Amanda Brown, a 2019 Exceptional Classified Award recipient, receives her award from Interim President Dr. Sandra Fowler-Hill.
On September 16, Clark College employees gathered in the O’Connell Sports Center gymnasium for the traditional Opening Day ceremonies. While much of the program was familiar to longtime employees, this year’s event brought a few new elements.
The first and most noticeable was the college’s new leader: Interim President Dr. Sandra Fowler-Hill, who is serving a one-year term as interim president while the college seeks a permanent replacement for retired president Bob Knight. Fowler-Hill joked that, while she has attended many such celebrations during her decades-long career in higher education, here at Clark, “this is my first Opening Day–and my last Opening Day.”
“We’re eager to serve Clark’s students and make this college a welcoming place for all.”
— ASCC President Evans Kaame
Board of Trustees chair Jane Jacobsen thanked Dr. Fowler-Hill for coming out of her retirement as the president of Portland Community College’s Rock Creek campus to step into the interim role.
Trustee Paul Speer outlined the process for hiring a new president, reiterating that the Board of Trustees was “transparent, equitable and inclusive.” The college has posted updated information about the presidential search on its website.
Trustee Jane Jacobsen
Opening Day was also the occasion to announce two new employee awards. The first was the Exceptional Administrative-Exempt Award, recognizing a class of employees that fall neither into Classified staff nor faculty categories. Administrative-exempt staff include many administrators, managers, directors, executive assistants, and other employees who are not eligible for overtime compensation.
“We realized there’s a group of employees who haven’t had an opportunity to have their excellence recognized,” said Dr. Fowler-Hill.
The second new award was announced by Associate Vice President of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Rashida Willard. The Lora Whitfield Social Equity Award will be awarded to a member of the Clark College community who has demonstrated a sustained commitment to advancing equity, Willard said. It is named in honor of early childhood education professor Lora Whitfield, who died in July. Dr. Debi Jenkins read a poem to honor Whitfield’s memory.
Social equity was a significant theme in a presentation on the college’s progress toward Guided Pathways from Willard, Vice President of Instruction Sachi Horback, and Vice President of Student Affairs Bill Belden.
“It is on us to make sure all our students complete and persist,” said Willard. “We can’t put it on our students to succeed in a broken system. We need to fix the system in order for everyone to succeed.”
Professor Mike Arnold
Old traditions were also honored at Opening Day, including the recognition of employees for their years of service. Four employees–Mike Arnold, Lynn Boydston, Lisa Hasart, and Vicki Weese–were recognized for having worked at the college for 30 years. Vice President of Human Resources and Compliance Stefani Coverson also announced the recipients of the 2019 Exceptional Classified Award: Amanda Brown and Ian Beckett.
The recipients of the 2018-2019 Exceptional Faculty Award, who were announced at Commencement, were recognized again and provided with plaques honoring their achievement.
Dr. Fowler-Hill concluded the event by saying, “It’s an honor to be your interim President this year. You are dedicated, passionate and steadfast in your work to support our students. I have rolled up my sleeves to join you in this work and support you every way I can.”
Employees gather in the O’Connell Sports Center gym for Opening Day.
As
I celebrate one month at Penguin Nation, I reflect on all that I am learning.
What a great week – immersed in Teaching and Learning Days. This was an
exceptional program and I hope you all had a chance to participate fully. I
enjoyed meeting many of you at the sessions and networking and hearing about
our shared work at Clark College. A shout out to the committee who worked so
hard this past year to organize this exceptional program for all us. We are
grateful for your whole-hearted dedication to Clark. Thank you!
Judith Hernández Chapar and Vanessa Neal, Co-Chairs
Nick Farron
Laurel Tygart
Degundrea Harris
Michelle Golder
Haley Tucker
Wendé Fisher
Rashida Willard
Sue Ann McWatters
Karen Foster
Jennifer Ward
Colleen Butcher
Kate Ireland
Michael Brown
Laura See
I appreciated the variety within the program – a chance to dig into details about new programs and initiatives. Also a deeper dive into power and privilege conversations as we lean into the work of diversity, equity and inclusion. I loved the good advice of our happy-brain expert who reminded me why multi-tasking robs me of my personal energy and how important it is to take time to take care of myself. I choose happiness and hope you do, too. I also heard the knitting session ran out of seats and I’ve seen a few of you with your starter kits, perfecting the knit stitch.
