During her decade as a Clark College trustee, Sherry Parker has been a frequent presence at the college.

Ever since she first became a member of the Clark College Board of Trustees in 2003, Sherry Parker has been vital presence at the college, where she has faithfully attended not just board meetings but also Opening Days, State of the College addresses, cultural events, Commencement ceremonies—even when inmates were celebrating earning their GEDs through Clark at Larch Correctional Facility, Sherry Parker was there.

Last Thursday, however, Parker attended her last board meeting, as her tenure has officially expired. There was little fanfare at the event; Clark College President Bob Knight had hosted a private celebration at his home that Monday to thank Parker for her decade-long service to the college. Even so, as each trustee rose in turn to speak, it became clear how valuable Parker has been to the board.

“Sherry Parker was Clark College at the state level,” said Trustee Jada Rupley, referring to Parker’s role as a tireless committee member of the statewide Trustees Association of Community and Technical Colleges.

Clark College Trustee Jack Burkman, Trustee Emeritus Sherry Parker, alumna Dena Brill, Trustee Royce Pollard and Trustee Rekah Strong at the 2014 State of the College address.

That work earned her a TACTC Trustee Leadership Award earlier this year. Her nomination for the award cited her work in helping the college complete several key initiatives including the construction and opening of Clark College at Columbia Tech Center and the opening of the Oliva Family Early Learning Center, adding that she “has been a central figure in keeping the college focused on the student experience and student success. She is truly an advocate for students.”

Parker’s focus on students was due in part to her own experiences as a Clark student. She enrolled in the college in 1981, soon after she moved to Vancouver due to her husband’s job. Parker, who already had a bachelor’s degree in education from the University of South Florida, realized she would need to improve her computer skills to compete in the modern job market. She earned her Associate of Applied Science degree in 1983 and wound up working for the college as well, working part-time as a department secretary and teaching computer skills to mature learners through Clark’s Corporate and Continuing Education.

Sherry Parker, blue jacket, could always be counted on to attend events during her decade-long tenure as a Clark College trustee.

Eventually, Parker moved on to other job opportunities, working as a substitute teacher, in advertising, as a legal secretary in the juvenile court system, and in the Clark County Clerk’s office as Deputy Clerk. She was elected County Clerk in 2006 and served in that position until 2011.

In an email after the board meeting, Parker called the end of her tenure on the Board of Trustees “bittersweet.”

“I would be happy to continue my service, but after almost 11 years, it is time for a new perspective on the board,” she wrote. “I know [Michael] Ciraulo will do a great job as a trustee.”

Ciraulo, who also attended Thursday’s board meeting—his first—acknowledged during the speeches that he would have “big shoes to fill” in taking Parker’s spot on the board. But even though Parker’s time on the board is ending, she will continue to be a familiar presence at the college—in fact, she has already begun volunteering at the college’s Corporate and Continuing Education office.

“I will always be a member of the Penguin Nation,” Parker wrote, “and I will help out in any way I can.”

Photos: Clark College/Jenny Shadley

Clark College Trustee Michael Ciraulo

Michael Ciraulo has been appointed to the Clark College Board of Trustees by Gov. Jay Inslee. His five-year term will begin Nov. 1, 2014. Ciraulo takes over for Trustee Sherry Parker, whose term expired this summer.

“Mike Ciraulo brings a long history of public service to the board and we are happy to welcome him,” said Clark College President Robert K. Knight. “As a graduate of a community college, a community leader, and a professional firefighter, he brings a lot of energy and enthusiasm to the college.”

A 20-year veteran of the fire service, he is currently the Division Chief in charge of Training and Education at Clark County Fire and Rescue. He earned his associate degree in fire protection from Portland Community College, a bachelor’s degree in business management and communications from Concordia University, and is a graduate of the Executive Fire Officer Program through the National Fire Academy.

A dedicated public servant, Ciraulo has previously served as both Mayor and City Council member in Battle Ground, where he resides. He has given his time to many public causes statewide and in Southwest Washington, including the Washington State Higher Education Facilities Authority, President of the Clark County Mosquito Control District, Board of Directors for the North County Community Food Bank, Chairperson of the North Clark County Steering Committee for Loaves and Fishes, Larch Corrections Community Advisory Board, and the Lewis River Rotary.

The Clark College Board of Trustees consists of five members who are appointed by the Governor of Washington. Members serve a five-year term and must live in the college’s service district. The Board seeks to ensure the quality and relevance of college programs and to provide stewardship of public resources. In this role, the Board is responsible for strategic planning; development and approval of college policies; and approval and oversight of the operating budget.

Ciraulo’s first meeting will be November 19 at 5 p.m. in Gaiser Hall at Clark College.

Photo courtesy of Michael Ciraulo.

Clark’s new website features improved navigation and a mobile-friendly format.

Clark College is launching a new website today that will help improve navigation, expand access forstudents, and ensure timely updates to content. The website, which uses the same clark.edu address as the college’s former website, features a new, mobile-friendly format that can be viewed on a variety of platforms and devices.

