Phi Theta Kappa advisor Melissa Sinclair, far right in yellow shirt, gives students information about the program.

Gaiser Student Center was bustling with activity on October 2 as students attended the college’s first-ever Involvement Fair. In previous years, the college has hosted a quarterly Student Club Fair, but this year the event expanded to include tables for not just clubs, but also departments and programs like Financial Aid, CollegeFish.org, and the Bookstore.

“We wanted to expand on the engagement opportunities we were highlighting for students,” explained Director of Student Life Sarah Gruhler.

Brandon Nimmo

Clark student Brandon Nimmo was manning a table representing the college’s Penguin Help Desk, a free service staffed by Computer Support Specialist students that provides computer assistance and repair to students, faculty, and anyone in the community. Nimmo said he’d received a lot of visitors at his table interested in the Help Desk’s services–though, he added, they might have to wait a bit to access them. “We have a lot of computers there waiting to be fixed right now,” he said. “We stay very busy.”

Nimmo wasn’t interested in signing up for any clubs himself. “I honestly don’t have time,” he said. The Air Force veteran is currently juggling working 30-to-40 hours per week at the Veterans Administration with a full-time class load and helping to care for his daughter, 2, and stepdaughter, 13.

Chess fans get a game in at the Chess Club table.

This is the challenge facing many Clark students–they’re too busy balancing jobs and family and homework to participate in extracurricular activities. But, Gruhler said, it can be helpful to their long-term success if they do.

“In Student Life we emphasize out-of-class learning opportunities,” she said. “Clubs are a great way for students to pursue their interests and try new things while gaining experience, learning new skills and connecting with other students. Future schools and employers are not just interested in your degree, but in all the other experiences that set students apart as individuals. Clubs help students connect, network and ultimately provide support to help them achieve their goals.”

Saudi Students Club members Majed Alhumaidani and Ahmed Biladi share dates and culture with their fellow students.

For first-year student Ahmed Biladi, a student club is also a way to promote understanding about his culture. Biladi, 18, is one of a growing number of Clark international students from Saudi Arabia–in fact, fall 2013 marks the first quarter that Saudi Arabia is the most common country of origin for Clark international students, the result of new partnerships between Clark College International Programs and educational organizations in the Middle East including the Saudi Arabian Cultural Mission.

When Biladi first came to the United States, he encountered some disheartening preconceptions about his homeland. “Some of the most bizarre questions I’ve gotten have been: ‘Do you guys still ride camels? Is the country covered in sand? Do you still live in tents?'” he said with a laugh. “There’s a lot of misinformation about Saudis, so we decided to start a club to share our culture with the Clark community.”

The newly formed Saudi Students Club hopes to combat myths and promote understanding between American and Saudi cultures. “There’s an ignorance of culture on both ends that leads to a lack of communication,” Biladi said, offering a plate of imported dates to passersby.

According to the Office of Student Life, more than 400 people attended the Involvement Fair.

A total of 59 clubs, programs, services, and departments had tables at the Involvement Fair, which was attended by more than 400 people.

Photos: Jenny Shadley/Clark College

Clark College President Robert K. Knight and Columbia Credit Union President Steve Kenny cut the ribbon signifying the official opening of the simulation pharmacy.

More than 40 people gathered at Clark College at the Washington State University campus in Vancouver on September 30 for a ribbon-cutting event for the Columbia Credit Union Simulation Pharmacy. The celebration honored the community credit union for its $65,000 gift that led to remodeling the 500-square-foot pharmacy and purchasing new lab equipment and supplies.

The crowd cheered as the ribbon was cut on Clark’s new Columbia Credit Union Simulation Pharmacy.

Clark’s Pharmacy Technician program relocated to Clark College’s building on the WSUV campus last year, in the process expanding the program’s footprint and enhancing the college’s quest to be the premier Pharmacy Technician program in the region. The new lab allows students to practice skills and simulate activities they will encounter on the job in pharmacy settings, such as setting up sterile IV bags and packaging medications.

Clark College President Robert K. Knight and Columbia Credit Union President Steve Kenny cut the ribbon signifying the official opening of the simulation pharmacy.

