Ray Korpi signs the READ poster he is featured on, left, while Michelle Bagley, Dean of Libraries, eLearning, Tutoring and Faculty Development and Dr. Tim Cook, Vice President of Instruction look on.

The Clark College Libraries (Cannell Library and the Information Commons at CTC) participated in Washington Libraries Snapshot Day on April 17. This statewide project seeks to illustrate the importance of libraries for Washington’s citizens by collecting statistics, stories and photographs during National Library Week.

The highlight of the event was the unveiling of 10 READ posters featuring members of the Clark College community and their favorite books.

Clark College student Samantha McClure was selected as the student model through a contest the Libraries ran during winter quarter. Current Clark students were invited to enter the contest by filling out a form with the title of their favorite book and why they chose the book. Students submitted entries either in person at one of the libraries or posting it on the Clark College Libraries Facebook page. Samantha chose No Man’s Land by Ruth Fowler because, she said, “it presents a fascinating alternative for female reality in our modern day era where so much of human experience is represented in a very singular way.”

Other college community members featured in campaign were President Bob Knight and Oswald; Student Life Program Coordinator Sami Lelo; Athletics Director Charles Guthrie; Maintenance Mechanic Billie Garner; Physics Professor Dick Shamrell; Satellite Campus Building Administrator Randy Blakely; Dean of BEECH Ray Korpi; Diversity Center Staff Sirius Bonner, Rosalba Pitkin and Felis Peralta; and Security Officer Damon Grady.

The posters were on exhibit at Cannell and the iCommons through the month of April. Additional copies are posted around Clark’s main campus.

Wednesday’s 2,200 visitors to the Libraries were asked to envision the library of 2020. Suggestions included: “free coffee,” “more books,” “24-hour library,” “more computers,” “more study space,” and “books downloaded into our brains.”

See photos from the day on the Libraries’ Facebook page and on Clark’s Flickr site.

Photos: Clark College/Jenny Shadley

On March 29, Clark College’s Mature Learning program celebrated its 40th anniversary by doing what it does best: providing diverse learning opportunities and a warm and welcoming community for seniors in Southwest Washington.

Guests who attended the half-day event, which was held at Clark College at Columbia Tech Center, were able to attend free “mini-classes” taught by favorite instructors from the program on topics as diverse as t’ai chi, the genetics of human evolution, drawing, and Benjamin Franklin’s time in Paris, to name just a few.

Mature Learning Program Manager Tracy Reilly Kelly, keynote speaker Dr. Larry Sherman, and Associate Vice President of Corporate & Continuing Education Kevin Kussman

The half-day event also featured a guest lecture from OHSU neuroscientist Dr. Larry Sherman, who spoke about his work figuring out how to, as he said, “fix a damaged brain–from trauma, stroke, Alzheimer disease or aging.” He said that the purpose of his work is to the keep the brain active for as long as possible, which is a major aim of the Mature Learning program as well.

“We truly do revere and respect our mature learners at Clark College,” said Clark College President Bob Knight during the opening event. “Not only are you students, you’re advocates for the college. We want to have a thriving program for you.”

Over its history, the Mature Learning program has grown to be one of the core offerings that Clark College provides, said Kevin Kussman, Associate Vice President of Corporate & Continuing Education. “More than ever we need to work to make sure people stay active and connected to their community,” he said during his speech to event attendees.

It’s worked for Garda Hoffman and Elizabeth Gold, who became close friends after meeting in a Mature Learning classroom. “I’ve made a great many friends via this program,” said Hofmann. “It is stimulating. It fills a great need in the community for older people.”

Though Mature Learning students may not have homework, “these are real college classes,” said Mature Learning volunteer and student Margaret Zuke. All instructors are either college professors or experts in their field.

“There’s nothing better than having such an engaged group of students,” said Steve Carlson. Once a Clark College student himself, then Clark faculty in 1977-78 before going on to teach at Portland State University, Carlson is now a geology instructor with Mature Learning and is planning a trip for students to Mount Hood and Crater Lake.

