Board Report – September 2012
Report from Lane Community College President Mary Spilde
To the Lane Community College Board of Education
Welcome to fall term. Summer went by too fast, but the weather is great, and the brisk feel of fall is invigorating.
Thanks to everyone for joining us at the opening of Titan Court yesterday. What a great way to start a new year at Lane. It's a new frontier for us that will return many benefits to our students, the college and our community. I'm grateful to all of you who could be there to share the moment, and especially to Sharon for her opening comments. It's very exciting, and I'm sure we'll be learning a lot.
We also opened another facility this summer, a children's dental clinic for the South Lane community at our Cottage Grove campus. This was the work of a local coalition. Thanks to board member Susie Johnston, Executive Dean Helen Garrett, and Cottage Grove and Community Education Director Jenette Kane for representing us at the opening.
Congratulations to Josie Skeers of Specialized Support Services for being named Classified Employee of the Month for August. She joined Lane in 1996 in food services and now helps men and women with developmental disabilities with their jobs on campus.
Our Child and Family Center has achieved five-year accreditation from the National Association for the Education of Young Children–the nation's leading organization of early childhood professionals. The distinction makes us the only NAEYC-accredited childcare center in Lane County. Kudos to Sue Norton and Georgia Soto who worked very hard on making this happen.
In late August, Governor John Kitzhaber presented our Small Business Development Center with two national awards from the Small Business Administration. The highly coveted district regional awards for Center Excellence and Innovation were accepted by Shirl Meads, operations manager; Gary Smith, instructor and coach; and Jim Lindly, director. Lane received the awards for outstanding commitment in service delivery and for catalyzing innovative approaches to training and advising for Lane County businesses.
Two more bond projects have won awards:
Building 10 won a First Place People's Choice Award for Public Projects at the Eugene Celebration;
And our track won a Distinguished Outdoor Track Award from the American Sports Builders Association. Our track now is in the running for ASBA' s Facility of the Year which will be announced in December.
Dr. Pat O'Connor has quietly been doing an amazing job in our Advanced Technologies Division. Just one example: This summer we offered our first Hybrid Electric Vehicle auto technology class, giving students hands-on experience with the latest technology. Thanks to instructors Kelly Mathers and Egan Riordon for making this possible.
I want to commend Vice President Sonya Christian for helping us land a $789,000 grant from the Lumina Foundation for the Degree Qualifications Profile. Lane will lead Oregon's 17 community colleges and 7 public universities in the project to define what students should be expected to know, and be able to do, regardless of their majors or fields of study, upon earning an associate degree or bachelor's degree. The DQP in Oregon project supports Oregon's 40-40-20 education attainment goal.
We are happy for the safe return of one of our former ESL students, Rudwan Dawod, a resident of Springfield from Darfur and Sudan. You probably heard that he was detained during a peaceful student-led protest while he was in Sudan recently and was held for weeks under dire conditions. Many people spoke up, and he was freed and returned home.
Each of you has the annual Marketing and Public Relations Project Review at your places, featuring last year's primary marketing activities. I know you prefer not to have paper, but this seemed to be the easiest way to ensure there were no technical difficulties with the type and size of graphic files.
I'm sure you noticed the two flip charts outside the Boardroom that reflect some of the current recruitment materials that Marketing is using in its campaigns. And finally, this year Marketing and Public Relations will be focusing on strategic communications. A couple of immediate results are reflected in the fall issues of the Eugene Chamber's Open for Business (where the new Downtown Campus is proudly featured on the front cover) and the Eugene Magazine where there is a comprehensive article capturing a bit of Lane's history and its ongoing growth and service to the community. The article was written by our recently retired writing instructor Lance Sparks and photographed by our very own Dan Welton.
Tomorrow is our annual fall in-service for faculty and staff. Sharon will give the opening welcome, and I hope we'll see other board members there as well.
A couple of other events to note are the upcoming dedication of our diversity mural that transformed Building 5, thanks to muralist and instructor Tom Madison. He is organizing an event for Thursday, September 27, beginning at 4 p.m.
On Saturday, September 29, you can dispose of your old, unused or unwanted prescription drugs at the Prescription Drug Take Back Day, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., outside Building 19. Lane Public Safety collects the items, no questions asked, and turns them over to the DEA for proper incineration. DEA sponsors these events across the nation a couple of times a year.
Last but not least, I will remind you of our biggest event – the start of fall classes on September 24. Enrollment seems to be down a bit, which we anticipated last Spring term.
Nonetheless, main campus parking lots will again be congested as new students find their way around campus and adjust their schedules. Please encourage those you know to take the bus, carpool, try Zimride, our social media rideshare service, and to arrive early and be patient and careful. Things will settle down in a couple of weeks.
That concludes my report.