What I think I enjoyed the most was watching everyone interact. It was great serving you at the Ice Cream Social and meeting more staff across the campus. Thank you to the other administrators who took time out to scoop. I look forward to more opportunities to create connections across the college and learn from you. I’m so honored to be a part of this team.
Count down: 72 days
This
is my new weekly countdown: 72 days until the launch of ctcLink. On October 28
Clark College will transfer from the legacy (HP3000) system to PeopleSoft. But
the transition will begin in late September. We need to have all our financial
books balanced before the actual switch. That will impact some of our
activities pertaining to business services and human resources. It will also
impacts class drops, payroll, purchasing and travel.
It
will impact all of us and so knowing the dates and deadlines are going to be
critically important. Here are a few dates for you to review – I think the
October 15 date is especially important for all of us.
MyClark
Dates & Deadlines
September 27 – Last day to issue fall work-study referrals.
September 30 – Last day for purchasing. No purchasing in October.
October 4 – Last Day for submission of travel advance requests.
October 15 – Time Sheets must be in on time. If you miss the deadline
we will not be able to write a check. You will be paid with the Nov 10
pay.
October 15 – Last day for corrections to winter classes
October 16 to 31 – No new employees processed. November 1 will be start date.
October 17 – Last day for student enrollment transactions.
October 22 – Business Services closes financial books
Thank
you to everyone on the myClark ctcLink team who are doing this important work.
You’ll hear more in the coming weeks about the training sessions so we can all
be ready.
Cybersecurity
– Keeping Clark College safe
Unfortunately one of the community colleges in our state system
has recently been a victim of a ransomware attack. Ransomware is a type of
malicious software that takes over your computer and prevents you from
accessing files until you pay a ransom. Here at Clark, IT Services maintain
controls to help protect and detect malicious activity. But we need your help,
too. Scammers are always trying new tricks to break into the network. Often
they’ll send malicious links or attachments in our emails that look harmless.
Please take a moment and review these safety tips provided by our IT Services:
Do not provide sensitive personal information (example: usernames/passwords) over email
Watch for senders that use suspicious or misleading domain names
For faculty and staff we use a portion of your name with clark.edu
For students we use students.clark.edu
Be wary of internal emails that do not end with the above
Look for To/From misspelled names and addresses
Once you open an email, keep looking for clues
Unrealistic threats or claims of authority demanding you act quickly
Too good to be true offers
Urgency for immediate response or action
Links that point to different locations (hover your mouse over the link to see where it will take you to)
If you cannot tell if an email is legitimate or not, you can forward the original email to our cyber security team at phishing@clark.edu
If the email appears to be internal you can also call the sender directly using their phone number from the Clark College published directory
Be especially cautions when opening attachments or clicking links if you receive an email containing our banner indicating it originated from an EXTERNAL source
Do not click on links or attachments from senders that you do not recognize. Be especially wary of .zip or other compressed or executable file types
If
Something Seems Wrong, Notify IT
Forward the original email to cyber security team for blocking
and/or tracking
Thank you for helping to keep our computing environment safe from these cyber threats we appreciate your support! The risk is all too real, and we can all do our part in prevention. In my short time here, my name has already been phished and included in fake emails requesting my help.
Helping student athletes
I attended my first Clark’s Penguin Nation Golf Tournament this
week, hosted by the Clark College Athletic Department, and it was a success!
With over 100 registered golfers and multiple community sponsors, the
tournament is on track to be one of the most successful in recent years. We’re
still tallying the proceeds, but from what I saw people enjoyed themselves
while knowing they were helping Clark athletes reduce financial barriers.
The Women’s Soccer team held an alumni game on Sunday, August
11. I loved seeing one of the signs made by a young fan: CLARK:Collaborative, Lightning Fast, Awesome, Rare, and Kick’n Butt. The
game included a large turnout of Penguin alumni and concluded in a 1-1 tie. The
women’s soccer team will be hosting Warner Pacific in a scrimmage Friday,
August 16 at 6:00 p.m. at Kim Christensen field on the main campus. Go
Penguins!
Your generosity
Well
done everyone making the Backpack Project a big success this year! Ninety-seven
children of our Clark College students will have new backpacks and all the
supplies they need for school, thanks to you.
