Feb 23, 2026 | Community, Curry Campus, Curry News, News, OCCI News
Spring Term 2025-26 is quickly approaching! Classes start Monday, March 30, 2026. Below are instructions about how to register. If you are experiencing any issues registering after reading the below, please contact us:
- Coos Campus Students: Call 541-888-7352 or Email
- Curry Campus Students: Call 541-813-1677 or Email
REGISTRATION FOR DEGREE OR CERTIFICATE SEEKING STUDENTS:
If you are already a current/admitted student, below are instructions on registering.
Not a current or admitted student? You’ll need to first complete an Application for Admission to Southwestern** Not sure whether or not you’re an admitted student? Contact us using the information above! (**Note: If you’re a community member simply looking to take a credit class for fun or personal enrichment, you’ll complete the Community Education and Personal Enrichment Form in lieu of the Application for Admission).
Spring Term 2025-26 credit classes begin Monday, March 30, 2026. Registration for credit classes is available February 23, 2026 – April 8, 2026. **IMPORTANT: April 1 is the last day to register for Spring Term without instructor consent. From April 2-8, you will first need instructor consent to register for a class.** To register:
- First clear with your advisor! If you’re unsure who your advisor is, call 541-888-7405 or schedule an advising meeting. Curry Campus students call 541-813-1667.
- Login to myLakerLink using your student ID and password.
- Search for courses to add under the “2025-2026 Spring Term” drop down.
REGISTRATION FOR COMMUNITY CLASSES (COMMUNITY EDUCATION):
Spring Term 2025-26 community education class registration opens Monday, March 9, 2026, at 8:00 a.m. To register, follow the instructions on the top of the community class page. Spring Term community class listings will be updated prior to registration opening.
As a reminder, all academic term dates and other important milestones may be found on the Academic Calendar. Click on the “2025-26 Academic Calendar” button for a .pdf version or click on the “categories” button and filter for “instructional calendar” to view the online version.
Feb 3, 2026 | Community, Curry Campus, News
Coos Bay, OR – In celebration of Black History Month, Southwestern Oregon Community College invites all to attend a free virtual presentation by Taylor Stewart of the Oregon Remembrance Project (ORP) titled “Maintaining Internal Hopefulness in the Midst of External Hopelessness” on February 27, 2026, from 3:00 to 4:00 pm.
Join the presentation by Zoom: https://socc-edu.zoom.us/j/97511641511
Taylor Stewart of the Oregon Remembrance Project will share his experience falling in and out of love with activism, rekindling joy, and finding hope in bleak times. Stewart will engage in conversation with Forrest Akers, Director of International Recruitment and Academic Partnerships at Southwestern, as they explore the difficulties facing justice organizers today and the lessons that help make their work more sustainable. In Stewart’s own words, “Justice work is hard work. It’s also draining and never ending.”
Stewart will discuss the challenges of maintaining internal hopefulness even in times when externally things may seem hopeless. Taylor Stewart launched the Oregon Remembrance Project in 2018 to help communities with truth and reconciliation projects around repairing historical injustice. Stewart first partnered with Coos Bay, OR to memorialize the 1902 lynching of Alonzo Tucker. Between 2018-2021, Stewart and Coos Bay community members held a series of acts of remembrance for Mr. Tucker, which culminated in the installation of a historical marker outside of the Coos History Museum in 2021. Today, ORP has grown to help communities around the state confront Oregon’s history of lynching, sundown towns, Black Exclusionary Laws, and KKK activity.
For more information contact Forrest Akers, Director of International Recruitment and Academic Partnerships, at 541-888-7185, forrest.akers@socc.edu.
Jan 30, 2026 | Community, Curry Campus, News
COOS BAY, OR – Southwestern Oregon Community College invites the community to join us on Tuesday, February 10, 2026, at 6:00 pm, for “Fossil whales of the Pacific Northwest and the evolution of baleen” with Dr. Robert Boessenecker. This is a free event; all ages are welcome.
Coos County residents can join us in-person in the Umpqua Hall lecture room (room 184) on the Coos Campus, 1988 Newmark Ave., Coos Bay.
Curry County residents can join us for a watch party on the Curry Campus, 96082 Lone Ranch Parkway, Brookings.
For those not able to attend in person the lecture will be streamed live on the College’s YouTube channel at: www.youtube.com/@southwesternOR/streams.
About the Lecture:
Baleen whales are the largest animals ever to evolve – unlocked by the evolution of baleen. Baleen is a soft tissue structure made of keratin (‘horn’) and allows these oceanic giants to feed on krill and other tiny zooplankton. Further strange is the complete loss of teeth in baleen whales. Where did baleen come from, and what happened to their teeth? Strange fossil whales from the Oligocene epoch (34-23 million years ago) of Oregon, Washington, and beyond showcase many clues about the loss of teeth and the evolution of baleen.
About the Presenter:
Robert W. Boessenecker, Ph.D., grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area and began collecting fossils as an amateur in high school. He attended Montana State University in Bozeman for his Bachelor’s and Master’s programs, where he worked on marine mammal fossils from the Purisima Formation near Santa Cruz, California – and met his wife and fellow paleontologist, Sarah Michalies. He attended the University of Otago in New Zealand from 2012-2015 for his doctoral studies on eomysticetid whales from the Oligocene of New Zealand. From 2015-2024 he worked in Charleston, South Carolina, on early toothed baleen whales and echolocating dolphins from the same time period, and since 2024 has come full circle and renewed work on Purisima Formation marine mammals in California.
