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.

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.”

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.”

Photos: Clark College/Jenny Shadley
More photos can be found on Flickr.

As Clark County’s demographics and economics change, Clark College is ready to adapt to serve its community’s needs. Responding to feedback from employers and residents in East Vancouver, the college is transforming its facility at Columbia Tech Center into a hub for business and technical education.

The college has worked to create a series of course offerings this fall that will allow students to pursue career-oriented higher education in subjects that include business, information technology, computer support, and supervisory management—all without having to travel to the college’s main campus near downtown Vancouver. Most classes are scheduled to run just two days a week (Tuesday and Thursday), allowing students to plan their studies around work and/or life obligations.

Additionally, Clark College Economic and Community Development, which provides non-credit continuing education and customized training, is relocating to the CTC location. CTC is already the home of the college’s popular mechatronics program, which teaches students the skills they need to work in automated manufacturing.

“As more and more
employers establish facilities in East Vancouver, they’ve expressed a need for
additional training for their employees,” said Associate Vice President of
Instruction Genevieve Howard. “We want Clark College at Columbia Tech Center to
be the hub for career-oriented education in East Vancouver, while also opening
opportunities for students on the eastern side of Clark County to take
advantage of the state’s Running Start program.”

Clark College at CTC is located at 18700 SE Mill Plain Blvd. in Vancouver. Opened in 2009, the location will be celebrating its 10th anniversary on October 14 with an official ribbon-cutting.  

Photos: Clark College/Jenny Shadley

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’s dental hygiene program has long had plenty to smile about: its high-quality teaching facilities, its status as the college’s first bachelor’s degree program, and its important work providing dental hygiene care in the community.

Recently, the program’s faculty received news to make their smiles even brighter: Every student in their 2019 graduating class passed all six of their board exams.

The exams are extremely rigorous, and a 100 percent pass rate is remarkable. The exams include:

• The National Board Exam (an 8-hour written exam)
• The Restorative Exam (placement and finishing of amalgam [silver] and composite [white]) fillings
• The Anesthesia Written Exam
• The Anesthesia Clinical Exam (accurately administer the 2 most difficult injections on a patient)
• Hygiene Clinical Exam (thoroughly remove tenacious calculus [tartar] from a patient’s teeth with severe periodontitis [gum disease])
• The Ethical Board exam

“These are six different high-stakes exams that test the students’ knowledge and skills,” wrote Dean of Business and Health Sciences Brenda Walstead in an email to the college community. “Thank you to an extremely dedicated and talented group of faculty and staff for working endless hours to prepare the students to pass each of these exams, obtain their licenses, and go to work.”

Clark College lost a beloved member of their community on July 9, when early childhood education professor Lora Whitfield passed away.

“She was kind, warm, and supportive of those around her,” said Vice President of Instruction Sachi Horback.

Whitfield’s connection to Clark went back to her own days as a student, when she attended the college to earn her associate degree in early childhood education in 2002. Whitfield went on to have a successful career in the field, working for both the Southwest Washington Child Care Consortium and Albina Early Head Start. She earned her master’s degree in human development with a specialization in early childhood education and bicultural development from Pacific Oaks College in Seattle.

In 2014, Whitfield returned to Clark College to teach. She received tenure in 2017. At the time, she offered this statement on her teaching philosophy: “As an educator, I am committed to treating each individual with respect. I believe respect is paramount in creating environments that promote students’ ideas, passions, and interest in a meaningful and organically wholesome way. I strive to provide settings where everyone can share their ideas without bias and be included in all aspects of learning.”

Whitfield, who identified as Afro-Caribbean, was the second Black woman to receive tenure at Clark College. She actively worked to create networks of support for colleagues and students of color, participating in both the statewide Cross-Institution Faculty of Color Mentorship Program and Clark’s Black Employees United Employee Resource Group. “She was an absolute joy to be around,” recalled Interim Associate Vice President of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Rashida Willard. “She had a hilarious sense of humor and always made her work family laugh.”

In addition to her work fostering inclusion, she was an active leader in her field, participating in the Clark College Early Childhood Advisory Council, the Early Childhood Teacher Preparation Council, and the National Association for the Education of Young Children.

