On Tuesday, November 28, Clark College will launch a new era in the region’s culinary scene as it hosts the ribbon-cutting ceremony for its Tod and Maxine McClaskey Culinary Institute.

The modern, 20,615-square-foot facility provides a variety of fast, fresh, and healthy dining options for students, faculty, staff, and the community. The space features three kiosks, a full-service baking retail store and barista bar, and grab-and-go items. Next year, a fourth kiosk and student-run restaurant will open. The space also offers indoor and outdoor seating.

The McClaskey Culinary Institute is also home to the college’s completely redesigned Cuisine Management and Baking and Pastry Arts programs, which restarted this fall after years on hiatus. The design of the space allows visitors to see and interact with students, bringing food preparation and learning to the whole college.

“We are so excited to be opening the McClaskey Culinary Institute and bringing food service back to the college,” said Genevieve Howard, dean of Workforce, Professional & Technical Education. “The institute provides education for students, nutritious meals for students, and a great place for the community to come in and be part of Clark College.”

The McClaskey Culinary Institute will officially open to the public with the ribbon-cutting ceremony, which is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. and will include a thank-you to donors, cooking and baking demonstrations, and tours of the $10.5 million facility. The event is free and open to the public.

“Opening the Tod and Maxine McClaskey Culinary Institute is the realization of many years of effort on the part of the college and our community partners,” said Clark College President Bob Knight. “It will not only help us to prepare our students for jobs in the food and hospitality industries, but also establish Southwest Washington as a hub of culinary innovation. It is also the only public culinary program within 120 miles.”

For more information about food service and hours, visit www.clark.edu/cc/dining.

Photo: Clark College/Wei Zhuang

This 14-foot skiff, which was built by Clark welding students in 2017, is being auctioned off to raise funds for the program’s 2018 student project.

For three months this spring, students from Clark College’s welding classes worked tirelessly to create a 14-foot aluminum skiff from scratch. Now the welding program is selling the skiff online to raise funds for future class projects.

As part of the college’s commitment to hands-on learning, welding students complete a completely functional welding project before graduation in the spring. Three years ago, it was a pressure vessel; last year, it was an aluminum skiff. That project proved so popular with students that Professor Caleb White decided to bring it back for 2017, albeit with many improvements over the original design.

This year’s boat is 14 feet long and features storage under each seat, an anchor locker, a drain plug, fore and aft tie-downs, handles for lifting the aft end, and a bow tie-down for anchoring to a trailer. The boat was tested this spring on Lake Lacamas and found to be completely sealed and usable.

“It’s a small boat that is versatile enough to be used on lakes or rivers, and is very stable for a boat of this size,” said White, who worked at Christensen Shipyards for a decade before coming to Clark to teach. “It doesn’t currently have an outboard motor, but it is designed to use up to a 25-horsepower outboard.”

Anyone interested in purchasing the boat may bid for it online at https://www.publicsurplus.com/sms/all,wa/auction/view?auc=1977227. Proceeds from the sale will go toward purchasing raw materials for the welding program’s 2018 spring project. Materials for this year’s boat cost approximately $1,500, and some 20 students contributed more than 1,000 hours of labor to complete it.

Photo: Clark College/Jenny Shadley

Clark College Theatre opens its 2017-2018 season with A View from the Bridge.

Arthur Miller, who wrote Death of a Salesman and The Crucible, brings us this classic tragedy of life, love, and loss. Brooklyn longshoreman Eddie Carbone welcomes his immigrant cousins to America, but when one of them falls for Eddie’s young niece, Eddie’s jealous mistrust exposes an unspeakable secret—one that drives him to commit the ultimate betrayal.

Cast includes: JD Carpenter* (Louis); Aron Howell** (Alfieri); Zak Cambell** (Eddie); Sammantha Williams* (Catherine); Christina Taft** (Beatrice); Sterling Buck* (Marco); Austin Woodard* (Tony); Stevie Riepe* (Rodolpho); Liam Arthur* (First Immigration Officer); and Alex Pearman* (Second Immigration Officer).  The director is Mark Owsley. Note: Cast member names marked with a single asterisk are current Clark College students; double asterisks indicate Clark College alumni.

Show Dates: Nov. 10, 11, 16, 17, and 18. All show times are at 7:30 p.m. in the Decker Theatre, Frost Arts Center, on Clark College’s main campus.

