This week

Thanks to everyone who participated in forums this past week with Dr. Chris Hill, AACC Coach, on Guided Pathways. She recognized the extraordinary work that has been done on Guided Pathways by the faculty and student services staff as well as the improvements we can make in communication and decision-making. She will be providing us with a summary of her observations and recommendations. I’ll look forward to sharing her report with you.

I stopped by the STEM building last week and was wowed by the Computer Science and Engineering students. I got to see learning in action with the students presenting ideas for their year-long projects. Walking through the lobby I chatted with students explaining their ideas for software applications, drones, robots, power systems, games, internet-of-things and online services. I can’t wait to see the results of their work later in the year.

Winter Social

You are all invited to the Winter Social Tuesday, December 10, at Gaiser Student Center. The reception begins at 2:00 p.m. and the program begins around 2:30 p.m.

As is the tradition, we will honor our Clark College employees who have retired in 2019. I am looking forward to carrying on this Penguin Nation tradition.

Supporting students during Finals Week

This will be my first Finals Week at Clark College—and the first for many of our students as well. It can be a time of stress for them. They may try to read their notes as they’re walking through the parking lots; they may show up in unconventional spaces (like an unoccupied conference room) as they try to study in peace; they may forget to eat. Let’s all offer them a little extra dose of grace and patience as they navigate this important milestone in their education.

Speaking of which, the college is offering help for their next milestone: There’s an open lab held most of this week to provide one-on-one assistance to students trying to enroll on ctcLink for next term. Located in APH 210, its hours are:

• December 9 and 10, 1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.
• December 11, 9:00 a.m. – noon

Time to nominate outstanding employees

A new award for 2020 is the Clark College Administrative and Exempt Excellence Award honoring two Exempt staff members who contribute in significant ways toward building a positive climate, inclusive environment, and improving the quality of life at Clark. Submissions can be made by filling out the online submission form by 5:00 p.m. on Friday, December 13.

‘Tis the season

You may have seen or heard recent news reports of this season’s first confirmed measles case in Clark County. Last January, when Clark County Public Health announced an official outbreak, college employees were asked to locate their immunization records in case a confirmed case at the college led to CCPH instituting an exclusion protocol. It’s probably a good idea to once again make sure you know where those records are—just in case. Not sure if you have your immunization records? For those of you visiting childhood homes during Winter Break, they often wind up in a back drawer or old photo album. And if you were vaccinated here in the state of Washington, chances are that your records are available online. Staff at the Counseling and Health Center have very kindly volunteered to help any student or employee find their records through the state’s online database. They are located in HSC 124. Let’s all help to keep each other healthy and safe this winter!

Lace up those sneakers!

Before coming to Clark, I knew that Penguins marched, but I had no idea how many of them ran as well! Every March, a “Clark Penguins” team participates in Portland’s Shamrock Run. To register for the event, visit the2020 Shamrock Run Registration Page; this link will automatically identify you as part of Clark Penguins when you register. To find out more about this event, contact Haley Tucker in Event Services, who is organizing this year’s team.

Progress on ctcLink

Now that ctcLink has been up and running for a month, the college is starting to leverage its functionality. One great example of this is the “academic advisement reports” being created for every certificate and degree at the college. These will take the place of the myriad program worksheets, educational plans, Degree Audits, etc. that people have used to map and track students’ program progression—creating a single source of truth for students, faculty, and staff alike. As of this week, we now have academic advisement reports created for 31 of the college’s programs—including the Big One, the Associate in Arts – DTA degree (by far the most common degree that our students earn). Kudos to everyone in Credentials, Advising and the Office of Instruction for their work on this monumental task!

Great things have been happening across the college–congratulations!

Congratulations to mechatronics professor Chris Lewis on being awarded $603,397 for equipment purchases approved in the grant application for the Semiconductor and Electronics Manufacturing Technician Career Preparation and Launch program funded by the SBCTC through a capital budget appropriation

Congratulations to the Nursing Faculty and Jennifer Obbard, Associate Dean-Health Sciences, on the approval for continuing ACEN accreditation. I received a letter from a former colleague who is now the Director of Nursing Education for the Nursing Care Quality Assurance Commission announcing the approval and thanking the program for their continued commitment to quality nursing education in Washington State.

Congratulations to Dr. Jacob Funk, Director of Choral Activities, and Shelly Williams, Program Coordinator for Music, on a very successful Choral Festival. I recently received a letter from one of the adjudicators who noted, “I was struck by several positive aspects during the festival: the careful and thorough organization of the festival; the visible good nature of all the student helpers involved; and the star quality of the lynchpin of the day, Ms. Shelly Williams, the sine qua non of the Department, who was everywhere to solve all the little things that are bound to come up at events of this kind. Clark College should be very proud of this event.”

Looking forward to next week

Next week are Final Exams and Winter Registration for new students. As students and faculty prepare for Winter Break, I know our Enrollment Services team will be working hard to get students ready for Winter Term.

I am looking forward to hosting some new members of our community from my old neighborhood with a tour of the college with the Foundation staff and introducing them to the great programs at Clark. I’m also excited about recognizing our retirees at the Holiday Retiree Reception on Tuesday. I hope I can catch a glimpse of the Christmas ships from the riverfront this week before I leave for the Washington Association of Community and Technical College Presidents meeting on Thursday.