Clark College Theatre opens its 2017-2018 season with A View from the Bridge.

Arthur Miller, who wrote Death of a Salesman and The Crucible, brings us this classic tragedy of life, love, and loss. Brooklyn longshoreman Eddie Carbone welcomes his immigrant cousins to America, but when one of them falls for Eddie’s young niece, Eddie’s jealous mistrust exposes an unspeakable secret—one that drives him to commit the ultimate betrayal.

Cast includes: JD Carpenter* (Louis); Aron Howell** (Alfieri); Zak Cambell** (Eddie); Sammantha Williams* (Catherine); Christina Taft** (Beatrice); Sterling Buck* (Marco); Austin Woodard* (Tony); Stevie Riepe* (Rodolpho); Liam Arthur* (First Immigration Officer); and Alex Pearman* (Second Immigration Officer).  The director is Mark Owsley. Note: Cast member names marked with a single asterisk are current Clark College students; double asterisks indicate Clark College alumni.

Show Dates: Nov. 10, 11, 16, 17, and 18. All show times are at 7:30 p.m. in the Decker Theatre, Frost Arts Center, on Clark College’s main campus.

Ticket Information: Students (with ID) $10; Alumni (with membership) $10; Senior Citizens $12; General Admission $15. Season ticket packages are also available. Tickets may be purchased online at http://www.clarkbookstore.com/site_theatre.asp, or call 360-992-2815.

If you need accommodation due to a disability in order to fully participate in this event, contact Clark College’s Disability Support Services Office at 360-992-2314 or 360-991-0901 (VP), or visit Gaiser Hall room 137, as soon as possible.

Author Aimee Bender. Photo: Mike Glier/USC Dornlife

Clark College welcomes award-winning novelist Aimee Bender, author of The Girl in the Flammable Skirt and The Color Master, as part of the college’s Columbia Writers Series.

Bender will read from and discuss her writing from 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. on Monday, October 30, in the Penguin Union Building (PUB) room 258 on Clark’s main campus.

Aimee Bender is the author of five books:The Girl in the Flammable Skirt (1998), which was a NY Times Notable Book; An Invisible Sign of My Own (2000), which was a Los Angeles Times pick of the year; Willful Creatures(2005) which was nominated by The Believer as one of the best books of the year; The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake (2010), which won the SCIBA award for best fiction and an Alex Award; and The Color Master, a New York Times Notable book for 2013. Her books have been translated into 16 languages.

Her short fiction has been published in Granta, GQ, Harper’s, Tin House, McSweeney’s, The Paris Review, and more. It also has been heard on PRI’s “This American Life”and “Selected Shorts.”

She lives in Los Angeles with her family and teaches creative writing at USC.

The event is free and open to the public. Directions and maps are available online. Individuals who need accommodation due to a disability in order to fully participate in this event should contact Clark College’s Disability Support Services (DSS) Office at 360-992-2314 or 360-991-0901 (VP) or visit room PUB 013.

The Columbia Writers Series was launched at Clark College in 1988, bringing local, national and international authors to the college and the region. Information about the Columbia Writers Series is available at www.clark.edu/cc/cws.

Clark College is inviting the public to come back to school for a series of free lunchtime seminars that explore the lighter side of Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM). Begun in 2015, the Clark College STEM Seminar Series launches its 2017 Fall season with yet more fun, informative presentations geared toward anyone with an interest in science—no Ph.D. required!

The fall quarter events in this series include:

• Oct. 20: Terrific Telescopes—Windows to Our Universe with Dr. Duane Ray, Clark College Economic & Community Development instructor

  Join Dr. Ray as he reviews the amazing technology of today’s telescopes and how they work. He will then take us on a tour around the world, showing the latest equipment now installed or being installed, including light, infrared, microwave and X-ray telescopes.

• Nov. 17: Cave Curiosities with Eddy Cartaya of the U.S. Forest Service

  As a ranger in the Deschutes National Forest, Cartaya has the opportunity to investigate many caves while solving crimes. His work on glacier caves in Mt. Hood has provided valuable information about these fragile and ever-changing ecosystems.

• Dec. 1: Telling Science Fact from Fiction with staff from Clark College Libraries

  Information is moving fast and furious these days, and it can be difficult at best to tell what is and isn’t high-quality scientific information. Join a team of Clark librarians for some ideas about how best to tell scientific fact in the media from fiction. This promises to be a fast-paced and fun romp through scientific literacy!