Looking
for another way to help? We’re in the last two weeks of the Penguin Pantry
challenge. They’re looking for new packaged toiletries and school supplies to
benefit our Clark Students. There’s a tasty competition between departments.
The two departments with the largest amount of donated items per employee by
the end of summer quarter will receive a pizza party provided by Papa Johns.
For more information, please contact Estancia Cota at ext. 2100, email penguinpantry@clark.edu or click here.
Kudos
to the Clark College Foundation! Last week at the Foundation Board meeting I
learned they had a banner fundraising year. Donors contributed more than $8
million in gifts and pledges during the fiscal year 2018-2019 for Promising
Pathways: The Campaign for Clark College. The foundation is raising funds for a
variety of initiatives determined by the college including Guiding Pathways,
Advanced Manufacturing, scholarships, Cuisine and Professional Baking and
Pastry Arts, the Veterans Resource Center, and more. To date, Promising
Pathways has secured nearly $22 million of its $35 million goal. You can learn
more about the campaign by visiting www.clarkcollegefoundation.org/campaign. Thank you to our friends
at the foundation for all you do.
Next week
I am continuing my walking and listening tour of CTC, CCW, main
campus, and Boschma Farms to learn more about our Facilities Master Plan for
renovations, capital construction and plans for the future. I look forward to
learning more about our instructional programs and services to students with
several tours that are scheduled next week with the deans. I’ll also be meeting
some great colleagues with whom I have worked with before from the Center of Excellence
for Aerospace and Advanced Manufacturing who are expanding to Southwest
Washington. Finally, I’ll be celebrating the one-year anniversary of Career
Launch apprentices at SEH and welcoming a new group of apprentices.
I hope you find time to enjoy this beautiful Northwest summer
and choose happiness!
Sandra
Sandra A. Fowler-Hill, Ed.D. Interim President
This message was originally sent as an email to all college employees on August 16, 2019
ctcLink update: Kudos and training
We are moving closer to GoLive with the primary ctcLink technology solution – PeopleSoft – on October 28.
KUDOS
Thank you to the Credentials staff! In early August, they worked with a team from the Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges (SBCTC) ctcLink project to build the rules that allow us to transfer in courses from other institutions into the PeopleSoft database. When we GoLive, we expect to have over 7,000 transfer-in courses set up in the PeopleSoft databases. This work allows staff to accept electronic and paper transcripts from schools and process them quickly for students.
TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES
Teaching and Learning Days offered opportunities to learn more about myClark ctcLink training opportunities, including “ctcLink NEW Orientation Introducing ‘Fluid,'” “What to Expect in PeopleSoft – Student Focus,” and the August 14 keynote address, “What to Expect with MyClark ctcLink.”
The SBCTC is the process of finalizing the training plans and materials for end-user training in PeopleSoft. (Many of the primary users are receiving training in User Acceptance Testing.) Most of the end-user training will be available online and many will be offered as a self-paced course. As of today, listed below are the major training categories, schedule, and number of sessions for end-user training. I have included the number of unique training sessions, just to put into context the amount of training time required for some of our colleagues. More to come about this in the next few weeks!
Category of Training
Dates (excluding
self-paced courses)
Approximate
Number of Different Training Sessions (including
self-paced courses)
Campus Solutions Core
September 5 – October 17, 2019
17
Financial Aid
September 3 – October 16, 2019
9
Student Financials
September 3 – October 7, 2019
7
Finance
September 4 – October 16, 2019
21
Human Capital Management
September 3 – October 22, 2019
10
The original version of this message was sent as an email from Associate Vice President of Planning and Effectiveness Shanda Haluapo to all college employees on August 7, 2019.
College partially closed Aug. 13 – 14
Many offices and student services at Clark College will be largely closed to the public for a collegewide staff training on Tuesday, August 13 and Wednesday, August 14. Classes will continue as normally scheduled. Additionally, Child & Family Studies (child care), the Clark College Bookstore, all libraries (including Cannell and the iCommons at CTC), and Tutoring Services will remain open. The McClaskey Culinary Institute will remain open with a limited menu. However, most other business offices (including Cashier’s Office, Human Resources, Facilities Services, etc.) and student services (including Advising, Financial Aid, Student Life, etc.) will be closed all day for both days.
Clark College announces new Trustee
Jeanne Bennett
Washington Governor Jay Inslee has appointed Jeanne Bennett to the Clark College Board of Trustees. Bennett is the retired CEO of Workforce Southwest Washington, a Vancouver resident, and a longtime community leader.