For more information about the lecture series contact Dr. Win McLaughlin, Assistant Professor, Geology at win.mclaughlin@socc.edu or 541-888-7002.
For more information on upcoming lectures contact Cassie Coyner, STEAM Pathways Coordinator, at 541-888-7416, or cassie.coyner@socc.edu .
To learn more about STEM degrees at Southwestern visit: https://www.socc.edu/programs-classes/stem/.
Jan 28, 2026 | Community, Curry Campus, News
Coos Bay, OR – Southwestern Oregon Community College invites the community to join us on Thursday, February 26, 2026, at 6:00 pm, for a group panel discussion on “The Future of Oregon’s Working Forests: Balancing Timber Production and Ecosystem Health,” hosted by Tasha Davison, Forestry Instructor at Southwestern. This is a free event; all ages are welcome.
Coos County residents can join us in-person in the Umpqua Hall lecture room (room 184) on the Coos Campus, 1988 Newmark Ave., Coos Bay.
Curry County residents can join us for a watch party on the Curry Campus, 96082 Lone Ranch Parkway, Brookings.
For those not able to attend in person the lecture will be streamed live on the College’s YouTube channel at: www.youtube.com/@southwesternOR/streams.
About the Panel:
Explore how Oregon’s forests can continue to support a thriving timber industry while preserving biodiversity, water quality, and climate resilience. Experts will discuss innovative management strategies, policy considerations, and collaborative approaches to ensure sustainable forest practices for generations to come.
About the Panelists:
Participants will include Coos Watershed Association, Elliott State Research Forest Station, Coos Forest Protective Association, Weyerhaeuser, South Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve, and Oregon Department of Forestry.
For more information about the lecture series contact DeAnne Varitek, Dean of Career & Technical Education at deanne.varitek@socc.edu or 541-888-7312.
To learn more about Southwestern’s Forestry & Natural Resources program visit: https://www.socc.edu/forestry/.
Jan 27, 2026 | Community, Curry Campus, News
Coos Bay, OR – Southwestern Oregon Community College invites the community to join us on Tuesday, February 10, 2026, at 10:00 am, for a visit with Oregon State University’s (OSU) College of Forestry, including a presentation from guest speaker, Dr. John Bailey, and a demonstration from OSU’s Logging Sports Team. This is a free event; all ages are welcome.
Coos County residents can join us in-person in Lakeview E, F, and G at 10:00 am for Dr. Bailey’s presentation, followed by a demonstration outside in Henry Hansen Square (the quad) at 11:00 am from the Logging Sports Team on the Coos Campus, 1988 Newmark Ave., Coos Bay.
Curry County residents can join us for a watch party on the Curry Campus, 96082 Lone Ranch Parkway, Brookings.
For those not able to attend in person the presentation and demonstrations will be streamed live on the College’s YouTube channel at: www.youtube.com/@southwesternOR/streams.
About the Guest Speaker:
Dr. John Bailey graduated from Oregon State University in 1996 with a PhD in Forest Science. He is a professor at Oregon State University’s College of Forestry in the Forest Engineering, Resources and Management department (FERM), as well as the Forest Ecosystems & Society Department (FES). His research focuses on using traditional and experimental silviculture practices to achieve a spectrum of objectives in a landscape, including commodity production, habitat creation, fire risk reduction, and ecosystem restoration. His classes focus on wildland fire science and silviculture.
About the Logging Sports Team:
Housed within Oregon State University’s College of Forestry, the Logging Sports Team is open to all OSU students. The team travels to competitions in the Western U.S., including Humboldt State University, and the University of Idaho, Moscow. Additionally, members of the team compete in meets sanctioned by the American Lumberjack Association throughout the U.S., and some have traveled to Canada. The team competes in events that include the axe throw, birling (“log roll”), buck sawing, caber toss, choker race, chopping, limber pole, technical events, and the tree climb.
For more information about the lecture series contact DeAnne Varitek, Dean of Career & Technical Education at deanne.varitek@socc.edu or 541-888-7312.
To learn more about Southwestern’s Forestry & Natural Resources program visit: https://www.socc.edu/forestry/.
Jan 23, 2026 | Community, Curry Campus
Brookings, OR – Southwestern Oregon Community College Curry Campus invites the community to join us on Thursday, February 12, 2026, 1:00 to 2:00 pm, for a presentation by Bill Gorham, marine biologist “Tide Pools of the South Coast of Oregon”.
Bill Gorham is a marine biologist who has been diving, beachcombing, and tide pooling around the world. For the past eight years he’s walked his dogs on the Chrissey Fields beaches more than 4,000 times and photographed a wonderful array of critters, tracks, sea states, and washed-up treasures. He’s keen to share that experience with all others who love the ocean and all its surprises. If you slow down, look down (and up), you will see the little (and big) things that are hiding in plain sight.
This is a free program sponsored by the Friends of Curry Campus and will be held in the Community Room on Southwestern’s Curry Campus, 96082 Lone Ranch Parkway (off Highway 101), Brookings. Bring a friend and a brown bag lunch.
Stay tuned for upcoming talks in our speaker series. Talks during winter term will focus on the nature all around us. For more information contact the Curry Campus at 541-813-1667.
