“I believe we live now in a period of very great transition for human civilization,” said Dr. Hiroshi Komiyama as he began his presentation to a full Gaiser Student Center on October 28.

Titled “Beyond the Limits to Growth: New Ideas for Sustainability from Japan,” the far-reaching lecture began with the premise that the Industrial Revolution had triggered a massive increase in the gap between developed and developing countries—a gap that is now beginning to shrink, as developing countries begin to have access to the same technology and goods as developed nations, and developed nations begin to hit economic and environmental limitations to their growth. Japan, Dr. Komiyama said, began to encounter those limits earlier than other developed countries due to its limited size and natural resources.

“Japanese problems are the future problems of the world, I believe,” he said, going on to map out strategies he considered successful for combatting those problems, including aggressive pollution control measures; increased fuel efficiency; a focus on renewable and re-used resource; and social and technological changes to help keep older members of society active.

Dr. Komiyama is a prominent academic, scientist, engineer, and leading authority in global sustainability. President Emeritus of the University of Tokyo, his major fields of research include environmental engineering, advanced materials science, and knowledge sharing. He is also an advisor to the Japanese Government on subjects ranging from education to aging. In 2010 he founded the Platinum Society Network, dedicated to achieving a sustainable society that solves environmental, aging, educational, and economic issues.

A video of Dr. Komiyama’s presentation will be available on Clark’s YouTube channel by the end of November.

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Photos: Clark College/Jenny Shadley

Natalie Diaz. Photo credit: Rachel Eliza Griffiths

Angels don’t come to the reservation.

Bats, maybe, or owls, boxy mottled things.

Coyotes, too. They all mean the same thing—

death. And death

eats angels, I guess, because I haven’t seen an angel

fly through this valley ever.

This year’s Columbia Writers Series kicks off with Natalie Diaz, the award-winning author of When My Brother Was an Aztec, a book of poetry which New York Times reviewer Eric McHenry described as an “ambitious … beautiful book.” Diaz will be reading from her book at 1 p.m. on November 10 in PUB 161 on Clark’s main campus. This event is free and open to the public.

Diaz’s honors and awards include the Nimrod/Hardman Pablo Neruda Prize for Poetry, the Louis Untermeyer Scholarship in Poetry from Bread Loaf, the Narrative Poetry Prize, and a Lannan Literary Fellowship.

Natalie Diaz was born in the Fort Mojave Indian Village in Needles, California. She is Mojave and an enrolled member of the Gila River Indian community. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Old Dominion University, where she received a full athletic scholarship. Diaz played professional basketball in Europe and Asia before returning to Old Dominion to earn a Master of Fine Arts degree.

Diaz now lives in Mohave Valley, Arizona, where she works with the last speakers of Mojave and directs a language revitalization program. In a PBS interview, she spoke of the connection between writing and experience: “For me writing is kind of a way for me to explore why I want things and why I’m afraid of things and why I worry about things. And for me, all of those things represent a kind of hunger that comes with being raised in a place like this.”

Directions and maps to Clark 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 or (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.

Biology professor Steven Clark

Clark College is inviting the public to come back to school for a series of free seminars that explore the lighter side of Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM). New this academic year, the Clark College STEM Seminar Series launches on Friday, October 16, at noon in Anna Pechanec Hall room 201 with “Rockin’ Out with Rock Rabbits.”

This seminar covers research done by biology professor Steven Clark on pika, tiny rabbit-like creatures who normally live in high elevations. Prof. Clark will discuss what he’s discovered about an unusual population of these creatures living in the Columbia River Gorge whose survival may hold keys to understanding how our environment can adapt to global climate change. Expect Prof. Clark, who recently received an Exceptional Faculty Award, to share photos and insights in an exciting, high-energy presentation geared toward anyone with an interest in science—no Ph.D. required!

Other fall quarter events in this series include:

• The Science Behind Sci-Fi with Prof. Joe Pitkin, Oct. 30
• Handicapping Horse Races with instructor Robert Weston, Nov. 13
• Breaking the Cycle of Abuse with Prof. Mika Maruyama, Dec. 4

All events are held on Fridays from noon to 1 p.m. in APH room 201. All are free and open to the public. Light snacks will be available and guests are welcome to bring their own lunches with them.

