Forty years ago, Pierce College opened its doors in a former Albertson’s grocery store not far from what is now the Lakewood Towne Center.

“I remember taking my first humanities course in the produce section!” quipped Sherrie Thomas, a former member of the Lakewood City Council who was among the first students to enroll in the fledgling college.

Today, Pierce College is the largest institution of higher education in Pierce County. The expansive college has grown to include a 140-acre campus on Farwest Drive in Lakewood, an 85-acre campus on South Hill in Puyallup, two military education centers and numerous extended learning sites around the county.

Students can earn degrees and certificates designed to prepare them to transfer to four-year colleges and universities or enter the working world with professional-technical skills required in a global economy.

Michele L. Johnson, Ph.D., chancellor of the Pierce College District, said “Over the past 40 years, we have developed a legacy of excellence that is reflected in the success of our graduates as well as every day through the efforts and accomplishments of our faculty, staff and students.”

Throughout the year, the college will celebrate its anniversary milestone with a variety of events and activities showcasing its dedication to preparing learners to live and work successfully in an ever-changing world.

Media Contact Information:

Sally Perkins, marketing manager
(253) 964-6587
sperkins@pierce.ctc.edu

Brian Benedetti, acting director, district college relations
(253) 964-6549
bbenedet@pierce.ctc.edu

LAKEWOOD: Those attending the dedication of the Pierce College Health Education Center (HEC) at 2 p.m. Oct. 24 at the Fort Steilacoom campus will “cross the finish line” to celebrate completion of the $10.5 million facility.

The 45,000-square-foot HEC was constructed on the site of a swimming pool complex which was significantly damaged during the Nisqually Earthquake in 2001. More than double the size of the swimming pool complex, the center features a multi-purpose room, state-of-the-art exercise equipment, locker rooms, health and wellness classrooms and laboratories where the college’s new Diagnostic Health and Fitness Technician program will be taught, administrative offices and a 14,000-square-foot gymnasium with a seating capacity of 1,000.

“Raiders volleyball and basketball teams can now host home games for the first time in the college’s 40-year history,” said Duncan Stevenson, director of athletics for the Pierce College District.

Participating in the dedication ceremony will be Claire Spain-Remy, M.D., chair of the district’s board of trustees; Michele L. Johnson, Ph.D., chancellor of the Pierce College District; Denise Yochum, president of Pierce Fort Steilacoom; Rebecca Zimmerman, president of Associated Students of Pierce College Fort Steilacoom; and Pierce alum Robert Troop, All-USA Academic All Star in 2003. Troop was president of the Fort Steilacoom student body when, in 2003, students at both the Fort Steilacoom and Puyallup campuses voted for a quarterly student fee to help pay for recreational facilities. A 16,000-square-foot health education center is scheduled for completion at Pierce Puyallup by June of 2008. Nearly half the cost of both facilities will be paid for by student fees; the remaining cost has been financed from state capital construction funds.

Following the dedication of the Fort Steilacoom HEC, Raiders athletes will conduct tours of the facility which was designed by MSGS Architects of Olympia. Jim Gabrielse, AIA, project architect, indicated the building’s “green” design includes extensive use of natural lighting and energy efficient heating and ventilation systems. During construction of the HEC, a new foundation was poured over the site of the swimming pool after it was filled with rubble resulting from demolition of the original structure.

Contractor for the center was Jones and Roberts Construction Company of Olympia.

Johnson said the new centers “will complement a health and wellness initiative Pierce College has adopted to promote the mental and physical well being of our faculty, staff and students.”

Members of the general public can use HEC facilities and equipment by paying tuition for at least one course offered quarterly by Pierce College Fort Steilacoom and an additional $15 per quarter use fee. Those who enroll in a one-credit body conditioning course during winter quarter will receive instruction in developing a fitness program suited to their individual needs and lifestyles. Registration for winter quarter begins Nov. 27; classes begin Jan. 2, 2008.

Hours of the HEC are 7 a.m.-7 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 7 a.m.-6 p.m. Friday when the college is in session.

For more information, call (253) 964-3738 or visit the college website www.pierce.ctc.edu/hec.

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Media Contact Information:

Sally Perkins, marketing manager
(253) 964-6587
sperkins@pierce.ctc.edu

Brian Benedetti, acting director, district college relations
(253) 964-6549
bbenedet@pierce.ctc.edu

LAKEWOOD: The Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) has recognized Debra L. Gilchrist, Ph.D., dean of library and media services for the Pierce College District, with a national honor “for inspiring instruction librarians throughout North America to ask key questions about student learning and to improve their instruction programs with the results.”

The ACRL, a division of the American Library Association, presented Gilchrist with the Miriam Dudley Instruction Librarian Award which included a check for $1,000. The honor was named for Dudley whose efforts in the field of information literacy led to formation of the ACRL Instruction Section. The award recognizes a librarian who has made a significant contribution to the advancement of instruction in a college or research library environment. In 2005, under Gilchrist’s leadership, the Pierce College Library received the ACRL’s Excellence in Academic Libraries Award as the best community college library in the United States.

Gilchrist has written extensively information literacy assessment and is currently editing a volume on student learning assessment for the ACRL Information Literacy Series.

Michele L. Johnson, Ph.D., chancellor of the Pierce College District, said, “Debra is an exemplary leader whose vision helps ensure that our library is a teaching library and is fully integrated into our instructional programs.”

Gilchrist has been dean of Library and Media Services of the Pierce College District since 1991. Prior to that, she was an assistant professor at the Pacific Lutheran University Library from 1987-1991. She also has served as an assistant reference librarian and assistant professor at South Dakota State University.