On his last day as president of Clark College before his retirement, Bob Knight recalled his memories of Whitfield. “Because Lora began as a student at Clark College, she could relate very closely to the student experience,” he wrote in a July 15 email to all college employees. “This made her a gifted instructor. She made Clark College a better place.”

Services for Professor Whitfield have been scheduled for Saturday, July 20, with a viewing between 9:30 am an 10:00 am. The service will be from 10:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. The location will be at City Harvest Church at 8100 NW 9th Street, Vancouver, WA 98665. Funeral information will be on the Terry Family Funeral Home website.

If you read the Columbian, you may see a familiar byline: that of Clark College student Jeni Banceu. As reported in that newspaper, she is the first Clark College student to work at the Columbian as a paid news intern.

The newly endowed Dee Anne Finken internship is a partnership between the Columbian, Clark College, and Clark College Foundation. It is named for Clark’s former journalism professor, who served as academic advisor to the college’s student news publication, The Independent, before retiring in 2018. Her successor, Beth Slovic, organized the campaign and raised money to create the paid internship for the summer.

“We liked Jeni’s can-do attitude and maturity, and her story about the homeless person living in the RV [published in The Independent in June 2018] was in my opinion a great read for a beginning journalist,” Columbian Editor Craig Brown wrote in an email.

Banceu’s stories are regularly appearing in the Columbian. “I feel so lucky to have been chosen for the Dee Ann FInken Internship,” she said. “I look forward to writing as much as I can and gaining new skills. I also look forward to getting to know our amazing local journalists.”

Banceu will return to Clark College in fall quarter serving as editor-in-chief of The Independent (nicknamed “The Indy”).

Donations to the Finken Internship fund can be made by going to foundation’s website at www.clarkcollegefoundation.org.

Also kudos to The Independent for its most recent journalism award.

The news magazine and website won first place in the “sweeps” category of the annual contest hosted by the Pacific Northwest Association of Journalism Educators. That means individual Indy journalists won first, second, and third place more than did students from any other Oregon or Washington college that entered.

The Indy is recognized as a top community college news publication in the nation, having received numerous regional and national awards.

“Hola, soy Denisse,
hoy sere su enfemera,” read the elaborate script on the top of Denisse
Zuniga-Ibarra’s graduation cap, below a cluster of silk flowers. Or, in
English: “Hello, I’m Denisse, today I’ll
be your nurse.”

Zuniga-Ibarra was one of 835 graduates waiting in line to
enter Sleep Country Amphitheater for Clark College’s 2019 commencement ceremony—and
each one, it seemed, had their own story to tell of perseverance and triumph.

“Graduation, to me, means a new job, a new beginning, making
my parents proud and giving back to my community,” said Zuniga-Ibarra, who was
receiving her Associate in Arts degree in Nursing.

Almost 2,500 degrees and certificates were conferred on
graduates in the 2018-2019 academic year—a record number for the college. It
included the first graduates of the Clark’s new Cuisine Management program, as
well as of the college’s Bachelor of Applied Science in Applied Management
(BASAM) degree program.

For the BASAM graduates, the event was bittersweet—one member
of their cohort, Debbie Terry, died before she could receive her degree. Her
classmates held a poster with pictures of her as they waited in the white robes
reserved for bachelor’s-degree graduates. During the ceremony, Terry’s
daughter, Melanie Carter, would be the first person to cross the stage,
receiving her mother’s degree post-humously.

Family featured strongly in many graduates’ stories. For Amanda Rath, this night wasn’t about making her parents proud, but rather, her own four children, aged 3 to 13. All of them would be watching their mother walk across the stage to receive her high school diploma, which she earned through the college’s Transitional Studies department.

“I want to provide something more for my children to see in
the future—something more than just working at a call center,” said the single
mother, who works full-time and is already enrolled to begin the pre-nursing
program at Clark. “I knew that started with pursuing an education.”

Like Rath, Brian Ford Jr. had balanced work, life, and school responsibilities. He was graduating with an Associate in Applied Technology degree in Diesel Technology. “It’s been a long journey—three years,” he said. “I had two kids while I was in school. I worked full-time. But I made it. It’s the biggest accomplishment of my life and I’m so happy to got to this day.”

Once the bagpipes started and the lines of robed figures
filed into the amphitheater, the moments of triumph continued. “Keep going,” Trustee
Chair Jane Jacobsen told the graduates in her remarks during the ceremony. “This
world needs you.”

