TCC Magazine - Spring 2009

TCC MagazineSpring 2009Connecting Tacoma Community College with Community

With a

little help

from

friends ...

a house

becomes

a home

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Welcome to the Spring 2009 edition of TCC Magazine!

The second issue of TCC Magazine is a celebration of the vital role the college plays in the economic growth and sustainability of our community. Through the stories of our students, supporters and donors we hope to illustrate how we’re all connected—and how we support each other’s futures. The college was created as a partnership between educators and the community—individuals and families as well as businesspeople. Community support is critical to the survival of the college; just as the economic survival of the community depends on an enlightened and educated workforce.

In the 44 years since Tacoma Community College was founded, we could not have imagined the difficult economic times we are now facing. However, by taking prudent budget measures the college has been able to continue to offer a full spectrum of programs and services for our students.

Still coming is the State Legislature’s “draconian” budget for 2009-2011. Although the governor’s proposed budget acknowledges the important role that community colleges play in our state, we are still faced with many difficult decisions in the months and years to come. At the same time that our budget is shrinking, fall and winter quarter enrollment at TCC has grown between 10 and 15 percent—with spring quarter enrollment at TCC expected to approach 20 percent over last year.

While state legislators have been crafting the state budget, TCC trustees, administrators, faculty, staff and students have continued to reach out to them. At the same time, the college is taking measures to ensure we provide a full measure of relevant services for every student. Each segment of the college has made, and is continuing to make, personal and collective sacrifices to meet growing demand in the face of shrinking resources.

Please help us remind our legislators that education is the engine that drives the state’s economy and will drive our economic recovery. We remain focused on our bright future—both as a college and a community. We’re grateful for the part you play in that future.

Sincerely,

Dr. Pamela J. Transue President, Tacoma Community College

On the cover: Kimberlie Mawhinney at the site of her future Habitat for Humanity home, with fellow nursing students. Back: Victoria Blunck, Tia yuckish, Anthony White Front: Trisha Pleinkovich, Kim Mawhinney, Michaela Dill

create learning

inspire equity

celebrateA house becomes a home6

inspire

create

celebrate success

Spring 2009 TCC Magazine 1

8 TCC Foundation Giving Back: “It all evolves from relationships.”

10 Sustainability: Commitment Demonstrated

The recycle yard will raise recycling percentages at an institution that has already set the bar high.

TCC Magazine Volume 1, No. 2

Editor •Sidnee Wheelwright

Writers • Rachel Payne Dan Small Dale Stowell Sidnee Wheelwright

Designer • Sakura Moses

Photography:

Sidnee Wheelwright Rachel Payne Janet Jensen, The News Tribune Mike Jensen Photography

TCC Magazine is published biannually by Marketing, Communication & Outreach/IAF, Tacoma Community College, 6501 South 19th Street, Tacoma WA 98466.

While every effort is made to ensure accuracy of all printed information, TCC Magazine assumes no liability for errors in editorial content or advertising.

No portion of this publication may be duplicated or reprinted without written permission from the publisher.

Send address changes to: TCC Magazine, 6501 S. 19th St., Tacoma WA 98466 or [email protected]. Be sure to include both old and new addresses.

tcc mission statement:

TCC creates meaningful and relevant learning, inspires greater equity, and celebrates success in our lives and our communities.

accreditation:

Tacoma Community College is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities.

Workforce Training2

4 Feminist Art Exhibition

12 Corporate and Continuing Education: • $1.94 Million DOL Grant • Small business owners

13 TCC Alumni: Brian Sonntag The People’s Watchdog

14 TCC by the Numbers: Facts and Figures

The goal is to maintain core services and keep other key services viable enough to be restored when the economy improves.

16 Calendar TCC Events and Activities

Workforce TrainingWhile the number of Worker Retraining students is up 25 percent at Community and Technology Colleges statewide, Tacoma Community College has experienced a 52 percent increase.

Worker Retraining Programs at Tacoma Community College:

Accounting �

Business �

Logistics �

Transportation & �Secure Logistics

Networking and �Convergence Technologies

Office Management �

Human Services �Professional

Paraeducation �

Administration of �Law and Justice

Paralegal �

Diagnostic Medical �Sonography

Emergency Medical �and Health Services

Health Information �Management

Medical Office �Professional

Radiologic Science �

Respiratory Therapy �

Sixteen years ago the State of Washington enacted a law to significantly expand the state’s job retraining efforts for the thousands of jobless workers who were forced to learn new skills to re-enter the workforce. The Workforce Employment and Training Act has significantly expanded the training available to the thousands of jobless workers and workers in danger of losing their jobs due to a changing job market. As a result of this legislation, community and technical colleges have served over 60,000 unemployed and dislocated workers in Washington since 1993.

As unemployment in Washington rises, with 299,000 people without jobs statewide (February) and 36,000 in the Tacoma area alone (January statistics), the need for retraining opportunities is urgent. Students enrolled at TCC through Worker Retraining have increased dramatically. This academic year worker retraining enrollment has grown over 50 percent from a year earlier.

The Tacoma Community College Worker Retraining Program is a model for college-level retraining programs around the state. The college is closely aligned with Pierce County Economic Development Plan, local skill panels, and the regional economic plan developed through the Prosperity Partnership.