“I’m so pleased to serve Clark College and the community in this new role,” Bennett said. “I strongly believe in the college’s mission to be in service to the community and helping students achieve their educational and professional goals.”
Bennett will serve in the recently vacated
position left open in May when trustee Royce Pollard stepped down to spend more
time with his family. Bennett will join fellow trustees Jada Rupley, Paul
Speer, Vice Chair Rekah Strong, and Chair Jane Jacobsen.
“This is good news,” said Jacobsen. “We welcome
her to the board. We have important work to do in selecting a new president for
Clark College, and it will be helpful to have her expertise and experience.”
Current
President Bob Knight will retire July 15th after serving 13 years as
President at Clark College. Dr. Sandra A. Fowler-Hill has been selected
to serve as interim president for the 2019-2020 academic year.
Fowler-Hill is a retired college president from Portland Community College. Her
first day is slated for July 15th. The interim appointment
provides ample time for the college to conduct a year-long robust search
process for the permanent president.
Bennett’s biography and photo are available upon
request.
Clark College announces new Interim President
Dr. Sandra Fowler-Hill
The Clark College Board of Trustees voted unanimously tonight to offer the interim college presidency to Dr. Sandra A. Fowler-Hill.
She
has accepted, pending completion of contract negotiations. The decision was made at a special board
meeting Tuesday June 25 following a two-month process led by the Board of
Trustees with support from a national search firm.
The successful
candidate was selected after a series of interviews with faculty, staff,
students, and trustees, as well as a collegewide open forum. “We
received many comments through the process, which were all taken into
consideration as we made our deliberations,” said Trustee Paul Speer. “We had
three excellent candidates and we think Dr. Fowler-Hill will be a tremendous
asset to our college during this year of transition.”
Dr. Sandra A.
Fowler-Hill is an experienced leader in higher education, having served as
President of Portland Community College’s Rock Creek Campus from 2014 to 2018.
She has also served as Vice President of Instruction at Everett Community
College and Dean for Student Learning at Cascadia Community College. She began
her career at Olympic College, where she worked for 19 years, beginning as
program manager of Women’s Programs, then moving into a tenured faculty position
before being named to the position of Dean for Social Science and Humanities. Since
retiring from PCC Rock Creek, she has served as a consultant for the
Association of Community College Trustees. She earned her bachelor’s degree in
Applied Behavioral Science from George Williams College in Downers Grove,
Illinois; her master’s degree in Human Development Counseling from the
University of Illinois at Springfield; and her doctorate degree in Community
College Leadership from Oregon State University.
Retiring
President Bob Knight will meet with the incoming President to help with the
transition, both before and after his planned retirement date of July 15, 2019.
“We are grateful to Bob Knight for his leadership. This marks
a major milestone in Clark’s history. By appointing an interim president for
the year, the college and the community will have ample time to recruit,
screen, interview and interact with candidates for the permanent position,”
said Speer. “We want this to be a robust, inclusive and transparent process.”
Located
in Vancouver’s Central Park and serving up to 12,000 students per quarter,
Clark College is Southwest Washington’s largest public institution of higher
education. The college currently offers classes at two satellite locations: one
on the Washington State University Vancouver campus and one in the Columbia
Tech Center in East Vancouver. Additionally, its Economic & Community
Development program is housed in the Columbia Bank building in downtown
Vancouver.
Message from the President: College budget update
College community,
On May 22, I shared information about the 2019-2020 budget with the Board of Trustees. I heard the concerns that faculty and staff expressed at the Board meeting about being transparent regarding the budget. To that end, I want to fully share with you the same information that was provided to the Trustees.
The budget decisions that have been made were difficult. Many of them directly impact our faculty, staff, administrators and therefore our students. I want you to know that these decisions were made with care and consideration. I understand that you didn’t receive as much information as you would have preferred earlier in the process. It was because we wanted to ensure that the employees directly impacted by budget reductions were informed first. Those employees received official notification today.
In making these budget decisions, Executive Cabinet
operated with the following objectives and understandings:
Prioritize our employees and their professional
development first.
Sustain our commitments to Guided Pathways and
the Social Equity Plan.
Be conservative in our projections for student
enrollment and in our estimates for tuition and Running Start reimbursement
revenue.
