Beginning July 11, the College will be closed to the public at noon on Fridays through August 29.  Below please find information about the availability of College services available during this closure period.

Note: Even when services are available during normal operating hours, staff do take vacation during the summer and not all departments may be at full strength all the time. However, the college will ensure adequate staff coverage in critical areas.

Bookstore

• Open Friday, July 11, 7:30 a.m.-5:00 p.m. and Friday, July 18, 7:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
• Open Monday through Thursday, 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m., and closed Fridays, July 21 – August 22
• Open Friday, August 29, 7:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.

Business Services

• Will be closed at noon on Fridays July 11 – August 29.

Cashiering

• Will be closed at noon on Fridays July 11 – August 29.

Central Services

• Outgoing mail will be delivered to the Post Office prior to noon on Fridays, July 11 – August 29. There will be no campus mail delivery after noon on those Fridays. Campus mail will be delivered on the following Monday.

Emergency Management

• Will maintain normal operating hours during the summer and will not be closed at noon on Fridays.

Environmental Health and Safety

• Will maintain normal operating hours during the summer and will not be closed at noon on Fridays.

Events Services

• Will be closed at noon on Fridays from July 11 – August 29, unless there is an event scheduled that requires staff to be on site.

Facility Services

• Will maintain normal operating hours during the summer and will not be closed at noon on Fridays.

Financial Aid

• Closed all day on Fridays for processing.

Food Service

• Bakery — open Monday – Thursday, 8:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
• Bauer Coffee Lounge – open Monday – Thursday, 7:30 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.  Closed Fridays.
• Hanna Coffee Lounge – open Monday – Thursday, 7:30 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.  Closed Fridays.
• Chewy’s Really Big Burritos – open Monday – Thursday, 10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.  Closed Fridays.
• College Burger – open Monday – Thursday, 10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.  Closed Fridays.
• Mighty Bowl – open Monday – Thursday, 10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.  Closed Fridays.
• Anderson Grill is no longer in operation. A new vendor, to be selected over the summer, will begin operations fall quarter in that space.

Human Resources

• Will be closed at noon on Fridays July 11 – August 29.

Information Technology Services

• Will maintain normal operating hours during the summer and will not be closed at noon on Fridays.

The iQ Credit Union branch on the main campus

• Open Monday – Thursday, 9:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m., July 7 – August 28. Open 9:00 a.m. – noon on Fridays from July 11 – August 29.  Resumes regular operating hours the week of September 1.

Library:

• Open Monday – Thursday 8:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.  Closed Friday, Saturday and Sunday (July 5 – August 31).
• eLearning front office (LIB 124) open Monday – Thursday 8:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. and 8:00 a.m. – noon on Friday.
• TechHub (Cannell Library) open Monday – Thursday 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Phone and email only Friday – Sunday, Fridays 8:00 a.m. – 5 p.m., Saturday and Sunday 10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.

Office of the Vice President of Administrative Services

• Will be closed at noon on Fridays July 11 – August 29.

Office of the Vice President of Instruction

• Will be closed at noon on Fridays July 11 – August 29.

President’s Office:

• Will be closed at noon on Fridays July 11 – August 29.

Production Printing

• Will be closed at noon on Fridays July 11 – August 29.

Security

• Lost and Found/ID Cards desk will be closed at noon on Fridays July 11 – August 29.
• Dispatch will be closed at 2 p.m. on Fridays July 11 – August 29.
• Security officers will be available 24/7 for all security-related issues.

Student Affairs

• Will be closed at noon on Fridays July 11 – August 29 (except Financial Aid which is closed all day on Friday for processing).

Tutoring

• Please visit the Tutoring Center’s website for a complete list of summer hours and locations.

Other Clark College locations

The Clark Center at WSU Vancouver, the Columbia Tech Center, and the Continuing Education Center in downtown Vancouver will also be closed to the public at noon on Fridays, although instructional classes–as well as programs offered by Corporate & Continuing Education–will be provided as already scheduled.

This article contributed by Administrative Services.

Photo: Clark College/Jenny Shadley

Tyrene Weitz receives the Pat Fencl Scholarship during the 2014 GED/High School completion ceremony

Clark College celebrated its GED and High School Completion Ceremony on Saturday, June 21, capping off graduation week 2014 with a heartfelt ceremony featuring two student speakers and the conferring of certificates for GED or high school completion on more than 60 graduates.