To find out more about Worker Retraining at TCC, or to sign up for a Worker Retraining Orientation, stop by the Worker Retraining office in Building 8, call 253.566.5188, or email [email protected].

Information for this article was taken from the State Board for Community and Technical Colleges website at: www.sbctc.ctc.edu/college/_e-wkforceworkerretraining.aspx; and the Tacoma Community College website at: www.tacomacc.edu/academics/workforceeducation/workerretraining.aspx.

2 TCC Magazine Spring 2009

create learning

Kat Wood, left, a student in Tacoma Community College’s radiologic technologist program, receives instruction from radiology technician Nikki Lott on a portable real-time fluoroscopy machine at St. Joseph Medical Center in Tacoma.

PHOTO: Janet Jensen © THE NEWS TRIBUNE (Tacoma, WA) 2009


A chance for a new career

It’s a prospect he’s looking forward to. While waiting for his acceptance letter, he is looking at prerequisites for entry into other medical specialties such as Intensive Cardiac Technology . “Going to school is the best job I ever had,” he says. “I’ll probably be in school the rest of my life.”

Human Development 101, required for Worker Retraining students, “are helpful when you’ve been out of school for awhile,” says Tackett.

Now, two years later, armed with high grades and an outstanding x-ray technician job-shadow experience at Auburn Regional Hospital, Tackett has applied for entry into TCC’s highly coveted Radiology Technology program. It’s competitive—only 23 of the 100-plus applicants are admitted each year. But with graduates in high demand, and with

technology rapidly evolving, it is also one of the most sought after medical / technical occupations.

One of the benefits of Radiology for Tackett is the chance to work with machinery (he has a 1986 2-year degree in Electronic Engineering Technology). Also, “there are lots of opportunities to cross train into other areas,” he says.

Getting into the Radiology Technology program is Tackett’s first priority right now. If he makes it, by the time he finishes he will have attended TCC for four years.

When Frank Tackett was laid off by his employer two years ago, he went to Employment Security in Tacoma to apply for unemployment. He learned there that opportunities in his long-time trade were on the decline. That statistic made Tackett, who had worked in the upholstery trade for many years, eligible for retraining funds, and gave him an opportunity to return to school—an opportunity he jumped at.

Frank Tackett reviews anatomy basics with his Anatomy & Physiology instructor Kim Harrington. Earning high marks on the A & P final was Tackett’s final hurdle before applying for entrance to the Radiology Tech program.

“I like machinery—and working with my hands,” says Tackett, “but I probably would have gone back to school anyway. Otherwise I would be an upholsterer the rest of my life, and I might not physically be able to do it. Now I can work with my mind, too.”

He decided to complete the prerequisites for entry into a health care specialty—one of the “recession-resistant industries” that continues to grow in spite of layoffs, downturns and depressing employment numbers. He says the Worker Retraining program helped him get started. Courses such as


inspire equity

Nutritional ValueTCC student Kim Reidelbach created her artwork “Nutritional Value,” a four-part black wax casting with fabric and hand-sewed beading, as a project for art instructor Kyle Dillehay’s Casting class.

Reidelbach describes the piece as “an attempt to portray the gender roles that have influenced me from the women in my life.” The piece begins with a bust of a woman’s upper torso, and morphs (or melts) by the fourth piece into a meal on a dinner plate, “… representative of typical household duties…” says Reidelbach.

The Feminist Art Exhibition, in The Gallery at Tacoma Community College through May 8, is a reflective timeline of American art activity addressing unresolved and contemporary feminist issues. The mixed media exhibition represents the work of 44 artists from Washington state and beyond, and was organized to support the educational mission of The Gallery and the President’s Council on Diversity.

Kim Reidelbach plans to transfer to University of Washington-Seattle to continue her art education.

Rosa Parks Makes a Blouse for Jo Ann RobinsonJo Anne Robinson, an English professor at Alabama State College and president of the Women’s Political Council, began planning a bus boycott of the Montgomery City Bus Line on Dec. 1, 1955. That same day Rosa Parks was arrested for not giving her seat to a white man on a Montgomery bus. The next day, Reverend Martin Luther King Jr., a new pastor of the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church where Robinson belonged, was asked to head up the bus boycott which lasted 13 months.

King went on to achieve international prominence as a non-violent leader against racial injustice. Rosa Parks is remembered as the seamstress who was tired of being treated as a second-class citizen. Robinson’s part in the boycott eventually resulted in her losing her teaching job at Alabama State.

Feminist Art Exhibition

Kendall Reid, a librarian and faculty member at TCC, has created a multimedia artwork in honor of the courageous stand taken by Jo Anne Robinson and Rosa Parks.

Although he claims no formal art training, Reid has pursued art for many years. He says he started out making postcards and has slowly taken on more ambitious pieces. He sold his first artwork in 2007, at The Gallery’s Baroque Revival Exhibition.

Mammary GlandsArtist Melissa Balch created “Mammary Glands” of ceramic, paper and porcelain as her look at the female body. “The dress I’ve knitted of paper offers no protection or comfort… I’ve made the ceramic breasts large and played with scale to show how much emphasis is put on these particular body parts… the beauty of a woman’s body, the life giving nourishment,… erogenous pleasure, and the objectification of them.”

