Dr. Karin Edwards, Dr. Joaquin Martinez, Dr. Lamata Mitchell, and Dr. Sara Thompson Tweedy
The Clark College Board of Trustees has announced the completion of a major step in selecting the next Clark College President. The trustees selected four finalists Wednesday, December 18, at its monthly public meeting. The board acted on the recommendations made by the search advisory committee that conducted interviews with ten semi-finalists last week.
“It’s a milestone in our search and a moment to celebrate,” said Board Trustee Paul Speer. “The Search Advisory Committee has accomplished its task in finding Clark College four outstanding candidates. I thank them for their excellent and collaborative work.”
The four finalists are: Dr. Karin Edwards, president of the Cascade Campus of Portland Community College; Dr. Joaquín G. Martínez, district vice provost of institutional effectiveness at Miami Dade College; Dr. Lamata D. Mitchell, vice president of instruction and academic operations at Pima Community College; and Dr. Sara Thompson Tweedy, vice president of student access, involvement, and success at SUNY Westchester Community College. Full biographies of all four finalists are available online at www.clark.edu/presidential-search/search/finalists.php.
Clark College received 65 qualified applications as it began its recruitment process in September with the assistance of a national search firm, Gold Hill Associates. The Search Advisory Committee comprised of community leaders, college employees and students then reviewed the applications and narrowed the field to ten semi-finalists. Last week, the committee interviewed all ten candidates and made their recommendations to the Board of Trustees.
“This was a great process to be part of,” said Al Schauer, a committee member and business leader. “I appreciated the robust discussions and ultimately, the strong consensus within the committee that Clark College has four outstanding candidates to choose from.”
“This has been an inclusive search with multiple perspectives represented in the process,” added Eric Merrill, Clark College Foundation Board Chair and member of the President Selection Committee. “This is a critical leadership position for the college and our community. It’s exciting to see high-caliber candidates who want to serve as our next college president.”
The finalists will be invited to the college in January for constituent panel interviews and public forums. It is expected that the Board of Trustees will make its selection by the end of February 2020 and that the new President will begin onboarding in the summer of 2020 in preparation for the 2020-2021 academic year.
Current Interim President Dr. Sandra Fowler-Hill was hired in June 2019 to lead the college through the transition. She was not a candidate for the permanent position. Fowler-Hill stepped in when former college president Bob Knight retired last summer.
“Having an interim president has allowed the college and the community this important time to carefully consider who will lead the college into the next decade,” said Speer. “Dr. Fowler-Hill has provided key leadership at a critical time and will help the onboarding process with our next President.”
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.
The Weekly News: Week 20
This week
Welcome back from the holidays! I hope you had time to rest and
enjoy time with friends and family. I enjoyed volunteering delivering Meals on
Wheels in Hillsboro with my husband and finalizing plans for my daughter’s
wedding in January. It was wonderful having 4 days to spend with family.
This morning our student leaders hosted Washington State
Legislators at the Clark College annual legislative breakfast. They talked to
our elected officials about their priorities, specifically college
accessibility and affordability. We have a strong ASCC leadership team this
year, and they were excellent representatives of our college students.
Also today, we are meeting with our AACC Guided Pathways coach, Dr. Chris Hill. She is
on campus today and tomorrow to review our work to date and assist us in moving
this important work forward. Dr. Hill will be meeting with the Guided Pathways
Core Leadership Team; Pillar 1, 2, 3 and 4 Teams; Board of Trustees; faculty;
students; and professional development teams to learn more about our progress
and plans for implementing Guided Pathways. Everyone is invited to attend the
College Debrief at the conclusion of her two-day visit on Tuesday at 4:00 –
5:00 p.m. in GHL 213.
Career
Launch at Clark College
Our Mechatronics Program has been endorsed as a Career Launch Program by the
SBCTC. This is exciting news for several reasons.
It formally acknowledges our partnership with SEH America to
provide students with real work experience while pursuing their AA degree.
It also opens the door for state grants to provide equipment for
the program.
It provides incentives for additional businesses to participate
in the Career Launch program.
A formal announcement will be made next week. I wanted to give
you advance notice of this great news. It signals a new chapter in our
partnerships with local employers.
I want to acknowledge the work of Mohammed Maraee, who has
brought the Center of Excellence for Semiconductors and Electronic
Manufacturing to Southwest Washington. He is working closely with Clark College
and area employers to build these important relationships.
I want to thank our team at Clark—Julie Robertson, Genevieve
Howard, Armetta Burney, Sachi Horback, and the mechatronics faculty—for your
work in responding to industry and moving this important initiative forward.
Presidential Search
Milestone
On November 25, the Presidential Search Advisory Committee,
having reviewed 65 applications, selected ten semifinalists to be considered as
our college’s next president!
The next step will be confidential semifinalist video interviews
conducted by the Search Advisory Committee during the second week of December.
