College News - Week of Feb. 20

The Board of Education approved several new certificates and degrees at the board meeting Feb. 11. A new Automotive Maintenance and Light Repair Technician certificate (49 credits) is equivalent to the first year of the AAS Automotive Technology degree, and will provide entry-level training as well a pathway to the two-year degree. Two new certificates in business management, along with a third already offered, are designed for current retail workers, and also can be used to enhance CTE degree programs. The Retail Management certificate (already offered, 37 credits), new Event Management certificate (32 credits) and new Small Business Management certificate (19 credits) are fully embedded into a new AAS degree in Practical Business Management, providing a pathway for students to earn the two-year degree. In addition, a new AS degree in Religious Studies was approved, providing closer alignment with OSU’s program to create a smoother transition for students pursuing their bachelor’s degree.

The Grow Oregon program, part of the Oregon Small Business Development Center, and of which LBCC is a part, has helped small businesses in Oregon generate $47 million in direct economic impact since its beginnings in July 2011. In a recent article for the Oregon Economic Development Association newsletter, Marc Manley, director of LBCC’s Small Business Development Center and client advisory services field leader for Grow Oregon, wrote that the program has worked with 50 businesses throughout Oregon to date, with significant growth seen in areas of manufacturing, high tech, lumber products and the wine, beer and cider markets. Grow Oregon focuses on businesses with $1,000,000 to $50,000,000 in annual gross sales and 10 to 99 employees. LBCC’s SBDC is one of four Grow Oregon teams covering the state, along with teams in Portland, Bend and Grants Pass. For more information on Grow Oregon, contact Marc Manley.

A wait list has been established for those interested in attending the free Estate Planning Seminar being held March 10 through the college Foundation office. Although this seminar is full, an additional seminar is being planned for sometime in May. Those who are added to the wait list will be first in line for the May seminar. Watch your email for date and time. To be added to the wait list, contact the Foundation office at foundation@linnbenton.edu, or 541-917-4209. Please include your contact phone number.

There's just one week left to nominate outstanding faculty, classified staff, long-time employees and/or LBCC alumni to be recognized for their contributions and achievements. Nomination deadline is Friday, Feb. 27. Awards will be given in April. The nomination forms and criteria for the Distinguished Staff Award and the Pastega Faculty and Pastega Classified Excellence Awards are available at: www.linnbenton.edu/faculty-and-staff/hr-safety-and-other-services/college-advancement/marketing/nomination-forms
Distinguished Alumni forms at: www.linnbenton.edu/friends-and-alumni/alumni/distinguished-alumni. Form also available by contacting Dale Stowell, College Advancement, CC-105.





Insider published by: LBCC College Advancement Marketing Office
Writer/Editor: Lori Fluge-Brunker, Communications Specialist, College Advancement

College News - Week of Oct. 31

President Greg Hamann will be heading to Puebla, Mexico Nov. 6 for a seven week professional development trip, where he, along with his wife, Rita, will attend the Spanish Institute of Puebla, a Spanish immersion program focusing on the region’s culture and language. As part of our commitment to becoming the “College of Choice” for the region’s growing population of college-aged people of Hispanic descent, Greg decided that learning Spanish would be a good way to use his Professional Development Leave. He will return to campus January 5.  Executive Vice President Beth Hogeland will serve as acting president in Greg’s absence. Read more about the Spanish Institute of Puebla at: http://www.sipuebla.com/

The LBCC Foundation kicked-off its “Mission Possible” Annual Fund Drive with a goal to raise $70,000 in employee contributions. Donation letters are being delivered to departments this week. Last year, employees gave $66,115 to the annual drive. Your donations helped the Foundation award $141,675 in student scholarships and aid, and provided funding for college programs including the Arts, Culinary Arts, Welding, Music, Mechatronics, Horticulture, Automotive, the Horse Management program, the ROV team and other student and college activities.

The LBCC Foundation team, left to right: Donna Mainord,
Dale Stowell, Cynthia Currin, John McArdle,
Paulette Myers and Jim Birken.

LBCC is transitioning this term from calling student email “Roadrunner Mail” to calling it “LBCC email.” The decision is based on student feedback on when we use “Webrunner” and when we use “Roadrunner,” resulting in some confusion. The goal is to make it clearer for students. The official name change will take place beginning winter term. Librarian Richenda Hawkins is leading the effort, with a request that faculty and staff review class materials for reference to “Roadrunner Mail” and change that reference to “LBCC email” for winter term materials.

The Career Technical Education Open House held Oct. 24 generated 34 new admissions applications, with 49 programs participating. Kim Sullivan in recruitment led the effort, which brought approximately 100 potential students to LBCC campuses and the horse center. The feedback has been positive, and they are looking to hold the event again.