Melissa Balch has been taking ceramics courses at TCC and Pottery Northwest for a number of years. She has shown her work at The Artshop, Edmonds Arts Festival, Proctor Juried Art Show, and the TCC Gallery, among others.

The Gallery at Tacoma Community College provides college students and the community with a venue for artistic expression, and offers programs to enhance the out-of-classroom educational experience for the college and the community.

Gallery Hours

Monday – Friday: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.


The Gallery at Tacoma Community College

The Gallery at Tacoma Community College was built in 2002 “to provide artistic expression from all world cultures and periods in the history of art,” according to gallery coordinator Jennifer Olson-Rudenko. The gallery also offers “out-of-classroom programs to enhance the educational experience for the college students and the community.”

Although many art pieces have been sold through the college Gallery, “This is not a sales gallery,” says Olson-Rudenko. “It’s an educational gallery—our students, faculty and community can build their exhibition history here.”

Many of the exhibitions displayed here have been issues oriented. Says Olson-Rudenko about the Feminist Art Exhibition: “Women have issues and this exhibition gives voice to them. While many of these are not ‘saleable’ in the traditional sense, they reach out to a wider audience… The point is to involve the community.”

A Place for Art

Jennifer Olson-Rudenko has been coordinator of the Gallery at Tacoma Community College since 2003. Olson-Rudenko also teaches four classes at TCC and one at Pierce College. She is an Art History Ph.D. candidate at The Pennsylvania State University, majoring in Spanish Baroque Art.

“This is not a sales gallery. It’s an educational gallery—our students, faculty and community can build their exhibition history here.”

© 2006 Mike Jensen Photography


For 14-years, Kim Mawhinney was a self-described stay-at-home mom. She home-schooled her four children and was involved in her church. They had a nice home, a big car—a good life. Her husband, however, had a gambling problem. Suddenly they were bankrupt—with their home in foreclosure, their car repossessed—and divorced. With no income, Kim couldn’t afford a place to live, so she and her kids moved into her parents’ garage.

The move marked a turning point in Kim’s life. It was clearly up to her to provide a living and a home for herself and her family. So she looked to her community for the support she needed.

A Chance for a New CareerSays Kim, “I needed a job that would support five people. So I decided to put myself in school and pursue a new career in nursing.” When she learned that her low-income status qualified her for school funding, she enrolled at Tacoma Community College. Soon they were all in school—her kids in public school for the first time, Kim back in school for the first time in 14 years.

“They saw me work hard and not give up, even though I wanted to at times—and I got accepted into two programs at TCC—the ICT and the RN program.” says Kim. “The kids have since made it a point to strive for A’s on their report cards as well. I am proud of them. If I give up on myself, I give up on them, and I could never do that.”

A home is more than a houseA garage is pretty tight quarters for five people, “and not a great place to entertain friends,” says Kim. Although her kids don’t seem to mind as much, Kim says she could use the privacy and space. “I have always had a home,” says Kim. “Right now, I just lack the house.”

She heard about Habitat for Humanity through a friend at church. “I researched Habitat for Humanity and found they were willing to accept my low-income status and award me a home,” says Kim.

Of course Habitat owners don’t just ‘get’ a house. They have to work for it. In order to qualify, Habitat recipients are required to go to five classes covering banking basics, homeownership, money management and investing. They also donate “sweat equity” – volunteering 500 hours to Habitat for Humanity by working on other Habitat houses and in Habitat’s ReStore.

After owner families get the keys to their home, they agree to make affordable monthly payments, covering mortgage, taxes and insurance. Habitat for Humanity invests the mortgage payments to build more houses. They make no profit and charge zero interest on the mortgage loan.

celebrate successs

Finding the way home

“ I have always wanted to work on a Habitat house ... now I have a friend who has one!”

TCC Radiologic Science students sign up

as Habitat for Humanity volunteers during

a campus orientation in March.

Future Habitat homeowner Kim Mawhinney speaks at a Habitat for Humanity fundraising breakfast in March.

Nursing at TCC

TCC’s Associate Degree Nursing Program is preparation for a career as a Registered Nurse. Successful completers of the program are awarded an Associate in Applied Science degree with eligibility to take the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX) for Registered Nursing.

Tacoma Community College has one of the largest and most successful Nursing programs in Washington state. This year, 123 nursing students are scheduled to graduate. Over two hundred students were enrolled in the nursing program spring quarter.

TCC Nursing is part of a regional best practices clinical consortium that allows area nursing schools, hospitals and clinics to offer the largest number of clinical practice opportunities possible for nursing students.

Students who complete TCC’s Associate Degree in Nursing may “bridge” into a bachelor’s degree program at a four-year institution. Additional prerequisites required for the individual bachelor’s degree program may also be completed at TCC. For more information about TCC Nursing, contact the program advisor at 253.566.5240.