All events are held on Fridays from noon to 1 p.m. in the STEM Building room 151 on Clark’s main campus. All are open to the public. Light snacks will be available and guests are welcome to bring their own lunches with them.

Clark College is located at 1933 Fort Vancouver Way, Vancouver. Driving directions and parking maps are available at www.clark.edu/maps. Anyone needing accommodation due to a disability in order to fully participate in this event should contact Clark College’s Disability Support Services Office at (360) 992-2314 or (360) 991-0901 (VP), or visit Penguin Union Building room 013, as soon as possible.

The Penguin Pantry provides Clark students with free food and supplies.

Clark College invites the community to attend the Grand Opening for its new Penguin Pantry on Wednesday, October 25, from 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. This event is free and open to the public.

Launched this summer, the Pantry provides students with free food and hygiene products, as well as some clothing and school supplies. Almost half of Clark’s student body is classified as lower-income, according to data from the college’s Office of Planning & Effectiveness. As of the first week in October, the Pantry has had 90 visits and provided almost 1,000 items to students.

The event will include remarks by Clark College President Bob Knight and a thank-you to the Pantry’s donors, which include Clark College Foundation, Clark employees, the Associated Students of Clark College, Sysco, and the Community Foundation of Southwest Washington. Staff will be on hand to answer visitors’ questions and guide them through the Pantry’s offerings. Food and personal-item donations will be collected during the event. Visit the Penguin Pantry web page at www.clark.edu/cc/penguinpantry for a list of suggested items or to learn about making a financial contribution.

The Pantry is located in Science Building Complex (SCI) room 101 on Clark College’s main campus, located at 1933 Fort Vancouver Way. The nearest parking lots are Orange 2 and Brown 1, both accessible from E. Reserve Street. Maps and directions are available online.

Individuals who need accommodation due to a disability in order to fully participate in this event should contact Clark College’s Disability Support Services Office at 360-992-2314 or 360-991-0901 (VP), or visit Penguin Union Building room 013 as soon as possible.

Photo: Clark College/Nick Bremer

Kenny Fries. Photo: Michael R. Dekker

The Clark College Columbia Writers Series kicks off its 2017-2018 season with renowned poet, memoirist, and critic Kenny Fries. This event, which is free and open to the public, will be held on Tuesday, October 10, from 11:00 a.m. to noon in Penguin Union Building (PUB) room 258A on Clark College’s main campus.

Fries is perhaps best known for his memoir Body, Remember: A Memoir, which recounts his experiences as a disabled child growing up in an abusive Orthodox Jewish home and slowly coming to terms with his identity as a gay, disabled man. He has written two other memoirs, In the Province of the Gods and The History of My Shoes and the Evolution of Darwin’s Theory, this last the winner of the Outstanding Book Award from the Gustavus Myers Center for the Study of Bigotry and Human Rights.  He is the editor of Staring Back:  The Disability Experience from the Inside Out and the author of the libretto for The Memory Stone, an opera commissioned by the Houston Grand Opera.  His books of poems include Anesthesia, Desert Walking, and In the Gardens of Japan. He teaches in the MFA in Creative Writing Program at Goddard College.

The Columbia Writers Series was launched at Clark College in 1988, bringing local, national and international authors to the college and the region. This year’s lineup of authors includes, besides Fries:

Fall

• October 30: Aimee Bender, author of The Girl in the Flammable Skirt and The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake

Winter

• February 15, 2018: Cheston Knapp, editor of Tin House magazine and author of Up Up, Down Down, which will appear in February 2018

Spring

• May 14, 2018: Roger Reeves, Pushcart Prize-winning poet
• May 17, 2018: Kate Berube, children’s book author and illustrator

Information about the Columbia Writers Series is available at www.clark.edu/cc/cws.

This event is held on Clark College’s main campus at 1933 Ft. Vancouver Way. Directions and maps are available online. Individuals who need accommodation due to a disability in order to fully participate in this event should contact Clark College’s Disability Support Services (DSS) Office at 360-992-2314 or 360-991-0901 (VP). The DSS office is located in room 013 in Clark’s Penguin Union Building.

Students find their way on the first day of the 2017 fall term.

Monday, September 25 marked the start of the 2017 fall term at Clark College.

While official numbers are not available until after the 10th day of class, the day began with 12,055 students enrolled, slightly down from last year’s Day One enrollment of 12,099. This reflects trends seen throughout the statewide system and through much of the country as well.

