Pierce College News

Pierce College District Chancellor Michele Johnson will join the presidents of Tacoma Community College, and Clover Park and Bates technical colleges in an episode of “Northwest Now” on KBTC television. They will discuss the statewide budget cuts and the unique ways community and technical colleges continue to meet the needs of their respective communities. This live program will allow viewers to ask questions via phone and email.

The 30-minute “Northwest Now” program will air at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, April 1, on the following channels:

• Comcast Channel 12 outside Tacoma

• Comcast Channel 3 inside Tacoma

• Click Networks Channel 3

• Dish Network and DirecTV Channels 28

The show will be repeated at noon Sunday, April 4.

For Pierce College students, getting help for the emotional and personal challenges that are often faced in college just got a lot easier.

The Counseling program at Pierce College has recently made available a number of anonymous, confidential, online self-screening tools for students. The brief questionnaires allow students to assess themselves using a number of guided and specific questions on such topics as stress and anxiety, food and body image, sadness and depression, and alcohol use. There is even an assessment targeted to military personnel readjusting to life after a deployment.

According to Counselor Deborah Bransford, the online screenings are a new and important tool for students who may be unsure if they need help or where to go to get it.

“I wanted to offer the online screenings as a 24/7 resource to our students,” she said, adding that the screenings cover the challenges most often faced by college students. “They are easy to access, short to take, and lead into the opportunity to gain insight, education, and help.”

Students who may need additional help with an emotional or personal issue, based on the results of the online screenings, will be given a list of campus, community, and national resources for additional help or information. Bransford hopes it gets more students into her office at the Fort Steilacoom campus and into Counselor Liz Scott’s office at the Puyallup campus.

There’s no need for Pierce students to struggle through a problem alone, she said.

“We hope to bring awareness to the issues and visibility to the mental health services we have available at Pierce,” Bransford said.

To take an online screening, visit the Counseling webpage . For more information on the counseling and other mental health services available at Pierce College, call (253) 964-6525.

Pierce College District Chancellor Michele Johnson today announced that Patrick Schmitt has been chosen to be the next president of Pierce College Puyallup.

Schmitt, who currently serves as the campus executive officer and dean at the University of Wisconsin-Waukesha, holds a doctorate with specializations in American 20th century theatre and drama and dramatic theory and criticism, and a bachelor’s degree in communications and theatre.

He will assume the presidency at Pierce College Puyallup on July 1.

Dr. Schmitt is an articulate, forward-thinking, and collaborative leader, who is well-experienced in working in a complex district, said Johnson. We are looking forward to him joining our Pierce College team.

Schmitt was one of five finalists who visited Pierce College Puyallup the first week of March. During those visits, each candidate participated in a public forum and took a number of questions from the community.

Schmitt spoke about his experiences in education, as both a teacher and administrator, and about feeling a “sense of fit” with the Puyallup community.

Schmitt will replace the current president of Pierce College Puyallup, Tana Hasart, who is retiring June 30 after five years. She previously served as the vice chancellor for academic affairs and director of student affairs for the University of Washington-Bothell, president and vice president of student services at Clark College in Vancouver, and director of admission, registration and student aid for Pierce College, where she worked from 1983 to 1993. A former Pierce student, Hasart was named a Distinguished Alumnus in 1998.

Pierce College’s musical groups will be celebrating winter’s end and the start of spring with three concerts in the coming weeks. The low-cost or free concerts are open to everyone and promise a good time for lovers of live music and performance.

The shows are as follows:

• Pierce College Jazz Band Winter Concert, 3 p.m. Sunday, March 14 at Jazzbones in Tacoma. Tickets are $5 at the door.

• Pierce College Concert Band and the Fort Steilacoom Choir with special guest the Olympic College Chamber Choir, 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 17, at Lagerquist Hall at Pacific Lutheran University. Tickets are $5 at the door. The concert will include a performance of Leonard Bernstein’s “Chichester Psalms,” as well as a local premiere of the “Don Quixote Symphony #3” for concert band by Robert Smith.

•Pierce College Concert and College Choirs and Orchestra Winter Concert, 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 17, at the First Presbyterian Church in Puyallup. This concert is free. The program includes a piano concerto, jazz pieces, songs from Italy, Spain, and Korea, and a musical tribute honoring the victims of the earthquakes in Haiti and Chile.

For more information on the music programs at Pierce College, visit the website at www.pierce.ctc.edu/music.

Pierce College’s musical groups will be celebrating winter’s end and the start of spring with three concerts in the coming weeks. The low-cost or free concerts are open to everyone and promise a good time for lovers of live music and performance.

The shows are as follows:

• Pierce College Jazz Band Winter Concert, 3 p.m. Sunday, March 14 at Jazzbones in Tacoma. Tickets are $5 at the door.

• Pierce College Concert Band and the Fort Steilacoom Choir with special guest the Olympic College Chamber Choir, 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 17, at Lagerquist Hall at Pacific Lutheran University. Tickets are $5 at the door. The concert will include a performance of Leonard Bernstein’s “Chichester Psalms,” as well as a local premiere of the “Don Quixote Symphony #3” for concert band by Robert Smith.

•Pierce College Concert and College Choirs and Orchestra Winter Concert, 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 17, at the First Presbyterian Church in Puyallup. This concert is free. The program includes a piano concerto, jazz pieces, songs from Italy, Spain, and Korea, and a musical tribute honoring the victims of the earthquakes in Haiti and Chile.

For more information on the music programs at Pierce College, visit the website at www.pierce.ctc.edu/music.

The diverse art of local Korean artists is being featured in the spring gallery show at Pierce College Fort Steilacoom. The show will run through April 25.

Featured artists include:

- Jennifer Kwon, of Bellevue, textiles;

- Hannah R. Ra, of Bothell, painting;

- Myong Lee, of Redmond, watercolor;

- Hyang L. Kim, of Bellevue, oil on linen;

- Kyong Oh, of Bellevue, oil on canvas;

- Lorraine Toler, of Tacoma, history and heritage painting;

- Jade Choe, of Edgewood, watercolor;

- Bella Yongok Kim, of Gig Harbor, mixed media and fabric.

The Fine Arts Gallery is located at Pierce College Fort Steilacoom, 9401 Farwest Drive SW, Lakewood. Hours are 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Thursday, and 8 a.m. to noon Friday.

For more information, call Gallery Director Jennifer Olson-Rudenko at (253) 964-6535 or visit the Web site at www.pierce.ctc.edu/art.