It takes a villageThe next step was recruiting volunteers. The call went out to her fellow nursing students and the TCC community. Twenty-four TCC students and staff attended the first Habitat for Humanity volunteer orientation in March, with another orientation scheduled for spring quarter. Says nursing student Trisha Plenkovich, “I have always wanted to work on a Habitat house. So now, I have a friend who has one!” With spring break coming, several made plans to spend it working on Kim’s house.

“It’s a bond,” says nursing student Victoria Blunck. “These are the only ones who can understand what we’re going through. These people get it.”

After four years, the end is in sight. Kim will graduate from nursing school in August. The foundation for her new home in east Tacoma has been poured; it is expected to be finished about the same time she graduates. Her fellow nursing students have become her closest allies. Says Kim, “We’re going to have a graduation party in that house.”


What is Habitat for Humanity?

Habitat for Humanity is an ecumenical Christian housing organization. The seeds for Habitat were sown by Millard and Linda Fuller when they launched a low-cost housing ministry in rural southwest Georgia between 1968-1972.

The Fullers chose to build houses on a no-profit, no-interest basis, making homes affordable to low-income families. Each homeowner family was expected to make monthly payments over a 20-year period. These mortgage payments were placed into a revolving fund and money from that fund was then used to build more houses.

From 1976 to 2005, the Fullers expanded Habitat for Humanity throughout the world. Since 1976, 300,000 houses have been built in 90 countries worldwide. There are 1,600 affiliates in the United States.

The Tacoma-Pierce County Habitat for Humanity was started in 1985. As of the beginning of 2009, 153 Habitat homes have been finished in Pierce County.

For more information about Tacoma/Pierce County Habitat for Humanity, go to www.tpc-habitat.org or call 253.627.5626.

Giving Back: “ It all evolves

from relationships.”


Doing well—and doing good too

Ron and Jeanette Lunceford are born-and-raised Tacoma natives. They graduated from high school the same year—Ron from Wilson, Jeanette from Stadium. Both earned teaching degrees at WWSC in Bellingham (now WWU). They graduated from college in June 1971, moved back to Tacoma, got married and settled down.

In the early years, the Luncefords didn’t have much. Ron taught social science at Stadium High School and coached wrestling and football. Jeanette worked at University of Puget Sound, where she earned a second BA in Business/Accounting. She then worked as a CPA at Moss Adams & Co. until Nate, the first of the Luncefords’ two boys, was born.

Ron started Paragon Homes Real Estate Brokerage in 1981. They had to adjust from two salaries to NO salary. Jeanette kept the books for the fledgling company as it slowly grew.

Even during the early, lean years community involvement was big. Ron says he drew his inspiration for community giving from Bill Honeysett, a former publisher of The News Tribune. “Bill was an influential friend, who was involved in many organizations. I noticed how important community was to him.”

In 1988 Ron joined Windermere, a company that shared his

commitment to community. As Windermere Real Estate/Paragon Co. grew, the Luncefords were able to give back to their community in a significant way.

The Diptones are born

Their close friends shared their community spirit. Says Ron: “One day Laird Brown and Rick Stockstad were trying to find an item to auction off for a fundraiser. They were into music and decided to auction themselves off as a band.” Ron was brought in as lead singer. “We had never played music together, but someone bought us for $4,500! So we had to practice!” They called themselves Daryl and the Diptones because it had a 60s feel, and got through their first gig, playing 60s rock hits like “Louie, Louie” and “Gloria”.

Twenty five years later the 10-member Daryl & the Diptones have two rules—“Practice at least once a year—and have fun.” Usually their “once-a-year practice” turns into a barbecue, where everyone gets to join in, including the kids.

Although the Diptones occasionally do paid gigs, they are best known for donating their time and special brand of fun and music to benefit community causes. In this way, the band has helped local charities to raise more than $2 million.

Says Ron, “Daryl and the Diptones is just good people who like music

“Daryl & the Diptones have two rules—Practice at least once a year—and have fun.”


and to have fun. Our kids think their parents are musicians. That’s all they have known.”

The Lunceford’s first fundraising effort with TCC was the Wine Festival, which they chaired in the early 1990s. Says Ron: “I met a widow with eight kids who was fully employed and able to care for them. She couldn’t have done it without going back to school at TCC where scholarships and the childcare center gave her the help she needed. That meant a lot to me.”

Ron and Jeanette have been involved with TCC ever since. They have both been on the TCC Foundation board for many years, and have taken turns serving as president. After Nate and Garrett were grown, Jeanette returned to work at TCC. When she retired from the college in December of 2007, she was Business Department Program Coordinator.

In 2005, the City of Tacoma honored Daryl and the Diptones with a City of Destiny Award in the Community Group category. In 2006, Wilson High School honored Ron with the Dale Chihuly/Woodrow Wilson High School Alumni Volunteer Award. Through the Tacoma Community College Foundation, the Diptones established the Daryl and the Diptones First Generation Scholarship Endowment. Ron’s mom, who is legally blind and a first generation graduate, earned her Human Services degree from TCC.

In 2008, the Tacoma Community College Foundation awarded Ron & Jeanette honorary degrees for their years of service and generosity to the Tacoma Community College Foundation and the students of TCC.

