Author Jim Shepard will appear at Clark’s 2016 Subtext festival. Photo courtesy of Jim Shepard.

The Clark College Columbia Writers Series is offering a full week of writers, readings, and events on the college’s main campus. From May 9 – 12, the college will host well-known authors, as well as readings by Clark students and a poetry workshop with incarcerated individuals. (See full schedule below.)

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

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

Schedule

May 9, 5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m., PUB 161: Free Minds Prison Poetry Workshop

Part of an On The Same Page UNITED pilot project, Free Minds poetry workshops use writing to connect inmates with members of their communities on the outside. During the event, participants will read through poetry submissions from about a dozen inmates, and comment directly on the page. The poems with feedback will then be returned to the writers. This project, which has been conducted elsewhere around the country, fosters creativity and literacy in and outside prison walls.

May 10, 1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m., PUB 161: Phoenix Unveiling

Clark College’s national award-winning art and literary journal, Phoenix, will unveil its 2015-2016 edition with readings from student authors and free copies available for guests.

May 11, 5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m., PUB 161: Washington State Poet Laureate Tod Marshall

Washington State Poet Laureate Tod Marshall will read from and discuss his work. His books of poetry include Bugle, The Tangled Line, and Dare Say. He has also published a collection of his interviews with contemporary poets, Range of the Possible and an attendant anthology of work by the interviewed poets, Range of Voices. He lives in Spokane, Washington, and teaches at Gonzaga University.

May 12, 12:30 p.m. – 1:30 p.m., PUB 258A: Fiction writer Jim Shepard

Jim Shepard is the author of seven novels, including most recently The Book of Aron, which won the Sophie Brody Medal for Achievement in Jewish Literature from the American Library Association and the PEN/New England Award for fiction, and four story collections, including Like You’d Understand, Anyway, which was a finalist for the National Book Award and won The Story Prize.  Five of his short stories have been chosen for the Best American Short Stories, two for the PEN/O. Henry Prize Stories, and one for a Pushcart Prize. He teaches at Williams College.

Pfc. Jessica Lynch will address Clark College’s Class of 2016. Lynch was taken prisoner during the Iraq war and was held for over a week before being rescued by U.S. Special Forces. REUTERS/Blake Sell

Former prisoner of war Jessica Lynch will share her experiences overcoming obstacles and her belief in the important role of education with the Clark College Class of 2016 as the college’s Commencement keynote speaker on June 16.

“Jessica Lynch is a wonderful example of how strength of character can help people survive the hardest of situations,” said Clark College President Robert K. Knight. “I believe she will make a strong connection with our students.”

Clark College’s Commencement ceremony is scheduled to be held on the evening of June 16 in Sunlight Supply Amphitheater. Tickets are not required to attend.

About Jessica Lynch

Jessica Lynch is a former Private First Class (PFC) in the United States Army and a former prisoner of war. On March 23, 2003, she was injured and captured by Iraqi forces after her unit was ambushed in Iraq. She was rescued after nine days in captivity on April 1, 2003, by U.S. special operations forces. Lynch’s rescue was the first successful rescue of an American POW since World War II.

Today, Lynch speaks to various groups around the United States about overcoming her obstacles and how perseverance helped her survive. Lynch further explains that despite the most difficult circumstances – whatever they might be – a positive outlook and determination can truly help individuals live fulfilling lives and accomplish their goals.

Lynch has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Elementary Education and a Master of Arts degree in Communication Studies. In 2014, she toured the U.S. promoting Virtuous, a faith-based movie by JC Films. She recently filmed her second faith-based movie titled One Church and will be filming her third movie in March 2015.

Lynch has appeared on Good Morning America, Today Show, CBS Morning Show, Huckabee Show, CNN, MSNBC, David Letterman Show, Fox, Prime Time on ABC with Dianne Sawyer, E News!, CBN, and various local networks throughout the country. She has appeared on the cover of numerous magazines such as TIME and People. She has been named West Virginian of the Year as well as Glamour’s Woman of the Year.

Former President Bill Clinton speaking at Clark College.

Normally, the first day of spring break on Clark College’s main campus feels like the calm after the storm. The parking lots are empty, faculty and students are home recovering from finals, and some offices are closed or on reduced hours. But on March 21, the campus swirled with activity after the Sunday announcement that former U.S. President Bill Clinton would be speaking in Gaiser Student Center that Monday evening.

