Student turned instructor

There's a new Instructional Support Assistant on campus

Brie Wood’s journey at Linn-Benton started over a decade ago. She has had different roles over the years, and all have been in the same room the “Math Classroom”: student aide, instructional assistant part-time, Math 20 instructor, and now instructional support assistant.

At first Wood wanted to become a pharmacist. She started her college education in 2002 in the Pharmacy Technician program at LBCC.  

While taking classes, Wood found out she enjoyed math just as much as she was good at it. She made the decision to switch from the Pharmacy Technician program to pursue mathematics in 2003.

During her time as a student, Wood began work as a student worker in 2004. She helped at the math angle, one-on-one tutoring, and math help desk at the Albany campus, Benton Center and Lebanon Center.

She graduated with her Associates of Science in Mathematics from Linn-Benton in 2007.

Wood graduated from Oregon State University with her Bachelor’s in Mathematics in 2009.

In January 2010 Wood started her teaching career at LB. As an adjunct faculty working 20-25 hours a week. As well as being an adjunct, she continued helping at the math angle and the math help desk.

“I could always count on Brie to be exceptionally patient and kind to students. She has a confidence and an ability to explain math concepts that students appreciate,” said Vikki Maurer, mathematics instructor.

Spring 2015 was the last term Wood worked as an adjunct faculty. Linn-Benton welcomed the new Instructional Support Assistant in summer 2015.

“I’m really enjoying it,” said Wood. “I like that this position lets the student get to know you really well, and then the students feel comfortable enough to come back and ask questions.”

Wood’s position allows for students to come in outside of class time for one-on-one help. and enables instructors to have the necessary materials prepared for lecture; and Wood is available to assist in training future aides for Math 20.

“She readies the classroom and supports the instructors in a variety of ways,” said Maurer. “I feel fortunate to have such a competent, bright, capable, creative instructional assistant. Brie is awesome!!,” said Maurer.

RoadRunners win in pink

Team raises awareness for breast cancer

In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, the RoadRunners wore pink shirts during their game Oct. 2 against Mt. Hood.

Audience members wore pink in the form of headbands, shirts, and shoes. People in attendance were definitely “digging” pink in support of LB volleyball and the fight against breast cancer.

The admissions fee, concessions, and donations totalled $223.71. The funds went to the Side-Out Foundation.

The Side-Out Foundation started with a coaching job, a second diagnosis of breast cancer, a high school volleyball team, and determination. Dunetz created the Side-Out Foundation to reach other athletes and cancer patients. Through the foundation’s events and education, he brings hope and energy to the breast cancer cause. And it all began with one magical season.

The Side-Out Foundation’s October event brings together volleyball players across the nation to raise funds for breast cancer research, demonstrate the power of teamwork, and show support for people with the disease. The events are supported by middle school, high school, and college students nationwide.

Funds raised for The Side-Out Foundation go directly to its own cutting-edge clinical trials at renowned medical institutions.

After Friday night’s game Linn-Benton is on a three-match win streak

Mt. Hood scored the first point; however, LB didn’t let them get too far, and within seconds, scored and didn’t look back.

The first set of the match the RoadRunners ended with 25-8 in favor of LBCC.

The RoadRunners were quick on their feet and fast to spike the ball over the net.

“We did really good and kept our intensity,” said freshmen Chase Bohman.

In the first game freshman No. 8 Alyvia Sams dove for the save to score the RoadRunners another point putting them at 11-4 against Mt. Hood.

During the second game the RoadRunners got a second wind and won 25-20. It was close. Both teams were in the game with all hands on deck.   

“We did very well,” said Malie Rube. “We played a very dynamic game.”

In the final set of matches the RoadRunners focused in and really drove the game home. Final score for the third was 25-12.

The RoadRunners kept the same energy and pressure on Mt. Hood throughout the match, shown in the consistent scores throughout the game.

“We’ve been focusing on small details and discipline,” said Coach Jayme Frazier.

Due to the tragedy at Umpqua Community College last week, the UCC volleyball game will be hosted at LBCC at 6 p.m.

Nurses heard around world

Nurses unite against being discredited

People in the LBCC nursing community support Johnson standing up for the profession.

On Sept. 13 in Atlantic City, N.J., Miss Colorado Kelley Johnson performed her talent on stage for millions to see. Her talent wasn’t the typical baton twirling, toe tapping, or opera singing number. Johnson took the stage in purple scrubs with a white stethoscope around her neck.

“Our goal as nurses is to make a difference,” said Marcy Shanks, nursing faculty.

She performed a monologue and talked about an Alzheimer's disease patient named Joe, who reminded her of why she became a nurse in the first place.

After the pageant aired, The View co-hosts Joy Behar and Michelle Collins made controversial comments about Johnson’s monologue. Behar and Collins clarified their comments on The View Wednesday, Sept. 16. Collins mocked Johnson, saying “She came out in a nurse’s uniform and basically read her emails out loud, and shockingly did not win.” View co-host Joy Behar added, “Why does she have a doctor’s stethoscope on?”

