Dec 19, 2019 | Curry Campus, News
Festival of Lights to benefit students attending college’s Curry Campus
Brookings, OR – Nature’s Coastal Holiday, a nonprofit bringing the spirit of giving to the community through their Festival of Lights holiday light display in Azalea Park, is partnering with the Southwestern Oregon Community College Foundation to offer three scholarships for students attending the Curry Campus in Brookings, Oregon. These scholarships will help students with volunteerism and involvement in the community.
“Many people don’t realize this is a completely volunteer coordinated and staffed holiday lights event—our community is the powerhouse behind the amazing display,” said Klaus Gielish, Board President of Nature’s Coastal Holiday. “The goal with this ambassador scholarship is to encourage that same ripple effect of volunteering.”
Students can apply for the Nature’s Coastal Holiday Ambassador Scholarship and many others offered through the Southwestern Foundation starting January 1, 2020, by completing an application online at www.socc.edu/scholarships. Applications are due March 1, 2020.
Applicants must simply attend Southwestern’s Curry Campus in the upcoming 2020-21 academic year and plan to take at least six credits. In the same spirit of what Nature’s Coastal Holiday stands for, recipients must demonstrate community involvement/leadership, and be willing to volunteer at least 10 hours with the organization.
“The Festival of Lights offers the scholarship winners a wonderful way to meet members of our community and experience, first-hand, the impact this event has on the community,” added Klaus.
The annual lights event began with a mere 22,000 lights in 1997 and has grown to more than 2 million dazzling lights, bringing more than 20,000 visitors to the Brookings-Harbor community each year. “As we approach this season of giving, I can think of nothing more impactful than the gift of education,” said Doug Bunn, Executive Dean of Southwestern’s Curry Campus. “These scholarships will have a profound impact on our students and our local community. It’s truly a win-win.”
Nov 13, 2019 | Curry Campus, News
Coos Bay, OR – The Oregon Community College Association (OCCA) announced Dr. Patty Scott, President of Southwestern Oregon Community College, is its Howard Cherry Award for Outstanding Community College Administrator of the year.
Oregon’s community colleges honored Dr. Scott on Nov. 7 at the annual OCCA conference at the Salishan Resort in Gleneden Beach, OR.
“Patty is invested in Oregon and its community colleges in a way that is personal, all-consuming and lasting. She’s more than one of 17 presidents. She is our collective champion,” Chemeketa Community College President Jessica Howard said, while announcing the award.
During the ceremony, the group lauded Dr. Scott for being a mentor to other community college presidents. Her leadership with national Achieving the Dream program also brought accolades for Southwestern.
“We must have done something right at Southwestern, with a 29% increase in the graduation rate over the last 15 years. We have the highest student success rate, that’s students who graduate, stay enrolled or transfer, and the lowest time to completion in the state,” Dr. Scott said, in accepting the award.
She went on to say no one person accomplishes this alone, and credited the employees at Southwestern for caring about students and helping them be successful.
Dr. Scott has been at Southwestern since 1993. She started out splitting her time as director of Student Support Services (Trio) and Counseling Faculty. She was named director of Educational Support Programs in 2002 and served as dean of Students beginning February of 2006, until being named as interim president in October 2008.
During her tenure at Southwestern, Dr. Scott served a five-year stint on the Faculty Senate and spent three of those as chair. She received an “Excellence in Action” award in 2005 for her work as chair of a faculty led retention taskforce that resulted in creation of several new programs and campus cultural change. Dr. Scott became the sixth president of Southwestern on Dec. 14, 2009. This month under her leadership, Southwestern won the honor of being invited as one of only 150 colleges nationwide to apply for the prestigious Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence.
Dr. Scott graduated from a small rural Oregon high school in Wallowa in northeastern Oregon and began her higher education pursuits at Lane Community College in Eugene. Scott completed a bachelor’s degree in Sociology from the University of Oregon. She went on to earn a Master of Arts degree in College Student Personnel Administration from Bowling Green State University in Ohio and a Doctorate of Education in Community College Leadership from Oregon State University.