Consistent with feedback from the Budget
Committee, be frugal – don’t commit every dollar.
Set aside a portion of our anticipated new
revenue for contingency.
Starting from this basis, EC established the following
framework for our budget discussions:
Leave the 5% reductions in place. These
reductions made it possible to not only cover the $1.5 million shortage in next
year’s must-fund costs but also offset the loss of $800,000 in our base state
funding due to changes in the allocation model.
Move ahead only with the additional revenue we
believe we have now, and not try to guess what may come later from the state.
This new revenue is currently projected at $1,425,489 and is comprised
of:
$438,009
in unallocated permanent funding made available by the 5% reductions.
$987,480
from higher-than-expected tuition and Running Start revenue, and from
un-committing the local funding we no longer need to cover 35% of next year’s
mandatory state wage adjustments.
Within this framework, EC made the following budget
decisions:
Fund the first five requests on the Reallocation
List as recommended by the Budget Committee:
$37,926
for the Veterans Resource Center Manager
$63,043
for the Instructional Accessibility Tech
$30,760
for the Cybersecurity BAS program
$63,043
for the Enrollment Navigator
$147,764
for the Palo Alto Firewall.
Support employees and their professional
development, including funding for two additional requests on the Reallocation
List:
$16,000
for the annual Teaching and Learning Days
$40,000
for ongoing Power, Privilege and Inequity training (from the Reallocation List)
$53,000
for Teaching and Learning Center programming (from the Reallocation List)
Dedicate funding for faculty salary
improvements:
$600,000
Support teach-outs in Instruction
$200,000
After accounting for these commitments, $173,953 remains
in unallocated contingency. It’s a small cushion but will provide some
flexibility should our tuition and Running Start revenue projections fall
short, or if unexpected needs emerge during the course of the year. We
also haven’t ruled out using this contingency to go further down the
Reallocation List.
We expect to see our initial allocation from the state
board in the next few weeks. Once we have those numbers I will send out
another message describing not only the amount we received but also any rules
or restrictions on how those dollars may be used. Our goal remains having
a 2019-20 budget to present to the Board of Trustees for approval on June 12.
I appreciate your patience as we have worked through a
very difficult and complex budget development process.
Bob Knight
President
Presidential search firm selected
Clark College has
selected Gold Hill Associates to assist the Board of Trustees in identifying
and recruiting a new president for Clark College.
Clark College President Robert K. Knight has announced he plans to retire August 31 at the end of the 2018-2019 academic year. He has served as college president for 13 years, helping Clark College expand and grow both in its programs and locations. Clark College is the largest community college in Southwest Washington and one of the largest community colleges in the state of Washington.
“For more than a
decade President Knight has provided stability and vision helping the college
grow, adapt and serve its community,” said Paul Speer, board trustee. Speer and
board vice chair Jane Jacobson are co-leading the board’s recruitment and
selection process. “This is an important moment for Clark College. We are
looking for the right person for the next chapter of the college,” said Speer.
“The board is fully committed to conducting an equitable, inclusive and
transparent national search. Gold Hill Associates will be a good partner in the
process.”
Gold Hill
Associates was selected following a competitive bid process. Its CEO, Dr.
Preston Pulliams, has worked in a variety of higher education leadership roles
for 25 years. From 2004-2013, he served as District President at Portland
Community College. Gold Hill has made successful placements at more than 20
colleges in the Pacific Northwest.
Gold Hill
Associates will also assist the board in identifying and recruiting an interim
president for Clark College.
The interim
president is expected to serve beginning August 2019 for a one-year period
allowing sufficient time for the permanent presidential search. The interim
will not be considered as a candidate for the permanent position.
“The presidential
search will also be assisted by a Presidential Search Advisory Committee
including representatives from the college and external community,” said
Speer. “We look forward to updating and receiving feedback from the
community as we move forward.”
All interested
applicants must contact Gold Hill Associates directly. To contact Gold Hill
Associates or learn more about the presidential selection process, visit Clark
College’s website: www.clark.edu/presidential-search.
Welcome, professors!