The new site also includes a variety of helpful features to aid students in navigating to the information they need. A prominent box on the home page includes links to frequently used pages; for more detailed searches, the website’s “Clark A-Z” page has been expanded to offer visitors direct links to even more services. This page and other navigation tools are now easily findable through the “Directories” link on the right side of the top navigation menu found on every page.

For students, the “Current Students” page (also easily found in the top navigation menu that appears on every page, under “Clark Students”) has been improved with a clean layout that helps students easily access the information they need–including schedule planning, online registration, and student email.

Behind the scenes, a new content management system has streamlined departments’ abilities to update information on their web pages, ensuring that important departmental information gets updated regularly by the people who understand it best. The college’s Communications & Marketing Department will continue to oversee the website’s look and operation.

The new site is the work of not just Communications & Marketing, but of dozens of Clark staff and faculty members who collaborated on content and navigation, trained to become content managers, and worked to improve the content on their respective departments’ pages. Many months in the making, this new website will continue to develop after launch, with new features like a mobile-friendly online map to the main campus already in the works.

Visitors to the site are encouraged to contact commark@clark.edu with any questions, notes for improvement, or concerns.

Director of Athletics Ann Walker

Vice President of Student Affairs William Belden announced today that Clark College has hired Ann Walker as the new Director of Intercollegiate Athletics; her first day will be Tuesday, September 2. Walker comes to Clark from Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where she served as the Associate Athletic Director for Compliance and Internal Operations. Overall, Walker has served for 23 years in athletics in roles ranging from administration to coaching.

“We are excited to be able to hire someone with Ann’s depth of experience and commitment to student success in this position at Clark, and I know she will be a great resource and advocate for our student athletes,” Belden said.

Walker served as an assistant basketball coach at Creighton University before being hired to head the women’s program at Minnesota State University. From there, she moved into athletic administration and has held a variety of positions including conference leadership roles. She has a M.A. in Sports Psychology from the University of Iowa, and a B.A. in Elementary Education from Northwestern College in Iowa.

Walker comes to Clark during an athletic upswing. Last year, 10 of 11 sports programs at Clark College made post-season appearances and four coaches won conference Coach of the Year Honors. Clark College’s fall athletic programs begin play on Monday, August 25.

Work and closures will take place inside the areas marked by yellow lines.

Sections of Green Lot One will be closed off during the month of July as the college works to improve its fiber optic system. On July 15 and 16, the entire northwest portion of the lot will be closed to cars as workers determine the locations of existing underground utilities. Once those locations have been determined, smaller areas of the lot will be closed off as specific sites are worked on. All work should be done, and the entire lot re-opened, by the end of July.

Article and photo contributed by Facilities Services.

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

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

Clark College announced today the purchase of land that will become the location of a new campus serving the northern portion of the college’s service district.

The purchase was made possible with the strong partnership of the Clark College Foundation, which finalized the purchase of nearly 60 acres through a generous $3.1 million gift from the Boschma Family LLC. Additionally, the foundation will pay $6 million for the land. The acreage is located in Ridgefield on the east side of North 65th Avenue, north of Pioneer Street and northeast of the Interstate 5 and Pioneer Street interchange.

The leadership gift from the Boschma family was key in being able to move forward on this project. In making the more than $3.1 million gift, Hank and Bernice Boschma said they were excited to be a part of expanding educational opportunities for students in the region, including first-generation and immigrant students.

In April, the Washington State Board of Community and Technical Colleges prioritized building projects for the upcoming biennium. According to that prioritization, the North County Campus building will receive design funding in the 2017-2019 budget, and likely receive construction funding in the 2019-2021 budget.

The gift and acquisition help realize the long-term vision for the growth anticipated at Clark College. The college’s 2007 Facilities Master Plan identified North County as a growth area based on projections from regional economists, and the most recent update of the Facilities Master Plan reinforced the need for a facility in this part of Clark’s service area.

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

Vice President of Instruction Dr. Tim Cook welcomes members of the college’s advisory committees.

On January 21, 2014, nearly 40 people attended Clark College’s Advisory Committee Chairperson Training. Clark College has 25 advisory committees, 15 of which were represented by a chair and/or vice-chair at this training session. Others who attended the training included faculty and administrators.

Vice President of Instruction Dr. Tim Cook opened up the session by welcoming the attendees and discussing the importance of advisory committees to the college and the role they will play in the future. Advisory committees are groups of industry and business experts who help ensure that the college’s career and technical programs are aligned correctly with the region’s workforce needs.

Dedra Daehn, Director of Academic Services, conducted the training.  Topics of the session included ways to engage advisory committee members, work plan development, basic parliamentary procedure and effectively leading committees. A time of questions and discussion followed the training session.

This training, which was first offered last year, is an ongoing commitment of the college to support and enhance advisory committees.

Dedra Daehn contributed this article.

Photos: Clark College/Jenny Shadley