A light lunch was served, followed by the presentation of the Mature Learning Volunteer of the Year Award to Dr. Cleo Pass for her 12 years of work with the Mature Learning program. Dr. Pass, who will be teaching a course at CTC on Sherlock Holmes in spring, said that the “overwhelming” award was a “thank you for doing something I thoroughly enjoy doing with the people I enjoy working with.”

Photos: Clark College/Jenny Shadley

Despite losing his legs at age 5, Spencer West recently climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro.

When Spencer West was 5 years old, he lost his legs to a rare genetic disease. “My family was told I would never sit up by myself, I would never be able to walk on my own, I would never have a normal life,” he said.

Yet West went on to disprove those grim predictions. Not only can he sit upright–he turned cartwheels in cheerleading competitions when he was in high school. Not only can he walk on his own–in 2012 he climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro on his hands. And while it’s true that West is not leading what many would consider a normal life, that’s because “normal” lives don’t generally include traveling the world on behalf of a global nonprofit, sharing the stage with the Dalai Lama, or being featured in major news media across the world.

West shared his story with a crowded Gaiser Student Center on March 7. He had been invited to speak by the Associated Students of Clark College. West, a motivational speaker who works for the global charity Me to We, raised a half million dollars through his mountain climb last year for clean-water projects in drought-stricken Kenya. He said he wanted to share some of the lessons he learned through that experience with students at Clark.

One of those lessons was the importance of asking for help. West didn’t climb Mt. Kilimanjaro himself–two of his good friends came with him and helped keep him going as he climbed 17,200 feet primarily on his own hands. In turn, he was able to help them when, near the summit, they became weakened by altitude sickness; West, it turned out, was one of those uncommon individuals not affected by altitude sickness, so he had the energy to encourage his friends during the final ascent.

The audience in Gaiser Student Center was clearly captured by West’s story. When he played video of himself and his friends pushing through their exhaustion to finally reach the mountain’s summit, the room erupted into loud cheers and applause, and several audience members could be seen wiping away tears.

West finished his speech by describing the manmade stacks of rock called “cairns” that other climbers had left along the trail to the summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro–a way for climbers to tell each other that they were going the right way, and that someone had made it this far already. “We all have a capacity to be a cairn for other people,” he said. “We all need to be the cairn for ourselves, for our friends, for our family, and for the world.”

Photo: Clark College/Jenny Shadley

On the evening of February 21^, the Clark College Theatre Department opened its doors to students and community members for the dress rehearsal of the winter quarter musical, “RENT.”  Forty of those community members were students from the Boys and Girls Club of Southwest Washington, brought on a trip organized by Clark College Admissions and Student Recruitment.

RENT–a Tony Award-winning musical that covers issues of sexuality, drug use, and AIDS–can be challenging for younger audiences. Youth were required to have permission slips signed by parents in order to attend the show. Afterward, they had a chance to participate in a panel discussion with all of the actors, where the youth asked questions about some of the subjects that they witnessed in the play, how actors prepared for their role and how each person decided which character they wanted to be.

Clark College Theatre instructor Gene Biby, who directed RENT, worked with Admissions and Recruitment to make the event a success. He arranged the panel of actors and facilitated the question-and-answer session.

“We received nothing but positive feedback from both students and chaperones of the Boys and Girls Club and hope to arrange similar visits with the theater department in the future,” said Student Recruitment Specialist Narek Daniyelyan. “Big thanks to the wonderful staff of the Boys and Girls Club of Southwest Washington, who continuously partner with Clark College and share the advantages of attending Clark with their students. Special thanks to all of the actors who were willing to stay late to talk to the youth of our community.”

Photo: Clark College/Jenny Shadley

Dr. Darryl Brice said he appreciated this photo of Dr. King because it looks as if Dr. King is pointing to the viewers and asking them what they are going to do to promote justice.

