College News - Week of Feb. 13

Know a coworker who deserves to be recognized? How about a former student who's done awesome things through their work or for their community? Nominate them for the LBCC Distinguished Staff Award, Pastega Faculty and Classified Excellence Award, or the Distinguished Alumni Award! Nominations are open until Feb. 27. New this year: Staff awards will be given at spring Inservice, held April 17. Distinguished Alumni Awards are given at a special reception held in May. Distinguished Staff and Pastega nomination forms are available online at: www.linnbenton.edu/faculty-and-staff/hr-safety-and-other-services/college-advancement/marketing/nomination-forms  - and Distinguished Alumni forms are available at: www.linnbenton.edu/friends-and-alumni/alumni/distinguished-alumni - or by contacting Dale Stowell, College Advancement, CC-105.

The first meeting of the LBCC Open Educational Resource (OER) Discussion Group was held Feb. 12. OERs, course materials that are freely available on the web or in the library, are currently a hot topic, as college’s and instructors seek to reduce textbook costs and increase engagement for students. Amy Hofer, Statewide Open Education Library Service coordinator, LBCC eLearning and Media department, and Steve Smith, eLearning and Academic Technologies director, recently presented to the Higher Education Coordinating Commission emphasizing LBCC’s commitment and interest in OERs and library resources as a way to reduce course material costs. Below is an excerpt from that presentation:

“At LBCC, the board and the president are very interested in OERs. As recently as last night, there was a board discussion about what role they can play in encouraging the exploration of OERs both at a local level and a statewide level. LBCC is evaluating the use of strategic funds to support course redesign around the adoption of OERs, which we hope to get implemented for next year. We have calculated that a 25 percent adoption of OERs would save students at Linn-Benton $625,000 annually. A 50 percent adoption would save $1.2 million.”

If you are interested in participating in the discussion, plan to attend one of the following OER conferences (or email Amy Hofer, hofera@linnbenton.edu): Thursday, Feb. 26, 9 a.m.-4 p.m., and Friday, Feb. 27, 9 a.m.-4 p.m., at Portland Community College; Friday, March 13, 9 a.m.-2:30 p.m., at Blue Mountain Community College; and Friday, April 24, 9 a.m.-4 p.m., at Lane Community College. Conference registration is available online at: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1UvEibymRWU2ZvnV0QdmeY8bng73i5o07tIcmwCzhGKw/edit?usp=sharing

Did you know that LBCC has a Relay for Life team? It does, and the team would like you to join them in their efforts to raise money for the American Cancer Society. There are several opportunities for staff, students, friends and family to be involved, from joining the team at the Relay for Life walk June 20 and 21, to throwing your spare change in a donation can at the Bookstore, cafeteria and café. The team also takes bottles and cans for deposit, sells cookies, and holds a scrapbooking event each year. If interested in joining or donating, contact a team member: Patti Ball, Linda Dompier, Tammi Drury, Annette Easdale, Felicia Humphries, Vickie Keith, Paulette Myers, Michelle Slay and Amanda Stanley.

LBCC Relay for Life team makes cookies for a fundraiser, with the help
of Chef Scottie Hurley. Team members, left to right: Vickie Keith,
Felicia Humphries, Linda Dompier, Amanda Stanley, Michelle Slay, Tammi Drury,
Annette Easdale and Paulette Myers.

Links to New Hires, Promotions, Separations & Retirements, Board of Education Human Resource Memos - January 12 & February 6:

http://po.linnbenton.edu/boardmeeting/01_21_15BoardPacket/HR%20Board%20Memo%201-12-15.pdf

http://po.linnbenton.edu/boardmeeting/2_11_15BoardPacket/HR%20Board%20Memo%202-6-15.pdf 



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

College News - Week of Oct. 17

The LBCC Board of Education conferred an honorary degree to former OSU administrator Bob Bontrager, Ph.D., to recognize his leadership in developing the LBCC and OSU degree partnership program, which was established in 1998.  Recently retired from AACRAO, where he served as senior director of Consulting and SEM Initiatives, Dr. Bontrager served as OSU’s director of Admission and Orientation, and as assistant provost for Enrollment Management from 1996 to 2005. He went on to develop partnership programs between OSU and all of Oregon’s community colleges. LBCC has issued just four honorary degrees in the past 10 years. The honor is given to people who have made a contribution to the college, community, nation and/or education over a period of time.

LB iLearn Campus online programs will see its first students taking courses starting January 14. To start, iLearn programs will include a two-year degree in Business Administration, a one-year certificate in Coding and Reimbursement Specialist, and a short-term certificate in Social Media. The LB iLearn team (Ann Buchele, Linda Carroll, Stacy Mallory and Steve Smith) is working on a comprehensive website which will include information on the degrees and certificates offered, as well as the structure and design of iLearn. The target audience for iLearn is past students who have some college credit but have not taken classes at LBCC for at least two terms.

Congratulations to Business faculty member Nancy Noe on being selected as the Post-secondary Teacher of the Year by the Oregon Business Education Association at its fall conference.

LBCC received a grant for $56,000 from Community College Workforce Development for student assistance and success, through June 2015. Lynne Cox will oversee the grant, along with Carol Raymundo and Carol McKiel. The grant allowed Student Affairs to hire three part-time employees: Kate Griensewic (also working with Student Assessment and Student Life); Kim Horn (also working with Student Assessment and Center For Accessibility Services/CFAR); and Emily Dray (also working with the Career Center). This team will use their knowledge of LBCC processes and their experience as prior students to support LBCC's outreach to grades 7-12, helping students develop a vision for "going to college" and "college-going behaviors." Staff will work with underserved and/or recent high school students who need help entering college and developing the skills/tools for a positive first year at LBCC. Any LBCC employee may refer eligible students to the outreach staff for assistance with navigating college processes or having positive conversations with instructors. "Eligible students" must either be currently in high school, just arriving at LBCC from high school, or from an under-served population (minorities, persons with disabilities, veterans, persons with a modified diploma, etc.). The grant allows a small amount of funds to be awarded to help students with unexpected academic financial needs. Future plans by the team include outreach to schools, parents and future students, as well as hosting Saturday conference sessions about planning and preparing for college. For more information, or if you would like to help, contact Lynne Cox in Student Affairs. Staff will be located in Takena Hall-112 (across from the Registration Counter) and Red Cedar Hall-105. You can also contact staff via their LBCC email.

There’s a new sidewalk through the landscape in front of Madrone Hall, part of a geologic timeline in progress, which begins in front of the Activities Center building and ends with the walkway in front of Madrone Hall as the more "recent" end of the timeline. The timeline project was requested by a donor to the Science and Health Building Fund, and will be used as an educational tool. Signage will be added to mark the different geologic time periods and to explain significant occurrences during the Earth’s 4.6 billion year history. The Earth's age will be scaled out to cover the 230 meters (754 feet), giving perspective to the enormity of geologic time, with rocks and replica fossils placed at their correct age along the timeline. A dedication ceremony and ribbon cutting will be held in January.

Geologic Timeline walkway in front of Madrone Hall.

Human Resources board report, Oct. 6 - New Hires, Promotions, Separations






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