Peter Smith

After a welcome from President Bob Knight and a greeting from Board of Trustees Chair Royce Pollard, the microphone was handed over to two student speakers, Peter Smith and Tyrene Weitz. High school equivalency recipient Peter Smith started his comments by noting that the day had special meaning for him, as he was celebrating not only his degree, but also one year of sobriety.

Smith explained that a year ago, after finding himself in jail for a DUI, he decided the time had come to change his life. Earning his high school degree was the first step toward that; he plans to begin earning a certificate from Clark’s welding program this summer as he continues his path toward a better life. “Hopefully, someday soon, someone like me will be standing here and my tax dollars will have helped him or her accomplish their goals,” Smith said.

Smith thanked his girlfriend for her role in getting him to come to Clark, and noted that one of the things that many attending the ceremony had in common was support of family and loved ones. The O’Connell Sports Complex gymnasium was filled with balloons, flowers and the occasional noise-maker–proof of that support.

GED recipient Tyrene Weitz spoke next, saying that she had “given up” on school by the sixth grade and dropped out by the ninth grade. She added that while she had always wanted to get more education, she kept putting it off after beginning a family at a young age. A year ago, she too took the first step. “I know college is not easy, but nothing worth doing is, and to succeed you need to do the best you can, right where you are, with what you have,” she said.

Weitz has not only completed her GED, but she has also completed English 101 and is on her way to achieving her goal of becoming a registered nurse.

Weitz got a surprise boost toward that goal after she left the stage, when Dean of Basic Education, English, Communications & Humanities Deena Godwin announced that Weitz was the recipient of this year’s Pat Fencl scholarship. Named after a longtime Adult Basic Education instructor, the scholarship provides $1,500 toward tuition to an ABE student transitioning to college-level classes at Clark.

The day was capped by Associate Vice President of Academic Affairs Tim Cook presenting the class to President Knight, who conferred the degrees on the graduates. After each student crossed the stage to receive their degrees, President Knight sent them out in the sunny day with words of encouragement: “Your time at Clark has provided you with new skills, new perspectives, and new confidence. These are powerful tools. As you take your next step, use those tools to build a bright future for yourselves and for our community.”

See more photos from the ceremony on our Flickr page.

Photos: Clark College/Jenny Shadley

Before we say goodbye to spring quarter, make sure to put Clark’s 2014 Fall Orientation on your calendar. Opening Day activities will be on Wednesday, September 10, from 9:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in O’Connell Sports Complex, followed by Fall Orientation through September 19 in various locations. Visit the Fall Orientation home page for the full lineup of events.

Opening Day is a time for us to come together as a community. To make that possible–and so that everyone from all of our locations can attend our opening day celebration–the college will be closed on the morning of Wednesday, September 10. Offices will open and services will resume at 1 p.m. that afternoon.

This year’s Orientation Fair will be held Tuesday, September 16, from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. in Gaiser Student Center.

Article contributed by the Fall Orientation Committed.

Clark College has received a second land gift in as many weeks—for a total of more than $3.85 million in gifts—which when combined with private and state funding, will be the location for a future Clark campus in Ridgefield, Wash.

A $731,549 gift of land from Ridgefield East 1 Associates, LLC in addition to a May announcement of a $3.12 million land gift from the Boschma family, will have a long-lasting effect for the region, including expanding access to education.

Lisa Gibert, president/CEO of Clark College Foundation, who was instrumental in securing both gifts and brokering the land purchases, praised the Ridgefield East gift as the ideal location for an entrance to Clark’s upcoming campus. “These 10 acres will be the gateway to Clark College at Boschma Farms,” she said. “In the years to come, we will work with the city of Ridgefield to encourage retailers such as eateries and coffee houses to open shops, making it an attractive entryway for a vibrant new campus.”

Clark College will benefit by the acquisition of the new property through the combined generosity of Ridgefield East 1 Associates, LLC, the Boschma family and the charitable support of Clark County residents, Clark College alumni, philanthropic supporters, trusts and foundations.

The Ridgefield East transaction consists of a $1.99 million purchase price by the Clark College Foundation, accompanied by a $731,549 land donation—providing a total of 10.28 acres for the future expansion of Clark College. Once built, the North County campus will be known as Clark College at Boschma Farms.

The land is adjacent to the 59.24 acres that was partially gifted from the Boschma Family, LLC and purchased by Clark College Foundation in May. The Ridgefield East property is located on the east side of N. 65th Avenue. It is east of Interstate 5 and Pioneer Street. The address is 264 N. 65th Avenue, Ridgefield, Wash.