“Clark College has long been a center for STEM learning in this region,” said Clark College STEM Coordinator Erin Harwood, who helped organize the seminar series. “We already do lots of outreach to encourage interest in STEM among our community’s young people through our annual Science Olympiad and other events. This is a way to show adults as well that learning about STEM can be lots of fun. We’re hoping people start looking forward to these seminars as a great way to spend their Friday lunch break learning something new.”

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

Almost 740 graduates attended the 2015 Clark College Commencement ceremony, held June 18 at the Clark County Event Center.

The sun shone, the bagpipes sounded, and the members of Clark College’s 79th graduating class gathered together—more than 730 of them, making the 2015 Commencement ceremony the college’s largest yet.

The Clark County Event Center was filled with friends, family members, and other well-wishers at the event, which took place during the evening of June 18.

First-generation college graduate David Scott ’15 attended the 2015 Commencement ceremony.

Approximately 20 members of the crowd were there to cheer on David Scott, 22, who was receiving his Associate of Arts degree. “I’m the first one in my family to graduate from college,” said Scott, whose neck was adorned with multiple leis, a traditional Hawaiian token of celebration. “They’re pretty stoked.”

Scott, who is transferring to Washington State University Vancouver in the fall and hopes to become an elementary school teacher, said he was impressed by the caring nature of his professors at Clark. “They genuinely want you to be successful,” he said as he waited in line to enter the ceremony.

Scott said he also appreciated the flexibility of Clark’s online courses. “I’ve been working fulltime as an overnight stocker at Winco Foods,” he explained. “It’s really good that they have online classes because I get off work at 7:30 a.m. and need to sleep.”

In total, some 2,000 degrees and certificates were conferred upon the Class of 2015. This year’s graduating class included 278 Running Start graduates—a new record for the college, which has the largest Running Start program in the state.

“We got here at 4:45 to line up,” say these Running Start students from Woodland High School, including N.E.R.D. Girls president and Clark Aeronautics Club member Adeline Dinehart, third from left.

Adeline Dinehart stood with five friends at the head of the line of graduates. All six young women were Woodland High School students who had attended Clark through Running Start. Dinehart had thrived at Clark, where she became president of the popular N.E.R.D. (Not Even Remotely Dorky) Girls Club and a member of the Clark Aeronautics Club, which successfully participated in a NASA rocketry competition in Huntsville, Alabama, this spring.

“We were the only community college in the maxi competition,” she said proudly. “The atmosphere there was great—really competitive, but also really encouraging of one another.”

Dinehart said she appreciated the faculty’s promotion of women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math, citing engineering professors Carol Hsu and Tina Barsotti in particular. “Tina and Carol are amazing,” she said. “They have taught me so much over the past two years.”

Dinehart will be attending University of Washington in the fall. Two of her friends, Jamie Kitchen and Shianne Burhop, are also college-bound, but headed to George Fox University, where they will be roommates.

“The credits from Clark transfer really well,” said Kitchen. “That’s part of why I chose to come to Clark.”

“Going to Woodland, you have the choice as a Running Start student between Lower Columbia College and Clark,” explained Burhop, who had adorned her cap with the Bilbo Baggins quote, “I think I am quite ready for another adventure.”

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This year’s ceremony saw an explosion in cap decoration, and as students filed into the ceremony, the westering sun glinted off of messages outlined in glitter and rhinestones.

Outgoing ASCC President Emmah Ferguson addressed the Class of 2015 at Commencement. Both her siblings also attended Clark through Running Start; Ruth graduated from the University of Washington the week before Clark’s Commencement and Zachary is entering Duke Law School on a full scholarship in the fall.

The ceremony itself held many highlights. Student speaker and ASCC president Emmah Ferguson shared how Clark had developed an unrealized love of science within her.

“We have all had obstacles,” she said. “For me, my biggest obstacle was probably myself and my ideas about what I could and couldn’t do. … It is our resilience and persistence that has gotten us this far, and it will take us where we want to go next.”

