President’s Report – June 2016

I’d like to welcome Kira Jones, our new editor-in-chief of The Torch, and say thank you to Andre for all of your work this year.

Summer term registrations after 5-weeks are down 21.2% compared to the same point last year. Fall enrollment is going better, with early registrations down just 9.7% at this time.

We were honored to recognize two outstanding faculty this spring term. Faculty Recognition Awards were presented to:

• Tom Madison, graphic design and mural instructor and artist; and
• Denise Miller, nursing instructor.

Congratulations to Kathy Calise who was honored with a Winter Term Employee Recognition Award, presented on May 18. She is a project coordinator in Continuing Education.

Be sure to give a high-five to Lane track and field high jump champion, Dakarai Hightower. He won the men’s high jump at the Northwest Athletic Conference Track and Field Championships with a height of 7 feet, one-quarter inch. But he didn’t stop there. In a personal best jump, he cleared 7-5. His jump was the fifth-best by an American athlete this season at any level, and he tied for the second best in the nation by a college athlete. He is now in a favorable position to qualify for the U.S. Olympic Trials. The Titans men’s team won their fourth consecutive NWAC title and the women’s team finished second. Congratulations to the Titans and to Coach Grady O’Connor.

Lane will participate in the M2C3 National Consortium on College Men of Color thanks to the work of Greg Evans. The consortium is closely aligned with the ATD movement and is the first such consortium in the country. You’ve probably heard the statistics for men of color—only 17% of African-American men and 15% of Latino men earn a college certificate or degree, or transfer from a community college to a four-year institution within six years. The consortium will work to turn that around.

I’d like to provide you with a brief report on the Chinuk WaWa program since the board meeting last month.  Yesterday, the college received a signed contract for the current year from the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde. It was signed and returned to them today, and we have begun negotiations on a contract for next year.  Susan Carkin, Dean of Language, Literature and Communication, has had a conversation with Oregon State University to see if we can initiate a process to develop an articulation agreement with OSU.  The American Indian Languages committee has been actively engaged in identifying ways to support the classes and has met every week for the past month.  The committee has initiated conversations with the Springfield School District regarding the possibility of College Now courses.  Total annual enrollment in the six Chinuk Wawa courses over the past eight years has varied between 34 and 65 students.  Individual classes sizes are most commonly between 2 and 8 students.  Immediately following last month’s board meeting, the American Indian Languages committee submitted a request to the Academic Program Review committee to engage in a program review.  And lastly, we are identifying what will need to be reduced or eliminated to fund this program and the number of students that will affect.  We will continue this work and bring you back a plan for your consideration.

I attended an editorial board meeting at the Register-Guard on Monday, arranged by Dave Hauser of the Eugene Chamber. This was to talk about the city’s urban renewal plans, including a proposal for our old Downtown Center. Besides myself and Dave, Angela Norman of the Lane

County Farmer’s Market and Matt Sayre of the Southern Willamette Valley Technology Association attended. Brett Rowlett was also present.

Friday’s revenue forecast in Salem confirmed what we already know: Oregon has one of the strongest state economies in the country. Oregon’s unemployment rate (4.5 percent), job growth (5,000 per month for the past two years) and gains in wages and personal income (8.5 percent and 6.5 percent, respectively, in the second quarter) all fared better than national averages, as well as the state’s own performance in recent years. Economists are expecting a $261 million ending balance to the general fund for the current 2015-17 biennium, and the outlook for revenue growth during the upcoming 2017-19 biennium has become somewhat stronger.

The Eugene City Council held a public hearing on May 23 to considering amending the Downtown Urban Renewal Plan. Tony McCown and I testified in support of the innovation hub project. Of the 62 people who testified, 55 spoke in support of the innovation hub and the other three proposed projects. At a May 25 work session, the Council voted 5-3 to direct staff to prepare materials for the extension of Urban Renewal. Final action is scheduled for the Council’s June 13 work session, 5:30 PM at Harris Hall.

In Washington, a Senate appropriations committee has begun markup of the FY 2017 funding bill. A major issue is what will become of the $7.8 billion surplus for the Pell Grant program. Community colleges are advocating that the surplus be utilized to reinstate Year-Round Pell, and that any remaining surplus funds are retained within the Pell Grant program. The bill has not yet been released, but news outlets are reporting that a Year-Round Pell restoration will be included in the bill, which would be good news for Lane students.

The Higher Education Coordinating Commission announced that over the last year, Oregon has seen the nation’s highest percent increase in high school seniors completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). As of the end of April 2016, approximately 8.8 percent more Oregon high school seniors had completed a FAFSA than at the same point last year. This increase is particularly notable given that the number of FAFSA completions dropped 3.2 percent nationally over this same period. Oregon is one of just four states to make improvements in FAFSA completion. While this is good news, the state’s overall completion rate remains slightly below the national average.  It could be that part of that increase is due to the Oregon Promise, which requires students to complete the FAFSA.  I understand that two weeks ago, 8700 students in the state were approved for the Oregon Promise grant.

Vice President Kelly is covering for me at a sustainability conference presenting a keynote address on our sustainability work.  Kelly has notified me that Lane Community College has been selected as a finalist for the 2016 climate leadership awards.  Kudos to everyone who works on sustainability at the college.

I attended UO President Michael Schill’s investiture on June 1. I also attended the College Promise Initiatives event at Princeton.  Promise initiatives are taking hold.   Next week board members, staff, and I will attend the next AACT session on campus safety and security in Portland.

Needless to say, June is a busy time at Lane. Our most special event is college commencement which is this Saturday at the Lane County Fairgrounds. Doors open to guests at 2:30 p.m. and the march begins at 3 p.m.

At your places, you have Denali, our student literary arts magazine and the League for Innovation Art Competition, and we have some great work by Lane artists in there.

There was a question asked last month about financial aid, and I am distributing information prepared by Lane staff for your budget discussion later in the meeting.

I want to close with a thank you to Tracy Simms for her many years of service to Lane and to me. She started out as executive assistant to the president and later became director of marketing and PR. She has done so much to help me, the college, and especially our students. She has always approached her work with optimism, enthusiasm and great spirit. This is Tracy’s last official board meeting. Please join me in giving her a round of applause.