The gifts and acquisitions represent a long-term visionary chapter for the growth anticipated at Clark College. The college’s 2007 Facilities Master Plan identified North County as an area where the college could fulfill its mission of providing access to an underserved area of the service district. The Washington Legislature approved the project concept in 2009.

Recently, the Washington State Board of Community and Technical Colleges prioritized building projects for the upcoming biennium. Though no money has been allocated yet, funding for design and building has received a green light.

The population in the area has continued to expand. Clark College believes that once facilities and programs are available on a North County campus, students from the northern region of Clark and South region of Cowlitz counties will utilize this location for their educational needs and career advancement.

In the beginning of 2013,  the college asked employees to imagine what Clark would look like in 2020. The college community answered this question with thoughtful responses. That feedback was used to create the Vision 2020 Themes, which in turn were used to focus in on the central theme of the new Strategic Plan: student learning.

On Opening Day fall 2013, the college divided into small groups to discuss student learning and had follow-up meetings on the subjects of Access, Environment, Engagement and Commitment to Learn. Those ideas and feedback were reviewed by Taskforce 2 and reports have been generated to be used as one of the tools Taskforce 3 will use to create the mission, vision and core themes for the next strategic plan.

Taskforce 3 will convene in June and will complete their work in fall 2014. All the individual input and small-group participation gathered since Opening Day 2013 is being used as a tool to create the framework that will determine how the college allocates resources and makes future decisions.

Once the core themes are drafted, we will share the work of Taskforce 3 and solicit feedback. Then, we will seek more volunteers to draft the goals around each of the core themes during fall quarter 2014. During winter quarter 2015, we will revise and finalize the strategic plan based on feedback gathered from the college. The final Clark College 2015-2020 Strategic Plan will be voted on by the Clark College Board of Trustees during spring quarter 2015.

Thank you for all of your hard work and for keeping the college focused on student learning.

This article submitted by the college’s Strategic Plan Taskforce 1

It’s been an exciting 2013-14 fall and winter for Clark College Athletics. So far this year, all of Clark’s athletic programs have advanced to the NWAACC playoffs–that’s seven for seven! In addition, four coaches were named Coach of the Year and several student athletes were named to All-Academic Sports teams and All-Star teams. There are so many students to be proud of and great sports moments to remember, but here is a quick recap of our mighty Penguins’ accomplishments so far.

Men’s & Women’s Cross Country

The Penguin cross country teams once again had solid fall season,s with both squads finishing in the top five at the NWAACC Championships, which were hosted by Clark College this year. Sophomores Julian Avalos and Jacob Mason were named to the 2013 All-Academic Sports team, which recognizes student athletes with a cumulative GPA above 3.25 and a minimum of 36 credits earned. Clark College will continue hosting the NWAACC Cross Country Championships at Lewisville Regional Park through Fall 2015.

Men’s Soccer

The men’s soccer team, led by 2013 South Region and NWAACC Coach of the Year Biniam Afenegus, put together another exceptional season, finishing with an 19-3-1 overall record. With a 13-1 mark in the South Region, the men captured their second consecutive regional title and advanced to the playoffs for the seventh straight season. The team eventually fell to Peninsula College in the NWAACC championship match, 1-0. Freshman Bernardino Ayala-Jimenez was named South Region MVP and freshmen Juan Ayala-Jimenez, Christian Desir, and Abdiel Morfin and sophomores Bryanth Garcia-Junco, Jonathan Morales, and Langdon Roscoe were named to the Southwest All-Star Team.

Women’s Soccer

The women’s soccer team fought through key injuries to finish 10-9-3 overall, with a third-place finish in the South Region. Second-year head coach Rochelle Hearns led the Penguins to consecutive NWAACC playoff appearances before falling to Whatcom on penalty kicks in the first round of the NWAACC playoffs. Coach Hearns was honored with the South Region Coach of the Year award, and sophomore Cristal Ruvalcaba and freshman Krista Campbell were named to the Southwest All-Star Team. Sophomores Emily Ainsworth, Kai Davidson and Alexandra White were named to the 2013 All-Academic Sports Team, which recognizes student athletes with a cumulative GPA above 3.25 and a minimum of 36 credits earned.