“We appreciate our community partners that bring that margin of excellence to Clark College,” said Knight, adding, “Columbia Credit Union is a partner we can always count on.”

Kenny said the bank has served the community since 1952. “We are proud to support higher education,” he said.

Kenny added a personal story about his son, a Clark alumnus, who began as a Running Start student, enrolled in a medical program at Clark, and is now a licensed X-ray technician “who, at 26, just purchased his first home,” he said. “Education truly makes a difference.”

Pharmacy Technician student Dixie Fisher gave a tour of the simulation pharmacy following the ribbon cutting.

Pharmacy Technician student Dixie Fisher is excited about the way education is reshaping her life. Fisher, who was on hand to give tours of the new simulation pharmacy, shared her own story with visitors. A year ago, she was a stay-at-home mom with six children when a storm flooded her home and forced her family to take shelter in a hotel for eight months. With time on her hands and her job prospects bleak, Fisher visited Clark College; she’d heard about its Pharmacy Technician program and wanted to learn more. Now Fisher, 36, is in the last quarter of the program and hopes to get a job at Kaiser Permanente, where she’s been interning, and perhaps return to Clark one day to teach in the program.

Pharmacy technicians are in high demand because of the large number of locations that employ technicians and an aging population who require care. In the state of Washington, more than 1.2 million residents will be age 65 or older by 2020, according to a panel convened by the Southwest Washington Workforce Development Council.

Pharmacy Tech instructor Heidi Fey and department head Dawn Shults attend the opening of the new Columbia Credit Union simulation pharmacy.

Sixteen states in the nation require certification for pharmacy technicians, and only six require licenses. Washington is one of the six that mandates a license, says Dawn Shults, Pharmacy Technician Department head.

Clark students can earn a certificate and be workforce-ready in a year or go on to earn an Associate in Applied Technology degree that prepares them for leadership roles within a pharmacy setting. They can transfer to Central Washington University for a Bachelor of Applied Technology degree in business management.

To see more photos from the event visit our Flickr site.

Photos: Clark College/Jenny Shadley

The staff of the 2013 Phoenix posing during the journal’s unveiling in spring. Art professor Kathrena Halsinger, far right, is their advisor.

Congratulations to the staff of Phoenix. Clark’s literary and art journal just won third place in the Western-Pacific division of the Community College Humanities Association‘s 2013 Literary Magazine Competition.

“I think the quality of Phoenix is a reflection of the quality of the strong arts program that the college, and the greater community, continue to support,” says art professor and Phoenix advisor Kathrena Halsinger. “The arts are the stuff of life and therefore are relevant to all. We really work hard to be inclusive and get people across campus to be involved. We’ve also been fortunate to be supported by our departments and the ASCC to keep the program strong.”

HIIT student Rachel Cribben says the ability to pursue a bachelor’s degree without leaving her home in Vancouver is “extremely important” to her success in the program.

In a move that will provide residents of Southwest Washington with the opportunity to train for high-paying jobs in a rapidly expanding field, Clark College and Bellevue College have signed an articulation agreement that allows students at Clark to earn a bachelor’s degree in Health Informatics Information Technology (HIIT) from Bellevue through online and remote classes—without leaving the Clark College campus.

“In our ongoing conversations with regional employers, we realized there was a need for Health Informatics Information Technology professionals and responded quickly to that need, but we also realized that there would be a need for students to take their education to the next level,” said Debra Ortiz, director of allied health programs at Clark College. “This is a great opportunity for students to stay here in the region and get a bachelor’s degree in a rapidly growing field.”

Health Informatics is the science of managing electronic health records and coordinating the computer information systems used by hospitals, clinics, insurance companies, and health care professionals. HIIT professionals work in customizing software for large health care institutions, as well as in data analysis, training clinicians on how to use computer systems, database management, and many other related fields. Demand for these skilled professionals is increasing as more and more health care organizations switch to electronic records-keeping, and as the graying Baby Boomers spur an increase in demand for health care. Indeed, the Bureau for Labor Statistics predicts that demand for HIIT specialists will increase by 21 percent between 2010 and 2020—a rate that’s 50 percent higher than average job growth in all fields.