Dr. Scott is very involved in the community. She is a member of the Bay Area Hospital Board, a parks commissioner with the City of Coos Bay, on the budget committee for the Coos Bay-North Bend Water Board, Bay Area Hospital Foundation Board, and is a member of Coos Bay-North Bend Rotary and Zonta Club of the Coos Bay Area. She served on the steering committee for Leadership Coos for 11 years and four years as a volunteer for Habitat for Humanity. She was a trainer for the Ford Family Leadership for many years. Dr. Scott also is the past chair of the Oregon Presidents Council and is past treasurer and secretary of the Oregon Community College Association.
Prior to coming to Southwestern, she worked in student services at the University of Oregon and in career services at Roger Williams College (now University) in Bristol, R.I.
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The Howard Cherry Awards are named for the late Dr. Howard Cherry, a lifelong advocate for education and community involvement. The awards are granted in three categories: Outstanding Community College Administrator, Outstanding Community College Board Member, and Outstanding Community College Advocate. The awards are given to those who, by their contributions to the community college cause in Oregon, have brought statewide recognition to community colleges.
To learn more about Oregon’s community colleges visit https://www.occa17.com/.
Nov 6, 2019 | Curry Campus, News
Coos Bay, OR – The Aspen Institute College Excellence Program named Southwestern Oregon Community College as one of 150 community colleges eligible to compete for the $1 million Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence, the nation’s signature recognition of high achievement and performance among America’s community colleges.
Southwestern is the only school in Oregon invited to apply, and joins the ranks of just 15 percent percent of community colleges nationwide eligible to receive the Aspen Prize. Selection is based on strong and improving student outcomes — including in learning, completion rates, employment rates and earnings, and equity. Data show that over the last two years, student retention, graduation rates, and degree completion have improved at the top tier of 150 Aspen Prize-eligible colleges.
“We are surprised and excited at Southwestern with the announcement that our college is being considered for this honor,” said President Dr. Patty Scott. “Southwestern started down this path 15 years ago. Achieving excellence is about more than numbers to us. We created systems and connections to support our students in being successful. I’m so pleased to see our faculty and staff being recognized for their dedication. It’s possible because every person who works on our campuses – at every level and in every job – is committed to removing barriers to give all students the support they need to succeed. Today, our students lead the state in completing degrees and high-skill job training, and transferring to universities,” Dr. Scott said.
The 150 community colleges named as eligible to compete for the 2021 Prize were selected from a pool of nearly 1,000 public two-year colleges nationwide using publicly available data on student outcomes. Located in 39 states in urban, rural, and suburban areas, serving as few as 500 students and as many as 75,000 students, these colleges represent the diversity and depth of the community college sector. The top ten finalists for the 2021 Aspen Prize will be named in May 2020.
“Community colleges play a vital role in developing talent and enabling social mobility across the country, and it’s critical for them to get better at what they do,” said Josh Wyner, executive director of the Aspen Institute College Excellence Program. “We’re pleased to see evidence that these institutions are improving, that more are delivering on their promise. We’re also pleased to play a role in honoring outstanding community colleges and sharing what works to ensure great outcomes for students — through graduation and beyond.”
The top ten finalists for the 2021 Aspen Prize will be named in May 2020. The Aspen Institute will then conduct site visits to each of the finalists and collect additional quantitative data, including employment and earnings data. A distinguished jury will make award decisions in spring 2021.
For a full list of the top 150 eligible institutions and to read more on the selection process, visit www.highered.aspeninstitute.org/aspen-prize.
The Aspen Prize is generously funded by ECMC Foundation, Joyce Foundation, The Kresge Foundation, and Siemens Foundation.
The Aspen Institute College Excellence Program aims to advance higher education practices, policies, and leadership that significantly improve student outcomes, especially for the growing population of low-income students and students of color on American campuses. For more information, visit https://highered.aspeninstitute.org/ and www.linkedin.com/showcase/aspenhighered and follow @AspenHigherEd on Twitter.