Twelve outstanding educators are the newest members of the
tenured faculty at Clark College. Dr. Amy Castellano (phlebotomy), Dr. Cara
Cocchiarella (physical health and education), Dr. Catherine “CeCe” Crosby (biology),
Dr. Jacob Funk (music), Hannah Jackson (mathematics), Julie Lemmond (business),
Dr. Xiunu “Sophie” Lin (physics), Meredith Lynch (Transitional Studies
English), Dr. Sam May-Varas (Transitional Studies English and mathematics),
Donivee Randall-Jones (nursing), Michelle Roth (English as a Second Language),
and Dr. Michelle Stoklosa (geology) were all granted tenure during the Clark
College Board of Trustees meeting on March 13. They will be honored at a
college reception on April 22.
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.
About the faculty members
Dr. Amy Castellano
Dr. Amy Castellano holds a Bachelor of Science in physiological sciences from the University of Arizona and a doctorate in naturopathic medicine from the National University of Natural Medicine. In additional to her teaching and research work at both her alma maters, she has previous work experience at Tucson Medical Center, Banner Medical Center, Oregon Health and Science University Hospital, and as a naturopathic physician at multiple clinics.
At Clark College, Dr. Castellano serves as department head of
the phlebotomy program, and is a member of the program’s Advisory Committee,
the Healthy Penguin Walkabout Committee, and a task force to define the
college’s core healthcare curriculum.
“My teaching philosophy hinges on the belief that the
learning environment provides the foundation for growth, has the ability to
empower or demotivate students, and that a culture of positivity, respect, and
community should be created,” she said. “My goal is to cultivate a supportive
space for students to grow, allow their individual strengths to emerge, and
show a genuine interest in their success.”
Dr. Cara Cocchiarella
Dr. Cara Cocchiarella earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Spanish and health and human performance; her Master of Science in health and human performance; and her Doctorate of Education in educational leadership from the University of Montana. She has coaching and teaching experience in a wide range of educational institutions, including Lincoln High School, Peninsula Elementary, University of Montana, Gonzaga University, and University of Montana Western.
Dr. Cocchiarella has taught health and physical education at
Clark College since 2016. She currently serves as the lead instructor for the
college’s Fitness-Wellness course and is also a member of the college’s Queer
Employee Resource Group.
“As a teacher, I employ numerous active-learning modalities and
strive to make all lessons applicable to the lives of my students,” she said.
“The supportive community that we build in each of my classes is essential in
terms of maximizing engagement and individual growth of all students.”
Dr. Catherine “CeCe” Crosby
Dr. CeCe Crosby earned her bachelor’s degree in cellular and
molecular biology from Western Washington University and her master’s and
doctorate degrees in soil science from Washington State University. She has
previous teaching and research experience at Washington State University, Green
River College, and Tacoma Community College. She joined the faculty at Clark
College in 2016.
At Clark, Dr. Crosby serves as faculty liaison for the
college’s MESA program, which encourages underrepresented groups to participate
in STEM. She also serves on a pillar group for the college’s work to adopt the
Guided Pathways model of higher education and volunteers at the college’s
Science Olympiad competitions.
“My goal is to invite my students to see themselves as
scientists by developing their natural curiosity about the world and giving
them the skills to explore using the scientific method,” Dr. Crosby said. “I
focus on the skill development, learning from mistakes, and the practical
applications of knowledge to solve difficulty problems.”
Dr. Jacob Funk
Dr. Jacob Funk holds a Bachelor of Science in vocal
performance from John Brown University, a Master of Music in choral conducting
from the University of British Columbia, and Doctor of Musical Arts in
conducting from the University of Missouri Kansas City’s Conservatory of Music
and Dance. Before coming to Clark College in 2016, he had previous teaching
experience with Northwest Arkansas Community College, John Brown University,
and Berean Academy (a private K-12 school in Elbing, Kansas).
At Clark College, Dr. Funk serves as director of the vocal
music program, including the college’s Chorale and its Women’s Choral Ensemble.
He is also a faculty advisor for the music department.
“The choir rehearsal is what inspired me to want to be a
teacher and an artist, and I want to share and give that experience to others,”
he said. “My objective is that through their choral experience, my students
will learn about all aspects of music, learn about themselves, experience the
joy of creating something beautiful and meaningful together, and be better,
more educated people because of it.”
Hannah Jackson
Hannah Jackson hold a Bachelor of Arts degree in mathematics
from Willamette University and a Master of Science in mathematics from Syracuse
University. She has previous teaching experience at the University of Denver,
Arapahoe Community College, University of Colorado Boulder, and Front Range
Community College.