Three or four finalist candidates will then be advanced to the
Board of Trustees for their approval at their December meeting.
During January, approved finalists will participate in
constituent panel interviews and public forums at Clark College. Evaluation
visits to finalists’ colleges will also take place in January.
It is expected that the Board of Trustees will make their selection
by the end of February 2020, and that our new President will begin onboarding
in the summer of 2020 in preparation for the 2020-2021 academic year.
Thank you everyone who is supporting this important work for the
College, our students, staff and community. More information on Clark’s
presidential search can be found at www.clark.edu/presidential-search.
Grant Awards
Clark College was awarded $100,000 from SBCTC to expand
access to the college’s Student Emergency Grant Program.
This funding is $50,000 per year for two years, starting January
2020.
This funding provides monetary assistance to students
experiencing unforeseen emergencies or situations that affect the student’s
ability to attend classes (e.g., paying for food, transportation, childcare, or
other goods or services needed in order for the student to continue attending
classes). This funding will provide low-barrier access for students (with no
income restrictions), even if they do not meet the traditional definition of a
“high-need” student. To date, Clark College has awarded over $44,000 in
emergency grant assistance, and this additional funding will allow the program
to prevent even more students from dropping out due to financial emergencies.
The Emergency Grant fund includes support from Clark County
Community Action Fund Grant, SBCTC Student Emergency Assistance Grant, and
Clark College Foundation. Combined, these funds provide approximately $100,000
each year to support our students! Starting in January, all Emergency Grants
will be administered through the Financial Wellness Program in Student Affairs.
Thank you to the team who helped write the grant: Julie
Robertson, Kevin Thomas, Edie Blakely, Selena Castro and Cath Busha. Well done!
Concerts this week
The Clark College Orchestra Fall Concert is set
for Wednesday evening at 7:30pm on December 4. Our congratulations to Dr.
Donald Appert: This is his 30th anniversary leading the orchestra. The
performance begins at 7:30 p.m. in the Skyview High School Auditorium, 1300 NW
139th St., Vancouver. Free Admission.
The Clark College Women’s Choral Ensemble and Chorale, under
the direction of Dr. Jacob Funk, will perform their Fall Concert on Thursday,
December 5, at 7:30 p.m. in the Vancouver First United Methodist Church, 401 E.
33rd St, Vancouver. A second concert is scheduled for Saturday, December 7 at
7:00 p.m., also at Vancouver First United Methodist Church. Admission to both
concerts is free.
The Clark College Concert Band, under the direction of
Dr. Doug Harris, will perform “Fanfares & Dances” on Friday,
December 6, at 7:30 p.m. in the Durst Theatre of the Vancouver School of Arts
and Academics, 3101 Main St. Free admission.
I want to thank everyone in the Clark College Music Department
for their talents and time in creating memorable moments for our students and
our audience. Congratulations!
Giving Tuesday
Tomorrow is Giving Tuesday – a global generosity movement encouraging people to contribute time and treasure to their favorite charities. As a reminder, we have an employee giving campaign at Clark College supporting students through the Foundation.
You can choose where and how your gift is used. There is a match
program ongoing for the Penguin Pantry. A generous donor has committed to a
$5,000 match for the pantry if we reach our goal of 220 donors who make a gift
of $10 or more by June 18, 2020. You can
make a gift here any time.
However you choose to observe Giving Tuesday, I appreciate all the ways you support our students at Clark College.
Next
week for your planning
You are all invited to the Winter Social Tuesday December 10,
2019 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.
The Weekly News: Week 18
National Honors
Clark College has been named a 2020 Best for Vets college in the Career and Technical College category by Military Times—just one of 19 colleges across the nation to receive this designation. It’s the third year in a row Clark has earned Best for Vets status. Kudos to everyone in the Veterans Resource Center, as well as everyone across the college who helps support our student veterans!
New VP of DEI named
Please join me in congratulating Rashida Willard, who has
accepted the appointment as the new Vice President for Diversity, Equity and
Inclusion at Clark College. This is an important milestone for the Office of
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and a positive leap forward for the college in
supporting our staff, faculty and students.
Rashida stepped into the role as interim 17 months ago while
still the Director of Operations and Risk Management in Administrative
Services. She has taken on additional responsibilities in service to the
college and she has earned the respect of her peers, our students, and the
community as a strong and effective leader.
During this interim period, she has created and developed
structures, spaces, and programs to help remove barriers for students and she’s
leading the effort to create a culturally competent campus to help students
succeed. She is deeply invested in this work and passionate about creating
inclusive, safe, and welcoming environments where all students have maximum
opportunities to succeed.
Rashida holds a master’s degree in Business Administration, a
bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, and an associate degree in
Organizational Dynamics. She is currently attending Concordia University,
pursuing a doctorate in Education with a concentration in Professional
Leadership, Inquiry and Transformation.
Under Rashida’s leadership, the ODEI team has built good
momentum, developing new initiatives and programs that will help our college
move forward.
