News Releases

January 13, 2016
For additional information: 
Toccara Stark 
Telephone:  360-992-2526
Email:  tstark@clark.edu

VANCOUVER, Wash.—Clark College announces its winter community and cultural events. All events are free and open to the public unless otherwise noted.

January Events

• Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration: Waking Up the Privileged System
  Wednesday, January 20, 12 - 1:30 p.m., Gaiser Student Center
  Clark College is pleased to welcome Dr. Michael Benitez, Jr. as our keynote speaker at our annual Dr. Martin Luther King celebration. Dr. Benitez is a national social justice educator and activist-scholar with extensive experience in education and campus diversity issues, and currently serves as Dean of Diversity and Inclusion and Chief Diversity Officer at the University of Puget Sound. Dr. Benitez integrates multifaceted pedagogies, scholarly inquiry, and personal experience to provide multi-context and -issue frameworks for empowerment and transformation. His presentation, Waking Up the Privileged System, will look at best practices in multicultural social justice education. More information is available at www.clark.edu/cc/mlk.

• State of College | Thursday, January 21, 11 a.m., Gaiser Student Center
  This year’s State of the College annual address, delivered by Clark College President Robert K. Knight, will include highlights and accomplishments from the past year, student success stories, and updates on academic program reductions and the college’s diversity and equity initiative. The college also will be accepting non-perishable food donations for the Share House backpack program. For more information and post-event highlights, visit http://www.clark.edu/clark-and-community/about/history/stateofthecollege/StateoftheCollegeAddress.php.

• College Goal Washington | Saturday, January 23, 1 p.m., Washington State University Vancouver – Undergraduate Building
  Clark College and Washington State University Vancouver will once again partner to host College Goal Washington, a free event that provides students and families with help completing the FAFSA(Free Application for Federal Student Aid)—the single-most important application for financial assistance for higher education. Help completing the WASFA (Washington Application for State Financial Aid) is also provided for DREAMER (undocumented) students. Students and parents can talk to experts, get free in-depth help filling out the FAFSA or WASFA, and hear presentations on Getting into College and Succeeding, Scholarships and the Washboard, Financial Aid 101 and Resources for DREAMERS. Translation assistance will be available for Russian and Spanish speakers. For more information and a list of things to bring, visit http://events.vancouver.wsu.edu/college-goal-washington.

• Running Start Information Sessions | January 27, 7 p.m. and February 10, 7 p.m.,
  O’Connell Sports Center
  High school sophomores and juniors and their parents interested in learning about the Running Start program for fall 2016 are invited to attend one of two upcoming information sessions. Running Start allows eligible juniors and seniors to earn college credit while they fulfill their high school graduation requirements. The program, which can significantly reduce the cost of a four-year college degree, has proven popular in Southwest Washington with 2,274 Running Start students attending Clark in fall 2015. Those who attend the information session will hear from current Running Start students about their experiences in the program, and learn about eligibility criteria, testing procedures, deadlines, and more. The information sessions will be held on Wednesday, January 27 and Wednesday, February 10 at 7 p.m. in the O’Connell Sports Center located in the Clark College gymnasium. To learn more about Running Start, visit clark.edu/runningstart.

• 54th Annual Jazz Festival | January 28-30, Gaiser Hall
  The Clark College Jazz Festival has been host to one of the largest jazz festivals in Southwest Washington for more than 50 years and attracts over 60 middle and high school instrumental jazz ensembles for the three day competitive festival. Preliminary competitions start at 8:00 a.m. and end at 5:00 p.m., with the evening finals competitions beginning at 7:00 p.m. each evening. General admission to the festival is $5 per day. Clark College students and children under 12 accompanied by an adult will be admitted free of charge. For a schedule of performances and more information about the festival, visit http://www.clark.edu/campus-life/arts-events/music/jazz_festival/index.php.