Curt Warner, left, thanks Clark College President Robert K. Knight before giving the 2015 Commencement keynote address.

Former Seattle Seahawks running back and businessman Curt Warner gave the keynote address. Noting that he had grown up in West Virginia’s coal mining country, where career options were limited, he urged graduates to aspire toward their goals, even if others tried to dissuade them.

“If people say you can’t succeed, you don’t have time to listen to that,” he said. “Dedicate yourselves to your goals. Never give up. People who make goals get slapped down at least once. Everyone loses sometime. It’s how you handle the losing that makes you a winner.”

The ceremony also served as the announcement of the 2015 Exceptional Faculty Awards. The 2015 awardees are Steven Clark, professor of biology; Alison Dolder, instructor of baking; Matthew Gallaher, instructor of English; and Michiyo Okuhara, professor of Japanese. President Robert K. Knight also announced the recipient of the 2015-2016 Community College President’s Award, Kathleen Fockler.

High school diploma recipient Leeann Hodge addressed the 2015 Commencement. This was the first time in many years that high school diploma and GED recipients participated in Commencement.

New this year, students who earned GEDs or High School Diplomas through the college’s Transitional Studies program were invited to participate in the ceremony. Approximately 25 of these students participated in the ceremony, and High School Diploma recipient Leeann Hodge was one of two student speakers to address the crowd.

Transitional Studies graduates Chris Boots, Devon Zach, and Amanda Halbert wait in line to participate in the 2015 Commencement ceremony.

Before the ceremony began, these students had stood in a line adjacent to the line for associate degree and certificate recipients. One of them, Amanda Halbert, said she decided to pursue her GED once her youngest child was getting ready to start kindergarten. She is beginning college-level classes at Clark now, with the goal of earning a degree in graphic design.

“It’s a little nerve-wracking, looking across at the people in that line, getting their associate degrees,” she admitted. “But I’m proud of myself for being here. And I know I’ll be in that line one day.”

Photos: Clark College/Jenny Shadley

To see more photos from Commencement, visit Clark’s Flickr album.

Former football start Curt Warner is Clark College’s 2015 Commencement keynote speaker. Photo courtesy of Curt Warner.

Legendary football star and local businessman Curt Warner will be sharing his inspiring message with the Clark College Class of 2015 as the college’s Commencement keynote speaker.

This year’s ceremony is scheduled to take place at 7 p.m. on Thursday, June 18, at the Clark County Event Center. The event is open to the public and tickets are not required.

About Curt Warner

In the course of his life, Curt Warner has used his talent and drive to succeed as both an athlete and a businessman.

Warner grew up in rural West Virginia, graduating from a high school class of just 90 students. A talented running back even then, he earned a football athletic scholarship to Penn State University, where he was named an All-American in both 1981 and 1982. In 1983, he helped the Nittany Lions capture their first national championship. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in speech communication from Penn State.

After college, Warner was drafted by the Seattle Seahawks in the first round. He led the American Football Conference in rushing yards his rookie season, helping his team get to the AFC’s first conference championship game. Warner was named to the NFL’s Pro Bowl in 1983, 1986, and 1987. He was inducted into the Seattle Seahawks Ring of Honor in 1994, and into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2009.

Warner retired from football in 1990 and opened his own car dealership, Curt Warner Chevrolet, in 1999. He closed the business in 2010. Beyond his current professional activities Warner serves as a motivational speaker for companies and institutions.

Warner lives in Camas with his wife, Ana; their twins, Austin and Christian; and daughter, Isabella. Their oldest son, Jonathan, is currently a wide receiver at Penn State.

Clark College’s Veterans Resource Center is honoring Memorial Day by commemorating veterans who have given their lives in service to their country on Tuesday, May 19 at 2:00 p.m. in the Penguin Union Building room 161 on the college’s main campus. (The college is closed on Memorial Day.) Dr. Samantha Powers will be the featured guest speaker at the event, which is free and open to the public. The colors will be presented and light refreshments will be served.