Insider published by: LBCC Advancement Marketing Office
Writer/Editor: Lori Fluge-Brunker, Communications Specialist, College Advancement

College News - Week of Oct. 10

Christy Stevens (center) leads a discussion with
K-12, LBCC and OSU educators.

Educators from six local high schools, LBCC, and OSU held a joint meeting for the first time to identify learning outcomes for practicum classes. Students who want to become teachers take these classes as a pre-student teaching experience. The classes can be taken at the high school, community college or university level. The group initiated the process of identifying common learning outcomes for college practicum classes, called cadet teaching at the high school level. Christy Stevens, director of the Valley Coast Partnership for Student Success and LBCC faculty member, co-facilitated the meeting with Carol McKiel, director of LBCC High School Partnerships. Additionally, the team is identifying course content and course delivery with a specialized focus on math instruction - a goal of the Valley Coast Partnership. LBCC students may enroll in a special math practicum class spring term.

LBCC won a $10,000 student scholarship video contest held by College Scheduler, the software used to help students create their term schedules. Rob Priewe and the LBCC Advising Committee organized a video testimonial about how our students use College Scheduler, which was filmed and edited by LBCC student and aspiring videographer, Andrew Walpole. College Scheduler voted on the top three video submissions, and our college won in a random drawing of the top three. The Advising Committee and the college Foundation will work on how best to distribute the scholarship funds.
LBCC’s video submission: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93UKIRaGKoY 

Final drawing video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P4cmUJsE3-I

Campus High School Programs has moved to the Career and Counseling Center. Program advisors are Larry Anderson and Tiffany Madriaga. Liliane Moynihan is support staff and Lynne Cox is managing. The High School Partnerships Program, under the direction of Carol McKiel, will remain upstairs in Takena Hall. Campus High School Programs is one way for high school students to take college classes. High School Partnerships includes College Now and Perkins, and focuses on partnerships with local schools to promote student development, college-readiness, pathways from high school to college, and student progression and completion.

LBCC’s baseball team will play its last non-conference scrimmage game Sunday, Oct. 12 against Everett Community College at 10 a.m. at OSU's Goss Stadium. Coach Ryan Gipson has a current team roaster of 33 players, with 40 percent of the players from the local area, per the initial contract agreement with the college. The team will begin its first conference season play in the spring.

LBCC Baseball Team 2014-2015

LBCC’s Foundation received a grant for $10,300 from the Oregon Cultural Trust to produce an original play, titled “Bridges,” which focuses on the lives, experiences and challenges of Latino families living in Independence, Oregon. Inspired by a request from Independence Mayor John McArdle, the play will be produced by LBCC theater instructor Tinamarie Ivey over the next year.

The college will host three information forums, open to the public, to explain the projects that will be funded by passage of Bond Measure 22-130. Below are conceptual drawings of the projects. The drawings will also be available at the forums. Forums will be held: Tuesday, Oct. 21, 5:30 p.m., Albany campus, Calapooia Center building, room CC-103; Wednesday, Oct. 22, 5:30 p.m., Benton Center, room BC-107; and Thursday, Oct. 23, 5:30 p.m., Lebanon Center Annex Building. The Samaritan campus drawing shows the LBCC Health Occupations Center building directly behind COMP-Northwest (the building is unmarked in the drawing). The ATTC drawing shows the Heavy Equipment/Diesel training building on the left.

Benton Center additions.

LBCC Health Occupations Center behind COMP-NW, in Lebanon.

ATTC in Lebanon, with Heavy Equip/Diesel building on left. 

Insider published by: LBCC Advancement Marketing Office
Writer/Editor: Lori Fluge-Brunker, Communications Specialist, College Advancement

Weekly Update, Jan. 31

Jim Huckestein, VP of Finance and Operations, gave his final state-of-the-budget talk last week, stating that the college is financially on-track for the next budget cycle. According to Jim, the increase in state funding helped to offset any dip in tuition that the college experienced. His near-future forecast for LBCC looks good. Jim's last day at the college was today, Jan. 31. He starts in his new position as VP of College Services at Clackamas Community College Feb. 3.

Approximately 10 LBCC students are conducting a phone-a-thon for the LBCC Foundation to reconnect alumni to the college. The project’s focus is to build a friend network and solicit support for college programs through donations to the Foundation. Results so far show a number of the calls resulting in contributions to the college.