Volleyball

After a one-year hiatus, the women’s volleyball squad returned to the NWAACC playoffs under the direction of first-year head coach Mark Dunn. The Penguins were a force to be reckoned with down the stretch of regular-season play and beat the odds by winning three of four matches to advance to post-season play. In the first round, the Penguins were defeated in three sets by eventual NWAACC champion Blue Mountain; afterward, they defeated Shoreline in an elimination match to advance to Day Two of the tournament for the first time in four years. Sophomore middle blocker Karissa Paltridge was named First Team West Region All-Star. Sophomores Shawntel Kalliainen and Amanda Curtis were named to the 2013 All-Academic Sports Team, which recognizes student athletes with a cumulative GPA above 3.25 and a minimum of 36 credits earned.

Men’s Basketball

For the first time in 17 years, the Clark men’s basketball program placed at the NWAACC basketball championships, going 3-1 for a fifth-place finish. The 2013-14 edition of the Penguins gave fans a thrill as the men won the West Region crown and finished 27-2. The record-breaking performance also included a 23-game winning streak, undefeated in West Region (16-0) play, and best overall record for a season. Clark became just the fourth team in NWAACC history to go undefeated in league play. Clark held the coaches poll No. 1 ranking for the majority of the season and finished ranked No. 1 in the final coaches poll. Second-year head coach Alex Kirk was named West Region Coach of the Year, sophomore Collin Spickerman was named West Region MVP, and sophomore Sean Price was named First-Team West Region. Sophomore Max Livingston was named Second-Team West Region. Spickerman and Price were also named to the All-Defensive Team.

Women’s Basketball

For the first time in 14 years, the Clark women’s basketball program won the West Region title and placed at the NWAACC basketball championships for the second straight season, going 3-1 for a fifth-place finish. The team was Ranked No. 2 in final coaches poll and posted a 15-game win streak during their impressive season. Second-year head coach Al Aldridge was named West Region Coach of the Year, sophomore Brooke Bowen was named West Region MVP, and sophomores Nicolette Bond and Haley Grossman were named First-Team West Region. Freshman Shantell Jackson was named Freshman of the Year and Second-Team West Region. Freshman Taylor Howlett was named to the All-Defensive Team.

So far, the year has provided us with plenty of exciting sports moments and lots to cheer about. Visit Clark Athletics to find out about our spring sports, including baseball, softball, and track and field.

Photos: Clark College/Jenny Shadley

Director of Change Management Jane Beatty

Let’s continue to explore some of the aspects of what will change when we go live on ctcLink in May 2015. Some of us here at the college don’t use the legacy systems (PPMS, SMS or FMS). But even in those cases, ctcLink will improve our work lives. All employees will have access to a new self-service online portal, where you can change basic information–things like your address or phone number–without hunting down the right contact person or form.

There will be separate areas in the portal designed for Clark employees, students, and faculty, to adjust to their different needs. But if you’re both a student and an employee at Clark, good news! Your information will be automatically updated throughout the system–no more having to submit the same update to multiple systems.

Here is an example of an employee self-service screen shot–this is a mockup, but shows an example of what will be available in ctcLink self-service centers.

For those people at the college who use the legacy systems every day, the improvements will be more dramatic. Staff in Corporate & Continuing Education, for example, anticipate a significant change. CCE has been using a separate student management system for over six years; with ctcLink, they will all be using the same system the rest of the college uses, making everything from class management to student management much more streamlined and easily managed.

Faculty, meanwhile, can look forward to having a system that can apply a prerequisite screen for students’ registration after grades are submitted. Currently, faculty often wind up spending a lot of the first day of classes checking the prerequisites for each student, because students who passed the prerequisite class registered before the preceding quarter’s grade was submitted. Often faculty don’t even know students lack the prerequisite for the class, so they have to identify those students and find a way of speaking privately with them the first day. This just adds to the number of overwhelming tasks associated with the first week.

These are just a few examples of the changes that the new ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) system will bring to Clark College. Stay tuned for more examples and information on this change that Clark College, and all 34 community and technical colleges in Washington, will experience.

For more information on Clark’s adoption of ctcLink, visit the Change Management area on Clark’s intranet (login required).

Photo: Clark College/Jenny Shadley

Clark College Independent 2014 winter quarter staff include, left to right Caitlin Calsbeek, Emma Fletcher, Cloe Beck, Aleksi Lepisto, Kyle Souvenir, Tra Friesen, Kenneth Zummach, Tyler Urke, Robert Berman, Ryan Rutledge, Brody Voge, Tyler “Charle” Brown, Evan “Smiles” Jones, Alejandra Magallanes, Ester Manea and Bradley York. Photo: The Independent/Bradley York

Clark College students who publish the print and online editions of The Independent captured two national awards at the Associated Collegiate Press 30th annual National College Journalism Convention, held Feb. 27-March 2 in San Diego.