Clinton was stumping in support of his wife’s 2016 presidential campaign, which had rented the college’s facilities for his appearance. He also appeared at Spokane Falls Community College and at Portland, Oregon’s Powell Books during the day as part of a whirlwind tour of Washington and Oregon in advance of Washington’s Saturday primary caucuses.

Lines began forming in the early afternoon for Clinton’s scheduled 5 p.m. appearance. By 3:30, the line stretched down the stairs on the south side of the Penguin Union Building and around the north walkway of Hanna Hall. In total, about 750 people crowded into Gaiser Student Center, with another 150 packed into PUB 161 to watch the speech as a live stream.

Former President Bill Clinton addressed a packed Gaiser Student Center during a campaign stop for his wife’s 2016 presidential bid.

While the bulk of the 42nd President of the United States’ speech concerned why his wife should be the 45th president, he did also touch on subjects relating to Clark College. “Look at this institution where we are right now,” he said, gesturing to the walls of Gaiser. “If America worked the way community colleges did, we’d have a lot fewer problems. It’s open to everybody. It’s constantly changing to adapt to the future. … It’s about creating a future where everybody has a chance.”

Clinton also emphasized the economic importance of increasing the amount of advanced manufacturing in the U.S., saying, “It’s the most productive part of every economy.” Clark College is currently planning a new facility teaching advanced manufacturing skills at its future location in Ridgefield, Clark College at Boschma Farms.

Clinton’s hour-long speech touched on access to higher education as well. “Every bit as much as a house, a degree is a lifetime asset,” he said, prompting cheers from a crowd that contained many Clark College students and employees.

This was a busy week for Vancouver. On Sunday, Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders spoke to a crowd of approximately 8,000 at Hudson’s Bay High School, just across the street from Clark.

Photos: Clark College/Wei Zhuang

Renee Newman returned as this year’s program emcee.

On March 9, community members gathered in Gaiser Student Center to celebrate three outstanding women for their dedication to Southwest Washington. The 2016 Iris Awards ceremony honored Vancouver City Councilmember Anne McEnerny-Ogle; Katherine Garrett, the Housing First Program Director at Lincoln Place; and Heidi M. Johnson Bixby, owner of Johnson Bixby & Associates.

This annual recognition of Southwest Washington women has a long tradition in this community. The event began in 1985 at Clark College as a photography exhibit during Women’s History Week. Over the years, it developed into a larger awards program and ceremony called the Southwest Washington Women of Achievement Awards. In 2012, the Iris Awards were introduced with the same focus as previous events: celebrating the lasting and far-reaching contributions of women in the community.

The 2016 Iris Award Recipients

Katherine Garrett

Katherine Garrett, left, with her nominator, Vancouver’s Downtown Association Executive Director Lee Rafferty.

The first woman to be honored during the evening was longtime advocate for the homeless Katherine Garrett, who recently moved from the Vancouver nonprofit Share to the housing program Lincoln Place. During her 14 years at Share—nine of which were spent leading the Share House and Share Outreach programs—Garrett helped transform the organization into one of the major voices for the homeless in Clark County. In her new leadership position at Lincoln Place, a permanent supportive housing program for chronically homeless individuals, she serves as the Housing First Program Director.

Garrett has served as both a strong advocate for the homeless in Clark County and as a liaison  between that population and the local business community, working with the Safety Committee of Vancouver’s Downtown Association to help resolve concerns. As the issue of homelessness has gained prominence in recent months, Garrett has been at the forefront of helping city leaders and others understand the issues and make good policy decisions.

“Fourteen years ago, I was given the tremendous opportunity to make a difference each day in the lives of those who are hungry, homeless, and in need of a hand up,” said Garrett as she thanked all those who have supported her throughout her career. “If my work has somehow made people’s lives a little better, then I feel it’s been a success. I would be extremely happy if the outcome of receiving this wonderful award was that others are inspired to make a difference in the lives of the hungry and the homeless of our community. Just one positive action can have a ripple effect.”

Anne McEnerny-Ogle

Anne McEnerny-Ogle, left, with her nominator and fellow Councilmember Jack Burkman.

