Archive for the ‘Features’ Category

Signifying a strong commitment to student success and completion, Pierce College is one of 25 institutions selected this year into the Achieving the Dream National Reform Network, the nation’s most comprehensive non-governmental reform network for student success in higher education. Pierce College will begin immediately identifying strategies to close achievement gaps and increase student retention, persistence, and completion rates.

“Pierce College is thrilled to have the opportunity to join the Achieving the Dream National Reform Network,” said Pierce College District Chancellor Dr. Michele Johnson. “Our college has a long tradition of student success and we are committed to helping even more students achieve their educational goals. With the support of Achieving the Dream, we will have access to a national team that will assist the college in implementing data-driven decisions that will create an even stronger track record of student completion.”

“The work of closing achievement gaps and improving student success is extremely difficult and critically important,” said Beverly Fletcher, senior director of organizational development and change for Achieving the Dream. “Being an Achieving the Dream Institution takes courage, discipline, and a tenacious institution-wide commitment to student success and equity. Pierce College should be applauded for helping tackle one of society’s most daunting challenges: success for more college students.”

As an Achieving the Dream Institution, Pierce College will develop and implement research-based policies and practices based on quantitative and qualitative analyses of its institutional strengths, problem areas, and achievement gaps. Pierce College will also have the opportunity to learn from other Achieving the Dream Institutions, and receive assistance from experienced practitioners in building a culture of evidence campus-wide, using data to identify problems, setting priorities, and measuring progress toward increasing student success.

Pierce College is the only college in Washington to be selected for the 2012 Achieving the Dream cohort group.

Each new college commits to the Achieving the Dream Student-Centered Model of Institutional Improvement. Based on four principles, the model frames the overall work of helping more students, particularly low-income students and students of color, stay in school and earn a college certificate or degree. Each college will approach the work differently, but Achieving the Dream’s five-step process provides practical guidelines for helping keep focus and build momentum over time. Throughout, Achieving the Dream Coaches offer customized support to help each college’s core team implement programs and policies that build long-term commitment to student success.

Achieving the Dream is a national nonprofit leading the nation’s most comprehensive non-governmental reform network for student success in higher education history. The Achieving the Dream National Reform Network, including nearly 200 institutions, more than 100 coaches and advisors, and 15 state policy teams – working throughout 32 states and the District of Columbia – helps 3.75 million community college students have a better chance of realizing greater economic opportunity and achieving their dreams.

Secretary of State Sam Reed will visit Pierce College Fort Steilacoom on April 12 and Pierce College Puyallup on April 19.

Before he retires in January, Secretary of State Sam Reed plans to go back to college – Pierce College.

Reed is ready to start his annual tour of college campuses statewide, encouraging students to vote and become more engaged in their communities. Reed also will emphasize civility in politics and society.

Beginning April 9, Reed will visit 45 campuses, stretching from Bellingham to Vancouver, and from Aberdeen to Pullman. It will be the largest number of schools he’s visited since beginning the springtime tradition in 2006. Reed toured 40 campuses last year.

“The college civics tour is always fun for me and students, and it’s a great way to help get them more interesting in voting and being involved,” Reed said. “I really look forward to visiting campuses across the state.”

Reed will be at Pierce College Fort Steilcoom from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. Thursday, April 12, on the fourth level of the Cascade building. He’ll be taking on students in an “Are You Smarter Than Sam Reed?” game show.

He will be at Pierce College Puyallup at noon Thursday, April 19, in the Multipurpose Room in the College Center building. Reed will deliver an inspiring message about active participation in the political process.

All events are free and open to the public.

“With so many key races and issues on this year’s ballot, students need to understand why voting is important, and they need to realize their collective voice is powerful when they exercise it through voting and being involved in their community,” Reed said. “A major reason why I do this tour is to explain to students why their vote makes a difference and tell them simple ways to be more civically engaged.”

Voters ages 18-24 comprise only about 5 percent of the state’s population that voted in the 2010 General Election. Those 65 and over made up 24 percent of the voter turnout in 2010, followed by ages 55-64 (23 percent), ages 45-54 (21 percent), ages 35-44 (15 percent) and ages 25-34 (11 percent).

However, 68 percent of registered voters ages 18-24 voted in the 2008 General Election, compared to just 45 percent in 2000. Reed considers that a very positive sign.