The Aspen Institute is a community-serving organization with global reach whose vision is a free, just, and equitable society. For 70 years, the Institute has driven change through dialogue, leadership, and action to help solve the world’s greatest challenges. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the Institute has offices in Aspen, Colorado, and New York City, and an international network of partners. For more information, visit www.aspeninstitute.org.
Sep 25, 2019 | Alumni, Curry Campus
Celebrating Barbara Eells, 2018 Distinguished Alumna
If there’s one word that best describes Barbara Eells, it is “determined.” That mindset has guided Eells her entire adult life, starting with her first Southwestern class in 1975. She wanted a college education, no matter the barriers.
Over the next decade as she worked full time in a medical office, Eells raised three children. She also studied nights for her college degrees. Finally in 1986, she graduated with Associate of Arts degrees in Social Work and Criminal Justice.
“This is a remarkable accomplishment, considering Barbara drove at night 167 miles on a dark, curvy highway, roundtrip to the Coos Campus to attend classes,” said Dr. Patty Scott, Southwestern president. “Barbara accomplished all of this before there was distance education and e-mail, before we had a campus in Brookings.”
In 2018, Southwestern honored Barbara Eells with its Distinguished Alumna award for her dedication to learning and constant focus on improving people’s lives in Curry County.
One woman’s desire to learn and lead
Eells started taking classes as a reserve sheriff’s deputy and continued her studies after graduating from Southwestern. She completed her bachelor’s degree from Eastern Oregon University through Southwestern’s University Center, and moved into her profession that has spanned more than 30 years in Curry County.
“I believe the answer to a lot of problems is education,” Eells said. “I think the more people are educated and open their minds to new ideas, the more we can make our homes, community and nation a better place to live.”
“I believe the answer to a lot of problems is education.” – Barbara Eells
Eells managed the Victim Assistance Program in Curry County, went on to work in Child Protective Services and co-founded the Oasis Shelter Home. She also mentored and trained others in fields of child abuse and domestic violence prevention. Eells’ educational and professional accomplishment equals the effort she put into community involvement and advocacy over the years.
As a member of the Curry County Multi-disciplinary Team, she advocated for treatment for sexually abused youth. She also founded the first Child Advocacy Center in Gold Beach. When Eells tried to retire, she still spent several years managing the local animal shelter office. Eells continues to volunteer with the Curry County District Attorney’s Office, and in other places.
“I believe none of us make it to our goals alone, and I feel when we succeed at our goals, we should pay that forward by advocating in our own communities,” Eells said. “I am an activist for the vulnerable and disenfranchised. Whether that’s abused children, battered women or neglected animals, I try to be a voice for those who have no voice.”
Sep 19, 2019 | Staff & Administration
Southwestern employs more than 400 people in all kinds of jobs. Some people are just starting their careers here. Others have enjoyed working at Southwestern for many years, including Robin Bunnell, who is celebrating her 30th year.
“I love working at the college and with students. You can walk around our campuses and feel very welcome. Everyone genuinely cares about our students and each other,” Robin said.
Having a positive impact
Robin started 30 years ago as a financial aid secretary. Today, she leads our team in data collection and research. She also teaches part-time.
“It’s wonderful when I see the students I’ve worked with or taught over the years, and they are successful,” she said.
She sees them working as nurses in medical clinics and at the hospital. She sees them in professional jobs as accountants, or owning their own businesses. Some of her former students even work at the college.
“Our college has great benefits and competitive pay on the south coast. It’s easy to make a lifelong career here, with the many opportunities for advancement and exploring different jobs,” she said.
Opportunities to learn and grow
And, Southwestern supports employees pursuing education for themselves and family members. Robin went on to earn her MBA through the college’s University Center, while continuing to live and work here. With Southwestern tuition waivers, her children were able to take dual credit and career technical classes that helped them advance to a university and into a high-skill job locally.
Our campuses in Coos Bay and Brookings are a draw, too. Both campuses are beautiful, with one overlooking the vast Pacific Ocean and the other beside lakes and forest. You can get outside to exercise and take fun classes.
Want to know more about working at Southwestern? Reach out to our Human Resources staff or talk to an employee.