Second to be recognized was Vancouver City Councilmember Anne McEnerny-Ogle, who came to the Vancouver City Council after a 30-year career as an educator during which she received the Milken Foundation Educator Award and was chosen as Oregon Math Teacher of the Year. She serves on a diverse number of boards and is an active volunteer in a number of organizations in Southwest Washington.

Beyond her work on the City Council, which includes the role of Mayor Pro Tem, McEnerny-Ogle is the Chair of the C-Tran Board of Directors, a member of the Regional Transportation Council Board of Directors, and the Vice-Chair of the Clark County Historical Museum. McEnerny-Ogle also serves as Chair for the Fort Vancouver District for the Boy Scouts of America.

As her nomination stated, there are very few volunteer organizations in Southwest Washington that have not benefitted from McEnerny-Ogle’s energy, enthusiasm, and leadership, though she has frequently focused on issues particularly important to women and underrepresented groups. She has worked with the League of Women Voters to help educate the community on important issues and elections, and on the Community Military Appreciation Committee in support of veterans and their families. She is a Leadership Clark County graduate and alumni award winner.

“It’s incredible to look out into the audience into the eyes of so many people who work tirelessly for their community,” stated McEnerny-Ogle as she took the stage to accept her award. “Women’s lives today represent a rainbow of opportunities. Sometimes we clearly understand where we are going, and sometimes we are in the middle of something we never expected.

I deeply appreciate this award and your acknowledgment of my work. I’m having a lot of fun. I am so blessed.”

Heidi Johnson Bixby

Heidi Johnson Bixby, left, with her nominator and last year’s Iris Award winner Lisa Schauer.

Heidi Johnson Bixby was the final honoree of the evening, receiving an award in a brand-new category. The new Iris Legacy Award recognizes the many women who have continued to make a difference in our community and create a lasting legacy since receiving their initial Iris or Woman of Achievement award. Since 1985, the Iris and Women of Achievement awards have been bestowed on more than 200 women in Southwest Washington.

Bixby is owner of Johnson Bixby & Associates, a comprehensive financial planning firm with locations in Vancouver and Longview. She received a Women of Achievement award in 2004 for her community involvement and business leadership. Beyond her success as a business owner, Bixby serves the community in a variety of roles. She is currently chairs the Board of Directors for Columbia Springs, which provides over 5,000 kids and adults annually with the opportunity to get outdoors and to learn more about the natural world.

Bixby also supports ARC of Southwest Washington, where she and her team have made gift-wrapping of donated items an annual tradition. She is the treasurer for H-RoC and Global Sojourns Giving Circle. Other organizations Bixby supports with her time and resources include Vancouver’s Downtown Association, Community Home Health & Hospice, Identity Clark County, the Nonprofit Network of Southwest Washington, the Clark County Skills Center, and Children’s Center. In addition to her involvement in the community and business accomplishments, Bixby is a world traveler and photographer who has visited more than 30 countries.

“It’s incredible to be the first recipient of this award. It means a lot to me because I do what I love,” said Bixby as she received the Legacy Award. “I’ve lived in Vancouver for nearly 40 years. To me, it is more than where I live. It is my family. It is a piece of me. And I wholeheartedly love giving back. If I can inspire and pass on even a fraction of what has been passed down to me, I’ll be happy to keep the ripple effect going.”

New sponsor and new award

Also new this year was the addition of H-RoC as a sponsor of the Iris Awards. H-RoC was formed in mid-2011 as an independent, non-partisan political action committee specifically to advance women leaders in Southwest Washington. Following this mission, H-RoC announced the addition of another new Iris Award category for 2017 that will honor women who currently serve or have served in public office.

Nominations for the 2017 Iris Awards will open this fall. Anyone may nominate a woman making a difference in one of four areas: service in the public sector, service in the private sector, philanthropic leadership, and service in public office. Up to four Iris Awards may be presented annually. One recipient may be selected in each of four areas. Anyone may submit a nomination. More than one person may submit a nomination for the same nominee or provide letters of recommendation.

For more information about the Iris Awards, visit clark.edu/cc/irisawards.

View photos from the event on our Flickr page.

Photos: Clark College/Jenny Shadley

Brent Learned talks about George Curtis Levi’s traditional “ledger art” with attendees of the 2016 Student of Color Luncheon.