Clark introduced its HIIT program in winter 2012 in response to regional workforce needs. From the beginning, the program was designed to allow graduates to transfer to four-year institutions, including the Oregon Institute of Technology. However, this new agreement with Bellevue College allows students to continue paying in-state tuition while pursuing their Bachelor of Science degree; because the classes are offered online or remotely, the agreement also allows students to complete their four-year degree without leaving Vancouver.

“We’re thrilled to have this opportunity to collaborate with our colleagues at Clark so that we can offer students convenient access to our online courses,” said Dr. Pamela Charney, program chair of Healthcare Information Technology & Management at Bellevue. “This will give students from Clark a clear pathway to professional success in the exciting new arena of healthcare IT.”

Rachel Cribben is one of those students. Cribben, 27, earned a certificate for medical billing and coding shortly after graduating from high school. But after she and her husband separated in 2011, she realized that she would need to get a degree to be able to support her two daughters, ages 3 and 5. Her mother, who works at Clark, told her about the HIIT program.

Cribben says HIIT is a good fit for her personality and interests. “I like the healthcare field, but I’m more of a behind-the-scenes kind of person,” she says, adding that she hopes to find a job in a hospital’s information technology department and eventually manage her own team of specialists there.

Cribben says the material has at times been challenging. “I’m taking Intro to Local Area Networks right now, and I opened up the textbook and saw all these pictures of wires and diagrams and thought, ‘How am I going to learn this?'” she says. “But then I saw a picture of a [network interface card] and I recognized it from when my brother built my computer. I realized I actually knew what it was already, and it made me think, ‘OK, I can do this.'”

Cribben plans to earn her associate degree from Clark in 2016 and her bachelor’s degree through the Bellevue partnership a year after that. For her, the ability to be able to complete her degree without relocating–and primarily through online classes, so that she can continue to care for her children while being a full-time student–is crucial to her success in the program.

“It’s extremely important,” she says. “I want to do this, and I want to do it well. I want to show my girls that you can do anything that you put your mind to.”

Photo: Clark College/Jenny Shadley

Members of Clark’s Phi Theta Kappa chapter, Alpha Sigma Phi, hand out CollegeFish goodies at the Involvement Fair to increase awareness in the program.

As tuition at many four-year institutions continues to soar, many students have realized the value of spending their first two years of college at a community college. New studies show that the majority of community college graduates who go on to four-year colleges do so successfully, and the economic advantages of the “2+2” plan have been publicized in the media for years.

But while many students enter Clark confident in their transfer plans, they sometimes begin to feel lost or overwhelmed at some point in the process. After all, aren’t they supposed to be focusing on their time at Clark, taking in all the school has to offer? Well, yes—but early planning is critical to transferring successfully.

So where does a student even start? There are a number of resources available to students: Advising Services, the Career Center, our WSU Vancouver Transfer Coordinator, and so on. And this fall quarter, a brand-new tool will be available for Clark students who have indicated they intend to eventually transfer.

CollegeFish.org is a free database and transfer-planning tool for community college students that’s been developed and maintained by Phi Theta Kappa (PTK), the honor society for two-year colleges. CollegeFish was originally developed for members of PTK to use in their planning; however, through a Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation grant, PTK was given the opportunity to refine the tool and open access to all students in specific pilot states.

Clark College is one of several colleges in Washington that are partnering with PTK to roll out CollegeFish access. CollegeFish allows students to create a personalized profile of their transfer institution preferences–size, location, major, and cost–and provides recommended transfer matches based on those preferences. CollegeFish also creates a Transfer Success Plan for students, so they can customize their higher education journey and manage it to stay on track. Lastly, when students access CollegeFish.org, they have the opportunity to search for more than $37 million in transfer scholarships.

Clark PTK advisor Melissa Sinclair says that staff and faculty will soon receive an email with some basic information about CollegeFish.org, as well as an invitation to a training session to learn more about the website’s functionality. Eligible students will receive an email in October alerting them to the resource.

