Feb 27, 2026 | Community, Curry Campus
Brookings, OR – Southwestern Oregon Community College Curry Campus invites the community to join us on Thursday, March 12, 2026, 1:00 to 2:00 pm for the next installment in our Speaker Series: Salmon Habitat Restoration.
This talk is a presentation by the Curry Watershed Partnership, which is actively involved in salmon habitat restoration efforts, particularly focusing on the recovery of coho populations. They have been instrumental in hundreds of projects aimed at enhancing salmon habitat and improving fish passage in Southern Oregon coastal watersheds.
Fish and wildlife populations depend upon healthy ecosystems for their survival and have evolved over millennia in response to a full range of watershed changes. Human communities have impacts on these ecosystems and have a responsibility to help restore balance to the watershed processes and functions.
The Curry Watershed Partnership is a group of non-regulatory organizations working together to help local landowners and communities keep our shared lands and rivers healthy and sustainable. The Partnership includes the Curry Soil and Water Conservation District, the South Coast and Lower Rogue Watershed Councils, and the Curry Watersheds Nonprofit.
Guest Speakers include Kelly Timchak, Robbie Lascheck, and Liesl Coleman, who will share the Partnership’s work on restoration and education efforts in Curry County.
Kelly Timchak always knew she wanted to work in creeks and rivers. She previously worked for the Port Orford Ocean Resource Team and the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Wildlife Biology from Southeast Missouri State University and a Master of Science in Fisheries from the University of New Brunswick. Kelly focuses on developing and maintaining landowner relations to assess and restore upland habitats, instream fish habitats, estuaries, and riparian health. She is the Lower Rogue Watershed Coordinator.
Robbie Lascheck has a passion for mountain lakes and crystal-clear rivers. He received a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science from the University of Oregon and a Master of Environmental Management from Portland State University. His skill set includes partner coordination, natural resource monitoring, data analysis, and GIS. He is the South Coast Watershed Council Coordinator.
Liesl Coleman has loved the natural world since she can remember. She has worked for the Curry County Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) since 2004 and has served as the District Manager since 2009. Under the direction of the Curry SWCD board of directors, Liesl works primarily behind the scenes, supervising all staff, overseeing legal and fiscal functions and activities, ensuring compliance with state and federal requirements and board-approved policies, and serving with Kelly Timchak and Robbie Lascheck on the Partnership’s Leadership Team to coordinate program direction.
Please join us to find out how to not only support the work of the Curry Watershed Partnership, but how to become a watershed steward yourself. It will take many more of us to maintain the health and function of our shared lands and waters, now and into the future.
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. For more information contact the Curry Campus at 541-813-1667.
Feb 26, 2026 | Community, Curry Campus, News
COOS BAY, OR – Southwestern Oregon Community College invites the community to join us on Friday, March 6, 2026, at 6:00 pm, for “Confessions of a former lecturer: 10 years after flipping my classroom” with KC Walsh, Teaching Professor Department of Physics, Oregon State University. 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 in the Community Room 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:
Introductory Physics at Oregon State University has gone through a tremendous transformation over the past 10 years. From transitioning to active engagement lectures, to building open education resources, to going online pre-pandemic, to navigating genAI, the landscape looks entirely different now. Professor Walsh will share the ten most valuable lessons he has learned during this time and talk a little about the challenges we now face.
About the Presenter:
From Professor Walsh: “I consider myself equal part educator and education researcher. It was not always this way. I graduated with my PhD in Physics studying condensed matter theory. As a TA in graduate school, I fell in love with teaching. Upon graduation I decided to focus on it as it felt more fulfilling than research. After years of teaching, I realized that I still possessed an innate curiosity to study the world and was looking for a creative outlet. In 2015 I decided it was time to make a huge curricular change with my class – I was going to completely flip the classroom – and that presented a unique opportunity to study the change. I was very concerned that students would not watch the required “pre-lecture” videos before class, which free up time for problem solving and critical thinking in class. That year I got my first grant where I received modest funds to create a data collection tool to study students’ engagement with pre-lecture videos and reading. The following year a unique opportunity arose in the COS to perform Action Research with the Enhancing STEM (ESTEME) Group. The spark from that initial grant, combined with a new community based around evidence-based instructional practices (EBIPs) and the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL), paved a clear path for sustained growth in both the quality of my teaching, and the expansion of my career into research. Six years later I’ve had 4 research fellowships, received 8 grants, built a nationally recognized quantitative physics education research group, completely redesigned introductory physics to adhere to modern EBIPs, designed and implemented a completely innovative and highly successful Ecampus intro physics sequence, and won the highest teaching award for faculty in their first 10 years at OSU. All of this was possible because of the agency I received being part of a community centered on EBIPs and SoTL.”
For more information about the lecture series contact Dr. Aaron Coyner, Associate Professor, Physics and Engineering at aaron.coyner@socc.edu or 541-888-7244.
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/.
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/.