The winter 2016 Student of Color Luncheon was filled with history–some of it long in the past, and some of it being made right then. The event featured artists Brent Learned and George Curtis Levi, whose work is currently being featured at the Clark County Historical Museum, speaking about atrocities committed against their ancestors in the 19th century. It also marked the bestowal of Clark’s first scholarship designated specifically for a Native American student.

Dream Catcher Scholarship recipient Channa Smith

The Clark College Dream Catcher Scholarship was first announced at the college’s annual Native American celebration in 2014. Clark student Channa Smith said she was honored to be its inaugural recipient. “When I first applied for the scholarship, I didn’t think much about it beyond, ‘Oh, it would be nice to have some money,'” she said at the reception. “But it’s been really transformative. I didn’t think how much it would mean to me to be recognized for my hard work.”

Smith has been very active in the community, both at the college and in Southwest Washington. A Coast Salish tribe member, she helped start Clark’s new Native American Cultural Club and has participated in local Chinook tribal activities since moving to the area.

Channa Smith was named the inaugural recipient of the Dream Catcher Scholarship at the 2016 Student of Color Luncheon. Multicultural Retention Manager Felisciana Peralta, right, presented the scholarship.

After the scholarship was presented to Smith, Learned and Levi spoke about creating the art that makes up “One November Morning.” This exhibit depicts the Sand Creek Massacre of November 29, 1864, when more than 150 Cheyenne and Arapaho people were killed in Sand Creek, Colorado, by U.S. Army soldiers.

“You have to know where you come from to know where you’re going, and that’s what we’re trying to do,” said Levi during the presentation. He urged students at the luncheon to remember their own history and communities as they progressed in life. “Go back to your communities after you graduate and give back,” he said.

“One November Morning” will be on display at the Clark County Historical Museum through May 28. As part of its “Native Voices” exhibit, the Clark College Libraries is hosting a free art walk on Friday, March 4, that begins at Cannell Library with a reception, then visits the Native American basketry currently on display at Archer Gallery, and ends at the Clark County Historical Museum.

The spring 2016 Student of Color Luncheon will be held in May. It will feature the announcement of the recipient of Clark’s 2016 Constance Baker Motley Scholarship, which is given each year to a Clark College student of color.

Photos: Clark College/Jenny Shadley

Chinook tribal elder Sam Robinson and Clark student Channa Smith perform a blessing song to welcome the Native Voices exhibition to Clark College.

On February 9, Cannell Library was briefly filled with the sound of drumming and singing during the opening ceremony for “Native Voices,” a traveling exhibition examining Native American concepts of health and medicine that will be on display in the library through March 16.

“It’s an honor to be here today,” said Chinook tribal elder and Clark alumnus Sam Robinson before he began a blessing ceremony for the event. “There are a lot different kinds of healing among our people, and there’s a lot of healing needed in our community.”

Librarian Laura Nagel, Dean of Libraries and Academic Success Services Michelle Bagley, Enrollment Services Program Coordinator Anna Schmasow, Chinook tribal elder and Clark alumnus Sam Robinson, and Interim Director of the Office of Diversity and Equity Felis Peralta.

“Native Voices” is produced by the National Library of Medicine in conjunction with the American Library Association. Clark College Libraries were selected as one of about 100 sites to host the exhibition during 2016-2020, and is the first to do so in the Pacific Northwest.

The exhibition examines concepts of health and medicine among contemporary American Indians, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians. It features interviews and works from Native people living on reservations, in tribal villages, and in cities. Topics include: Native views of land, food, community, earth/nature, and spirituality as they relate to Native health; the relationship between traditional healing and Western medicine in Native communities; economic and cultural issues that affect the health of Native communities; efforts by Native communities to improve health conditions; and the role of Native Americans in military service and healing support for returning Native veterans.