These comments led to a backlash on social media with a support hashtag #NursesUnite. Nurses called for an apology all over.

Behar and Collins clarified their comments on The View Wednesday, Sept. 16. Collins mocked Johnson, saying “She came out in a nurse’s uniform and basically read her emails out loud, and shockingly did not win.” View co-host Joy Behar added, “Why does she have a doctor’s stethoscope on?”

“I am a nurse and that’s my talent, taking care of people and caring about others,” said Johnson on The Ellen show Sept. 17. “I wanted to give the nurses that don’t have the voice, that voice and that recognition of somebody going up there and just being a little bit different and unique.”

Nursing isn’t just a job. Being a professional nurse means the patients in your care must be able to trust you. It means being up to date with the best practice. It means treating your patients and colleagues with dignity, kindness, respect and compassion.

According to the Gallup.com a survey site, “Nursing is the most trusted profession in the United States, with respondents rating nurses highest for honesty and ethics.”

Teachers take classes too

Linn-Benton new full-time faculty takes three day class

Linn-Benton new full-time faculty receive a unique welcome unlike other colleges. These instructors enter into a program called Instructional Strategies Institute that has been at LBCC for two decades.

“ISI is so comprehensive and extremely helpful,” said Raymund Ocampo music faculty.

Faculty who participate in ISI meet for three days before In-service begins and once per month during the academic year. They learn about the resources and teaching practices that will help them be effective instructors. Learning happens both through tours and presentations.

“I really look forward to having time to check in with my new friends and to talk about our experiences in the classroom,” said Joyce Thompson Graham, English for Speakers of Other Languages faculty. “It's a wonderful support system and one of the things that makes LBCC really special.”

During the three day class the instructors toured the campus. Some of the sites toured this year were the Diversity Achievement Center, the Learning Center, the Accessibility Services Offices, and the Counseling Center. Presenters came and shared presentations on topics such as Using Technology to Enhance your Teaching and Active Learning.

Part of ISI is training involves participation in group activities. New faculty took part in activities such as scavenger hunts, sentence fragments and block words. They also discussed first day “icebreakers” and by doing this it allowed ideas to be shared.

“Think together and work together and learn without realizing your learning,” said Will Fleming, writing faculty.

The closing of the first day of ISI, the student speakers shared what made a successful learning environment. Ocampo recanted what both speakers shared and the two things he took away from the speakers was: the belief that faculty had in them to succeed and the persistence of faculty to ensure success.

“There is a feel on campus that’s very exciting right now and I think this is an exciting time to be at LB,” said Ocampo.

The Instructional Strategies Institute is funded by The Office of Academic Affairs.

This year’s there are 11 new full-time faculty coming to LBCC to teach a variety of courses, such as physical science, welding technology, and writing.

“I'm so enjoying the ISI experience because I'm visiting places on the campus I haven't been before, and we are just starting to have some great conversations about our programs and our teaching,” said Thompson Graham.

Designated Smoke Shelters

Linn-Benton keeping the air smoke free

This fall Linn-Benton Community College will be filled with new students eager to learn. Prior to this journey there is a policy that needs to be formalized: smoke in designated areas.

There are six smoke shelters located around campus: two in front of Takena Hall, one west of White Oak Hall, one east of Luckiamute Center, one in parking lot No. 5, and one outside McKenzie Hall.

Smoke shelters aren’t just for smoking cigarettes. They’re also the designated vaping, e-cigarettes and chewing tobacco shelters.

Students are prohibited from smoking cigarettes, e-cigarettes, vape pens, and chewing tobacco anywhere else on campus except in the designated areas.

According to the Administrative Rule No. 5045-02, “LBCC is committed to a healthy campus which minimizes the potential negative impact of products used in smoking, vaping, and tobacco chewing. These rules pertain to limiting tobacco use and products used in e-cigarettes and other smoking devices in public places and work spaces except those designated as smoking areas. The purpose of the Oregon Indoor Clean Air Act and the Tobacco-Free Campus Executive Order is to reduce the health hazard to persons in confined public places inhaling smoke and vapor caused by tobacco and other vaping products.”

The next time the nicotine urge arises, remember the six designated smoking shelters.

LBCC instructor by day and Albany police officer by night

Steve Corder guides students and community all in a day’s work

For 27 years Steve Corder has devoted his time to public service and being part of the community in which he lives.

Criminal Justice instructor Corder works at Linn-Benton Community College and has been here since April 1997 as an adjunct instructor. Corder teaches Intro to Law Enforcement, Police Field Operations, and Regulations and Communication.

Corder has a Bachelor of Science in Law Enforcement and a Master of Science in Correctional Administration from Western Oregon State College, now Western Oregon University. A portion of his graduate degree includes a minor in Substance Abuse Prevention from the University of Oregon.

His law enforcement career began in 1980 as a cadet in Douglas County at the Sheriff’s Office. After graduating from Roseburg Senior High School he enlisted in the United States Army as a military policeman and served two years in Europe.