Silver & Gold Fundraiser Dance celebrating the 25th Anniversary of Daryl & the Diptonesand the 50th Anniversary of Wilson High School

Saturday, April 25, 2009Doors open 6:30 p.m. Music & Dancing 7:30-10:30 p.m.Grand Ballroom, Landmark Convention Center Temple Theatre Bldg., 47 St. Helen’s Avenue, Tacoma

From left to right: Rob Rueber (lead gutar) Laird Brown (rhythm gutar) Eden Greer (former vocalist) Greg Kleiner (sax) Rick Stockstad (keyboard) Bill Garrett (drums) Mike Boyd (bass guitar) Jeanette Lunceford (vocalist) Vicki Block (former vocalist) Ron Lunceford (vocalist) ....not pictured Betty Lunceford (vocalist) Gaye Winsor (vocalist)

Daryl and the Diptones

Proceeds will benefit (your choice):Tacoma Community College Foundation �Daryl & the Diptones First Generation Scholarship FundSouth Puget Sound Community College �Daryl & the Diptones / Steve & Nancy Bean Scholarship FundGreater Tacoma Community Foundation �Wilson High School Dick Hannula Scholarship Fund

Mail $ to: Ron & Jeanette Lunceford, 1524 Brookside Terrace, Tacoma, WA 98465. Direct inquiries to: 253-565-1617 or [email protected].


The solar panels recently installed atop TCC’s Science & Engineering Building were paid for by a $243,300 grant from the State of Washington. Considering the financial, educational, and environmental dividends that the solar panels are expected to pay, it wasn’t so much a gift as an investment.

The solar panels will collect approximately 87 kilowatt hours per day, or 31.8 megawatt hours per year. “Under current Tacoma Power incentive programs the college will be paid 15 cents per kilowatt of production up to $2,000 per year,” said Capitol Projects Director Clint Steele. “In addition to this figure it is estimated that we will reduce our electrical consumption by approximately 3.4 cents per kilowatt for a total average saving of 18.4 cents per kilowatt of power generated by the solar panels.”

Sustainability: Commitment DemonstratedBuilding design and construction.Alternative energy. Art. Curriculum.

In the Science and Engineering Building’s ground-floor lobby, a real-time data on current solar energy production will be displayed. The information will also be accessible online.

Installation of the solar power system is just the beginning. A plug-in electric vehicle charging station will be installed near the Science & Engineering Building. The college’s small fleet of electric maintenance vehicles will be charged there, and the station will also be available for electric or hybrid vehicles owned by students, faculty and staff. “It is the desire and vision of the college to become as sustainable and as carbon neutral as possible,” said Steele. “Introducing the opportunity for students, faculty, staff and visitors to recharge electric vehicles is moving us closer to that vision.”

Power to the People, from the Sun (and the State)The photo shows 20.2 kilowatts of power being generated from the 120 solar panels at the very instant the photo was taken on Monday, April 6, 2009 (a sunny day). Over a 4-hour period, total power generation would be 80.8 kilowatt hours.


Closing the Loop with On-Campus RecyclingTacoma Community College recently committed $50,000 for construction of an on-site recycling center. Co-mingled recyclables will be collected at the center, along with food scraps and other compostable materials. Expected to be complete by fall 2009, the recycle yard will enable the college to cut by half the amount of solid waste hauled off campus.

Sustainability Coordinator Julie Burton expects that recyclables will soon account for 80 percent of the waste materials hauled off campus. Since the cost of hauling recyclable material is less than the cost of hauling to the landfill, the decision is fiscally as well as environmentally responsible. “It will start paying back as soon as we get it in operation,” said Vice President of Administration Kathryn Longfellow.

The recycle yard will raise recycling percentages at an institution that has already set the bar high. In last year’s national collegiate RecycleMania

competition TCC placed third in the “Waste Minimization” category, and fourth nationwide in the Grand Champion category with one of the highest overall percentages of recycled materials.

The construction of the Recycle Yard will make TCC a “Certified Green” facility. This recycling-industry designation is awarded to businesses which meet certain criteria, including the elimination of compostable materials from the institution’s waste stream. “TCC will benefit from reduced waste disposal costs, but the ultimate benefit will be to the community and to the environment,” said Burton.

An Environment for Art

The Gallery’s recent Environmental Art Exhibition involved the participation of students, staff and faculty.

The idea for the exhibition originated with Gallery Coordinator Jennifer Olson-Rudenko, in support of The Gallery’s educational mission and a goal of the college, “to ensure that all TCC employees and students are aware of, and dedicated to, sustainability principles.” The jury included TCC instructors from art, English, philosophy, and science, as well as a member of the campus Sustainability Committee.

The exhibition focused on work that contributes to dialogue about our environment with works in a variety of media. As community members, artists, students, staff, and faculty toured The Gallery, they were challenged to examine works by artists like Zachary A. Mazur, whose photography takes on issues related to pollution in Washington state. The majority of the artists invited to contribute to the exhibition have an ongoing concern with the environment and drew from their body of work.

Columbia River, Beneath Vernita Bridge, 2008 by Zachary A. Mazur

At TCC, a commitment to sustainability increasingly infuses campus life.

The recycle yard will raise recycling percentages at an institution that has already set the bar high.

