Current EvCC College News

Everett Community College is celebrating National Manufacturing Day with public tours of its Advanced Manufacturing Training & Education Center (AMTEC) 9 a.m. to noon on Oct. 7. The center, which opened in 2014, recently expanded, adding eight classrooms and a mechatronics lab. AMTEC is located on EvCC’s north Everett campus at 909 N. Broadway. “National Manufacturing Day is an opportunity to increase awareness about careers in manufacturing and the key role manufacturing plays in in the economy, especially in Snohomish County,” said Sheila Dunn, EvCC Associate Dean for Aerospace and Advanced Manufacturing. 

Camano Island artist Jack Gunter’s zany faux archeological show “Secrets of the Mount Vernon Culture” is on display Sept. 19-Oct. 14 at Everett Community College’s Russell Day Gallery. The multimedia show, originally displayed at Bumbershoot in 2000, is Gunter’s alternate take on early Pacific Northwest history with mock artifacts from 30,000 years ago. The items, supposedly discovered at present-day Mount Vernon, Wash. include pottery with pink flamingos and video documenting the “discovery.” Meet the artist during a public reception 12:30-2:30 p.m. Sept. 22.  

Everett Community College medical transcription and editing instructor Elizabeth (Betsy) Stam and student Sarah Olson have received national awards from the Association for Healthcare Documentation Integrity. Stam, who has taught at EvCC since 2003, received the educator of the year award. She is an “extraordinary leader who sets herself apart by doing more and going farther than her peers and other educators in our industry. She's caring, compassionate and strives for excellence in all that she does. She's not only a great educator, administrator and advisor, but sets a high standard in how we should relate to and engage with students as well as others,” according to the ADHI award. Olson received the rising star award, presented to a student winner of this year’s essay contest “Make Your Dreams Become Your Reality.” Olson wrote about persevering to achieve her dream of attending college after several health-related setbacks.

John Melson has been hired to lead Everett Community College’s eLearning department.  As the director of educational technology, Melson will work with EvCC faculty and students on a variety of digital tools and technologies including the college’s eLearning system, Canvas.  “I’m delighted to be working at Everett Community College, where it’s already become clear to me how passionate everyone is about teaching and the educational success of the students,” Melson said. “I’m looking forward to many collaborations that build on the great work already being done at EvCC and that help foster innovation in teaching and learning.”

College Spark Washington and the Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges (SBCTC) have selected Everett Community College to receive a $500,000 Guided Pathways implementation grant over the next five years. EvCC is one of five colleges in Washington state to receive the grant. Peninsula, Pierce, South Puget Sound and South Seattle colleges also received grant funding. Guided Pathways is an evidence-based approach that simplifies choices about college courses, informs and supports those choices and directs students into an intentional, comprehensive program of study that leads to a credential. EvCC will use the grant to add new resources, including technology tools, to help students navigate the systems to credential completion and transition to employment or transfer to a four-year college more smoothly. The college will also compensate faculty for their additional work to restructure the college's academic pathways.

For more than 50 years, Bill Deller was part of Everett Community College campus life. Now, his name is a permanent part of the college’s future. EvCC’s Board of Trustees named the outdoor plaza between the Parks Student Union, Henry M. Jackson Center and Gray Wolf Hall in honor of Deller. “This is a place where students gather,” said EvCC President David Beyer. “It’s a perfect location to honor a man who believes as strongly as anyone I’ve met in the mission of EvCC.”

Everett Community College’s Volunteer Literacy Program is seeking volunteers who can tutor adult learners two or more hours per week in reading, writing, basic math and English-language skills. Volunteers must be patient, professional and have experience working or teaching in the K-12 system or higher education. Volunteers must also be sensitive to a variety of learning styles and cultural backgrounds. Training is free with a six month commitment. “Volunteers are often the key that leads to a student’s success in school, at work and in the community,” said Volunteer Literacy Program Specialist Chan Beattie. Volunteers are needed to work during the program’s drop-in hours 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Thursday at EvCC. Tutor hours are flexible. 

A report issued today from the Aspen College Excellence Program profiles EvCC, UW, and WWU as partner institutions that are effectively improving outcomes for community college transfer students. Recognizing the critical need to help millions of community college students failed by current transfer practices and policies, a new report released today provides a detailed guide for two- and four-year colleges on how to improve bachelor’s degree outcomes for students who start at community college. The full report, The Transfer Playbook: Essential Practices for Two- and Four-Year Colleges, from the Aspen Institute and the Community College Research Center (CCRC) at Teachers College, Columbia University, is available online at: http://as.pn/transfer1.

Everett Community College has been recognized as a platinum-level Fit-Friendly worksite by the American Heart Association. “Along with offering the highest quality education, we are committed to the healthiest workplace possible for everyone at all of our locations,” EvCC President David Beyer said. EvCC was one of 18 higher education organizations nationwide and the only college in Washington to receive the award this year. The college also received a worksite innovation award from the American Hear t Association. EvCC’s employee Wellness Team, formed in 2013, promotes a healthy worksite culture through nutrition, physical fitness and continuing education. College employees can enroll in free fitness classes, participate in the annual pedometer challenge, eat healthy options at the college’s café, go on employee walks, take EvCC classes at a reduced rate and more.

Retired Everett Police Department Capt. Bill Deckard has been hired to lead EvCC’s Public Safety programs. Deckard, of Snohomish, is the programs’ director. The area includes the criminal justice, fire science and EMT programs. “We couldn't be more excited to have Bill on our team. His previous experiences working with all the sectors involved with public safety made him the ideal person for this job and will allow EvCC to take our programs to a new level,” said Jason Smith, EvCC Dean of Health Sciences and Public Safety.

Everett Community College will offer a new competency-based business degree starting in January. The transfer degree allows students to work at their own pace in online classes taught by faculty. Instructors and a completion coach guide students through the requirements for each part of the degree. Students with work experience in an area can move quickly through coursework they already know and spend time focusing on areas they have less experience. “Our ideal student is a career-minded professional who just never got around to getting a college degree,” said Dean of Business and Applied Technology Ryan Davis. “We hope to create a pathway to apply what someone has already learned and earn a college degree to document that knowledge.”