Ticket Information: Students (with ID) $10; Alumni (with membership) $10; Senior Citizens $12; General Admission $15. Season ticket packages are also available. Tickets may be purchased online at http://www.clarkbookstore.com/site_theatre.asp, or call 360-992-2815.

If you need accommodation due to a disability in order to fully participate in this event, contact Clark College’s Disability Support Services Office at 360-992-2314 or 360-991-0901 (VP), or visit Gaiser Hall room 137, as soon as possible.

Author Aimee Bender. Photo: Mike Glier/USC Dornlife

Clark College welcomes award-winning novelist Aimee Bender, author of The Girl in the Flammable Skirt and The Color Master, as part of the college’s Columbia Writers Series.

Bender will read from and discuss her writing from 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. on Monday, October 30, in the Penguin Union Building (PUB) room 258 on Clark’s main campus.

Aimee Bender is the author of five books:The Girl in the Flammable Skirt (1998), which was a NY Times Notable Book; An Invisible Sign of My Own (2000), which was a Los Angeles Times pick of the year; Willful Creatures(2005) which was nominated by The Believer as one of the best books of the year; The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake (2010), which won the SCIBA award for best fiction and an Alex Award; and The Color Master, a New York Times Notable book for 2013. Her books have been translated into 16 languages.

Her short fiction has been published in Granta, GQ, Harper’s, Tin House, McSweeney’s, The Paris Review, and more. It also has been heard on PRI’s “This American Life”and “Selected Shorts.”

She lives in Los Angeles with her family and teaches creative writing at USC.

The event is 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) or visit room PUB 013.

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.

The 2017 Clark College Women’s Soccer team

With its 2-0 road victory over Southwestern Oregon this past Saturday, Clark College Women’s Soccer clinched the Northwest Athletic Conference (NWAC) South Region title.

Led by Head Coach Sean Jansen–who received a Presidential Coin in September for his service to the college–the team has racked up some impressive statistics.The Penguins have scored 45 goals and allowed only 4–the biggest spread in the South. Penguins stat leaders include Facienne Graham with 10 goals, Sarah Teubner with 9 assists, and goalkeeper Maggie Higgins with 38 saves. The Penguins have a South Region best 9-0-1 conference record. The Penguins have 28 points in the region standings with two matches to play. They will be the No. 1 seed from the region and receive a first-round bye in the NWAC playoffs. Clark will host the first round of playoffs on Nov. 4 against a team yet to be determined.

The Penguins finish out their conference schedule at home, taking on Portland Community College at home on Saturday, October 21, at Kim Christensen Field, followed by playing Rogue Community College on Wednesday, October 25.

In other sports news from the weekend:

Men’s Soccer

The Penguins beat Southwestern Oregon 3-0 at Coos Bay.

Eric Hernandez, David Garnica and Mark Fabyanchuk scored goals. Nick Henry assisted on Hernandez’s goal, and Chikuru Balekeassisted on the other two.

Joseph Miguel Martin recorded the shutout in goal.

Clark (4-6-1, 4-3-1) is in second place in the South Region with 13 points, two in front of Portland. Clark and Portland meet next Saturday at Vancouver.

Volleyball

Clark rolled past Southwestern Oregon with a 3-0 win at the O’Connell Center. Scores were 25-18, 25-11, 25-14.

Madison Swanson had six kills, Dalaney Tuholski had five kills, Mary Schorn had 12 digs, and Megan Hess had 12 assists.

Clark (22-4, 7-2) is third in the NWAC South, one game behind Linn-Benton and Chemeketa, which are tied for first at 8-1.

Next for Clark is a crossover tournament at Aberdeen next weekend.

Cross Country

The Clark women placed fifth out of nine teams at the George Fox Classic, held at Willamette Mission State Park in Gervais, Ore. The Clark men were seventh out of 11 teams.

Battle Ground High grad Lizzye Ribalka was the top women’s finisher for the Penguins. She was 20th out of 90 runners in the 5,000-meter race with a time of 19:40.8.

Ridgefield High grad Sam Andersen was the top men’s placer for the Penguins. He was 31st out of 123 runners on the 8K course with a time of 26:34.0.

Athletics intern Davis Young contributed to this article. Photo: Clark College Athletics.

Clark College is inviting the public to come back to school for a series of free lunchtime seminars that explore the lighter side of Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM). Begun in 2015, the Clark College STEM Seminar Series launches its 2017 Fall season with yet more fun, informative presentations geared toward anyone with an interest in science—no Ph.D. required!