Host sites are encouraged to incorporate additional materials and events into the exhibition, and Clark College Libraries has connected with several other departments and organizations—including the Chinook Nation, Clark County Historical Museum, the Clark College Office of Diversity and Equity, Archer Gallery, and Clark College Student Life—to create an impressive roster of events supporting the exhibition. These include:

• Tuesday, February 9, noon: Opening Ceremony featuring a blessing with drummers. Cannell Library
• Tuesday, February 16, 11:30 a.m.: Student of Color Luncheon with the artists of One November Morning, an exhibit about the Sand Creek Massacre hosted by the Clark County Historical Museum. Also featuring the awarding of the first Dreamcatcher Scholarship for Native American students at Clark College. PUB 161
• Thursday, February 17, 2:00 p.m.: “Earth-Based Mentoring through Grief,” a presentation from Tony Ten Fingers of the Oglala Lakota. GHL 213
• Friday, February 19, 2:00 p.m.: Documentary on One November Morning sponsored by the Native American Culture Club of Clark College. Foster Auditorium
• Wednesday, February 24, 12:15 p.m.: This week’s half-hour “30 Clicks” presentation covers the connections between wellness, illness, and cultural life. LIB 103
• Friday, March 4, 5:00 p.m.: Art Walk between Cannell Library, Archer Gallery, and Clark County Historical Museum
• Wednesday, March 9, noon: Closing ceremonies. Cannell Library

“We’ve mentioned over and over how well it fits together having all these events happening at the same time,” said librarian Laura Nagel, who helped to organize Clark’s hosting of Native Voices. “The stars really aligned for this.”

See more photos from the opening ceremony here.

Photos: Clark College/Jenny Shadley

Professor Dave Kosloski, fifth from left, led Washington State community college students through their study-abroad experience in Italy during the 2015 spring quarter. Photo courtesy of Dave Kosloski

On February 11 at 4:00 p.m. in the Ellis Dunn Community Room (Gaiser Hall room 213), the Teaching and Learning Center hosts “Square Pegs in Round Holes: Making the Study Abroad Experience Meaningful for Community College Students,” the 2016 winter quarter installment of Clark College’s Faculty Speaker Series.

Communications studies professor Dave Kosloski shares insights, surprises, and challenges that are unique to the community college study-abroad experience. Based on his teaching-abroad assignment in Florence, Italy, during the 2015 spring quarter, he will explore the cultural, pedagogical and social issues that arise in working with the two-year student in a traditional study abroad environment.

Prof. Dave Kosloski

About Prof. Dave Kosloski

For 18 years, Professor Dave Kosloski has taught courses in the Communication Studies department at Clark College, most notably in public speaking and competitive speech and debate. He received his bachelor’s degree in Journalism and Public Relations at Georgia State University in Atlanta and his master’s degree in Communication Theory at Central Michigan University in Mt. Pleasant. Even before completing his master’s degree, Kosloski began teaching courses in interpersonal and public communication. While working on doctoral coursework in Rhetorical Criticism at the University of Illinois, he not only taught public speaking and business writing courses but published numerous articles. He also co-authored and edited several instructors’ manuals to accompany textbooks in his field.

When Kosloski received his first teaching award as a doctoral candidate he began to realize that teaching, not research, was his passion. His first full-time teaching position was at a small liberal arts college in Nebraska. After two years there, he decided to focus his career on working at a two-year college.

From 1998 to 2013, Kosloski served as Clark College’s Director of Forensics. Under his tutelage, the Penguins routinely captured first place in speech and debate competitions in the Northwest Community College Division. Only once in 15 years did the team place second. He also led his teams to nine different international competitions in Italy, Belgium, Germany, and Quebec, where they ranked from second to sixth overall. Of his teaching abroad experience in 2015, he says it was not only an opportunity to connect with students more deeply as he had when he coached forensics, but to experience another culture more meaningfully than a week-long speech competition could offer.

A first-generation college student himself, Kosloski finds that community college students are truly committed to getting the most out of their education. He believes that “students will rise to whatever challenge they are presented.” In his 28 years teaching, Kosloski has observed that the skills he teaches are more far-reaching than students can imagine. “They come to class on the first day assuming they’re just getting a required course out of the way. They think it’s not useful to their major,” he says. “It may not be until years later when they have to make a presentation to a board of directors or a PTA that the skills they acquired are really useful. Their lives are empowered in ways they could not imagine on that first day of class.”

See a video of Prof. Kosloski discussing the study-abroad experience:

About the Faculty Speaker Series

The Clark College Faculty Speaker Series showcases recent experiences that have enriched both the life and teaching of a Clark faculty member. Faculty members share their developmental experiences with the college community—and members of the community at large—while addressing some of today’s most intriguing issues.