$1.94 Million DOL Grant Funds Expansion of TCC’s Logistics and Transportation Management Program

Tacoma Community College has been awarded a $1.94 million U.S. Department of Labor grant to help train workers needed in the warehousing and distribution industry. The grant will make it possible for the college’s online logistics and transportation management training program to be broadcast from TCC to classrooms at other colleges, simultaneously connecting TCC’s existing logistics and transportation management program to rural communities.

The DOL grant was awarded in partnership with Tacoma Goodwill, Yakima Valley College and Lower Columbia College. The training program will target veterans, displaced workers, disadvantaged adults and youth living in areas served by these colleges. The job-training program includes a work readiness credential, customer service certification and college courses toward a general warehouse clerk certificate. More than 25 community and non-profit partners will work to recruit and serve 450 job trainees for this program.

The TCC warehouse and distribution training grant is one of 68 awarded this year, for a total of $123 million, by the Department of Labor to community colleges and community-based institutions that competed successfully under the President’s Community-Based Job Training Grants Initiative.

The President’s job training program, which began in 2005, has provided about $497 million to 279 community colleges and community-based institutions in 49 states. According to the Labor Department more than 34,000 participants nationwide have completed their education and training under the DOL grants. The 68 new grants will support projects in 36 states.

To find out more about this program, contact Beth Hani in Corporate and Continuing Education at 253.566.5008.


Corporate & Continuing Education

Small business owners gain inside knowledge

For more information about this program and other small and large business management programs through Tacoma Community College, contact:

Ron Asahara, Director Corporate & Continuing Education [email protected] 253.460.4469

To learn more about the BEDC Business Certificate Program through the University of Washington Foster School of Business, contact:

Paola Moore [email protected] 206.616.8090

Local small business owners are taking advantage of a unique opportunity to participate in the University of Washington’s Business and Economic Development Center (BEDC) certificate program, made possible through a partnership between the University of Washington Foster School of Business and Tacoma Community College. The goal of the program is to help small businesses survive in the current economic downturn, help owners improve their company’s performance, and prepare them for the recovery to come.

Instructors include award-winning faculty from the UW Foster School of Business, and successful business owners. Participants have a chance to network with other business owners during the twice-a-month intensive morning program. Seminar topics include recent developments in organizational management, sales, marketing and branding, financial management, and developing a business and government client base, among others.

BEDC links students, faculty and staff of the Foster School of Business with Tacoma Community College and racially and ethnically diverse business and nonprofits in communities like Tacoma. The program acknowledges and supports the explosion in minority entrepreneurship and diversity in corporate leadership, and gives people hands-on experience and connections within competitive local business environments.

founders intended – a champion for Washington’s taxpayers.”

Sonntag’s advocacy for open government earned him the Washington Newspaper Publishers Association’s Freedom’s Light Award in 1999. The same year, his efforts to improve local government operations prompted the Seattle Municipal League to award Sonntag the Warren G. Magnuson Award. But it was passage of voter-approved Initiative 900 in 2005, giving the State Auditor’s office the power to evaluate the performance of all public-agencies, that put Sonntag and his office in the spotlight—where he has been ever since. Sonntag’s unsparing audits have become a powerful voice of accountability that speaks from within state-supported institutions. Says Sonntag, “We do the people’s work in their trust—and a fragile trust it is at times. It’s only by transparency that we can have and retain that trust.”

Says Sonntag: “It’s not just about us finding things that have been done wrong. It’s about us helping agencies improve their performance… When we do an audit, we reveal the work we have done on the people’s behalf. This is information we want them to see.”

Sonntag has now been an elected official for almost 31 years. “I’ve been around so long—I’m no longer the youngest anywhere. Now I’m a grandpa,” says the father of five grown boys and four grandchildren, and husband of Jann Sonntag. “We all live in the area—none of us is more than a short drive away from each other.”

Tacoma Community College 2007 Distinguished Alumnus Brian Sonntag, is a true hometown boy.

Although he has held elected office in Olympia for 16 years, State Auditor Brian Sonntag still lives in the neighborhood. “A lot of people tell me they went to school with me,” says Sonntag. “They’re all probably right.” By the time he graduated from high school he had attended six Tacoma public schools—including both Stadium and Wilson high schools—before graduating from Wilson in 1970.

Sonntag began his college education at TCC the same year. He remembers playing baseball, and being part of the parking patrol. “I helped a retired police officer keep the parking lots safe,” jokes Sonntag. After TCC, Sonntag went down the street to UPS. While a student there, he had a chance to work for the Pierce County Clerk. “I was young; and I married young—it was important for me to have a good job,” he says. Even more important, “going to work for the county court meant I could continue to play baseball.”


Brian SonntagThe Public’s WatchdogTruth be told, sports—and especially baseball—is Sonntag’s life-long passion. The first time he returned to TCC was to coach women’s fast pitch softball in the late 1980s for the county auditor’s office. “I got my passion for baseball from my dad,” he says. He got his passion for public service and open government from his dad too.

At age 26, five years after going to work in the county clerk’s office, Sonntag ran for office. When he became Pierce County Clerk in 1978, he was the youngest elected County

official in the state of Washington. After entering public service, “the learning was in the doing.” Sonntag later completed a graduate program in public affairs at the University of Washington.