The fall quarter events in this series include:

• Oct. 20: Terrific Telescopes—Windows to Our Universe with Dr. Duane Ray, Clark College Economic & Community Development instructor

  Join Dr. Ray as he reviews the amazing technology of today’s telescopes and how they work. He will then take us on a tour around the world, showing the latest equipment now installed or being installed, including light, infrared, microwave and X-ray telescopes.

• Nov. 17: Cave Curiosities with Eddy Cartaya of the U.S. Forest Service

  As a ranger in the Deschutes National Forest, Cartaya has the opportunity to investigate many caves while solving crimes. His work on glacier caves in Mt. Hood has provided valuable information about these fragile and ever-changing ecosystems.

• Dec. 1: Telling Science Fact from Fiction with staff from Clark College Libraries

  Information is moving fast and furious these days, and it can be difficult at best to tell what is and isn’t high-quality scientific information. Join a team of Clark librarians for some ideas about how best to tell scientific fact in the media from fiction. This promises to be a fast-paced and fun romp through scientific literacy!

All events are held on Fridays from noon to 1 p.m. in the STEM Building room 151 on Clark’s main campus. All are open to the public. Light snacks will be available and guests are welcome to bring their own lunches with them.

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.

The Penguin Pantry provides Clark students with free food and supplies.

Clark College invites the community to attend the Grand Opening for its new Penguin Pantry on Wednesday, October 25, from 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. This event is free and open to the public.

Launched this summer, the Pantry provides students with free food and hygiene products, as well as some clothing and school supplies. Almost half of Clark’s student body is classified as lower-income, according to data from the college’s Office of Planning & Effectiveness. As of the first week in October, the Pantry has had 90 visits and provided almost 1,000 items to students.

The event will include remarks by Clark College President Bob Knight and a thank-you to the Pantry’s donors, which include Clark College Foundation, Clark employees, the Associated Students of Clark College, Sysco, and the Community Foundation of Southwest Washington. Staff will be on hand to answer visitors’ questions and guide them through the Pantry’s offerings. Food and personal-item donations will be collected during the event. Visit the Penguin Pantry web page at www.clark.edu/cc/penguinpantry for a list of suggested items or to learn about making a financial contribution.

The Pantry is located in Science Building Complex (SCI) room 101 on Clark College’s main campus, located at 1933 Fort Vancouver Way. The nearest parking lots are Orange 2 and Brown 1, both accessible from E. Reserve Street. Maps and directions 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 Office at 360-992-2314 or 360-991-0901 (VP), or visit Penguin Union Building room 013 as soon as possible.

Photo: Clark College/Nick Bremer

Kenny Fries. Photo: Michael R. Dekker

The Clark College Columbia Writers Series kicks off its 2017-2018 season with renowned poet, memoirist, and critic Kenny Fries. This event, which is free and open to the public, will be held on Tuesday, October 10, from 11:00 a.m. to noon in Penguin Union Building (PUB) room 258A on Clark College’s main campus.

Fries is perhaps best known for his memoir Body, Remember: A Memoir, which recounts his experiences as a disabled child growing up in an abusive Orthodox Jewish home and slowly coming to terms with his identity as a gay, disabled man. He has written two other memoirs, In the Province of the Gods and The History of My Shoes and the Evolution of Darwin’s Theory, this last the winner of the Outstanding Book Award from the Gustavus Myers Center for the Study of Bigotry and Human Rights.  He is the editor of Staring Back:  The Disability Experience from the Inside Out and the author of the libretto for The Memory Stone, an opera commissioned by the Houston Grand Opera.  His books of poems include Anesthesia, Desert Walking, and In the Gardens of Japan. He teaches in the MFA in Creative Writing Program at Goddard College.

The Columbia Writers Series was launched at Clark College in 1988, bringing local, national and international authors to the college and the region. This year’s lineup of authors includes, besides Fries:

Fall

• October 30: Aimee Bender, author of The Girl in the Flammable Skirt and The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake

Winter

• February 15, 2018: Cheston Knapp, editor of Tin House magazine and author of Up Up, Down Down, which will appear in February 2018

Spring

• May 14, 2018: Roger Reeves, Pushcart Prize-winning poet
• May 17, 2018: Kate Berube, children’s book author and illustrator

Information about the Columbia Writers Series is available at www.clark.edu/cc/cws.