The next meeting of College Council will be Thursday, Feb. 6 from 3 to 5 p.m. in the college boardroom, CC-103. Topics under review include revisions to Administrative Rules 1025-01, Prevention of Workplace Violence, and 6025-01, Tuition and Fee Waivers. Changes to 1025-01 include language to clarify that the on-campus preclusion to carrying firearms or other deadly weapons extends both to work hours and to on-campus time when the employee is not directly engaged in work duties, and to clarify that the preclusion to carrying deadly weapons extends to clearly defined work-time off-campus, such as at graduation, while traveling with students for teaching or learning purposes, or while coaching a college athletic team off LBCC property. Changes to 6025-01 include language changes seek to align the terms and conditions of the tuition waiver for managers / confidential staff, with those of the classified bargaining unit The cost of increasing the benefit for mangers is expected to be nominal. Also recommended are removal of volunteers from the tuition waiver benefit, per the advice of our legal counsel and the Fair Labor Standards Act.  Also up for discussion are Administrative Rules on Articulation Agreements and Grading. If you have questions or concerns, contact your employee group representative to College Council. 

Former LB baseball coach Greg Hawk was chosen to receive the American Baseball Coaches Association Ethics in Coaching award. Coach Hawk, along with an Atlanta high school coach, will receive the award in January of next year at the ABCA convention held in Orlando. Said Coach Hawk about being notified of the award: “It's an awesome award. So many others could have gotten this, and I am honored. I’ve had a great career. It was more than just the sport. Baseball was a tool that I used to teach students about life and how to live.” Greg retired from the college in June 2013.

Retired baseball coach Greg Hawk.

Weekly Wrap-Up

The Insider launches a new feature this week intended to help staff and faculty keep up to date on the discussions and decisions that shape LBCC. Designed to be a quick read rather than comprehensive report, it will include snippets on things like Board of Education decisions, College Council discussions, reminders of important events and deadlines – and whatever suggestions you have.

If you find there is information you’re not getting, let us know and we will try to work it in. If you are on a group or council and have information you’d like to share, you can share it here. Send to Insider editor Lori Fluge-Brunker at flugel@linnbenton.edu.

And now - our first try at this:

The college budget committee met last week and approved the proposed budget with no changes to the budgeted amount. Highlights included:

• Overall, the budget decreased by 21 percent from $122,098,774 this year to $96,392,221 due mostly to change in budgeting for Federal Direct Loans in the Financial Aid fund.
• The general fund budget decreased 4.85 percent from $46,004,671 this year to $43,771,330 next year. The bulk of that decrease on the resource side was due to the beginning fund balance declining from $4 million to $1.5 million.
• The budget committee also clarified the Board of Education directive to rebuild the fund balance to $4 million over the next 4 years. The change directs the college to make $600K of progress in restoring the ending fund balance in the next budget year resulting in a target for ending fund balance of $2.1 million at June 30, 2014.

The budget will now be published in area newspapers in summary form as a public notice. The Board of Education will hold a hearing and then vote whether to adopt it at the June Board meeting. The full 176 page budget document is available here: Review & Discussion of Proposed Budget Document.

 Mechatronics faculty member Denis Green explains new
equipment to Greg Hamann; Kip Much, NW Natural Gas
regional director; Secretary of State Kate Brown; Dan Lara,
dean, Business, Applied Technology and Industry; Dale Stowell,
executive director, College Advancement; and Dale
Bookwalter, Oregon Freeze Dry vice president, Finance.

Secretary of State Kate Brown took a brief tour of the Albany campus on Wednesday, learning more about Achieving the Dream, the advance diploma option that allows high school students to earn college credits, degree partnerships with OSU and OIT, and career and technical programs at LBCC including Automotive/Diesel technology, Welding and Mechatronics. Secretary Brown visited with staff, faculty, administration, representatives from local business and students.

The LBCC Foundation Board of Trustees approved $150,000, which, in addition to a $50,000 grant received from the Oregon Drive Foundation, gives the college funds to purchase an advanced dynamometer for the new Advanced Transportation Technology Center. This equipment will be use to both train technicians in the program and generate revenues for operating the ATTC through rental to industry. The dynamometer will be the only one of its kind between Vancouver, B.C., and San Francisco.

The Meyer Memorial Trust announced this week it was supporting the ATTC with a $350,000 grant. The grant is contingent on the college raising an additional $1.5 million from other sources. The college currently has a $1.5 million Economic Development Administration grant in a strong position for funding, pending the EDA resolving budget questions surrounding sequestration.

LBCC President Greg Hamann has joined the Board of the Corvallis Boys and Girls Club. In addition to his support of the organization, he hopes that his involvement can lead to strong pathways to education and training for area youth.

LBCC board members and college administrators participated in a statewide effort that led to passage of bill ending “adverse impact” provisions in Oregon law. In the past, these provisions have created barriers for community colleges to add new programs, giving proprietary colleges the right to claim that the program would create an adverse impact because they either had a similar program or were considering adding it.

Get your nominations in early! Nominations are now open for the Pastega classified staff and faculty member awards, and the college Distinguished Staff award, which are due by June 10. For nomination materials or questions, contact Dale Stowell at stoweld@linnbenton.edu.