Please join me in congratulating and thanking Rashida for
accepting this role.
Penguin Power!
We did it, Penguins! We won the Walktober challenge between
Clark College, Lower Columbia College, and WSU Vancouver. Our 68 Walktober
participants averaged 9,694 steps during the month of October, winning us a
trophy and bragging rights. Special shout-outs to our top Penguin walkers:
1st place: Sydney Brahmavar
(Environmental Science) – 843,756 steps
Departmental winner:
Environmental Science, with an average daily total of 27,218 steps
… And, of course, to Interim Director of Talent Acquisition and
Development Vanessa Neal, who led our Walktober efforts. I invite all Walktober
participants to join Vanessa, Oswald, and myself at noon on November 20 at the
Japanese Friendship Garden (or inside O’Connell if it’s raining) for a group
photo with our fabulous trophy.
Kudos to the STEM Team
Thanks to dozens of STEM Unit students, staff, and faculty
volunteers who hosted the Elementary Science Olympiad on Saturday, in
conjunction with the Southwest Washington Science Olympiad (WSO). Eighteen
teams of third-through-fifth graders from throughout Southwest Washington
participated, representing 14 schools from 8 school districts, with a total 270
students. The challenging and motivating events of WSO align with Washington
State Learning Standards. The events throughout the day were designed to
enhance and strengthen both science content and processing skills.
And, thanks to the Clark College Surveying and Geomatics
Department, in conjunction with the United States Forest Service, for hosting
Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Day on Friday. GIS is a scientific framework
for gathering, analyzing and visualizing geographic data to help us make better
decisions. GIS Day included a number of speakers, displays, and interactive
geospatial activities.
Also, congratulations to STEM Dean Peter Williams on his recent
presentation with Dr. Carli Schiffner, SBCTC Deputy Executive Director of
Education, and Dr. Gita Bangera, Dean of the RISE Learning Center at Bellevue
College, on “Scaling Up Classroom Undergraduate Research Experiences Statewide”
at the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U)
Transforming STEM Higher Education conference in Chicago, Illinois.
Time
to nominate outstanding employees
There are three employee award programs now
accepting nominations. I hope you will look around you and decide to make a
nomination: the Lora Whitfield Social Equity Award, the quarterly Classified
Excellence Award, and the Exceptional Administrative Exempt Award.
The
Lora Whitfield Social Equity Award honors a member of the Clark College
community that has demonstrated a sustained
commitment to advancing equity. Award recipients will receive a plaque along with $1,000
funded by the Clark College Foundation. This award will be presented at Opening
Day before the beginning of fall quarter each year. This 2020 inaugural year,
the award will be announced during State of the College in winter quarter.
For 2020, nominations should be submitted by November
29 for the Executive Cabinet to review and select an award winner by
State of the College in January.
Please nominate a Clark College Employee by
visiting the Lora Whitfield Social Equity Award page and fill out the online submission form.
Do you know of an outstanding Classified employee at
Clark? Have you been looking for a meaningful way to say “thank you” to that
person who has gone above and beyond in their service to you, your department
or the college community? Now is your chance to acknowledge that special
person.
Also, nominations are being accepted for outstanding Classified
employee at Clark for the 2019 Fall Quarter Award. Please continue
reading for more information. Submissions can be made by filling out the online
submission form. Please only submit a nomination for the current quarter. The
deadline is 5:00 p.m. on
Friday, November 22. For questions, contact Vanessa Neal, vneal@clark.edu in Human Resources.
And, a new award for 2020 is the Clark
College Administrator 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 has been
created. Submissions can be made by filling out the online submission form by 5:00 p.m. on
Friday, December 13. For questions, contact Lisa Wolfson, lwolfson@clark.edu in the Office of the
President.
Selection
will be based on the following criteria:
Exemplary Work Performance
Excellence in work performance
Makes a significant impact on the College (give examples of
involvement, attitude, helpfulness, etc.).
Contributes and demonstrates commitment to the College’s mission
and core values.
Initiative and Collaboration
Positive interaction and engagement with all community partners
(faculty, staff, students and the public)
Exhibits respect for fellow workers and students
Special Achievements or Contributions to the College Community
Initiates or actively participates in projects for the
betterment of the college community
Serves in leadership roles with campus groups/committees and/or
external college partners
Displays consistent interest in and active support of diversity;
seeks and promotes interaction with and between groups with differing
ideologies, cultures, socioeconomic status, etc.
Recipients of this award will receive a glass plaque and $1,000
funded through an anonymous donor’s contributions to the Clark College
Foundation. These awards will typically be announced on Open Day before the
beginning of fall quarter each year. This inaugural year (2019-2020), the
awards will be presented at the State of the College address during winter
quarter.
To be eligible, the nominees must be a current full-time
Administrative employee who has been in their current position for more than
twelve (12) months. Members of the President’s Executive Cabinet are not
eligible to be nominated.