In 1987 Sonntag became Pierce County Auditor, 18 years after his father Jack served in the same position. Jack W. Sonntag was Pierce County Auditor from 1948-1969, but died when Brian was 17. “He was such a presence in our lives,” remembers Sonntag. “I felt like I missed a lot of Dad stuff after he was gone.”

In 1992, Sonntag was elected State Auditor. He has been re-elected every four years since then—for the fifth time in 2008. Since he was first elected he has been a powerful force for open government. The State Auditor operates independently, auditing the books of the state’s 2,700 agencies, from elementary schools to the Department of Transportation. Notes Seattle writer Casey Orr in the Seattle online newspaper “Crosscut”: “Brian Sonntag has changed the auditor’s office from an obscure bureaucracy to what Washington’s

Brian Sonntag, honored by the TCC

Foundation as the Distinguished Alumnus

for 2007 paid a visit to Tacoma Community

College in early April.


TCC by the numbers

Facts and figures add up to a learning community dedicated to students-and to one another.From astounding to disquieting, the numbers have never told a more varied story for Tacoma Community College.

Enrollments are up. Funding is down.

Yet the figures paint a picture of a college community coming together to serve and contribute during one of the country’s most turbulent times in recent history.

Reasons to keep the TCC team intact can be told in the numbers:

Worker retraining enrollments jumped over 50 percent at �TCC during one academic quarter this year, as local workers upgraded skills and retrained in high-demand occupations to be more attractive to area employers.

TCC was nationally recognized in the 2008 Community �College Survey of Student Engagement for Active and Collaborative Learning and for Academic Challenge.

An estimated 75 percent of graduates stay and work in the �local community after completing school, while 98 percent remain in the state.

TCC’s entire 2008 class of Radiology graduates earned a �100-percent first-time pass rate in the national radiology certification exam.

TCC’s Registered Nursing graduates routinely place in the �upper five percent nationally on the required certification exam (NCLEX) to receive a registered nursing license.

Nearly 500 TCC students participate in service-learning �opportunities and internships each year, improving services in our community and helping businesses succeed.


Consider this: TCC is now serving 23 percent more full-time-equivalent students in its state-supported programs than it did two years ago.

That increase equals almost 1,000 full-time students – about the same number that would fill a mid-sized high school. At the same time, the college has been managing on a 4 percent reduction of its current operating budget while bracing for what could be double-digit reductions for the next budget year, which begins July 1.

“It’s a tough proposition,” said TCC president Pamela Transue. “Most people understand that our education and training is one of the community’s ways out of hard times. We’re hoping the state budget writers won’t starve the solution.”

A 2005 study showed that TCC returns more to state tax coffers than it expends. Annual return rate on taxpayer investment for TCC is more than 20 percent when factoring higher earnings of its alumni, increased tax collections and reduced social costs associated with a community that takes advantage of higher education opportunities.

Results like this are made possible by the people at TCC, who make up a strong, committed community. Even the approach to the budget crisis has revealed this commitment, Transue said. “People have been very engaged in the budget process and we have tried to be as open as we possibly can be,” she added.

Employees have posted dozens of cost-saving suggestions in the online employee newsletter. Sixty to 70 employees regularly attend all-campus meetings to receive updates by college leadership and to discuss ideas. Employee groups have also stepped up to the plate.

For example, three-quarters of both faculty and managerial staff voted to accept unpaid furlough days in order to protect the jobs of co-workers. Administration is continuing to weigh this possibility. “I was surprised and overwhelmed by that vote,” said Bill Benjamin, associate vice president for Human Resources. “I think people recognize that even if your job is secure the job of the person sitting next to you might not be.”

The college quickly implemented a hiring freeze in November when state budget woes began to surface. Some unfilled positions have been permanently eliminated. Early retirement and voluntary separation incentives have been introduced.

The magnitude of the budget shortfall will make it all but impossible to avoid layoffs completely, but the college is working together to ensure there are as few as possible. The goal is to maintain core services and keep other key services viable enough to be restored when the economy improves.

at The GalleryCall 253.460.4392 for more information.

March 9-May 8Feminist Art Exhibition

May 18-June 11TCC Student Art Exhibition

June 15-August 31 Closed

September 1-307th Annual Juried Local Art Exhibition

Center for Ethical DevelopmentMay 5 Internet Privacy? Ethical Implications of Social Networking 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m., Student Center

Student Life253.566.5118.