Established by Clark College with support from the Clark College Foundation, the series honors individual faculty members and celebrates academic excellence.

Photo: Clark College/Jenny Shadley

Video: Clark College/Nick Bremer-Korb

Dr. Michael Benitez Jr. speaks at Clark College’s annual celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

“Today we’re going to have a little of what I call ‘critical fun,’” said Dr. Michael Benitez Jr. as he began to speak to the crowd gathered to honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy in Gaiser Student Center on January 20. True to that promise, Benitez delivered a talk that was enlivened with humor—but also tackled serious subjects like racially based bias in this country’s social and economic systems.

“For 60 years, the data have told we need to change, but for some reason, we’re not looking at the data,” said Benitez, showing charts that revealed gaping discrepancies between African-Americans and whites in sectors like home ownership, wealth accumulation, and imprisonment. “We’re looking at things the comfortable way. Instead of looking at the needs of the oppressed, we need to take a look at the comforts of the dominant.”

Benitez acknowledged that most people in the auditorium probably were able to take advantage of at least some of those comforts. “This is the tension for those of us working for social justice,” he said. “Our complicity in the system that we aim to dismantle.”

Benitez spoke engagingly about both receiving and being denied privilege—being able to say and do things as an able-bodied man that a woman or person with disabilities might not be able to say or do, but also being a target for police as a Latino man. “There’s a reason I was pulled over four times by police on a road trip,” he said.

Benitez is the Dean of Diversity and Inclusion and Chief Diversity Officer at the University of Puget Sound. He recently completed his doctorate in educational leadership and policy studies at Iowa State University. He has served higher education in different capacities for the last 15 years, including academic affairs, student affairs, diversity and inclusion, and teaching.

President Bob Knight announces the college’s new Social Equity Plan at the college’s annual celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Appropriately for an event celebrating Dr. King’s legacy, the speech was preceded by the announcement of the college’s new 2015-2020 Social Equity Plan. “We are being serious about this as we move forward with social equity,” said President Bob Knight in announcing the plan. “We want to make it fair and just for everyone at Clark College to achieve their dream. I will be at the forefront of it.”

“This is everybody’s plan,” said Clark College Multicultural Retention Manager Felis Peralta, who as a member of the college’s Cultural Pluralism Committee helped develop the plan. “It does not belong to the Cultural Pluralism Committee. It does not belong to the Office of Diversity and Equity. Everybody has a part of making Clark a better place for everyone.”

In his keynote speech, Benitez praised Clark for taking a stand on social equity. “I’m glad to hear the word ‘equity’ in there,” he said. “Because without equity, there no such thing as inclusion. Without equity, there is no such thing as diversity.”

Photos: Clark College/Nick Bremer-Korb

President Robert K. Knight received applause during the 2016 State of the College address when he told representatives from Ridgefield, “We’re coming!” — a reference to the college’s future North County campus.

Clark College President Robert K. Knight delivered the annual State of the College address in Gaiser Student Center on Jan. 21. In his speech he stated, “I hope to leave you with a sense of the transformation that is happening all around us.”

Some of that transformation is physical–Knight pointed to the upcoming opening of the new STEM building in the fall and the $10 million remodeling of the college’s culinary facilities to support the re-opening of the Culinary Arts program. He also highlighted more long-range plans, including the construction of a new campus in Ridgefield. Many representatives from Ridgefield’s government were in the audience and cheered approvingly at mention of the new campus.

Other transformations were more systemic. Knight spoke about the progress being made in implementing the college’s 2015-2020 Strategic Plan, which was unveiled during last year’s State of the College address. Steps taken to realize that plan include a new Social Equity Plan and Academic Master Plan.

Vice President of Instruction Dr. Tim Cook with President Knight at the 2016 State of the College address. Dr. Cook has been instrumental in developing the college’s new Academic Master Plan.

Another systemic change is a move toward “guided pathways,” a concept that offers students highly structured course plans that help them complete their programs efficiently. This strategy, popularized by the book Redesigning America’s Community Colleges: A Clearer Path to Student Success, has become a rallying cry among many in higher education who are working to boost students’ ability to complete their programs smoothly and quickly. “The vision of guided pathways is that every student has a clear road map to help them navigate each point in their journey at Clark,” said Knight.