Some specific segments saw increases. Enrollment in eLearning (or online) courses grew this year by 18 percent, with more than 4,700 students taking advantage of those courses. Clark College’s Running Start Program also grew again this year by 2 percent to just over 2,100 students, making it the largest Running Start program in the state.

Other highlights for the quarter:

• 

  Cuisine instructor Aaron Guerra looks ready to start fall term.

  This quarter sees the relaunch of the college’s culinary programs, including Cuisine Management and Professional Baking and Pastry Arts. Students entering the program this quarter will be the first to study in the college’s McClaskey Culinary Institute, which is still in the final stages of construction and is expected to open to the public by the end of 2017. When it opens, it will be the only nonprofit culinary institute within 120 miles. Clark’s Culinary Arts – Cooking/Restaurant Management program was put on hiatus in 2013 in order to modernize the curriculum and facilities. The Culinary Arts – Baking/Bakery Management program was put on hiatus in 2015, when it was determined that the program could not continue running while the culinary facilities were being remodeled.

• The Bachelor of Applied Science in Applied Management program, which launched January 2017, begins its first full academic year at capacity with 35 students. This is the second bachelor’s degree offered by Clark, and more are expected to be announced by the end of this academic year. In response to strong demand, a second cohort of the BASAM program will launch in January.

• 

  The BAS in Applied Management program’s newest cohort poses with administrators, faculty, and campus resource specialists during their orientation session.

  The college’s new Rural Access Mechatronics Program (RAMP) launches this quarter, providing opportunities for students in underserved parts of the college’s service district to gain in-demand skills without relocating to urban areas. Made possible by a grant from the National Science Foundation, this two-quarter program allows students to earn a certificate in mechatronics through primarily online classes that require them to come to Clark’s Columbia Tech Center location in East Vancouver on Saturdays only. As with the BAS in Applied Management, this program is at capacity, and faculty are considering adding an additional cohort in winter term.

• The college’s new Penguin Pantry has opened on the college’s main campus, providing students with free food and hygiene supplies, as well as some clothing and school supplies. Almost half of Clark’s student body is classified as lower-income, according to data from the college’s Office of Planning & Effectiveness.

Photos: Campus photos by Clark College/Jennifer Shadley, BAS in Applied Management photo by Clark College/Jennifer Lea.

Stage Manager Mark Owsley steps out from behind the scenes to accept a service award at Opening Day.

Opening Day on Sept. 12 marked several celebrations of employee contributions to the college. Employees were recognized for 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, and 30 years of service to the college. Three employees–Facilities Services Maintenance Mechanic Daniel Simonson, Engineering professor Christina Barsotti, and Mathematics professor Tracy Nehnevaj–earned recognition for 25 years of service to the college, while Stage Manager Mark Owsley stepped out from behind the backdrop to accept a plaque for 30 years of service. And, in a surprise gesture, Board of Trustees chair Jada Rupley presented President Bob Knight with a Clark basketball jersey commemorating his 10th anniversary as college president.

President Knight holds a basketball jersey given to mark his 10th anniversary as college president.

“Currently the average tenure of a community college president is three and a half years,” noted Rupley. “We’re lucky to have someone who’s remained dedicated to our college for 10 years.”

Additionally, the recipients of the annual Exceptional Faculty Awards and quarterly Classified Staff Excellence Awards were recognized. The faculty awards are announced at Commencement and the quarterly Classified staff awards are announced each quarter. Additionally, two Classified Excellence Award nominees were announced to be recipients of the annual Exceptional Classified Staff Awards: Aleksandr Anisimov and Tia Schmidt.

Five Clark College employees received Presidential Coins during Opening Day. Introduced in 2007 by President Bob Knight, the coin is given to faculty and staff members who provide exemplary service to Clark students, the college and the community. The honorees are decided by the president and are kept secret until the names are announced–generally on Opening Day in the fall or during the annual State of the College address in January. The newest coin recipients are:

Sean Janson

Sean Janson started at Clark as an assistant men’s soccer coach in 2007. He became head coach of the women’s soccer team in 2014, and has led the Penguins to be one of the most dominant forces in their league. In 2017, they won the Northwest Athletic Conference South Region Title for the first time in college history. Additionally, the team held a 2.94 cumulative GPA, and eight out of nine sophomores on the team signed letters of intent at four-year institutions.