Photo: Clark College/Jenny Shadley

Director of Change Management Jane Beatty

In anticipation of upcoming statewide changes to the community and technical college system, Clark College recently hired experienced manager Jane Beatty to help guide the college through what will be a complicated but beneficial transition.

Beatty has been hired to oversee changes occurring across the college. A great place for her to start is with the college’s adaptation of ctcLink, a new, standardized system of online functions that will replace the current computer system used by Washington state’s 34 community and technical colleges (CTCs), which is more than 30 years old. In this position, which is expected to run for about five years, she will identify organizational changes required to make ctcLink successful at the college; represent the college in statewide discussions about ctcLink; and ensure that the college adheres to its schedule for ctcLink implementation. She will also work closely with stakeholders from all departments affected by ctcLink—departments as varied as Instruction, Enrollment, Financial Aid, Information Technology, Business Services, and Human Resources.

“This campus has a rich history and an energy that speaks of excitement, growth, and future possibilities for students, faculty, and staff,” said Beatty. “In learning more about the Director of Change Management position, I realized I could help the college understand, prepare for, and embrace the changes that are ahead of us. In order to fully reach our potential, change must take place. Working together, we can take Clark College toward that vision. I’m really pleased to be a part of that effort and a part of Clark College.”

“As our new Director of Change Management, Jane Beatty’s deep industry experience and understanding of systems implementation will really benefit Clark College,” said Clark College President Robert K. Knight. “She will be a great addition to the college and the executive leadership team.”

About Jane Beatty

Jane Beatty is an experienced leader and manager with a strong commitment to community service. Most recently she was the president of Custom Interface, Inc., a producer of electromechanical devices. Previous to that she worked at Intel Corporation in Human Resources, where she supported a worldwide software implementation that replaced legacy systems in finance, receiving and inventory and helped to drive training, change management and business alignment to the new system. Despite a two-decade history of success in the private sector, however, Beatty began her career as a high school teacher and welcomes a return to an academic environment.

Beatty earned her bachelor’s degree from Emory University and Masters in Education from Georgia State University. Both colleges are located in Atlanta, Georgia, where she was born.

Beatty recently relocated to Camas, Washington, from the Columbia Gorge, where she was an active member of the community. She served as president of the Gorge Technology Alliance, a non-profit that supports STEM education, building strong technology-related businesses and other means of community support. Additionally, she was a member of the Hood River City Council.

About ctcLink

ctcLink is the implementation of a single, centralized system of online functions that will give students, faculty and staff 24/7 access to a modern, efficient way of doing their college business. But it’s about much more than new software. As the existing legacy software is replaced with modern technology, all college districts will also redesign and align current business processes.

ctcLink will be a massive upgrade for the entire CTC system. Students, faculty and staff will have access to information from anywhere at any time, with many processes available from a mobile device. Students will use online tools for doing their college business and they’ll have a more common experience across the CTC system, whether they transfer from one college to another or attend two or more CTCs at once. They will have one student ID and use common online tools for everything from admission to graduation. Among many other things, colleges—and the system as a whole—will benefit from a single source for accurate and timely data and the standardization of select administrative processes to support efficiency and effectiveness across the system.

ctcLink is anticipated to take five-to-six years to fully implement. Two pilot colleges, Tacoma Community College and the Community Colleges of Spokane, have been chosen to begin implementation in summer 2014. Other colleges will follow in “waves” of up to eight colleges each. It has yet to be determined in which wave Clark College will be.

Photo: Clark College/Jenny Shadley

Katie Brown ’98, who was named Washington state’s 2014 Teacher of the Year, displaying her pride in Shuksan Middle School, where she has taught for 11 years.

Clark College ’98 alumna Katie Day Brown was named Washington state’s 2014 Teacher of the Year in an awards ceremony held on September 23 in Seattle.

Brown (whose last name was Day when she attended Clark) says that Clark was a crucial part of her educational journey. A graduate of Fort Vancouver High School, she began college at the University of the Redlands in California but realized that it wasn’t the right fit for her. However, her intended transfer destination–Western Washington University–wouldn’t accept her out-of-state credits.