April 22 Rev. H. Matiya Nkhoma, AIDS Activist 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m., Student Center

May 2 TCC Pow Wow 11 a.m.-8 p.m., Main Gym, Bldg. 21

May 8 5th Annual Cabaret Drag Show 7:30-11 p.m., Auditorium, Bldg. 3

May 22 Black Students Union Soul Fest 5-10 p.m., Student Center

June 4 Pacific Islanders Club Luau 11:30 a.m-2:30 p.m., outside the Student Center, south side


calendar

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March 29 March 30Spring Quarter classes begin

March 31 1 2 3 4

5 6 7Jonathan Kingham

8Center for Ethical Devel. Forum

9 10 11

12 13 14 15 16 17 18

19 20 21Earth Day 11:30a-1:30p Student Center

22TCC A&LS: Rev. H. Matiya Nkhoma

23Job Fair 10a-4p TCC Gym

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1 2TCC Pow Wow

3 4 5Center for Ethical Devel.Forum

6 7 85th Annual Cabaret Drag Show

9Tacoma Wine Classic

10TCC Men’s Baseball 1p & 3:30p

11 12 13 14TCC A&LS: Summer Oakes

15 16

17 18 19 20TCC Chamber Orchestra

21 22BSU Soul Fest

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24 25Memorial DayCollege Closed

26 27 28TCC Symphonic Band

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1 2 3 4Luau

5 6TCC Choirs 7:30p

7 8Last day of spring quarter

9 10 11Commencement

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21 22Summer Quarter classes begin

23 24 25 26College Closed

27Gig Harbor Garden Tour

28Gig Harbor Garden Tour

29 30

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TCCApril 23 Job Fair 10 a.m.-2 p.m., Gym, Bldg. 21 and 4-7 p.m., Gig Harbor Campus

May 14 Wellness Fair 11 a.m.-4 p.m., Bldg. 27 Courtyard

June 11 Commencement 7 p.m., Tacoma Dome Exhibition Hall

Music Dept. Performances7:30 p.m., Building 3 at TCC. $5 (suggested donation). For more information contact Dr. John Falskow, 253.460.4374, [email protected].

May 20 Chamber Orchestra

May 28 Symphonic Band

June 6 Choirs: Celebration of Community

Foundation EventsMay 9 Tacoma Wine Classic 5:30-11 p.m., Landmark Convention Center, Tacoma. Ninth annual wine tasting benefiting the TCC Foundation. Call 253.460.4318.

June 27 & 28 Gig Harbor Garden Tour Saturday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Proceeds benefit the Peninsula Adult Basic Education Program at the Gig Harbor Campus. Visit www.gigharborguide.com.

August 21 Golf Tournament Shotgun start 12:30 p.m., Allenmore Public Golf Course.

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Celebrate!Tacoma Community College named to President’s Higher Education Honor Roll for Community Service. Almost 900 TCC students completed 132,782 community service hours in 2007-2008 to earn the highest federal recognition a school can achieve for its commitment to service-learning and civic engagement. The Corporation for National and Community Service oversees the Honor Roll. TCC is one of only six colleges in Washington state to earn the award for last year.

Dept. of Labor grant provides job training for 450 local workers. Tacoma Community College has been awarded $2 million from the U.S. Department of Labor for a three-year grant to help train workers for warehousing and distribution industries in Tacoma, Longview and Yakima. The funds are part of a U.S. Dept of Labor Community-Based Job Training Grants program, designed to improve the ability of community colleges to provide regional workers with skills needed to enter growing industries.

All-Washington Academic Team Members Honored in Olympia. TCC Students Rita Housseiny (Peninsula) and Hiu Kwan Wong (Hong Kong) have been named to the All-Washington Academic Team for 2008-2009. They were honored in Olympia March 26, with members from all the community

and technical colleges in the state. Each team member receives a $750 scholarship funded by All-Washington Academic Team program sponsors KeyBank and the Northwest Education Loan Association (NELA).

Student Handbook receives national marketing award. TCC received the Silver Paragon award in March for its 2008-2009 Student Planner from the National Council for Marketing and Public Relations (NCMPR). The planner features student artwork throughout its 200 pages. It was designed by lead graphic designer Laura Chipman in Marketing, Communication

and Outreach, and is published annually by Student Life. The planner is distributed free to all enrolled students at the college each year.

Gold Standard ConstructionCurrently in the final stages of the certification review and approval process, TCC’s new Early Learning Center was designed to meet the ambitious LEED “Gold” standard. The building was designed to cut energy consumption and to use 30 percent less water than a conventional building. Sustainable materials were incorporated into its construction, and 75 percent of construction waste materials were diverted from landfills. Certification includes ongoing operational requirements, such as removing recyclable materials from the waste stream and food composting.

Rita Housseiny named 2009 Coca-Cola National Finalist. TCC International Business major Rita Housseiny has been named a 2009 Coca-Cola National Finalist.Selection is based on scores earned in the All-USA Academic Team competition. Housseiny, who has maintained a 4.0 GPA at TCC, will receive $1,000 as a finalist, in addition to the $750 scholarship provided to all members of the Washington All-Academic team by Key Bank.

Kevin Dancer voted NWAACC Basketball Western Region MVP; Titan sophomores earn All Star Honors. NWAACC Western Region basketball coaches unanimously voted TCC sophomore guard Kevin Dancer Most Valuable Player for the 2008-2009 NWAACC basketball season. TCC sophomores Toussaint Tyler (Guard) and Anthony Gittens (forward) also earned All-Star nods, with Toussant Tyler earning a seat on the Western Region All-Star first team. TCC head basketball coach Carl Howell was selected to coach in the All-Star game, which was played at Pierce College on March 15.

6501 S. 19th Street Tacoma WA 98466 www.tacomacc.edu

TCC Magazine - Spring 2009

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