“If you look at that ‘I Have a Dream’ speech that everyone references … look at the front part,” said Dr. Darryl Brice as he gave Clark College’s Martin Luther King Jr. Day keynote speech to an audience gathered in Gaiser Student Center on January 22. “Everyone talks about the dream, but there was a nightmare part where he talked about the reality of what was going on at the time.”

Brice, an Instructor of Sociology and Diversity and Globalism Studies at Highline Community College, went on to expand on his speech’s central thesis–that the more radical elements of Dr. King’s legacy have been “co-opted or omitted” in favor of a softer, less challenging image of the civil rights leader as a dreamer. As Brice put it, “You don’t get arrested over 30 times for having a dream.”

Brice detailed aspects of Dr. King’s politics that he said are often omitted: his opposition to the Vietnam War, his anti-poverty activism, his criticism of income and wealth disparities between African-Americans and white Americans, and his harsh criticism of well-meaning white liberals who did not recognize their own internal racism. He also pointed out that in his day, Dr. King was considered so dangerous that the FBI put him on its COINTELPRO watch list.

Brice continued by saying that “Dr. King’s dream was never attained.” He presented charts showing that great disparities remain in the wealth and incomes of African-Americans and white Americans. He urged audience members to “have the same courage” Dr. King showed to fight against injustice. When asked what college students in particular could do, he answered, “Hold us accountable–that’s what college students have always done.”

Dr. Darryl Brice, white shirt, with members of Clark’s MLK Planning Committee and President Bob Knight, third from left.

The event, presented by Clark’s MLK Planning Committee and sponsored by the Office of Equity and Diversity and the Service-Learning and Volunteer Program, was part of the college’s official celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

A native of Baltimore, Maryland, Dr. Brice attended Frostburg State University, where he received his bachelor’s degree in Political Science and Justice Studies. He received his master’s and doctoral degrees in Sociology from Loyola University Chicago. He has taught at Highline since 2003, and in 2008 was recognized as its Faculty Member of the Year. In 2007 the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints honored him with the Teachers Assisting in Discovery award. In 2009 he was the recipient of the NISOD (National Institute for Staff and Development) Excellence Award. In addition, Dr. Brice has appeared in Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers.

Photos: Clark College/Jenny Shadley

President Knight bestows a Presidential Coin on Information Technology Application and Database Developer Andy Barsotti during the 2013 annual State of the College address.

As Clark College nears its 80th anniversary, its longevity can be seen both as one of its greatest challenges and as one of its greatest strengths. Clark College President Bob Knight explored that theme during his annual State of the College Address, held January 17 in Gaiser Student Center.

“When you’ve been part of a region for 80 years, most people know your name,” he said to an audience composed of Clark College employees, students, and community leaders. “They know of you. But they may not know much about you. Or they may remember you as you were years ago. They may not know who you are today.”

Knight went on to list some of the things that distinguish Clark College from other community colleges in the region, including its outstanding engineering, nursing, dental hygiene, welding, machining, automotive, diesel and other programs; its Running Start program (the largest in the state); its eLearning program, which 20 percent of all for-credit students participate in; its exemplary Mature Learning program; and its partnerships with regional development organizations including the Columbia River Economic Development Council, Southwest Washington Workforce Development Council, WSU Vancouver, the High Tech Council of Clark County, and local school districts. He also noted that last year Clark became Washington state’s largest single-campus community college in terms of for-credit classes, serving 26,000 students each year.

“We are not the small college that many people remember,” he said. “We are big, and we are growing.”

President Bob Knight gives the 2013 State of the College address.

Knight elaborated on the many ways Clark is growing, both physically–through such projects as a new STEM building on its main campus and a new campus in northern or central Clark County–as well as instructionally and organizationally. He noted that the college has begun developing new programs like Health Informatics and Mechatronics to meet new workforce needs, and may consider offering bachelor’s degrees in some fields in the future. He added that the college would work with WSU Vancouver in creating any such degree programs.