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A dedication ceremony was hosted Sept. 19 in the Pierce College Puyallup College Center building to celebrate the recent installation of Langley, WA artist Linda Beaumont’s After Image; two sixteen foot tall diptych glass paintings of a single tree from the Northwest forest. The nearly $63,000 art acquisition was funded through the state’s Art in Public Places program which sets aside ½ of 1% of the state’s portion of the new construction costs of state—owned buildings. The state funded College Center building opened in 2004-05.

The tall, backlit glass paintings hang against the window wall of the Campus Commons dining area representing the beauty of growth and nature of time. The translucent deep green juxtaposed with rich earth reds produces a color shift in a similar manner that an after image can appear in the absence of the visible image. With the growth of the Puyallup campus, the paintings are part of the process and bring the outside world into the architecture.

“The selection committee wanted a piece that would tie-in the natural beauty of the campus while symbolizing the educational experience of our student body,” said Barbara Howard, executive assistant to the Puyallup President and member of the college’s art selection committee.

Beaumont graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Painting and Ceramics from the University of Washington. Her work has been exhibited in solo and group works and she has received numerous private and public commissions and grants including Traveling Light, a 380-foot glass security wall at SeaTac Airport, and The Tempest, a suspended light sculpture composed of 1,500 translucent baseball bats at Safeco Field.

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Sept. 24, 2007

Media Contact Information:

Sally Perkins, marketing manager
(253) 964-6587
sperkins@pierce.ctc.edu

Brian Benedetti, acting director, district college relations
(253) 964-6549
bbenedet@pierce.ctc.edu

LAKEWOOD: Pierce College will make history Sept. 26 when it hosts its first athletic event on campus in the new $10.5 million Health Education Center (HEC).

At 7 p.m., the Raiders Women’s Volleyball Team will play Centralia in the center’s 14,000-square-foot gymnasium. Prior to construction of the 45,000-square-foot HEC, Raiders women’s volleyball and men and women’s basketball games were held in the Lakewood Community Center.

“We often had standing room only at the center; now, with a 1,000-seat gym, there will be plenty of room for all the fans as well as locker rooms for the players,” said Duncan Stevenson, athletic director for the Pierce College District.

Stevenson indicated the HEC is not only a venue for competitive and recreational sports events and other performance events and speaker presentations, but also is home to the college’s health and wellness education and fitness programs. This fall, the college began offering its new Diagnostic Health and Fitness Technician/Instructor certificate and associate degree programs in the HEC.

Nearly half the cost of the facility will be paid for with student fees; the remainder was paid for with state capital construction funds. The HEC was built on the site of an indoor swimming pool which was determined to be too costly to repair after it was damaged by an earthquake in 2001. The HEC was constructed by Jones and Roberts Construction Company of Olympia.

There will be a grand opening of the HEC at 2 p.m. Oct. 24.

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Media Contact Information:

Sally Perkins, marketing manager
(253) 964-6587
sperkins@pierce.ctc.edu

Brian Benedetti, acting director, district college relations
(253) 964-6549
bbenedet@pierce.ctc.edu

LAKEWOOD: Two Korean artists dressed in traditional clothing will create free calligraphy samples using the 500-year-old Hangul alphabet during Korean Alphabet Day 9 a.m.-noon. Oct. 8 on the fourth floor of the Cascade Building at Pierce College Fort Steilacoom, 9401 Farwest Dr. SW.

Sponsored by the Pierce College International Education Department, the 15th annual event will include a reception for the calligraphers at 11 a.m. in the cafteria. A film portraying Korean culture will be shown at 5:30 p.m. in C529.

A news team from the television station KOAM in Federal Way will be accompanied by four communications majors from Korea.

“Those who stop by the calligraphers’ tables can watch as their names or favorite phrases are written on special paper in English alongside the calligraphy and stamped in wax with ancient Korean symbols,” said Patrick Cavendish, Ph.D., director of international education. Coordinating the event is Son Kirst, Korean language instructor at the college.

Cavendish indicated Pierce College is among only a few community colleges in the country which offer credit courses in Korean language that are transferable to other educational institutions.

He added, “Pierce College values our connection with the Korean community; the Korean Alphabet Day gives us an opportunity to expose our students and the community-at-large to the Korean culture.”

For more information, contact Cavendish at (253) 964-7327. Or, visit www.Pierce.ctc.edu.

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Media Contact Information:

Sally Perkins, marketing manager
(253) 964-6587
sperkins@pierce.ctc.edu

Brian Benedetti, acting director, district college relations
(253) 964-6549
bbenedet@pierce.ctc.edu

LAKEWOOD: The Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) has recognized Debra L. Gilchrist, Ph.D., dean of library and media services for the Pierce College District, with a national honor “for inspiring instruction librarians throughout North America to ask key questions about student learning and to improve their instruction programs with the results.”

The ACRL, a division of the American Library Association, presented Gilchrist with the Miriam Dudley Instruction Librarian Award which included a check for $1,000. The honor was named for Dudley whose efforts in the field of information literacy led to formation of the ACRL Instruction Section. The award recognizes a librarian who has made a significant contribution to the advancement of instruction in a college or research library environment. In 2005, under Gilchrist’s leadership, the Pierce College Library received the ACRL’s Excellence in Academic Libraries Award as the best community college library in the United States.

Gilchrist has written extensively information literacy assessment and is currently editing a volume on student learning assessment for the ACRL Information Literacy Series.

Michele L. Johnson, Ph.D., chancellor of the Pierce College District, said, “Debra is an exemplary leader whose vision helps ensure that our library is a teaching library and is fully integrated into our instructional programs.”

Gilchrist has been dean of Library and Media Services of the Pierce College District since 1991. Prior to that, she was an assistant professor at the Pacific Lutheran University Library from 1987-1991. She also has served as an assistant reference librarian and assistant professor at South Dakota State University.

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