Apr 11, 2025 | Community, Curry Campus, News
COOS BAY, OR – Southwestern Oregon Community College is pleased to honor South Coast Lumber Co. & Affiliates, and South Coast Head Start with our 2025 Career Technical Education (CTE) Industry Partner of the Year Award. Southwestern’s CTE partners’ steadfast support of our programs has been integral to our students’ success.
South Coast Lumber Co. & Affiliates has been an essential partner in developing Southwestern’s SWOCC Works Pre-Apprenticeship Program. SWOCC Works trains students in entry-level construction skills, OSHA safety training, and heavy equipment operation. It prepares people for jobs in the trades on both the Coos and Curry Campuses.
Photo left to right: Ali Mageehon, Vice President of Instruction and Student Services at Southwestern; Jeff Bunnell, Operations Manager South Coast Lumber Co. & Affiliates; Patty Scott, President of Southwestern
South Coast Lumber Co. & Affiliates is a fourth-generation, family-owned business, proudly celebrating 75 years of supporting the Brookings economy and the southern Oregon Coast. Since 1950, they have been committed to producing premium wood products through their sawmill, plywood, and laminated veneer lumber facilities, providing over 500 family-wage jobs to our local communities.
“South Coast Lumber has demonstrated support for the success of our students in both tangible and conceptual ways. Their willingness to collaborate has helped identify and remove barriers for students, and their shared knowledge has helped guide program development. We appreciate the time, care, encouragement, and support of SWOCC’s students,” said Raushanna Dapena, Apprenticeship Program Director.
South Coast Head Start has a long history of partnering with Southwestern, working with Early Childhood faculty to provide practicum placements in high-quality programs in which students refine their skills and learn from masterful teachers.
Photo left to right: Ali Mageehon, Vice President of Instruction and Student Services at Southwestern; Wendi Baird, Director of South Coast Head Start; Jennifer Gill, Director of Hiring and Licensing South Coast Head Start; Patty Scott, President of Southwestern; Brenda Jackson, Early Childhood Education Program Coordinator at Southwestern
South Coast Head Start supports children’s growth from birth to age five through services that promote early learning and development, health, and family well-being. Head Start actively engages parents, recognizing family participation throughout the program as key to strong child outcomes. They work tirelessly to ensure children and families receive high-quality services in safe and healthy settings that prepare children for school and life.
Taya Noland, Director of CARE Connections Child Care Resource & Referral, shares, “Head Start has been a key partner in developing the first Early Childhood apprenticeship in Oregon, through which students work toward their AAS in Preschool Development while working at Head Start. This apprenticeship model has gained statewide attention, and this spring marks our first graduates!”
“Head Start has been instrumental in providing pre-kindergarten practicum placements and mentors for pre-service teachers in three degrees: Childhood Education and Family Studies Associate of Science; Preschool Child Development Associate of Applied Science; and Elementary Education Associate of Arts Oregon Transfer. This valuable partnership helps Southwestern provide experienced teachers to serve the needs of families throughout Oregon,” said Brenda Jackson, Early Childhood Education Program Coordinator.
It’s with great pleasure that we present these two excellent organizations with our CTE Partner of the Year Award.
To learn more about Southwestern’s career technical training programs call 541-888-7405 to make an appointment with an advisor.
Apr 10, 2025 | Community, Curry Campus
BROOKINGS, OR – Southwestern Oregon Community College Curry Campus invites the community to join us on Thursday, May 8, 2025, 1:00 – 2:00 pm (New Time!) for: Stories from a Chimp Conservationist and Colleague of Jane Goodall.
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.
In 1972, Dr. Nancy Merrick had the unique opportunity to study chimpanzee behavior with Jane Goodall at the Gombe Stream Research Center in Tanzania, Africa. Nancy was thrilled for the opportunity to follow chimps around the forest, documenting their behavior.
Upon her return to college, she worked at the Stanford Primate Center and subsequently attended medical school at Case Western Reserve School of Medicine. She worked for several years as an internist in Ventura, California, and retired a few years ago.
In 2008 Nancy returned for a visit to Gombe along with her family, and was devastated to see how the local villages had encroached on the chimp reserve, reducing the number of trees greatly, and inhibiting the chimps’ movements. She then became involved in chimpanzee conservation efforts, working with a non-profit called Friends of Chimpanzee Sanctuary and Wildlife Conservation Trust, of which she is president.
In 2014 she published a book relating her experiences entitled “Among Chimpanzees – Field Notes from the Race to Save Our Endangered Relatives.” The book was featured by National Geographic’s Book Talk and praised by the New York Times Science Section. Nancy continues to be involved in conservation efforts and is currently working with local people and a chimp community in Bulindi, Uganda, where her colleagues there have named a baby chimp after her, Merrick!
Join us for an insider look at wild chimpanzees and the ongoing effort to maintain their endangered habitat, as well as the present connection with their local human counterparts.
Explore, grow and create with the Friends of Curry Campus on the second Thursday of every month during the school year. Stay tuned for upcoming talks in our speaker series. For more information contact the Curry Campus at 541-813-1667.
Mar 31, 2025 | Curry Campus, News, Student Success
Coos Bay, OR – Southwestern Oregon Community College announces the names of students who excelled winter term for the 2024-2025 academic school year. These students are being recognized with placement on the College’s Dean’s List (DL), Honor Roll (HR) and Academic Excellence (AE) list.