This event is held on Clark College’s main campus at 1933 Ft. Vancouver Way. 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.

Paul Cannon, green pants, sits with former Head Coach Eric Harper during a game.

Paul Cannon, former Assistant Coach for Clark College Women’s Basketball during the 2016-17 season, was moved into the Interim Head Coaching Position following the stepping down of former Head Coach Eric Harper.

Cannon joined the staff last season assisting first-year head coach Harper in a rebuilding year for the program. The Penguins finished the season 7-20 overall, with 12 of their losses by 10 or fewer points.

The Penguins will be returning two sophomores as they rebuild the program and gain buy-in to the new system being implemented by Cannon.

Prior to Clark, Cannon’s basketball experience includes five years at Evergreen High School in Vancouver, Washington. At Evergreen, Cannon worked his way up from volunteering with the basketball program to becoming the varsity assistant coach. While working with the basketball program at Evergreen, he helped nine of his athletes move on to play at the college level.

Coming on as an assistant for the program is former NWAC player at Yakima Valley, Rosetta Adzasu. Adzasu also competed at the NCAA Division I level for the Washington State Cougars. Her experience as a college athlete, along with her time coaching with the Nike EYBL Fast Program, will be great assets to the team and the program.

Athletic Director Chris Jacob said, “We are very fortunate that our coaches find such high-quality assistants. With Coach Harper leaving, we are grateful and excited to see what Coach Cannon can do with the program and know that he will do well in this quick transition.”

Jacob also talked about the new assistant coach Rosetta Adzasu, “She is a very experienced basketball player that has so much to offer,” he said. “With her experience playing professionally, we welcome the knowledge she has. We are very excited to see what Coach Cannon and Coach Adzasu can do in such short time.”

Clark College Athletics contributed this article.

Photo: Clark College/Jenny Shadley

Students find their way on the first day of the 2017 fall term.

Monday, September 25 marked the start of the 2017 fall term at Clark College.

While official numbers are not available until after the 10th day of class, the day began with 12,055 students enrolled, slightly down from last year’s Day One enrollment of 12,099. This reflects trends seen throughout the statewide system and through much of the country as well.

Some specific segments saw increases. Enrollment in eLearning (or online) courses grew this year by 18 percent, with more than 4,700 students taking advantage of those courses. Clark College’s Running Start Program also grew again this year by 2 percent to just over 2,100 students, making it the largest Running Start program in the state.

Other highlights for the quarter:

• 

  Cuisine instructor Aaron Guerra looks ready to start fall term.

  This quarter sees the relaunch of the college’s culinary programs, including Cuisine Management and Professional Baking and Pastry Arts. Students entering the program this quarter will be the first to study in the college’s McClaskey Culinary Institute, which is still in the final stages of construction and is expected to open to the public by the end of 2017. When it opens, it will be the only nonprofit culinary institute within 120 miles. Clark’s Culinary Arts – Cooking/Restaurant Management program was put on hiatus in 2013 in order to modernize the curriculum and facilities. The Culinary Arts – Baking/Bakery Management program was put on hiatus in 2015, when it was determined that the program could not continue running while the culinary facilities were being remodeled.

• The Bachelor of Applied Science in Applied Management program, which launched January 2017, begins its first full academic year at capacity with 35 students. This is the second bachelor’s degree offered by Clark, and more are expected to be announced by the end of this academic year. In response to strong demand, a second cohort of the BASAM program will launch in January.

• 

  The BAS in Applied Management program’s newest cohort poses with administrators, faculty, and campus resource specialists during their orientation session.

  The college’s new Rural Access Mechatronics Program (RAMP) launches this quarter, providing opportunities for students in underserved parts of the college’s service district to gain in-demand skills without relocating to urban areas. Made possible by a grant from the National Science Foundation, this two-quarter program allows students to earn a certificate in mechatronics through primarily online classes that require them to come to Clark’s Columbia Tech Center location in East Vancouver on Saturdays only. As with the BAS in Applied Management, this program is at capacity, and faculty are considering adding an additional cohort in winter term.

• The college’s new Penguin Pantry has opened on the college’s main campus, providing students with free food and hygiene supplies, as well as some clothing and school supplies. Almost half of Clark’s student body is classified as lower-income, according to data from the college’s Office of Planning & Effectiveness.

Photos: Campus photos by Clark College/Jennifer Shadley, BAS in Applied Management photo by Clark College/Jennifer Lea.