Congratulations, Dr. Donald Appert
The award-winning Clark
College Orchestra will present its Fall concert as part of the 2019-20 season
celebrating the 30th anniversary of Music Director/Conductor Donald
Appert on
Wednesday, December 4 at Skyview High School.
This all-orchestral extravaganza
will include La Valse by Maurice
Ravel, Nuages and Fêtes from
Claude Debussy’s Nocturnes,and
Josef Suk’s Symphony No. 1 in E minor. The performance
is at 7:30 p.m. and admission is free and open to the
public. Donations to the Orchestra General Fund will be
accepted at the door.
We are
fortunate to have such treasures at Clark College.
Student Enrollment
Clark College began registering students for Winter quarter this
past week for priority registration. While Clark’s ctcLink Project Management
team works to provide access to queries that will help manage enrollment, I ask
for your patience. Planning and Effectiveness is working to redevelop our
enrollment management tools in Tableau to be available to all during winter
quarter.
Open Enrollment for
employees
It’s that time – a chance to review and make changes to your
public employee benefits. Open enrollment ends Saturday, November 30. To make
changes go to My Account on the
PEBB website. If you have questions about your benefits or account, please
contact one of our benefits team members:
Once again, I want to share my appreciation
for the Clark ctcLink team, who have done an amazing job throughout the goLive
conversion. I am inspired by the dedication of all the staff that I’ve seen
across the campus in Finance, HR, Student Services, Instruction, Planning and
Effectiveness, and IT who have been problem-solving throughout the week. Change
is hard, and this has been exhausting and frustrating work. This amazing team
has risen to the challenge. The whole state community college system has been
watching us to see how this is done. Congratulations again, Penguin Nation.
You’ve got this!
This next week I look forward to my first
quarterly meeting between the WSUV Executive Team and Clark College Executive
Team. The following day the Clark College Executive Team is participating in a
daylong retreat with Dr. Kathy Obear, continuing to work on improving ourselves
as a team.
Congratulations to the Penguin Men and Women who are running the
NWAC Cross Country Championship in Lacey today (Monday, November 18). Go
Penguins!!
I will be in Seattle the remainder of the
week with Shanda Haluapo, Associate Vice President of Planning and
Effectiveness and Clark College Accreditation Liaison Officer, at the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities Annual Conference on Student Success, where I look
forward to learning more about the new Eligibility Requirements and
Accreditation Standards for 2020. I plan to stay in Seattle for the weekend to
have an early holiday with my family.
This coming weekend will be a busy one on campus, with
performances of “A Bright New Boise” in the Decker Theatre in Frost Arts Center
Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings at 7:30 p.m.; Men’s and Women’s
Basketball games in O’Connell
Sports Complex; and the Clark College Jazz Band, under the direction of Dr.
Doug Harris, presenting its “A Salute to the Big Bands” on Saturday at 7:30
p.m. in Gaiser Student Center.
And just because Walktober is over, that doesn’t mean we Penguins
should stop being active: Get ready for the Fall Free Fun Run and Walk next
Tuesday, November 26, at 1:15 p.m. in front of the Cannell Library.
Registration is free and starts at 1:00 pm.
VP for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion announced
Rashida Willard
Clark College announced today November 14, 2019 that Rashida Willard has accepted the position of Vice President of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at the college effective immediately.
“Rashida has earned the respect of her peers, our students and the
community as a strong and effective leader,” said Clark College Interim
President Sandra Fowler-Hill who made the appointment. “She has created and
developed structures, spaces and programs to help remove barriers for students
and she’s leading the effort to create a culturally competent campus to help
students succeed. The college is thrilled to make this announcement.”
Willard joined Clark College four years ago as Operations Manager
of Administrative Services. She has taught as an adjunct professor, has served
as Director of Operations and Risk Manager, and for the past 17 months has
served as Interim Associate Vice President of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.
During that time, she has developed, aligned and integrated new
and existing initiatives and procedures into a cohesive platform to foster a
more inclusive, welcoming and diverse college community.
“I am deeply invested in this work, and am passionate about
creating inclusive, safe and welcoming environments where all students have maximum opportunities to succeed,” Willard said.
“I am eager to move forward in community and collaboration, building on our
team’s momentum of the last several months.”
Willard was
a participant and graduate of the Social Justice Leadership Institute for the
Washington State Community College System in 2017-2018 and was nominated as a
Real Hero by the Learn Here Project in 2018. She is also a part of the
Vancouver Police Chief’s Diversity Advisory Team.
Willard
holds a master’s degree in Business Administration, a bachelor’s degree in
Business Administration, and an associate degree in Organizational Dynamics.
She is currently attending Concordia University, pursuing a doctorate in
Education with a concentration in Professional Leadership, Inquiry and
Transformation. Her current research explores strategies that faculty and staff
employ to create culturally engaging spaces for students of color attending
predominantly white institutions and how campus racial climate affects their
persistence and completion rates. This research will be used to examine and
identify strategies to close the equity gap among students of color in higher
education.