Dr. Powers is the Project Director and a trainer for the Veterans Training Support Center of the Center for Learning Connections, Edmonds Community College. She is a veteran of the United States Air Force Special Operations. A combat veteran who served in Kuwait, Afghanistan, and Iraq during Operation Enduring Freedom, Dr. Powers volunteers for a number of veterans organizations in Washington State as a member and officer. She is an adjunct instructor at various higher education institutions in Organizational Leadership and Emergency Management programs. Dr. Powers holds a B.A. in Military History from Virginia Tech, an M.A. in International Relations from University of Oklahoma, and a Ph.D. in Educational Leadership from Old Dominion University.

Clark College serves more than 400 veterans each year. The Veterans Resource Center provides services to those students, helping them navigate everything from their G.I. Bill benefits to helping them find textbook and other resources.

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

Students at the 2014 Phoenix unveiling, part of the 2014 Subtext literary festival, unwrap the new issue. This year, Subtext has expanded to a full week of events.

This year, the Clark College Columbia Writers Series is expanding its popular Subtext literary festival to offer a full week of writers, readings, and events on the college’s main campus. From May 18 – 22, the college will host internationally celebrated authors, as well as readings by Clark students, faculty, and staff. (See full schedule below.)

“It has always been our goal to create a true festival feeling, with multiple events throughout the week,” said Columbia Writers Series Co-Director and English faculty member Alexis Nelson. “This is the festival’s third year, and we’ve tried to expand it bit by bit each year. Last year we were able to bring Pulitzer Prize-nominated novelist Karen Russell for the main event. This year, we want to build on that excitement with more events, more voices, more diversity. I hope in time that Subtext will be something that our whole community, both within and without the college, looks forward to each year.”

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 18

10 a.m. – noon, PUB 161: Artists and Authors panel: “The Craft of Comics”

A panel of successful writers for comic books discuss the challenges and joys of their field.

May 19

11 a.m. – noon, PUB 258C: Reading: fiction writer Nam Le

Born in Vietnam and raised in Australia, Nam Le’s first book, The Boat, earned recognition that includes the Pushcart Prize, the Melbourne Prize for Literature, the best debut of 2008 by both New York Magazine and The Australian Book Review, and a New York Times notable book. It has been translated into 14 languages. Le is the fiction editor of the Harvard Review.

May 20

11 a.m. – noon, PUB 258B: Reading: poet Mary Szybist

Mary Szybist is most recently the author of Incarnadine, winner of the 2013 National Book Award for Poetry. She is the recipient of fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Rona Jaffe Foundation, and the Witter Bynner Foundation in conjunction with the Library of Congress.

May 21

3 p.m. – 4 p.m., PUB 161: Phoenix release party

Clark College’s national award-winning art and literary journal, Phoenix, will unveil its 2014-2015 edition with readings from student authors and free copies available for guests.

5:30 p.m. – 7 p.m., PUB161: Talk by writer Karen Karbo and English Department awards ceremony

Karen Karbo is the author of four New York Times Notable Books, including her first novel, Trespassers Welcome Here, as well as her memoir about her father’s last year of life, The Stuff of Life. She is well known for her international best-selling Kick Ass Women series, which examines the lives of iconic 20th century women. In addition, she writes the Minerva Clark mystery series for children.

May 22

Noon – 1 p.m., PUB 258C: “Clark Crossings,” a student and faculty reading.

This year’s theme is “Transport.”

Spanish professor Elizabeth Ubiergo sits with the puppets she helped create during her 2014 sabbatical project.

On Tuesday, May 12, at 4:00 p.m. in the Ellis Dunn Community Room (Gaiser Hall room 213), the Teaching and Learning Center hosts “Bilingual Puppetry: A project-based learning exploration,” the 2014 spring quarter installment of Clark College’s Faculty Speaker Series. Professor Elizabeth Ubiergo will present her sabbatical research on the use of puppetry and other forms of art and literature to enhance learning world languages.

Ubiergo’s research was prompted by realizing that her young daughter spoke better Spanish when talking with a toy than when talking with real human beings. She began wondering if this same technique could help her students at Clark, who often seemed to forget their Spanish language skills as soon as they had to use them in front of other people.