Jacobsen also pointed out that this ceremony would be the
last one to be presided over by Clark College President Bob Knight, who
announced in January announce that he would be retiring after 13 years as the
college’s president. She thanked him for his service.

Student speaker Soukaina Ouahhabi spoke of the challenges
she had faced as a non-native English speaker studying computer science who
also worked full-time. “Sometimes, I would have to choose which I needed to do
most: eat, sleep or do homework,” she said. “Because I only had time to do one
of them. I’m sure many of you can relate.”

Still, Ouhhabi said, she kept her focus on achieving her
goals. “My desire to reach my goals was stronger than the struggles I faced and
has pushed me to be the strong, smart woman I am today,” she said, to a roar of
applause from her classmates.

There was also applause for the award recipients announced during the ceremony. This included the 2018-2019 Exceptional Faculty Award winners, as well as the 2019-2020 Community College Presidents’ Scholarship, which was given to Esmeralda “Vita” Blanco. Another finalist for the scholarship, Anastasiya Kozlovska, received a $1,000 scholarship as well.

Keynote speaker Julianna Marler, who is a Clark College
alumna, spoke of her journey from being the daughter of Hungarian immigrants to
the first female CEO of the Port of Vancouver USA. “Clark College was a
foundation of my business knowledge,” she said, adding that even some of her
electives, like psychology, wound up being unexpectedly useful in management. “I
wouldn’t have guessed it at the time, but those lessons would turn out to serve
me well.”

As Knight concluded the ceremony, he told the graduates, “We
are excited to think of the ways in which you will change the world. And we are
glad to know that Clark College will always hold a special place in your
hearts.”

More photos can be viewed on our Flickr page.

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.”

To
read more about the presidential search process and next steps go to www.clark.edu/presidential-search.

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.

During the 2019 Commencement ceremony, President Robert K. Knight announced the names of the recipients of the 2019 Clark College Exceptional Faculty Awards. The awards are presented annually to full-time and part-time faculty members. Nominations can be submitted by Clark College students, faculty, classified employees, administrators, alumni, Board members, and Foundation directors.

The awards are made possible through an endowed trust fund established by the Washington State Legislature and the Clark College Exceptional Faculty Endowment Fund, which was established in 1993. That fund provides recognition of exemplary work performance, positive impact on students, professional commitment, and other contributions to the college.

This year’s Exceptional Faculty members are:

Dr. Karl Bailey,
Chemistry

Dr. Karl Bailey has taught chemistry at Clark College for the past 13 years. He served as chair of the chemistry department from 2012 to 2016 and has had a key leadership role in the college’s implementation of the Guided Pathways model of higher education, which works to eliminate “achievement gaps” between different populations of students.

Dr. Bailey holds a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry from California Polytechnic State University and a doctorate in chemistry from the University of California, Davis. In addition to his tenure at Clark, he has taught at Everett Community College and the Florida Institute of Technology, as well as at both his alma maters.

“Dr. B continuously shows that he supports his students and will do anything to help them succeed,” wrote one student. “He has offered to help outside of office hours. … I’m a single mom fighting to succeed, and he has been there during two quarters, doing everything he can to accommodate any hardships, within reason. Teachers like him leave marks on your academic heart.”

Nadine Fattaleh,
Chemistry

Nadine Fattaleh has taught chemistry at Clark College since 2002 and currently serves at the head of the chemistry department. She earned her bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Scripps College in Claremont, California, and her master’s degree in chemistry from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Fattaleh is a member of the leadership team of the Pacific Northwest Green Chemistry Network. At Clark College, her primary teaching responsibilities are in general and organic chemistry, where she has implemented green chemistry lab experiments. 

“Having taken a year of college-level chemistry before, I walked into Nadine’s class nervous because the classes I had taken in the past made no sense to me or anyone else in the class,” wrote one student in their nomination. “It turns out, though, that some educators can teach these complex concepts in a way that actually makes sense to students. Nadine sets us up for successful careers in science.”

This is Fattaleh’s second time earning the Exceptional Faculty Award, which she also won in 2010.