The Weekly News: Week 17
Veterans Day
Thank you to our student and employee Veterans who have served our country. We have 304 Veterans enrolled at Clark College this fall. I’m so proud of ourVeterans Resource Center that is available to help veterans and their dependents get connected with the resources and networks of support available to them at Clark College and in the local community. The Center provides welcoming staff, mentoring from other student veterans, and tools to succeed academically and personally including subsidized dental care, a Books for Vets program, and tutoring.
ctcLink Success
Congratulations and thank you to our amazing ctcLink team!
89% of our staff have now activated their accounts. 47% of our students and 55% of our faculty have activated their accounts. Here’s a helpful link for students with step-by-step instructions on how to activate their new accounts. The timing is important because registration starts this week with eligible student veterans, and continues in waves through next week.
It’s the beginning of the third week and while we’ve made tremendous progress, and there is still considerable work to be done. I ask for your continued patience right now.
Staff are not able to respond to requests because they are very busy making sure the information is correct in ctcLink. It’s hard on everyone. Our staff want to respond to questions and yet they don’t have the bandwidth at this moment.
Thank you for your continued patience and let’s give grace to one another in every way possible, knowing everyone is doing the best they can.
Congratulations, Athletic Director Laura LeMasters!
What great news to see that our own Laura LeMasters has accepted the position of athletic director at Clark College. Laura joined Clark College as assistant athletic director in 2016 and most recently served as interim athletic director since June. She has a master’s degree in Kinesiology with an option in Sport Management from California State University – Long Beach and a bachelor’s degree in Sport Management with an emphasis in Communication from WSU Pullman.
Laura brings a wealth of experience in student success, college athletics, marketing, operations, and recreation from her prior roles at Occidental College, Central Wyoming College, and Lewis & Clark College. Laura is a strong student advocate and has played an important role in ensuring our compliance with state, federal and NWAC regulations. Laura is committed to continuing our focus on academic and athletic excellence in our athletic department.
Go Penguins!
I watched the Clark College women’s soccer team play hard on Saturday in the rain. The No. 4- ranked Penguins were upset by Tacoma Community College for the NWAC quarterfinal round. It was a tough ending, but much respect to Tacoma and best of luck going forward. Clark Penguins finished the season 11-4-1.Congratulations to our Penguins! You make us proud.
Time for nominations
Do you know of an outstanding Classified employee at Clark? Have you been looking for a meaningful way to say “thank you” to that person who has gone above and beyond in their service to you, your department or the college community? Now is your chance to acknowledge that special person.
We are pleased to announce that nominations are being accepted for the 2019 Fall Quarter Award. Please continue reading for more information. Submissions can be made by filling out the online submission form. Please only submit a nomination for the current quarter.
Nominations will be reviewed by the Classified Staff Awards Committee and will be evaluated entirely on the basis of the information submitted on the nomination form. The deadline is 5:00 p.m. on Friday, November 22, 2019. For questions, contact Vanessa Neal, vneal@clark.edu in Human Resources.
Student enrollment
Each week I’d like to share with you enrollment facts that paint a picture of our student body.
Under the Guided Pathways model, all new, degree-seeking students entering fall 2019 identified their Program of Study, under the six Areas of Study. Here are the paths our students have chosen:
16% Creative & Communication Arts
17% Business & Entrepreneurship
27% Healthcare & Biosciences
3% Advanced Manufacturing & Mechanical
13% Public Service, Society, & Education
23% Science, Technology, & Engineering
We’ll continue to work on program mapping and other vital tools within the framework of Guided Pathways to help our students choose their path and stay on the path. Thank you to the Guided Pathways team for all you do.
Open Enrollment for employees
It’s that time – a chance to review and make changes to your public employee benefits. Open enrollment ends Saturday, November 30. To make changes go toMy Account on the PEBB website. If you have questions about your benefits or account, please contact one of our benefits team members:
This past week I joined Dr. Sachi Horback and Mohammed Maraee, Associate Director of the Southwest Washington Center of Excellence for Semiconductors and Electronics Manufacturers, at Portland Community College’s Swan Island Center to discuss with PCC leadership opportunities to collaborate to meet our regional workforce needs in welding. I enjoyed the McClaskey Culinary Institute’s Tapas Fiesta Bar with the Executive Council last Tuesday. It was delicious! I loved hearing from the students about how they prepared the creative menu selections. I continued my listening tour with a tour of some of the WPTE Programs. Thanks to Interim Dean Armetta Burney and the amazing faculty in Welding, Machining, and Diesel who shared the exciting work they are doing in these areas. I joined Rashida Willard at the Vancouver Education Diversity and Inclusion Committee to discuss with community leaders how we can partner to “grow our own” systemically non-dominant K-12 teachers. It was an interesting discussion with PSU Dean of Education, Dr. Marvin Lynn, sharing information about the Portland Teachers Program that has been a leader in this work for over 30 years. I ended the week with two of our Board of Trustees (Chair Jacobsen and Trustee Bennett) at the statewide Association of College Trustees Legislative Action Committee and Fall Conference in Seattle and was sorry to miss Bingo for Vets Thursday evening.