Roberta Roche, who has worked at Clark for more than 40 years, accepts a Presidential Coin at the 2017 Opening Day employee recognition.

Roberta Roche

Roberta Roche first joined Clark in 1973 as a part-time Clerk-Typist. She has served in several positions and departments over her four decades at Clark; currently, she is a Program Specialist 2 in the Office of Financial Aid, where she serves as the central point of contact for outside agencies who provide funding for students. During the 2016-2017 year, she processed more than $1.2 million in outside agency funding. Knight remarked, “One outside agency representative recently commented that he has worked with numerous colleges, and the support and direction that she provided far outweighed any other help that he had received.”

Sherry Smith

Sherry Smith serves as the STEM Administrative Services Manager. She was commended for her role in moving departments into the new STEM Building with few problems. “She works quietly but she is very effective in supporting the STEM unit,” said Knight.

Toccara Stark

Toccara Stark has served as Director of Marketing at Clark since August 2015 and, Knight said, “It is hard to think of anyone who has had such a great effect in such a short amount of time.” Stark has led the college’s rebranding effort and has been instrumental in many college initiatives. She also works regularly with Clark College Foundation and community stakeholders on behalf of the college.

Kristy Taylor

Faculty member Kristy Taylor was recently named the director of Clark’s Dental Hygiene program after serving as interim director for two years. She oversaw the program’s recent and successful accreditation review. Taylor also serves on several college committees, including Academic Planning. Knight called her “a strong advocate for Clark students.”

To see more photos from Opening Day, visit the college’s Flickr album.

Read more about Opening Day on our news site.

Photos: Clark College/Jenny Shadley

Clark employees enter O’Connell Sports Complex to attend Opening Day.

Fall was in the air on Monday, September 18. Not only did the day see the first substantial rainfall in months—a change welcomed by many, with their thoughts on this summer’s devastating wildfire season—but it was also the occasion for Clark College faculty and staff to gather once again and greet a new academic year at the college’s annual Opening Day celebration.

The event highlighted a year in which the college will be, in many ways, re-envisioning itself. President Bob Knight opened his remarks with lessons that he and other college leadership had gained Dr. Margaret Wheatley’s book, Who Do We Choose to Be?: Facing Reality, Claiming Leadership, Restoring Sanity. “In a world that is sometimes chaotic at best, every day, faculty and staff have the opportunity to do extraordinary things that change the lives of students, improve the community, and ultimately impact our world,” he said, adding that the college is adapting to expand those opportunities.

Board of Trustees Chair Jada Rupley echoed that theme, discussing the board’s role in approving the college’s Strategic and Academic plans that are designed, in large part, to help boost student retention and completion rates. “Now the hard work is what needs to be done—and that’s your work,” she said.

Knight went on to enumerate some of aspects of that work, including the college’s progress toward the Guided Pathways model of higher education, which has led to the creation of a new “Areas of Study” map that changes the way current programs are organized. He also talked about new systems put in place to provide shared governance at the college, as well as continued work toward realizing the college’s Social Equity Plan.

In speaking about social equity, Knight addressed the plight of Clark students covered by Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), a currently threatened program that provides limited protection to undocumented immigrants who grew up in the United States. “Our DACA students are welcome here at Clark College,” said Knight. He continued over the noise of a standing ovation, “We’re an open-access college and we’re here for everyone!”

Knight received another standing ovation shortly afterward when he announced the opening of the college’s new Penguin Pantry, an on-campus food bank that began serving students this summer. “This new service recognizes that our students make difficult choices with their money every day, and we don’t want hunger to limit a student’s ability to learn,” he said.

Knight also looked forward to the McClaskey Culinary Institute opening later in the year—“We’ll be eating there very soon, so hang on”—and thanked the Clark College Foundation for its support in funding the new facility.

President Bob Knight congratulates Clark alumna Dr. Inva Begolli during the college’s 2017 Opening Day.

Then, in a reminder of what the college has already accomplished, he invited Dr. Inva Begolli to join him at the podium. Begolli, who graduated from Clark in 2011 after fleeing her native Albania, earned a full scholarship to continue her education at Washington State University. Earlier this year, she earned her doctorate in Pharmacy from Pacific University. “This lady is an example of what we do here at Clark College,” said Knight. “She wants to be the Health Minister of Albania one day, and I believe she will be.”