Currently Jackson coordinates Clark College’s college algebra
course and is part of the team piloting a new sequence of introductory-level
mathematics courses. She also serves on the college’s Math Activities
Committee.
“My teaching philosophy is that you cannot force a student to
learn,” Jackson said. “You must make them want to. I achieve this through high
levels of energy, enthusiasm, and a true love of my subject matter that comes
across clearly to my students, gets them excited about the course, and makes
them want to come to class and learn.”
Julie Lemmond
Julie Lemmond earned her Bachelor of Science degree in
business and management and her Master of Business Administration with a
concentration in finance from Marylhurst University. She began teaching at
Clark College in 2006 and has previous teaching experience at Marylhurst
University and Oregon State University.
At Clark, Lemmond serves as lead instructor for the college’s
accounting and finance courses; a Quality Matters reviewer; an accounting
tutor; and a faculty advisor in the college’s business program. Additionally,
she has led the accounting faculty through the process of adopting and
maintaining accounting resources and provides accounting resources to tutors to
help them support students.
“My objective is to help students become competitive in the
business world by developing logical and ethical business minds,” Lemmond said.
“I believe that anyone who wants to attend college should be able to attend
college.”
Dr. Xiunu “Sophie” Lin
Dr. Sophie Lin holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in
physics from Xiamen University in China and the University of Kentucky,
respectively. Prior to coming to Clark College in 2016, she taught at Eastern Kentucky
University and at Pacific University in Forest Grove, Oregon.
At Clark, Dr. Lin serves on the college’s BUILD EXITO work
group, which provides research opportunities in STEM fields for Clark students.
She has also volunteered when the college has hosted a regional Science
Olympiad.
“As a science instructor, I believe in setting high and
specific goals for students at the beginning of a course and motivating them to
learn,” Dr. Lin said. “To engage students in active learning, I adopt various
kinds of research-based teaching approaches, including ‘peer instruction,’
in-class exercises, experiment demonstration, and backward course instruction.”
Meredith Lynch
Meredith Lynch earned her Associate of Applied Science degree
from Tacoma Community College and both her bachelor’s and master’s degree from
the University of Washington Tacoma. She served on the faculty of Pierce
College in Puyallup, Washington, for more than 10 years before coming to Clark
College in 2016.
At Clark, Lynch serves as vice-chair of the Environmental
Integrity Council and as Transitional Studies liaison to the English
Department. She also serves on the team responsible for redesigning the
college’s composition courses and co-requisites.
“I meet my students where they are and use collaborative,
student-centered, active-learning strategies to help them achieve their
educational goals,” Lynch said.
Dr. Sam May-Varas
Dr. Sam May-Varas earned his bachelor’s degree in economics
from the University of South Florida, his master’s in education from City
University, and his doctorate in educational leadership from Lewis & Clark
College in Portland, Oregon. He also holds a K-12 Administrator License through
the University of Oregon. May-Varas has 15 years of work experience in the K-12
system, both as a teacher and an administrator. He also has teaching experience
at Portland Community College and has taught at Clark College for four years.
Since coming to Clark, May-Varas has been active in numerous Transitional
Studies committees and works groups on topics that include academic standars,
identifying barriers to enrollment and student success, and recruitment. Additionally,
he serves on the Pillar 3 Work Group for the college’s work toward adopting the
Guided Pathways model of higher education and has helped develop curriculum for
the college’s High School 21-Plus and Welding I-BEST programs.
“In my position as
an educator, I believe in empowering students to engage actively in the
learning process,” he said. “This engagement offers individual students the
motivation to continue in education and ultimately reach their educational and
career goals.”
Donivee Randall-Jones
Donivee Randall-Jones earned her Bachelor of Science degree
in nursing from York College in Pennsylvania and her Master of Science in nursing
education from Walden University. She is in the process of completing her
doctorate in nursing practice and educational leadership from Walden.
A certified emergency nurse, Randall-Jones also holds
certificates in advanced cardiac life support, pediatric advanced life support,
and trauma nurse core courses. A U.S. Marine Corps veteran, she has many years
of experience working in the emergency departments in Californian hospitals as
well as at PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center in Vancouver. Before coming to
Clark College in 2016, she taught at Mt. San Jacinto Community College in
Menafee, California.
At Clark, Randall-Jones serves on her department’s
accreditation, curriculum, and sub-curriculum committees. She also has served
as a mentor to incoming teaching staff in her department.