This week I am looking forward to meeting with the newly formed Clark College Community Equity Council, celebrating November birthdays with you, meeting the President of WSU at the WSUV Advisory Council, and recognizing the ctcLink team at the Board of Trustees meeting on Wednesday evening.
Once again, I want to share my appreciation for the Clark ctcLink team, who have done an amazing job throughout the goLive conversion. I am inspired by the dedication of the leadership team and the problem-solving that I’ve seen across the campus in Finance, HR, Student Services, Instruction, Planning and Effectiveness, and IT throughout the week. Change is hard, and this amazing team has risen to the challenge. The whole state community college system has been watching us to see how this is done. Congratulations again, Penguin Nation. You’ve got this!
Clark College names new Athletic Director
Clark College recently announced
that Laura LeMasters has accepted the position of athletic director at the
college.
LeMasters joined Clark
College as assistant athletic director in 2016 and most recently served as
interim athletic director since June. She has a master’s degree in Kinesiology
with an option in Sport Management from California State University – Long
Beach and a bachelor’s degree in Sport Management with an emphasis in
Communication from WSU Pullman.
LeMasters brings a wealth
of experience in student success, college athletics, marketing, operations, and
recreation from her prior roles at Occidental College, Central Wyoming College,
and Lewis & Clark College.
“Laura is a strong student
advocate and has played an important role in ensuring our compliance with
state, federal and NWAC regulations,” said Vice President of Student Affairs
Bill Belden. “Laura is committed to continuing our focus on academic and
athletic excellence in our athletic department.”
“I am grateful and honored to be selected for the role of athletic director at Clark College,” said LeMasters. “I hope to continue to build the level of commitment to academic and athletic excellence as well as create a student experience for athletes, coaches, staff and the entire student body, that will enhance the pride of Penguin Nation.”
About Clark College Athletics
Penguin Athletics has a proud tradition of competitive success within the Northwest Athletic Conference (NWAC). The department offers 11 intercollegiate sports programs: Baseball; Men’s and Women’s Basketball; Men’s and Women’s Cross Country; Men’s and Women’s Soccer; Softball; Men’s and Women’s Track & Field; and Women’s Volleyball.
Penguin Athletics places great emphasis on academic performance as well as athletic achievement. The program offers student athletes the opportunity to reach their educational goals, as well to pursue meaningful athletic accomplishments. For more information, visit www.clarkpenguins.com.
Photo: Clark College/Jenny Shadley
The Weekly News: Week 16
Well done, Clark College!
It’s Day Five of the ctcLink conversion,
and I’m so proud of our ctcLink team that has put in such long days this week
to help the college through the transition. This has been a herculean task
requiring patience, perseverance, flexibility, creativity, humor and grace.
Please, as you see them, join me in thanking them for their extraordinary work:
Susan Maxwell, myClark ctcLink Project
Director
Sabra Sand, Director of Business Services
and Financial Management Pillar Lead
Mirranda Saari, Associate Dean of
Enrollment Services and Registrar and Campus Solution Pillar Lead
Guisela Eberle, Human Resources Assistant
Director and Human Capital Management Pillar Lead
Genevieve Howard, Associate Vice President
of Instruction and Instructional Lead
Andy Barsotti, Director of Data Services
and ITS Lead
Tanya Kerr, ctcLink Internal Controls and
Business Analyst (Campus Solutions and Financial Management)
Jennifer Ward, Program Manager for myClark
ctcLink
Shanda Haluapo, Associate Vice President of
Planning and Effectiveness and myClark ctcLink Executive Sponsor
This really is a team sport. I thank
everyone who has made this our No. 1 priority this week. I know it’s been
consuming. The long-term benefits to our staff and our employees will be
significant.
We also have student resources you can help share with
students as they log onto their new and improved MyClark. It’s vitally
important they’re in the system by next week. Registration for winter term
starts next Friday. Thank you to our faculty, our staff, our Student
Ambassadors, and Tech Hub crew for helping students make the jump onto our new
platform.
Well Done, Penguins Soccer Team!
Congratulations
to our amazing Clark College women’s soccer team! They concluded their 2019
regular season on Saturday, October 26. They have gone 64 league games without
a loss, dating back to October 2014; claimed their fourth Southern Region title
in a row; and have earned a bye for the first round of the NWAC soccer
tournament.
We
are set to host the NWAC quarterfinal round at Kim Christensen Field at noon on
Saturday, November 9. We will be host to the winner of the Tacoma CC vs.