“I’ve been encouraged to see a larger percentage of younger people voting, and I hope this year they will continue that trend,” Reed said. “Younger voters are just as impacted by what their government does as older generations.  I want them to understand that the best way to bring about change is through their ballot.”

The College Civics Tour is organized by the Office of Secretary of State’s College Civics Program and funded by the Help America Vote Act (HAVA), a federal law that was adopted in 2002 to help with voter education.

Dr. John Medina will speak at Pierce Puyallup on April 26.

Update: This event has sold out.

Dr. John Medina, bestselling author, brain researcher, and director of the Brain Center for Applied Learning Research at Seattle Pacific University, will make brain science fun and exciting in a high-energy presentation at Pierce College Puyallup

Dr. Medina will speak at 7 p.m. Thursday, April 26, at Pierce College Puyallup’s Arts and Allied Health Theatre, 1601 39^th Ave. SE. Tickets for the lecture are $5 for general admission and $2 for Pierce students. A book signing and reception will follow the presentation.

Tickets are available by phone at (253) 840-8416 and in person at the College Center building, Room 210. Seating is limited, so early ticket purchase is strongly recommended.

Medina’s bestseller “Brain Rules: 12 Principles for Surviving and Thriving at Work, Home, and School” tackles the way our brains react to and organize information, and how our environments can be modified for peak brain performance. An engaging speaker, Medina uses humor and fascinating stories to bring the brain to life.

As a developmental molecular biologist, Medina has focused on the genes involved in human brain development and the genetics of psychiatric disorders. He has spent most of his professional life as a private research consultant, working primarily in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries on research related to mental health. Medina was the founding director of the Talaris Research Institute, a Seattle-based research center originally focused on how infants encode and process information at the cognitive, cellular, and molecular levels.

In 2004, Medina was made an affiliate scholar at the National Academy of Engineering. Other awards include: Outstanding Faculty of the Year at the College of Engineering at the University of Washington; the Merrill Dow/Continuing Medical Education National Teacher of the Year; and, twice, the Bioengineering Student Association Teacher of the Year. Medina has been a consultant to the Education Commission of the States and a regular speaker on the relationship between neurology and education. He also writes the “Molecules of the Mind” column for the Psychiatric Times.

Medina is the second speaker in the 2011-12 Pierce Presents Artists and Speakers Series, presented by the Pierce College Puyallup Office of Student Life. For more information, visit www.piercecollegepresents.com.

Lisa Murray

This spring, Lisa Murray will celebrate a milestone in her two-year pursuit of a Physical Therapist Assistant program in Pierce County. Thirteen students will start the program’s first Pierce County cohort. The students will take online classes through Whatcom Community College, Pierce’s partner in this effort, and attend weekend lab sessions in the exercise science lab at Pierce College Fort Steilacoom.

For Lisa, who teaches health and physical education classes at Pierce, she’s proud to give students access to another health care career option.

“Being a physical therapist assistant is one of the most rewarding experiences you can have. That’s why I’m so passionate about this program,” explained Lisa, who, earlier in her career, worked in a position comparable to what is now a physical therapist assistant. “You’re helping people get better, restoring their mobility and independence, and making them healthier, and the return on your investment is big. You can make really good money and it’s two-year degree.”

Of course, getting to this point turned out to be more than Lisa initially anticipated. Asked to do a feasibility study on starting a PTA program, Lisa first met with local physical therapists to assess their needs. She found a group of professionals ready and willing to help in any way she needed.

Lisa Murray teaches health and wellness classes at Pierce College Fort Steilacoom.

“We’ve had an outpouring of support from the community,” she explained. “Our community partners have donated thousands of dollars in equipment. At least one local office has offered scholarships for its employees. The work will be here for students when they finish the program.”

Through her commitment to Pierce College’s mission of creating quality educational opportunities for a diverse community of learners, Lisa has been instrumental in the success of the PTA program in Pierce County, according to Jo Ann Baria, dean of workforce education for the Pierce College District.

“Lisa took this project on and has gone way beyond our expectations.  Her organizational, analytical, and communication skills have been exceptional,” she said. “Words are really inadequate to describe the amount of effort and passion she brought to this project.  That we can now offer this program to Pierce County students is due to Lisa’s strong efforts and commitment.”

Lisa is actively recruiting students for the next Pierce County cohort group. She personally meets with interested students, reviews their transcripts, and helps with the competitive application process. Contact her at (253) 964-6482 or lmurray@pierce.ctc.edu.