“There is a lot of research going on right now regarding performance-based language learning,” says Ubiergo. “I thought, maybe if my students had something to hide behind, like a large puppet, they could relax and get more from the experience.”

Ubiergo used her sabbatical to learn performance-based teaching techniques, build a series of large puppets based on classic works of Spanish literature, and create bilingual scripts for short plays to be performed with the puppets. After her sabbatical, she worked with students to perform the plays at the college’s annual Día del Niño/Latino Festival and in the classroom. They will also perform at the Portland Puppet Museum during the 2015 summer quarter.

While Ubiergo’s work is focused on the teaching of Spanish, her presentation will provide insight and advice to any teacher interested in exploring performance- and play-based teaching techniques.

About Elizabeth Ubiergo

Spanish professor Elizabeth Ubiergo has earned a Bachelor of Arts and a Master of Arts degree in Spanish language and literature from the University of Oregon. She also attended Universidad de Valladolid, Spain, and the Universidad Católica in Quito, Ecuador. Ubiergo has previous work experience with the University of Portland, Portland Community College, Chapman & Silva Translation Services, Universidad Católica—Ecuador, University of Oregon, and Clark College. She began teaching at Clark in 1994 and received tenure in 2008.

At Clark College, Ubiergo serves as co-advisor of the Spanish Club. She is the founder of Clark’s study abroad program in Valladolid, Spain, and this year began co-leading Clark students in a newly designed, two-week course of study in Mexico. She is the founder of the Mesa Redonda, a series of Spanish-language roundtable discussion groups which have been held at Clark for 13 years. She also served on Clark’s Financial Aid Committee, International Education Committee, and Latino Celebration Month Planning Committee. In addition, for more than a decade Ubiergo has served as an Advance Placement (AP) exam reader for the AP test in Spanish.

Ubiergo says her teaching philosophy emphasizes the importance of play in the learning process. “I tell my students that language learning should be fun and creative, not competitive and stressful,” she says. “Basically, students learn by speaking and making mistakes in authentic situations.”

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.

Photos: Clark College/Jenny Shadley

Tibetan monks making a sacred sand mandala in Cannell Library during their 2012 visit.

The construction of a Sand Mandala at Clark College’s Cannell Library, scheduled for May 4 – May 8, has been postponed until further notice.

The monks of Drepung Loseling Phukhang Monastery are experiencing an extended delay in obtaining the travel documents required to leave India and come to the United States, making it impossible for them to be in Vancouver in time to begin construction on the Mandala on May 4.

At this point, it is possible that the Mandala event will be either cancelled or postponed to a different date in May or June. Clark College will issue a news release if the event is rescheduled to share the new dates and times.

Clark College regrets the inconvenience this may cause visitors who were planning to attend the Mandala event.

Members of the Olincalli Ballet Folklorico perform at the 2014 Latino Festival.

On Friday, May 1, from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m., Clark College invites the community to participate in an evening of free, family-friendly activities that celebrate both Latino culture and the value of literacy.

“Celebración de Mi Gente: El Día del Niño/El Día del Libro” (“Celebration of My People: Day of the Child/Day of the Book”) is an annual event hosted by the college. It is free and open to the public. It is always held on or near the Mexican holiday of Día del Niño (April 30), which is also celebrated as Día del Libro by the American Library Association. The festival will feature a bilingual puppet show, bilingual storytelling and book-reading, dancing, crafts, face-painting, bilingual games, crafts, and delicious snacks. Clark College’s mascot, Oswald the Penguin, will be on hand for photos with visiting children.

The event will be held in the Gaiser Student Center on Clark College’s main campus. Clark College is located at 1933 Fort Vancouver Way, Vancouver. Driving directions and parking maps are available at www.clark.edu/maps. Anyone needing accommodation due to a disability in order to fully participate in this event should contact Clark College’s Disability Support Services Office at (360) 992-2314 or (360) 991-0901 (VP), prior to the event.

See video about the puppet show and last year’s festival:

Photo: Clark College/Jenny Shadley

Video: Clark College/Nick Bremer-Korb