Columbia Basin CC game set for next week. You will be hearing more about
showing your Penguin spirit with a new cool scarf that will be available soon.
Go Penguins!!
Columbia Writers Series next week
This looks like an
interesting lunchtime event next Thursday on campus: The Clark College Columbia
Writers Series kicks off its 2019-2020 season with “The Female Gaze” featuring
2019 National Book Awards Fiction long-listers Kali Fajardo-Anstine (Sabrina
& Corina) and Kimberly King Parsons (Black Light).
This event, which is free and open to the public, will be held on Thursday,
November 7, from noon to 2:00 p.m. in PUB 161.
The event includes a reading and discussion
on building buzz around debut short story collections and highlighting the many
faces of contemporary female identity in literature. It will feature brief
readings, a moderated conversation, and question-and-answer session followed by
a book signing.
Once again, I want to share my appreciation
for the Clark ctcLink team who have done an amazing job throughout the goLive
conversion. I am inspired by the dedication of the leadership team and the
problem-solving that I’ve seen across the campus in Finance, HR, Student
Services, Instruction, Planning and Effectiveness, and IT throughout the week.
Change is hard, and this amazing team has risen to the challenge. The whole
state community college system has been watching us to see how this is done.
Congratulations again, Penguin Nation. You’ve got this!
Thanks, Oswald, for stopping by in your
“penguin burger” costume to share some treats with us yesterday. I enjoyed
seeing some very creative costumes as I walked across the campus yesterday.
I’m looking forward to celebrating
Indigenous cultures at our Annual POWWOW tonight with the Dreamcatcher
Scholarship recognition and Grand Entry with drummers and dancers. It should be
a great way to end the week.
Finally, I’ve walked 152,926 steps this Walktober around the college and on
the weekends in my neighborhood. Don’t forget to turn in your steps to vneal@clark.edu to help Clark win the
Walktober Challenge. Keep on walking, Penguin Nation!
The Weekly News: Week 15
CtcLink: It’s here!
ctcLink went successfully live at 7:30am
this morning. Yahooo!
Kudos to the entire ctcLink team for making
this a success. I especially want to acknowledge myClark ctcLink Steering Team members who
have led this extraordinary effort over the past five years:
Susan Maxwell, myClark ctcLink Project
Director
Sabra Sand, Director of Business Services
and Financial Management Pillar Lead
Mirranda Saari, Associate Dean of
Enrollment Services and Registrar and Campus Solution Pillar Lead
Guisela Eberle, Human Resources Assistant
Director and Human Capital Management Pillar Lead
Genevieve Howard, Associate Vice President
of Instruction and Instructional Lead
Andy Barsotti, Director of Data Services
and ITS Lead
Tanya Kerr, ctcLink Internal Controls and
Business Analyst (Campus Solutions and Financial Management)
Jennifer Ward, Program Manager for myClark
ctcLink
Shanda Haluapo, Associate Vice President of
Planning and Effectiveness and myClark ctcLink Executive Sponsor
In addition to over 30 staff and managers
who spent this weekend validating data to assure the transition was successful.
Thank you ALL!
I’m
so proud to be part of the Clark team. We’ve got this!!!
I
am grateful to the entire ctcLink team who have been walking us through this
major undertaking along with SBCTC team. I want to affirm something that Shanda
Haluapo said last week in her email to you. She acknowledged that this week
will be full of rewards and challenges as we learn to do our work differently.
She reminded us to have compassion and patience with ourselves and those around
us, because we all do the best we can do.
We’ll have access to the PeopleSoft system
starting tomorrow, October 29. You will get an email with the link and
instructions on how to log into the system. People from the State Board for
Community and Technical Colleges (SBCTC) will be here to help support us in the
transition. We have resources to support your transition. Please review the employee resources.
I enjoyed attended the second anniversary
open house at the Clark College Penguin Pantry.
It provides students with a safe,
comfortable place to get something to eat, pick up a necessity, and connect
with additional resources and services such as counseling, public benefits,
community food banks and other resources. There’s a great article in the Indy
this month about the pantry and its growth on the campus. Thanks to student
reporter Sandra Fachiol for the story: “Clark’s food pantry strives to reduce student hunger.”
Also
a very special thank you to the Penguin Pantry program assistant, Estancia
Cota. As the Penguin Pantry founding staff member, she is passionate about
holistically meeting students’ needs and understands the larger role that the
Penguin Pantry plays in success, retention and completion. Her work and
commitment to the Penguin Pantry makes a positive difference in the lives of
our students. Here’s the link to find out more about
how you can help and how you can help connect our students with the Penguin
Pantry. Estancia
and student/volunteer Megaera Jarvis presented at the Board of Trustees meeting
that evening on the impact the pantry has made on our students who are
experiencing food insecurity.
Enrollment Update
From
the first day of fall quarter to census day, 281 students left the college,
representing more than 100 FTES. A quarter (25%) of these students were dropped
for nonpayment. The students who left were more likely to be low income,
employed, first generation, and students of color. How can we, as a
college, work together to support these students before they silently leave?
