Joyo. And, thanks to all who stopped
by for a cupcake to celebrate your birthday in October. I look forward to
celebrating the months ahead!
I
just returned from attending the 50th annual Association of Community College
Trustees (ACCT) Leadership Congress in San Francisco with Board Chair Jane
Jacobsen and Trustee Jada Rupley along with 1,850 trustees, presidents, staff,
and other community college stakeholders. Throughout the conference we promoted
the Clark College President Search.
I
was inspired by the words of ACCT Chair Connie Hornbeck: “All of higher
education and industry is changing at a breakneck pace. Community colleges lie
at the nexus of both. We in this room are charged with sustaining the community
college sector no matter what changes come… We can’t predict, but we can and
must be as prepared as possible, as nimble as possible, to keep our
institutions strong for our students.”
Keynote
speaker Barry Posner focused on the key leadership practices trustees and
others need to manage these complex times. Co-author of the book Leadership
in Higher Education, Posner focused on five key strategies based on
research involving 150,000 college and university leaders, ranging from
modeling and inspiring a shared vision to upending existing processes, leading
from the heart, and enabling others to act.
Leaders
of three state community college systems emphasized the importance of local
leadership in navigating a challenging landscape that includes declining state
support and growing student needs. I enjoyed learning along with our trustees
about best practices in presidential searches, recruiting, and onboarding from
other colleges.
All voices needed
Today is the last day to fill out the Clark College 2019
Climate Survey. The deadline is tonight at 5:00 p.m.
This is so important to our work at Clark
College. The Board of Trustees has identified improving the college climate and
employee morale as one of its priorities. Your input is critical to the
process. This year we have added incentive: Everyone who submits a survey has
the option sign up to win one of three $50 gift certificates to Amazon. Please
note that your responses on the Clark College Climate Survey will NOT be
connected to your name if you wish to enter the drawing.
ctcLink – one week away
Please take a minute to get your new your new ctcLink ID (open in Chrome) and get
a sneak peek into the ctcLink PeopleSoft testing
environment
using a Clark College computer at one of the campuses or using a VPN. To get
into the ctcLink PeopleSoft testing environment you will use your new ctcLink
ID and preset password. Your password is your last name – capitalize the first
letter only – and add the @ sign at the end, e.g., Fowlerhill@ is my password.
As
for training? Some people have inadvertently deleted or declined the invitation
for the SBCTC Canvas training. If you did that, please contact Jennifer Ward or call her extension at 2077 so she can reregister you. Thank
you!
We
are confident the result will be a positive for students and employees; far
more user friendly and efficient. But we recognize change presents challenges.
I
want to call out the sustained efforts of everyone on the ctcLink team led by
Project Manager Susan Maxwell and Associate Vice President of Planning and
Effectiveness Shanda Haluapo. Shanda’s next update for us is Wednesday this
week: Please watch for them as they contain vitally important information about
our process now underway!
ctcLink and our students
All student online systems are unavailable as
of October 17 through October 30 while the college upgrades to the state’s new
software system.
Our messaging to students? “Pease bear with
us as we work to improve your online experience. You’ll be signing into the new
improved My Clark on October 31. In the meantime, if you need assistance with
student services, we are here for you.”
- In person: Stop by the Information Desk in Gaiser Hall.
- By phone: Call 360-992-2107
- By email: Contact registration@clark.edu
What
do students need to know? On October 31, they need to go to myclark.edu. Once
they sign in, they will be given a new ctcLink ID. They need to write it
down. It will be needed to log in to access their information.
Here’s
the great news for students: The new and improved MyClark will offer a
simple, easy pathway for students to register for classes, apply for financial
aid, request unofficial transcripts, and use the schedule planner at Clark
College.
Clarks supports for students
The
Counseling and Health Center is continuing their support groups this fall term!
Please feel free to share the information below with any students you think
would benefit.
- Running Start Support Group
– Wednesdays 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m., October 16 – November 20 at the
Counseling and Health Center, HSC 124. This is a space to connect with
other Running Start students navigating the complicated worlds of family,
high school, and college. - Parent Support Group
– Wednesdays 1:00 – 2:00 p.m., October 16 – November 20 at the Counseling
and Health Center, HSC 124. This is an ongoing support group for students
balancing school, life, and parenting.
