News

Former BCC Bulldog joins Mariners outfield

    The Seattle Mariners have acquired former BCC Bulldog outfielder Jason Ellison through a trade with the San Francisco Giants. The M’s sent left-handed pitcher Travis Blackley to the Giants in return.
    Ellison played in 84 games for the Giants last year, hitting .222 (18-for-81) and appeared at all three outfield positions.
    “He makes us a better ball club, more versatile,” Mariners Manager Mike Hargrove said of Ellison (quoted in the April 2 issue of The News Tribune). “He gives us a better right-handed bat off the bench, he gives us more speed,” Hargrove said.
    To read the full News Tribune story about the trade, go to www.thenewstribune.com/sports/mariners/story/6443392p-5740756c.html.

Tom Harrington and Tyler Sabin named to All-Washington Academic Team

     BCC students Tom Harrington and Tyler Sabin have been named to the 2007 All-Washington Academic Team. Sabin ranked third overall on the 62-member team.
     Recognizing some of the best and brightest community and technical college students in the state, the All-Washington Academic Team is a project of Phi Theta Kappa international honor society and the American Association of Community CollegesThe team was honored by Governor Chris Gregoire at ceremonies in Olympia March 22.
     A former intern for Rep. Dave Reichert and a member of Model UN, Harrington plans a career in government or international service. His extensive volunteer work – through Americorps, Rotaract, UNICEF, student government and Phi Theta Kappa, of which he is chapter co-president – has produced substantial results: books for schools in Africa, computers for schools in Bulgaria and support for hurricane victims and local food banks.
     An Iraq war veteran, Harrington also is a recipient of the Horatio Alger Association Distinguished American Military Scholar Award.
     A dedicated volunteer, Sabin is involved in a wide range of service work including tutoring, fund-raising, organizing campus issues discussions and leading Phi Theta Kappa as chapter co-president. He has personally mentored more than a dozen fellow students and helped to build from scratch an ongoing volunteer-recruitment program to aid the poor, elderly and homeless.
     Each member of the All-Washington Academic Team receives $750 in scholarships funded by Northwest Education Loan Association (NELA) and KeyBank.
     As the third-ranking scholar on the team, Sabin received an additional $1,000 scholarship from the Trustees Association of Community and Technical Colleges.
     Team members also are offered further scholarships from many of the state’s public and private four-year colleges.

10-panel Lavadour landscape installed in L Building lobby

    A rich landscape made up of 10 individual oil paintings by Northwest artist James Lavadour has been permanently installed in the L Building lobby with funding from the Washington State Arts Commission. Called “Sun, Moon, Horizon,” the work is dedicated by Mr. Lavadour “in honor of all the students of Bellevue Community College.”

James Lavadour	"Sun, Moon, Horizon”

    Lavadour, who is part Walla Walla Native American and grew up on the Umatilla Reservation, is well known for abstract landscapes inspired by the mountains of Oregon, where he has lived for most of his life. An avid hiker, Lavadour says he converts that physical experience into the act of painting.

    "At some point I made a connection between the ways walking conditioned my body movements and the way my body governed my hand when I painted. Links between muscle and memory, place and identity became the basis of my art," Lavadour said.
    His technique includes applying then scraping away pigment to re-enact nature's erosive process. As is the case in the L Building work, Lavadour frequently combines small, separate canvases presenting multiple views of a panorama that coalesce to create an emotional experience.
    Further information on Lavadour and his work can be found in the book, James Lavadour Landscapes, in the Library Media Center.  

ETS, BCC sign agreement to test student assessment techniques

    BCC and ETS, the major developer of national student assessment tests including the SATs, have signed a three-year agreement to work together in testing new ways to assess the academic progress of community college students.
    Under the agreement, BCC will serve as a site at which ETS will test and gather student and faculty feedback on current and potential new assessment products. Assessment Coordinator Robin Jeffers will organize the projects on behalf of BCC.
    ETS conveyed to BCC officials that the college was selected for this honor because of the college’s programmatic excellence.
    Pres. Jean Floten is a member of ETS’ National Community College Advisory Council.

Proceedings of BCC-hosted philosophy conference published

    Using funding from a BCC Foundation Mini-Grant, BCC's Philosophy Department has published Northwest Topics: The Proceedings of the 56th Annual Northwest Conference on Philosophy, edited by Philosophy Instructor W. Russ Payne.
    The volume includes 10 papers on a variety of philosophical topics, selected from those presented at the Northwest Conference on Philosophy held at BCC in October 2004.
    The book is available for purchase through the BCC bookstore and Amazon.com.
    The BCC Foundation awards donor-funded Mini-Grants each year to support special projects by BCC faculty and staff.