To further help students on their journeys, Knight added, Clark would be adding more one-on-one assistance with navigating college systems. “Going on a computer to enroll and register online is hard enough for anyone, but especially if you don’t have anyone in your family who can help you with that,” said Knight, noting that almost three-quarters of Clark’s student body were first-generation college students. “So we’re backing off from doing all of that online.”

As is traditional, Knight used the State of the College address as an opportunity to showcase some of Clark’s talented and dedicated employees by presenting them with Presidential Coins. He also highlighted three Clark students whose stories reflected the many ways students find success at the college.

In conclusion, Knight said that just as Clark College was changing, so was the region that it served. “I feel the energy in Clark County right now,” he said. “I’m excited by what we can accomplish together.”

View more photos from the State of the College on our Flickr site.

Photos: Clark College/Jenny Shadley

Lydia Yuknavich and Debra Gwartney, inset, are both reading at Clark College as part of the Columbia Writers Series.

Clark College’s Columbia Writers Series will host two outstanding writers during winter quarter, both of whom are known for their beautifully written but brutal memoirs—one a recollection of an adolescence wracked with alienation and abuse, the other a wrenching account of a mother losing her own daughters to drugs and the streets.

Lidia Yuknavitch and Debra Gwartney will be reading from and discussing their work at two separate events in February. These events, which are free and open to the public, will be held on Clark’s main campus.

Read more about these two authors and their appearances at Clark:

Debra Gwartney
February 17, 12:30-1:30 p.m.
Penguin Union Building, Room 258C

Debra Gwartney is the author of Live Through This: A Mother’s Memoir of Runaway Daughters and Reclaimed Love, a memoir published in 2009 and a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award. The book was also a finalist in 2009 for the National Books for a Better Life Award and the Oregon Book Award, and was shortlisted for the Pacific Northwest Booksellers Award. Kirkus Reviews decribed it as “[a]n achingly beautiful chronicle of unfathomable sorrow, flickering hope and quiet redemption.”

Gwartney is also co-editor, along with her husband Barry Lopez, of Home Ground: Language for an American Landscape. She has published essays in many magazines, newspapers, and literary journals, including American Scholar, TriQuarterly, Prairie Schooner, Salon, Tampa Review, Kenyon Review, Crab Orchard Review, The New York Times (“Modern Love” column), and others.

Gwartney is a recipient of fellowships from The Writer’s Center, located in Bethesda, Maryland, the American Antiquarian Society, Portland’s Literary Arts, The Oregon Arts Commission, The Wurlitzer Foundation of Taos, New Mexico, and Hedgebrook Writers Colony. In 2000, she was a scholarship winner for the Breadloaf Writers Conference. She is currently a member of the nonfiction faculty for Pacific University’s MFA in Writing program.

Lidia Yuknavitch
February 23,  11:00 a.m. -12:00 p.m. 
Penguin Union Building, Room 258A&B

Lidia Yuknavitch is the National Bestselling author of the novels The Small Backs of Children and Dora: A Headcase; the memoir The Chronology of Water; as well as three books of short fictions – Her Other Mouths, Liberty’s Excess, and Real to Reel; and a critical book on war and narrative, Allegories of Violence.

The Los Angeles Review of Books wrote of The Chronology of Water, “Yuknavitch’s fragmentary ‘anti-memoir’ relates a history filled in equal parts with violence and aesthetic discovery, sexual exploration and personal chaos. The Chronology of Water is striking for its emotional bareness, but also for its lapidary prose; each sentence is a beautiful gem, diamond-hard and precise.”

Yuknavitch’s writing has appeared in publications including Guernica Magazine, Ms., The Iowa Review, Zyzzyva, Another Chicago Magazine, The Sun, Exquisite Corpse, TANK, and in the anthologies Life As We Show It (City Lights), Wreckage of Reason (Spuytin Duyvil), Forms at War (FC2), Feminaissance (Les Figues Press), and Representing Bisexualities (SUNY), as well as online at The Rumpus.

She is the recipient of the Oregon Book Award – Reader’s Choice, a PNBA award, and was a finalist for the 2012 Pen Center creative nonfiction award. She writes, teaches and lives in Portland, Oregon.