• Academic Excellence – students must receive a GPA of 4.0 in at least 12 credits
• Honor Roll – students must receive a GPA between 3.5 and 3.99 in at least 12 credits
• Dean’s List – students must receive a GPA between 3.0 and 3.49 in at least 12 credits
Mar 26, 2025 | Curry Campus
BROOKINGS, OR – Southwestern Oregon Community College Curry Campus invites the community to join us on Thursday, April 24, 2025, 1:00 to 2:00 pm (New Time!) for: Why Native Plants?
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.
Maggie Daly of Gold Beach will talk about native plants of the south coast. She is a member of the South Coast Chapter of the Native Plant Society of Oregon which is active in Coos and Curry Counties.
The purpose of the South Coast Chapter of the Native Plant Society of Oregon (NPSO) is the preservation, conservation, and the study of the native plants and vegetation of Oregon and the education of the public to the value of the native flora and its habitat.
Current activities of the Society include: guided walks; presentations from relevant experts for example from the Xerxes Society or the local Audubon society; an annual garden tour; and an annual fall native plant sale. The NPSO Garden Tour this year is in Brookings, Oregon on June 14, 2025.
Maggie attended a lecture by an entomologist about ecosystem collapse and how easily home gardeners could contribute to ecosystem health simply by planting native plants. She was moved to tears. When Maggie retired she had the opportunity to convert her yard, which was 90% lawn, into native plant beds. She then became involved with promoting native plant use on the Southcoast of Oregon.
Whether you are a seasoned expert on native plants of the south coast or have a budding interest, this presentation comes just in time to learn more about the native plants in your yard and plant new ones.
Stay tuned for upcoming talks in the Friends of Curry speaker series. Spring term lectures feature animals that conservationists are working to save. For more information contact the Curry Campus at 541-813-1667.
Mar 24, 2025 | Community, Curry Campus, News
COOS BAY, OR – Southwestern Oregon Community College invites the community to join us on Tuesday, April 15, 2025, at 6:00 pm, for “What’s Next After the Heliophysics Big Year?”with Dr. Aaron Coyner, Associate Professor of Physics and Engineering 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 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:
From October 2023 to December 2024 NASA put significant focus on our Sun with the Heliophysics Big Year campaign. From eclipses, to the Parker Solar Probe, to the Solar Max, our neighborhood star was quite busy over the last 18 months. What did we learn? What are we still learning? What’s next on the horizon for Solar and Heliospheric physics? Join Dr. Coyner for a look at Solar projects of the present and future.
About the Presenter:
Dr. Aaron Coyner is a solar physicist by trade and the physics and engineering faculty at Southwestern. He is an avid amateur astronomer, and a proponent for lifelong science exploration. Dr. Coyner has research experience having spent graduate school at Rice University, and a three-year post-doctoral research term at NASA/Goddard Spaceflight Center. He has teaching experience at the community college and university level in physics, astronomy, meteorology, and engineering.
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 Krystal Hopper Meyers, STEAM Pathways Assistant, at 541-888-7416, or krystal.hopper@socc.edu.
To learn more about STEM degrees at Southwestern visit: https://www.socc.edu/programs-classes/stem/.
Mar 17, 2025 | Community, Curry Campus
Southwestern Oregon Community College Curry Campus invites the community to join us on Thursday, April 10, 2025, 1:00 – 2:00 pm (New Time!) for: Monarch Butterflies in Our Backyard.
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.
Dennis Triglia will talk about his love of the Monarch Butterfly, and the petition to have Brookings, Oregon become the first Monarch City in Oregon.
Vicki Mion and Patsy Haggerty were monarch enthusiasts and together with Dennis they started the Brookings Oregon Monarch Advocates (BOMA) group in 2015. They had monthly meetings, two Monarch Festivals in Azalea Park (2017 and 2018), and started collecting monarch butterfly eggs and milkweed for the students at Kalmiopsis Elementary School which were reared indoors away from predators in the garden.
Dennis rallied the support of Brookings City Council and BOMA was approved as a Monarch City in May 2017. In 2018, he applied on behalf of Kalmiopsis Elementary School for Monarch School USA in conjunction with having set up a pollinator garden in the Little Bear Patch Garden at the school.
MONARCH CITY USA was created in 2015 in Maple Valley, Washington as a nonprofit organization with a mission of helping the monarch butterfly population recover by encouraging local cities to plant milkweed and nectar plants within their borders.
Dennis has witnessed the decline of this beautiful species of butterfly. In 1980 Dennis visited Pacific Grove in the Santa Cruz area of California and saw millions of monarchs hanging from the eucalyptus trees like long orange-and-black blankets. When he revisited Pacific Grove forty years later in 2020, there were very few (perhaps hundreds instead of millions!).
Dennis will describe how Brookings and Curry County can protect and increase the population by creating habitat, collecting data for researchers and advocating for the reduction of insecticides and herbicides.
Dennis will share posters of the Monarch life cycle, preserved male and female specimens, cages in which folks could captively rear monarchs from eggs, lists of nectar plants and descriptions and photos of several species of milkweed. Milkweed is the only host plant on which monarchs lay their eggs.
Topics covered will be the Monarch life cycle, role as a pollinator, current conservation issues, how to rear them in captivity from egg-collecting through five caterpillar stages to the pupa (chrysalis) and ecloses (emerging from the chrysalis as an adult). Dennis will share some personal stories that he and other monarch enthusiasts have experienced.
Explore, grow, and create with the Friends of Curry Campus on the second Thursday of every month during the school year. Stay tuned for upcoming talks in our speaker series. For more information contact the Curry Campus at 541-813-1667.