In addition to attending more than 72 workshops and training sessions while at the convention, The Independent staff won third place in a “Best of Show” competition among more than 30 community colleges from across the country that publish weekly newspapers. The Clark College student staff also captured 10th place among large schools — both community colleges and four-year institutions — that produce news websites.

This was the first award for The Independent‘s online publication, said Clark journalism instructor Dee Anne Finken, who advises the student staff. She said the acknowledgement is evidence the student staff’s digital-first emphasis is working, and noted that the staff’s success in the print category was a step up from last year, when Clark students finished seventh at ACP.

Finken and adjunct instructor Jeff Bunch accompanied the 12 students who attended the three-day conference, which also included workshops on everything from the basics of newswriting to the future of journalism in the digital age, each led by experts in the field. Other workshops featured faculty from the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communications at Arizona State University and the Poynter Institute along with New York Times Public Editor Margaret Sullivan.

Editor-in-chief Aleksi Lepisto said Clark students are committed to publishing a high-quality news product and will continue to work hard to do even better next year. “If we do good work, people will see it,” Lepisto said.

Lepisto said the issue the staff submitted in the “Best of Show” judging featured a solid representation of the quality coverage for which The Independent staff has become known. It included a feature story about a Clark anthropology instructor who is also a ghost hunter and archeologist; a look at some of the issues faced by the growing blind student population at Clark; a commentary about a lack of political awareness among students; and an update on the popularity of the food carts on campus.

Finken and Lepisto said they were grateful for support from the Associated Students of Clark College, which helped fund the trip.

Finken noted that student news teams are in a similar situation as professional news outlets when it comes to figuring out best practices for operating in the rapidly evolving news landscape.

“It’s challenging right now,” Finken said. “We have one foot in developing the fundamentals, but we also have to look ahead to develop more ways of storytelling and delivering the news. But we are up for the challenge.”

In addition to Lepisto, Finken and Bunch, the following student staff members represented The Independent at the conference: Esther Manea, Emma Fletcher, Tyler Urke, Tyler “Charlie” Brown, Tra Friesen, Nate Nienaber, Alejandra Magallanes, Kenneth Zummach, Brody Voge, Ryan Rutledge, and Robert Berman.

Other staff members are Caitlin Calsbeek, Evan Jones, Daniel Hampton, Bradley York, Cloe Beck, Killian Bailey, Boyd Lainhart, Kyle Souvenir and Kait Terrel.

Independent staff contributed this article.

WSUV’s Butch T. Cougar and Clark’s own Oswald the Penguin, as well as volunteers and Student Ambassadors from Clark College, were on hand to greet guests at College Goal Washington. Photo: Matthew Hunt/Doghouse Graphics.

On January 26, Clark College hosted a College Goal Washington event in Gaiser Student Center, attracting approximately 250 guests–more than any other such event in Southwest Washington.

College Goal Washington (also called “College Goal Sunday”) is a state-based volunteer program that provides free information and assistance to students and families who are applying for financial aid for post-secondary education. Financial aid specialists from both Clark College and Washington State University Vancouver were on hand to help families fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Volunteers were able to provide assistance in both Spanish and Russian, as well as in English.

The afternoon-long event included three break-out sessions: “Getting to College & Succeeding,” “Financial Aid 101,” and “Scholarships.” Translation into Spanish and Russian was also provided for these sessions.

Financial Aid Program Coordinator Kendra Graham contributed this article.

February 26 marks the beginning of Clark College Bookstore’s sixth annual Oswald on Spring Break Photo Contest.

Customers, students, faculty, and staff are invited to participate in the contest by simply stopping by our store to complete an “adoption form” and pay a $2.50 (plus tax)  entry fee. Participants will receive an official 2014 Oswald toy and can begin snapping pictures of Oswald on location immediately. Participants enter their best picture of Oswald enjoying spring break before April 9 to be eligible for one of three Bookstore gift cards awarded to the pictures with the most customer votes.

Contest rules are available at the cash registers and on the Bookstore’s website. Bookstore employees may not enter the contest, but they may vote daily.

Contest Dates

February 26 – April 9  (or until Oswald toys are gone) Customers may enter the contest

April 9                        Contest entries are due

April 16-24                 All qualifying entries will be displayed in-store for voting. One vote per person per day

April 25                      Winners will be announced  (This is also World Penguin Day!)

Brandi Roberts contributed this article. Photo: Clark College Bookstore