Knight said that another way the college is adapting to meet its students is through a months-long rebranding effort. “As we continue to struggle through an enrollment crisis, it is important to take a step back and evaluate who we are, if others know who we are, and most importantly, if who we are matches who or what people think we are,” he said.

Employees received weekly planners with key brand messages inside them and viewed a video covering key elements of the brand. As is Opening Day tradition, a music video featuring employees was unveiled, and employees were honored with awards, Presidential Coins, and service-anniversary recognitions. The event ended with lunch in Gaiser Student Center.

Photos: Clark College/Jenny Shadley

Beginning July 10, the College will be closed to the public at noon on Fridays through September 1. Below please find information about the availability of College services available during this closure period.

Please note that 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.

All hours listed below are effective July 10 – September 1 unless otherwise noted.

Athletics Office

• Closed at noon on Fridays.

Bookstore

• Closed July 17 and 18 for annual inventory
• Open Friday, July 21, 8:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
• Closed Fridays July 28 – August 25
• Open Friday, September 1, 8:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.

Business Services

• Closed at noon on Fridays.

Cashiering

• Closed at noon on Fridays.

Central Services

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

Child & Family Studies

• Closed September 4 – 8.

Counseling and Health Center

• CHC Front Desk (scheduling, chill room, resources, and over-the-counter medications): Monday 9:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.; Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday 7:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.; Friday closed.
• Student personal counseling appointments: Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
• Physical health/medical(ARNP) appointments: Tuesday 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. and Wednesday-Thursday 8:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.

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 14 – September 1, 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.

Food Service

• 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. – 2:30 p.m. Closed Fridays.
• Chewy’s Really Big Burritos – open Monday – Thursday, 8:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. Closed Fridays.
• Mighty Bowl – open Monday – Thursday, 9:50 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. Closed Fridays.
• Clark Café (in Joan Stout Hall) – open Monday – Thursday, 8:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. Closed Fridays.

Gaiser/PUB student services

• Open Monday – Thursday 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. and Friday 8:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
• Advising, Assessment, Career Services, Enrollment, and Financial Aid are open until 6:00 p.m. on Mondays and Tuesdays.

Human Resources

• Closed at noon on Fridays.

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 3 – August 25.
• Open 9:00 a.m. – noon on Fridays from July 14 – August 25.
• Clark College branch closed August 28 – September 22.
• Resumes regular operating hours the week of September 25.

Libraries

• Cannell Library and CTC Information Commons: Open Monday – Thursday 8:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.  Closed Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
• eLearning front office (LIB 124): Open Monday – Thursday 8:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
• TechHub (Cannell Library): Open Monday – Thursday 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Office of the Vice President of Administrative Services

• Closed at noon on Fridays.

Office of the Vice President of Instruction

• Closed at noon on Fridays.

President’s Office

• Closed at noon on Fridays.

Production Printing

• Closed at noon on Fridays.

Security

• Lost and Found will be open 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday-Thursday and  8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. on Fridays.
• Security officers will be available 24/7 for all security related issues.

Tutoring

• Science, Technology, Engineering, & Math Center: Monday – Thursday 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
• Language & Writing Center: Monday – Thursday 8:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
• Transitional Studies Tutoring Center: Monday – Thursday 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
• Accounting & Business Center: Closed during summer

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.

Photo: Clark College/Jenny Shadley

Kate Cook

Math professor Kate Cook was granted tenure during the Clark College Board of Trustees meeting on June 14.

Cook earned her bachelor’s degree in mathematics and education at Principia College in Illinois and her master’s degree in mathematics at California State University, East Bay. She has previous teaching experience at Portland Community College and began teaching at Clark as an adjunct in 2008.

Cook’s involvement at Clark includes leading the Core to College Grant team, serving as the course coordinator for statistics courses in the Mathematics Department, and presenting mathematics worksheet ideas at local and national conferences.

“I try to meet the student at their level and encourage them forward to new confidence and ability in math,” said Cook, who lives in Vancouver. “I’ve found that a bit of humor helps make that rocky path more enjoyable.”

Tenure is awarded by the college’s Board of Trustees based on professional excellence and outstanding abilities in their disciplines. The granting of tenure is based on the recommendations of tenure review committees to the vice president of instruction, which are then forwarded to the president, who presents a final recommendation to the Board of Trustees. Recommendations are based on self-evaluations, tenure review committee evaluations, student evaluations, supervisory evaluations, and peer evaluations. The final decision to award or withhold tenure rests with the Board of Trustees.