Both
groups are facilitated by CHC counselors Beth VanBuecken and Valentina
Pishchanskaya-Cayanan. Students can contact Valentina at vcayanan@clark.edu to sign up, or with any
questions. As always, the Counseling and Health Center provides free mental
health counseling and low-cost health services to Clark students. Appointments
can be made by calling 360-992-2614, or by email at chc@clark.edu.
Penguin Pantry turns two!
You
are all invited to the Penguin Pantry second anniversary open house on Wednesday,
October 24, from 12:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. I want to encourage everyone to
bring a donation of canned or boxed food to the open house. As you probably
know, demand for food resources has increased significantly on campus. It may
be that word is getting out among students about this vital resource. Thank you
to everyone who supports it. The Penguin Pantry is in the Science Building
(SCI) in Room 101.
Expanding RAVE
For
years, our RAVE alert system has been sending Clark College employees and
students emergency text and email messages whenever the college experienced a
closure, lockdown, etc. I’m pleased to announce that this service has just been
expanded to include families, parents and visitors to Clark College.
Now
everyone can opt in. All they have to do is text the word “Penguins” to the
number 67283.
This
feature is for any Clark Community member (parent, visitor, etc.) who is not
automatically entered into the system.
There
will be a formal rollout for this feature, as well as a new app called RAVE
Guardian, coming soon. In the meantime, please feel free to share the keyword
and number. Thank you to our emergency management team for your work on this.
Presidential Advisory Committee
I’m excited to announce significant
progress in the search for your next college president.
The Presidential
Search Advisory Committee met for the first time Friday, October 11
for an all-day session that included implicit bias training. They worked
through the wording of the position profile and talked about the upcoming
resume screening process. As a result of their work, the Board of Trustees has
approved the position profile, and it’s up on the website as active recruitment
begins. Among the members of the committee are Clark College students,
employees, faculty and community representatives. Thank you for serving!
- Co-chairs: Paul Speer, Clark College Board of Trustees Presidential Search Lead
- and Jane Jacobson, Clark College Board of Trustees Chair
- Al Schauer, Founder PointNorth Consulting
- Brian Taylor, Industrial Sales Manager Siemens
- Catharine Keane, Associate Director of Career Services
- Christhian Canseco, Account Manager ESCO Corporation
- Danielle Plesser, Office Of Instruction – Program Support Supv 1
- Dannie Nordsiden, Automotive Technology – Instructor (WPTE)
- Donivee Randall-Jones, Nursing – Professor (BHS)
- Dr. Siri Wickramaratne, Geography – Instructor (SOFA)
- Eric Merrill, Clark College Foundation Board Chair
- Evans Kaame, ASCC President
- Heather Adams, Office Of VP Student Affairs – Administrative Services Manager A
- Justin Flint, ASCC Club Coordinator
- Rashida Willard, Interim AVP of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
- Suzanne Southerland, Communication Studies – Professor (BEECH) (CCAHE President)
- Tanisha Harris, CASA Program Specialist YWCA Clark County
- Tanya Kerr, CtcLink Internal Controls and Business Analyst
- Vicki Sovold-Prendergast, Mount Pleasant School District Superintendent
Kudos to faculty
Congratulations to William Goforth, our newly
appointed adjunct instructor of Voice! He was one of three finalists chosen on
Sunday at the Oregon District Met auditions. On to Seattle for the Northwest
Regionals in January.
This
week I’m looking forward to attending the Penguin Pantry Open House, as well as
the Board of Trustees work session, where they will be hearing sabbatical
presentations from two faculty members (Jill Darley-Vanis and Erin Staples),
and interviewing four students for the Transforming Lives Award. I’m continuing
my Listening Tour with the Library Faculty and WPEA this week, and celebrating
our students and donors at the Foundation Scholarship Reception on Friday.
Keep
walking through this Walktober, Penguin Nation!