Knight listed other ways the college is growing and adapting. He highlighted the college’s recent use of lean processes to improve how both Student Affairs and Instruction function. He pointed out the benefits of two recent relocations: those of Corporate and Continuing Education and of Adult Basic Education/English as a Second Language. CCE’s move to downtown Vancouver, he said, has helped it to provide more support for the local business community. ABE/ESL’s move from Town Plaza to the “T Building” across Fort Vancouver Way from the main campus, meanwhile, has provided its students with greater access to student services and educational opportunity.

“We hope they will not just complete basic education, but will cross the road to continue their education by taking college courses,” Knight said of those ABE/ESL students.

Knight pointed out that all of these improvements and developments are being done at a time of deep budget cuts. At Clark’s 75th anniversary, he said, about 60 percent of the college’s funding came from the state; today, that number is below 40 percent. This has resulted in a higher economic burden on students, who have seen regular tuition increases–as well as on faculty and staff, who have accepted temporary 3-percent wage reductions.

Knight thanked the Clark College Foundation for its work in raising funds to improve programs despite state budget cuts–while acknowledging that such success creates its own challenge. “Ironically, because the Clark College Foundation does such great work, they have a perception problem,” he said. “Some people believe they have more than enough money to meet the needs of the college. That’s just not true.”

Knight concluded his speech by asking audience members–both employees and students, as well as friends and community leaders–to work together to support the college.

“Together, we can support our students’ dreams–and fulfill our vision for our college and our region–by putting Clark first,” he said.

Afterward, many in the audience walked across the street to view the new ABE/ESL facilities. One such person was Vancouver City Councilor Jeanne Harris, who attended Clark herself. As she walked, she said that she appreciated Knight’s overview of where the college is–and where it is heading.

“It helps those of us who are on campus maybe once a year to put it all together,” she said. “It made me proud of Clark College.”

Photos: Clark College/Jenny Shadley

As soon as President Bob Knight concluded his annual State of the College address, many audience members grabbed their coats and hurried out of Gaiser Student Center–not because they were eager to leave, but because they wanted to see the new location of Adult Basic Education/English as a Second Language. These programs, which were housed at Town Plaza for five years, moved to the Roy and Virginia Anderson Educational Complex (better known as the “T Building”) at the end of 2012.

The new facilities have many advantages over the old Town Plaza location: more windows, better temperature regulation, updated classroom technology. But perhaps the biggest improvement is the location itself, just across Fort Vancouver Way from Clark College’s main campus. This allows students easy access to college services like the Career Center and Cannell Library, as well as the chance to participate in student life.

“Students from Day One are operating as college students,” said Director of Basic Education Larry Ruddell as he greeted visitors to his program’s open house.

Workforce Pathways Program Manager Tiffany Williams pointed out that it wasn’t just students who benefited from access to the main campus; she and her colleagues were now able to easily take advantage of staff- and faculty-development events that previously required a car trip for Town Plaza employees.

Williams was giving tours of the new Pathways Learning Center, which was markedly different from its form at Town Plaza. There, 15 computers were arranged at tables facing the walls, making it difficult to do group teaching about computer skills; now, 24 computer stations are arranged at rows of desks in a traditional classroom layout, with a space for an instructor and a pull-down screen at the front of a room filled with natural light. This has allowed staff and faculty to begin teaching classes on everything from computer-based job searches to introductory web design.

“We’ve already started serving more students,” said Williams. “At our old location, we would average five to seven students at our classes; just this week, we had 14. When we get here in the morning to open the door, there are already students waiting to get in.”

Nearly 1,400 students took basic education classes at Clark College during the 2012 fall quarter alone.

Ruddell said that students have adjusted well to the move, with few having trouble finding their way to the new location. “We prepared them so thoroughly that on the first day of [winter quarter] classes, we were getting more lost students from the main campus than we were from our own student population,” he said.

Photos: Clark College/Jenny Shadley