Deena Godwin,
Communication Studies

Deena Godwin has taught communications courses at Clark College since 2001. She currently serves as chair of the communications and humanities division, and served as interim dean of the college’s BEECH (Basic Education, English, Communication and Humanities) unit for two years. Over her time at Clark, she has contributed to the college community in many ways, including as advisor for the Phi Theta Kappa honor society, chair of the Associate of Arts Advisory Committee, and facilitator for many Teaching and Learning Center workshops providing professional development to Clark College employees.

Godwin earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in organizational communication from Dana College in Nebraska and her Master of Science degree in communication studies and journalism from South Dakota State University.

One student wrote in her nomination that Godwin helped her not only during class, but also after the class was over by writing her a letter of recommendation. “She not only wrote me a personalized letter, but she filled out recommender forms for five colleges for me—all of which I got into,” she wrote.

Zachary Grant,
Libraries

Zachary Grant’s career at Clark College Libraries began in 2005, when he interned at Cannell Library as part of his coursework to complete his master’s degree in library science from Emporia State University. He was hired into a tenure-track position at the college in 2006.

At Clark, Grant serves on the Emergency Management Planning Committee and has been active in the college’s work toward implementing the Guided Pathways model of higher education, which is focused on eliminating the “achievement gap” between different populations of students. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in history from Oregon State University.

Grant earns praise from colleagues for his patience and care when helping students find reliable sources for their research projects. One faculty member wrote in a nomination, “He is so concerned that the library be equally accessible to all that he began studying American Sign Language in order to be able to better communicate with Deaf students.”

Malcolm Mccay,
Economics

Malcolm McCay did not come to teaching until after a 20-plus year career spent working in the energy and public-utility fields, primarily providing policy and legislative analysis. In 2007, heretired from Portland General Electric, where he had served as a federal policy specialist. In 2010, he began volunteering as a tutor at Clark College, where his skill and depth of knowledge led to an offer to teach classes.

McCay earned his bachelor’s degree in economics from Humboldt State University in Arcata, California, and his master’s degree, also in economics, from the University of California, Santa Barbara.

One student wrote in their nomination that McCay “makes everyone feel important,” adding, “His teaching style really makes you start looking at the world and the history of the world in a different light. He brings to the subject a lot of examples of the effects of economics on our world and community.”

Erin Staples, Health
and Physical Education

Erin Staples has taught health and physical education classes at Clark College since 2009. She has been active at Clark as a faculty academic advisor, a faculty advisor to a student club, and participant in the Curriculum and eLearning committees. She also volunteers with the YWCA SafeChoice Domestic Violence Program.

Staples earned her Bachelor of Science degree in hospitality management from the University of North Texas and her Master of Public Health in health education/healthy promotion from Portland State University. Additionally, in 2018 she earned a graduate certificate in diversity, social justice, and inclusion, which she used to revise the curriculum for a new Multicultural Health course, as well as her existing Women’s Health course.

It was taking that latter class that prompted many students to nominate Staples for this award. One wrote, “Erin is absolutely amazing! She does a wonderful job at making every student feel comfortable in her class without judgment.” Another wrote, “This instructor has taught me more about myself and helped guide me toward a better understanding of the world than any other previous instructor.”

Photos: Clark College/Jenny Shadley

Every year, just a day or two before Clark College’s commencement ceremony, Clark College President Bob Knight and other college leaders attend a smaller ceremony at Larch Corrections Center to celebrate graduates of the college’s GED preparation program there. This year, they will have plenty to celebrate: Not only did the program see a record number of students pass the GED during the 2018-2019 academic year, but in May its tutoring program became the first prison-based tutoring program to be certified by the College Reading and Learning Association (CRLA).

Fifty students passed their GED certification test this academic year–four more than the previous record of 46. For these students, passing their GED not only provides them with an important credential–the equivalent of a high school diploma–but it also gives them a sense of accomplishment and self-worth that can help them pursue better paths in their lives after their release from prison.

Larch inmates who become tutors through Clark College’s program also gain marketable skills and work experience. Having the program be certified by the CRLA adds legitimacy to that experience.

According to findings published in the Journal of Experimental Criminology, inmates who participated in correctional education programs are 28 percent less likely to commit new crimes, compared to inmates who didn’t.

The program was featured on the front page of the June 9 issue of The Columbian.

Photos: Clark College/Kelly Love