BCC grad and bachelor’s degree student cites ‘quality of program’

in winning national prize for essay on community college bachelor’s degrees

    Michael Bailey, a 2005 Bellevue Community College radiation therapy graduate who also will be part of the first class of BCC bachelor’s degree students, has won the national essay contest of the Community College Baccalaureate Association (CCBA).
     The Association awarded Bailey a $1,000 contest prize and also donated $1,000 to BCC's radiation and imaging sciences bachelor’s degree program.
     The contest essay topic was, “Why is it important for me to earn my baccalaureate degree on my community college campus?” In his essay, Bailey answered this way:
     “BCC radiation therapy graduates (two-year degrees) continually rank high in American Registry of Radiologic Technologists (ARRT) reports. This is quite noteworthy as this national certification report includes not just associate programs nationwide, but baccalaureate and hospital based programs as well. Because BCC already ranks so high, I prefer to stay at BCC to complete my education as most cancer centers already acknowledge the quality of the program and its reputation for graduating qualified radiation therapists.”
     Bailey works currently as a radiation therapist at Swedish Cancer Institute in Seattle.

Ongoing “Courageous Conversations” on race scheduled for Spring Quarter

     Join fellow BCC faculty and staff this spring in ‘Courageous Conversations on Race, Racism and Whiteness’ -- small-group discussions to help participants better understand their very different racial realities. Even if you can’t be present every week or for the full session, you are encouraged to come when you can!
     Spring Quarter Courageous Conversations will run from April 2 through June 8 on the following schedule. For further information please contact Akemi Matsumoto at X2202 or amatsumo@bcc.ctc.edu.

What’s happening at our sister community colleges? Click here

     Keep up with the news from BCC’s 33 sister community and technical colleges. Click on www.sbctc.ctc.edu/docs/ezine/2007february/default.asp to read the February issue of Creating Opportunities, the State Board for Community and Technical Colleges’ online magazine, and on www.sbctc.ctc.edu/general/_n-ezine-creatingopps.aspx for the March edition.
     February’s issue focuses on the efforts of the Transition Math Project to encourage high school students to take more math as necessary preparation for success in college and the workplace. February’s edition features the Opportunity Grant program pilots, which connect businesses needing trained workers with low-income adult students who are eager to learn and succeed.
     As always, the magazine also reports on promotions and awards for community college employees and highlights news coverage around the system.
     If you have news you would like to see featured in a future issue of “Creating Opportunities,” please contact Bob Adams at X3081 or badams@bcc.ctc.edu.

Join other caring community members April 25
for BCC Foundation fund-raising luncheon

     Please join hundreds of caring community members and BCC faculty and staff April 25 for the Bellevue Community College Foundation’s annual fund-raising luncheon. This year’s event will be held at the Meydenbauer Convention Center in Bellevue. Doors open at 11:30 a.m., the program begins at noon, and all should be concluded by 1:30 p.m.
     Gifts from luncheon participants will be used to fund student scholarships and other activities to strengthen the educational opportunities at BCC.
     You can RSVP online at http://bellevuecollege.edu.edu/foundation/invite/rsvp.asp or by e-mail to Kara Talbott at ktalbott@bcc.ctc.edu.
     If you are unable to attend the luncheon but would like to make a gift to support BCC students and programs, please click on: https://www.bellevuecollege.edu/secure/foundation/

Off the Vine

Free personal safety class offered for women

     Public Safety Director Joe Fithian will present a free, six-hour training course on personal safety for women on Sat., April 21, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in room R101.
     The class will focus on risk awareness, avoidance and reduction as well as easy-to-learn, easy-to-use physical self-defense techniques. It is open to all of BCC’s women faculty, staff and students and their guests. Space is limited however, so reserve your place ahead of time by calling X2400. Be sure to wear comfortable clothing that day and pack a snack and water.

Save the Date: Next “Beyond Diversity” workshop coming April 26-27

     ‘Beyond Diversity,’ a free, in-depth, two-day workshop that many BCC employees have found to be life-changing, will be offered again April 26-27.
     The workshop is intended primarily for BCC employees who have not yet attended it and who share an interest in transforming education in the U.S. to eliminate the racial education gap.
     ‘Beyond Diversity’ teaches how to engage in cross-race dialogue about ourselves as racial beings, racism in its many forms, and whiteness. It will be led by Glenn Singleton, originator of the ‘Courageous Conversations’ and co-author of the book, Courageous Conversations About Race--A Field Guide for Achieving Equity in Schools.
     Workshop sessions will run from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. each day at Lake Washington Technical College.
     Space is limited, so please register soon at www.bellevuecollege.edu/ett/SessionDetails.aspx?ActivityInstanceID=396.

     For information about the workshop, please contact Akemi Matsumoto at X2202 or amatsumo@bcc.ctc.edu.

     The BCC Grants Office has launched a new website on MyBCC specifically to provide information to faculty and staff on how to find outside funding for special projects. The site tells you how to find grant-makers who might be interested in your project, how to put together a compelling and competitive grant application and how best to use the professional resources offered by Director of Institutional and Foundation Grants Barbara Miller and Grantwriter Helen Lawrence. The site also lists selected, upcoming grant opportunities that may be of interest and lets you sign up for e-mail notification when these opportunities are updated.
     For further information, please contact Barbara at X3125 or bmiller@bcc.ctc.edu.