February Events

• Children’s Dental Health Day | Saturday, February 6, 8 a.m. – 4 p.m.,
  Clark College Dental Hygiene Clinic
  Dental health is vital to overall health. To ensure children have access to this important resource, Clark College Dental Hygiene Program will hold a free children’s dental clinic. Dental hygiene students from Clark College will provide care under the direct supervision of licensed dental hygienists and dentists. Services will include cleanings, sealants, x-rays, and fluoride for children ages 18 and under. Appointments can be scheduled by calling the Dental Hygiene Business Office at (360) 992-2158.

• Clark College Faculty Speaker Series: A Community College Teaching Abroad Experience in Florence, Italy | Thursday, February 11, 4 - 5 p.m., Gaiser Hall, Room 213
  Established in 2008, the Faculty Speaker Series showcases recent experiences that have enriched both the life and teaching of a college faculty member, sharing their developmental experiences while addressing some of today’s most intriguing issues. In the next presentation, Professor Dave Kosloski will discuss highlights and lessons learned from teaching Washington State community college students in an intercultural setting in Florence, Italy, as part of an exchange program. For more information about this and future presentations, visit www.clark.edu/tlc/fss/facultyspeakerseries.php.

• Clark College 8^th Annual Book Drive for King Elementary | February 15 -29
  The Clark College Bookstore will hold its annual book drive to give kindergarten students at King Elementary the gift of reading. Members of the community are invited to join members of the college in donating 85 copies of The Cat in the Hat. Participants will be each be given a nameplate to personalize their gift. Books will be delivered to King Elementary on March 2, giving many students the first book of their very own. Books are available for purchase at the Clark College Bookstore or online at clarkbookstore.com for $6.85.

• Columbia Writers Series: Author Debra Gwartney | Tuesday, February 17, 12:30 p.m.,
  Penguin Union Building, Room 258C
  The Columbia Writers Series brings local, national and international authors to the college and throughout the year. Next in this series, the college will host Debra Gwartney, author of Live Through This, a memoir published in 2009 and a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award. The book was also a finalist in 2009 for the National Books for a Better Life Award and the Oregon Book Award, and was shortlisted for the Pacific Northwest Booksellers Award. For more information about the Columbia Writers Series or speakers, visit www.clark.edu/cc/cws.

• Winter Musical: Avenue Q by Jeff Whitty | February 19, 20, 26, 27 and March 3, 4, 5
  All shows at 7:30 p.m. in the Decker Theatre, Frost Arts
  This Tony-award winning musical is a coming-of-age parable, addressing and satirizing the issues and anxieties associated with entering adulthood. The musical is notable for the use of puppets, animated by unconcealed puppeteers, alongside human actors. Intended for mature audiences only.

• Columbia Writers Series: Author Lidia Yuknavitch | Tuesday, February 23, 11 a.m.,
  Penguin Union Building, Room 258A&B
  Join Clark College as we welcome Lidia Yuknavitch, the National Bestselling author of the novels The Small Backs of Children and Dora: A Headcase; the memoir The Chronology of Water; as well as three books of short fiction – Her Other Mouths, Liberty's Excess, and Real to Reel; and a critical book on war and narrative, Allegories of Violence. She is the recipient of the Oregon Book Award – Reader’s Choice, a PNBA award, and was a finalist for the 2012 Pen Center creative nonfiction award. For more information about the Columbia Writers Series or speakers, visit www.clark.edu/cc/cws.

For more information about events at Clark College, visit our online events calendar at www.clark.edu/clark-and-community/about/calendars/events.php.

Clark College is located at 1933 Fort Vancouver Way, Vancouver. Driving directions and parking maps are available at www.clark.edu/maps. Anyone needing accommodation due to a disability in order to fully participate in this event should contact Clark College’s Disability Support Services Office at (360) 992-2314 or (360) 991-0901 (VP), or visit Penguin Union Building room 013, as soon as possible.

About Clark College

Located in Vancouver’s Central Park and serving up to 14,000 students per quarter, Clark College is Washington State’s largest single-campus, for-credit community college. The college currently offers classes at three satellite locations: one on the Washington State University Vancouver campus; one in the Columbia Tech Center in East Vancouver; and one in the Columbia River Gorge in Bingen, WA. Additionally, its Economic & Community Development program is housed in the Columbia Bank building in downtown Vancouver.

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