“So I went back home and thought of Clark,” she says. “They immediately said, ‘OK, we can work with you.’ They got my credits to transfer and I was able to start as a sophomore. I don’t really know what decision I would have made if Clark hadn’t worked with me. It really helped me continue my education without any interruption.”

Brown adds that Clark was where she took her first anthropology class. “It was one of my favorite classes,” she says. “That’s what sparked my interest in anthropology.”

Indeed, after receiving her associate degree with honors from Clark in 1998, Brown went on to earn a bachelor’s degree from WWU in anthropology in 2000. Originally, she didn’t plan on becoming a teacher, but found herself drawn to the profession after what she calls a “series of aha moments”: volunteering at a high poverty school in college, playing soccer with kids while studying in Costa Rica, and listening to Alaskan tribal elders teach young people about their history as an AmeriCorps volunteer. She returned to WWU to earn a teaching certificate in 2003 and then earned her master’s degree in education from Seattle Pacific University in 2009.

Brown now serves as the English Learner Learner specialist at Shuksan Middle School in Bellingham, Washington, where she has earned praise for her ability to collaborate with her colleagues to respect diversity and serve students who may be experiencing language barriers.

As Washington state’s Teacher of the Year, Brown will serve as an ambassador for the teaching profession in 2013-14 while continuing her work at Shuksan. She also will be considered for national Teacher of the Year, which is awarded by the Council of Chief State School Officers. President Obama will announce the winner in a special ceremony at the White House in the spring.

Brown says that she remains a strong advocate for community colleges. “Here at Shuksan, whenever we talk about college, I make sure to include community college in the conversation,” she says. “It can be a really great option for the right student.”

Photo courtesy of Katie Day Brown

“The World Filled Up” by Stephen Hayes

Clark art instructor Stephen Hayes is having a 30-year retrospective at Lewis & Clark College’s Hoffman Gallery of Contemporary Art. The show opened September 10 and runs through December 15.

“I have admired Stephen’s work since I met him more than 20 years ago, when I was the director of Maryhill Museum and we had a small exhibition of Stephen’s work,” says Hoffman Gallery director and curator Linda Tesner. “Since then I’ve made sure to follow his career. He is a fantastic painter and his work has only become more and more interesting. I love that he is able to capture the spirit of place without making a slavish likeness; it is as if he is able to evoke the landscape as much as paint it.”

“Stephen is the best kind of instructor at Clark, with tons of real-world experience, fabulous skills, and the passion to share it all with his students,” says Clark art department chair Lisa Conway. “Stephen is a consummate professional, and a virtual icon among West Coast painters. The Hoffman Gallery at Lewis & Clark is a prestigious institution, and it is heartening to see a great artist get this level of respect and recognition.”

Hayes began teaching at Clark about two years ago after he gave a presentation as part of the Archer Gallery’s Clark Art Talks. Members of the Art Department faculty approached him after his lecture to ask if he would be interested in teaching at the college. Hayes says that working with Clark students in classes like Drawing I and Two-Dimensional Design helps him examine his own artistic process, as well as that of his students.

Stephen Hayes in a self-portrait

“Teaching always keeps you reminded that you are in a process yourself,” he says. “When you have to explain something to someone who has no idea what you’re talking about, that really forces you to establish clarity for yourself. That in turn has an impact when you enter the studio: You have more clarity.”

Hayes sounds humbled by having a gallery focus on his entire body of work. “It’s pretty awesome, obviously,” he says. “One doesn’t get this opportunity very often. … It’s fantastic to be able to look back and to see both the continuity and the changes in direction along the years.”

Hayes says he doesn’t plan to tell his students about the show. “There are posters around, so they may well find out about it,” he says. “But I’m not making them take a special field trip or anything.”

Images courtesy of the Hoffman Gallery

International students make new friends in the International Student Lounge on the first day of fall quarter. Fall 2013 marks record enrollment for International Programs.

