Weekly Update, June 19

The LBCC Board of Education approved a resolution at its board meeting June 18 to place a $34 million bond measure on the November ballot. The bond will pay for improvement projects that include construction of a health care occupation center in Lebanon, the second and third phases of the Advanced Transportation Technology Center in Lebanon, improvements to existing buildings on the Albany campus, and an expansion of the Benton Center in Corvallis.  If approved by voters, the general-obligation bond measure would replace a $19 million, 15-year bond measure that voters passed in 2000. The new bond measure would have the same cost of 18 cents per $1,000 of assessed value as the previous bond. Although college staff can answer questions about the measure, it is against state election law to advocate for or against the bond. As such, a political action committee (PAC), LBCC For The Community, has been formed to work in support of the bond measure, which will be co-chaired by LBCC Foundation board members Dan Bedore and Doris Johnston. You can get involved by using your personal email from a non-college computer on non-work time by emailing: LBCCforCommunity@hotmail.com

Weekly Update, June 13

Find out how many students are currently enrolled for fall term, the stats on cats vs dogs or cake vs pie, the percentage of LBCC students who say they are academically prepared to succeed in college, and more in the final season episode of Better Know Your Data at: https://infogr.am/better-know-your-data-season-one-finale?src=web (From the Institutional Research team of Justin Smith and Justene Malosh).

Faculty voted last week to adopt a one-year compensation plan for the LB iLearn Campus. The plan is based on a per student, per week model, and will allow the LB iLearn Campus to launch sometime this summer. The iLearn team hopes to learn what works and what does not using this model, and will use that data as they move forward in creating a more permanent compensation plan.

LBCC’s choir is the only community college choir in the US to qualify for the 8th World Choir Games to be held in Riga, Latvia in July. The choir, under the direction of James Reddan, will represent the US in three categories: Mixed Chamber Choirs, Musica Sacra a cappella, and Musica Contemporanea, adjudicated by an international jury. While there, the choir also will attend workshops with composer Morten Lauridsen and the King Singers. Choir departs July 10 for a performance tour through Helsinki, Finland and Tallinn, Estonia prior to arriving in Riga, Latvia. They also will participate in the parade of nations, which is televised on national television in Latvia on July 15. The choir is still in need of funding for the up-coming competition. To donate, contact James Reddan, 541-917-4550, or reddanj@linnbenton.edu.

Several retiring faculty and staff members were honored at a group reception Wednesday. Retiring in April-June are: Barbara Schafer, Mo Ableman, Karla Swiger, Audrey Perkins, Mike McKinney, Greg Jones,Virginia Brittsan, Jay Widmer, Debby Wood and Steve Pearson. Happy retirement!

Weekly Update, June 6

LBCC’s 46th annual Commencement Ceremony will be held Thursday, June 12.  1,140 degrees and certificates will be awarded to 875 candidates this year, and approximately 100 students will receive their General Educational Development certificates at the event.

Patty McMenamin, left, and
Carol Raymundo

The Office of Disability Services and the Student Assessment Office welcomed new coordinator and manager Carol Raymundo at a joint open house Thursday. Carol will manage both ODS and Student Assessment, working closely with Patty McMenamin, who is the Testing Coordinator. Carol previously worked with ODS as an Instructional Specialist with Assistive Technology. The two departments both support proctored testing for students with testing accommodations. Student Assessment also provides services such as the Computerized Placement Exam, GED exams, external college and agency exams, CLEP, and Pearson-Vue exams.

LBCC has trained its first Community Emergency Response Team, or CERT. Nine LBCC staff completed the 24-hour training last week, learning basic search and rescue techniques, medical triage and basic treatment. Marcene Olson led the team training, which included a simulation disaster on the last day. CERT teams are called to respond in the case of a major disaster until local emergency responders can arrive on the scene. Future training sessions will be offered. If you’re interested in becoming part of LBCC’s CERT, watch your email for future training dates or contact Marcene Olson. (photo, back row, left to right: John Rehley, LeAnn Schamp, Duane Jensen, and Jim Wixson. Front row, left to right: Lori Fluge-Brunker, Stella McCauley, Barb Horn, Angie Klampe and Marlene Fantus.

Two LBCC staffers, Rich Bergeman and Katherine Cellerini Moore, will have their artwork displayed in the Around Oregon Annual Juried Exhibition at the Corvallis Arts Center through July 5.  Juror Martha Lee of the Laura Russo Gallery in Portland chose their pieces, along with 42 others, from 475 pieces entered.