“Nursing is a very broad profession in terms of knowledge
base and skill set,” Randall-Jones said. “There are many shades of gray when
the human body is involved, and my teaching approach fosters clinical reasoning
and judgment to help students make evidence-based decisions while in those gray
areas.”
Michelle Roth
Michelle Roth holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in anthropology
from Reed College in Portland, Oregon, and a Master of Arts in teaching English
to speakers of other languages from the University of Washington. She has
previous teaching experience at University of Washington, Portland Community College,
and Mount Hood Community College.
Since coming to Clark College as an adjunct instructor in
2000, Roth has been part of the college’s Transitional Studies department,
teaching in both its English as a Second Language and its Career and Academic
Preparation programs. She helped develop the curriculum for international
students in the college’s Intensive English Language Program, where she served
as department head. Currently, she serves as curriculum development lead for
three Transitional Studies courses and as a member of the Transitional Studies
Academic Standards Committee. Additionally, she is currently president of the
Washington Association for the Education of Speakers of Other Languages
(WAESOL), where she has served as a board member since 2015.
“Learning an additional language as an adult is an inherently
vulnerable act,” said Roth. “Therefore, my first task is to ensure that the
classroom is a place that supports my students’ bravery. Through real,
relevant, communicative activities, students gain the confidence and language
skills to achieve their career and academic goals.”
Dr. Michelle Stoklosa
Dr. Michelle Stoklosa earned her bachelor’s degree in biology
from Franklin and Marshall College in Pennsylvania and both her master’s and
doctoral degrees in geology from the University of Wisconsin Madison. She has
previous teaching experience at Boise State University, Portland State
University, Marylhurst University, and Clackamas Community College. She
currently teaches in Clark College’s earth and environmental science
department.
At Clark, Stoklosa assisted in the development of the Natural
Sciences Course Alignment Rubric for the Associate of Arts degree, represented
adjunct faculty on College Council, and co-led a workshop at Faculty Focus on
Learning. She currently serves as a faculty advisor for the geology program.
“My goals for students are similar to those I have for myself
as a scientist: that we directly interact with the Earth, develop critical
thinking skills, and ultimately appreciate the Earth and the field of geology,”
she said.
About Clark College
Located in Vancouver’s Central Park and serving up to 12,000 students per quarter, Clark College is Southwest Washington’s largest public institution of higher education. The college currently offers classes at two satellite locations: one on the Washington State University Vancouver campus and one in the Columbia Tech Center in East Vancouver. Additionally, its Economic & Community Development program is housed in the Columbia Bank building in downtown Vancouver.
Photos: Clark College/Jenny Shadley. No photo available for Donivee Randall-Jones.
Kelly Love joins Clark
Kelly Love
Clark College has hired Kelly Love as the college’s new Chief Communications Officer. She begins working at Clark on Wednesday, March 20.
“Kelly
Love is a proven communicator and leader with a strong connection to the
Southwest Washington community,” said Clark College President Robert K. Knight.
“I look forward to the insight she will bring to our leadership team as we
communicate about a wide range of new initiatives here at the college and
market our programs to an increasingly diverse community.”
Love
comes to Clark College with a wide range of communications experience. For the
past three years, she’s worked at Legacy Health as a public relations
specialist at Legacy Salmon Creek Medical Center and Legacy Cancer Institute.
Prior to that, she served five years as CEO of the Greater Vancouver Chamber of
Commerce. Love also served as U.S. Representative Brian Baird’s District
Director from 2005 to 2010. She began her career as a broadcast news reporter
at KGW TV in Portland.
“I’m a
lifelong learner and have been fortunate to have such varied jobs,” Love said.
“They share a core value: serving the community. I’m thrilled to join the team
at Clark College supporting our students, faculty, and staff.”
A
longtime resident of Vancouver, Love is an alumna of Clark College. She earned
her bachelor’s degree in communications from Washington State University
Vancouver. She currently serves on the boards of The Children’s Center,
Columbia Credit Union, and Pink Lemonade Project. Additionally, she has served
on the boards of the Association of Washington Business, Southwest Washington
Workforce Development, Leadership Clark County, Cascadia Tech Academy and the
Council for the Homeless of Clark County Washington. Love is a member of the
Public Relations Society of America (PRSA).