On Monday, September 23, Clark College opened the doors for its 2013-2014 academic year. The college welcomed 13,373 students on opening day, down slightly from fall 2012, when the college welcomed 13,927 students.

The start of fall quarter is always a time of new beginnings at the college, but this year is seeing a number of changes to the way the college enhances student learning. Some highlights:

• Expanded hours at CTC: For the first time, Clark College at Columbia Tech Center will be open for credit classes on Fridays. The expanded schedule will make it easier for residents of East Vancouver to complete their degrees entirely at CTC, without traveling to take classes on Clark’s main campus.
• Expansion into the Gorge: In response to demand from local businesses and residents, Clark College is offering college-level classes to the communities of the Columbia River Gorge through its new satellite location in the Wind River Education Center in Carson. Until now, residents had to travel 20 miles or more to attend the nearest community college—and that college is located out of state, in Oregon.
• New Phlebotomy program: Clark College has redesigned its Phlebotomy certification program and relocated it to specially configured classrooms and labs on the campus of Washington State University Vancouver in the college’s health care instruction building, which also houses the college’s Nursing and Pharmacy Technician programs.
• Bachelor’s degrees in Health Informatics : Clark College and Bellevue College have signed an articulation agreement that allows students at Clark to earn a bachelor’s degree in Health Informatics Information Technology (HIIT) from Bellevue through online and remote classes—without leaving the Clark College campus. “In our ongoing conversations with regional employers, we realized there was a need for Health Informatics Information Technology professionals and responded quickly to that need, but we also realized that there would be a need for students to take their education to the next level,” said Debra Ortiz, director of allied health programs at Clark College.
• Record number of Running Start and international students: Clark expects to see more than 1,770 students enrolled in Washington state’s popular Running Start program, which allows high school students to earn college credit for little or no cost. This number is a 5-percent increase over last year’s Running Start enrollment. Meanwhile, Clark is also seeing a record number of international students at the college this year. A total of 103 students from 31 different countries are attending the college this quarter.
• Mechatronics offers evening classes: Clark College’s state-of-the-art Mechatronics program will begin offering evening course, allowing workers to retrain for modern industrial jobs without leaving their current positions. This expansion is designed to boost the region’s economy; it was prompted by local businesses who wanted more opportunities to retrain their employees.
  

  Food carts make their debut on campus.

• New food carts serve campus while Culinary Arts program is on hiatus: Clark is discontinuing its Culinary Arts – Food program while it launches an ambitious new redesign of the program that will make it more responsive to modern culinary trends. Three privately owned food carts are supplying food service to the college while the program is overhauled. The college’s widely respected Culinary Arts – Bakery program will continue operating during this time.
• Water-bottle filling stations: Students and college administration have worked together to help preserve the environment by setting up water-bottle filling stations around the main campus, thereby reducing the number of disposable plastic water bottles bought and discarded at the college.

Joe Jenkins basks in his colleagues’ applause as he receives his Exceptional Classified Staff Award.

Opening Day is traditionally the occasion for announcing the yearly Exceptional Classified Staff Awards, which recognize two classified employees for their contributions to Clark College. Recipients receive a glass plaque and $1,000, funded through an anonymous donor’s contributions to the Clark College Foundation.

The 2013 Exceptional Classified Staff Award winners were:

Joe Jenkins

Joe Jenkins, Academic Advisor

Joe Jenkins was described in his nomination as having a relatable sense of humor and high energy that keeps students engaged and aware. “He helps others think outside of the box and communicates in an easy, friendly manner,” the nomination read. “He is active in identifying student needs, and has advocated for greater course offerings so students can complete their degree requirements in a timely manner. His expertise and knowledge has led to increased student retention and engagement.”

Jennifer Wheeler

Jennifer Wheeler, Information Technology Services

In her nomination, Jennifer Wheeler was described as “one of the most diligent, collaborative and consistent members of the college community.

“She is delightful, professional, personable and respectful of the diverse individuals who work and go to school here,” the nomination comments continued. “She takes pride in her work, but more importantly in the effect it has on the success of the entire college. She is always upbeat and exemplifies a can-do spirit for Clark College.”