Employee Giving
Campaign
There
are many ways to support students with your time, effort and resources. Just a
reminder the Foundation has launched its annual Employee Giving Campaign. You
can choose where your donation goes and you can help make sure we get a $5,000
corporate match for Penguin Pantry.
As
an added incentive, the department with the highest giving participation will
win a catered meal from Clark College Foundation.
You
also have an opportunity to give to the Phi Theta Kappa Thanksgiving Basket
Fundraiser. Each year the Penguin community is asked to make cash donations to
help buy items for a Thanksgiving dinner for our students in need. The dinner
includes a 10-14 pound turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, stuffing, yams, green
beans, cranberry sauce, dinner rolls, and a pie. Cash and check donations can
be accepted at the Cashier’s Office until Friday, November 22. This year’s goal
is to raise $3,000 to provide 100 Thanksgiving dinners, with your help.
Reflections from
this past week
This past week was filled with inspiring
presentations and learning about Clark. At the Students with Disabilities
Luncheon, Alyssa Voyles shared her personal journey and inspired us all with
her courage.
At the Board of Trustees work session we
heard four students who were nominated to represent Clark College for the
Washington Transforming Lives Award. Jorge Maravilla was selected by the Board
to represent Clark College. His journey as a student began 2015 in the High
School 21+ program and he earned a Certificate of Proficiency in Supervisory
Management. He shared a very moving story of how his life has been transformed
by attending Clark College.
In addition, the Board of Trustees heard
from two amazing faculty about their recent sabbaticals at their work session.
Jill Darley-Vanis and Erin Staples each shared their sabbatical experience and
the projects that were a result of having time to dive deep into a subject. I
was inspired to hear the impact of their projects on teaching and learning at
Clark. And, Samuel May-Varas was the Faculty Speaker with welding/machining
student, Gloria Razinski, at this month’s Board of Trustees meeting, presenting
on the Welding I-BEST Program.
I wrapped up the week continuing my
“Listening Tour” at the CLASS Unit meeting. I appreciated hearing their passion
for serving students in the Library, Tutoring, and TLC, and everyone’s candor
in sharing the challenges they are facing.
I was honored speak at the Foundation
Scholarship Reception. The O’Connell Sports Center was filled with donors,
event sponsors, scholarship recipients and their support team, families and
loved ones celebrating our students who are on promising pathways. Talented
Clark musicians (Colin Hunt, Ian Engelsman and Riley Lyons) entertained the
group and ASCC President Evans Kaame shared his extraordinary journey to Clark
College.
Finally, I’ve walked 120,971 steps this Walktober around the college and on the weekends in my neighborhood. Keep on walking, Penguin Nation!
Clark College takes next step in hiring new president
Community and college representatives selected to screen and recommend finalists for the next Clark College President.
Community and college representatives have come together to form a Presidential Search Advisory Committee at Clark College. Their job will be to screen applicants and recommend presidential candidate finalists to the Clark College Board of Trustees.
The committee met for the first time on October 11 to review the process, participate in implicit bias training ,and discuss the job description for the next president. The composition of the committee is outlined in Clark College policy 610.025. It includes community leaders as well as college students, staff and faculty.
Suzanne Southerland, Professor of Communication Studies
Al Schauer, Founder PointNorth Consulting
Paul Speer, Clark College Board of Trustees Presidential Search Lead
Brian Taylor, Industrial Sales Manager Siemens
Vicki Sovold-Prendergast, Mount Pleasant School District Superintendent
Dr. Siri Wickramaratne, Geography Instructor
Rashida Willard, Clark College Office Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
The committee’s work is supported by non-voting members Dr. Preston Pulliams, CEO of Gold Hill Associates, and Stephanie Weldy, Interim Executive Assistant to the Board of Trustees.
“Diverse community involvement is key to a transparent, equitable and inclusive process,” said Paul Speer, search lead and member of the Clark College Board of Trustees. “This is a moment in history for Clark College. Our next president will shape the future of the college supporting our students, community, faculty and staff.”
The Board of Trustees, with assistance
from the committee, has now approved the job description which is posted and
being distributed nationwide. It can be found at https://collegepresidentsearch.com/searches/.
Preston Pulliams of Gold Hill Associates is conducting the candidate search. In early October, he held two open houses and conducted numerous individual interviews to get input on the college’s opportunities, challenges and hopes for a new president over the next decade.
The Search Advisory Committee will meet
again in early November to participate in an equity in hiring workshop.
Candidate applications are due mid November. The Committee will review the
qualifying applications and select semi-finalists by late November.
The Board of Trustees plans to approve finalists in December, providing sufficient time to have the candidates visit Clark College in January for interviews, community and college forums. The Board plans to announce the new president in February 2020.
“It’s the most important work we will
do as a board of trustees,” said Speer.