Once Corder finished his military commitment, his family moved to Albany during which time he attended LBCC. Corder was selected as a reserve deputy for the Linn County Sheriff’s Office while attending classes at LBCC. He also worked as a marine deputy during the summers while attending college.

He transferred to Western Oregon State College where he majored in Law Enforcement and minored in Military Science. At the same time, he enrolled in the United States Army Reserve Officer Training Corp (ROTC) program. Corder graduated from Western Oregon State College December 1988 at which time he was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the United States Army.  

Corder was a part-time hire as a Linn County Deputy Sheriff until he went on active duty as an Army Officer. He served as a Military Intelligence Officer in the United States Army while stationed in Germany. After wife Susan Corder had their first daughter, they returned to Oregon, and he pursued law enforcement.

Albany Police Department welcomed Corder in May 1993. He has served as: Police Officer, Corporal, Patrol Sergeant, Detective Sergeant, Special Services Captain, and Deputy Chief of Police.

“I have always considered criminal investigation and patrol to be the best duties in any police department and am truly grateful that I had the means and opportunity to return to that position,” said Corder.

In October 2005 Corder voluntarily demoted himself to a police officer and returned to case work.

Being an instructor has never been about the money, expressed Corder.

“I would [work at LBCC] for free. I don’t do it for the money,” said Corder. “They could stop paying me tomorrow and I would still work there.”

Working with faculty that have a similar want to help others has made working at LBCC a difference in Corder’s experience.

The ability to work with students, help them become excited in criminal justice and work through the college process is just a sense of accomplishment to Corder.

Many have inspired Corder to be a distinguished law enforcement professional and instructor. From the first ride-along 35 years ago with Deputy Marty Baldwin, to the late Jerry Phillips formerly of LBCC, many have mentored Corder. These individuals have helped make an impact on his life in a positive way to benefit the community in which he services today.

“I enjoyed [Steve’s] stories more than anything,” said previous student Jessie Easdale. “It’s what I want to do, so hearing stories about what it’s like in the field are very intriguing to me.”

Corder believes in explaining the career to students from his experience, so that they can make a more informed decision regarding the police field. He allows students to ask questions. At the beginning of the term he tells students who he is, what he does and that there is no “off the record” in the classroom.

During Corder’s career he’s had experiences leave him with all kinds of memories. He remembers handwriting reports, bizarre calls and all the people he’s had the chance to work with.

“It is the greatest job there really is,” said Corder.

Corder described being a police officer as being phenomenally different than teaching. He highly enjoys the randomness it provides each shift. All the variety from the bizarre calls and weird runs and how the job changes from one minute to the next is the best part about the job.

Criminal Justice department chair Rodney Carter feels Corder is a tremendous asset to the college.

“Steve is an exceptional teacher. His academic credentials combined with his long experience as a police officer and criminal justice administrator make him a tremendous asset to the college. In the classroom, he is both tough and caring: Essential attributes of a successful teacher and police officer,” said Carter.   

The Case for Universal Coverage

Reid speaks with community regard healthcare on a national level

On Saturday, July 25, T.R. Reid made an appearance at Linn-Benton Community College. In the Russell Tripp Center at 7 p.m. the crowds packed in for a lesson in healthcare in the richest country: America.

“Our healthcare system is horribly insufficient, horribly expensive, and seriously inequitable,” said Reid. “We need to fix it.”

Countries that are similar to America spend half of what we do, yet they can afford healthcare for the citizens.

“Of all the industrialized democracies there is only one that doesn’t provide healthcare for everybody and that is the world’s richest country the United States of America,” said Reid.

According to Reid, America is short of universal coverage where it should be with the latest expansions.

An international report card on healthcare is conducted of the 20 richest countries. One of the categories graded is called “Avoidable Mortality,” which is if there is a disease that modern medicine knows how to cure how many people with it are cured? On that scale America ranked 19.

Another category, “Healthy Life Expectancy at age 60,” which means when you’re 60 how long can you expect to live beyond that and still be healthy? Out of 23 of the richest countries America ranked 23.

“How can this be?” said Reid. “We are the richest country in the world.”

It is because of all the people who aren’t covered by healthcare. Today 34 million Americans don’t have healthcare coverage. It is no wonder some people wait until they are beyond sick to get seen by a doctor. About 22 million Americans die every year from treatable diseases because they can’t afford to be seen in the world’s richest country.

“We can afford healthcare for everyone and if everyone would like to leave early I can reduce my speech to a bumper sticker: ‘If France can do it the United States can do it’,” said Reid. “I know we can do this.”

Reid explained each health care model in-depth. There are four national healthcare models: The Bismarck Model, The Beveridge Model, The National Health Insurance Model, and The Out of Pocket Model.

The Bismarck Model followed in Germany uses private initiatives to provide the medical services. The insurance coverage is also mainly provided through private companies. However, the insurance companies operate as nonprofits and are required to sign up all citizens without any conditions. At the same time all citizens (barring a rich minority in the case of Germany) are required to sign up for one or the other health insurance. The government plays a central role in determining payments for various health services, thus keeping a decent control on cost.

The Beveridge Model was adopted by Britain and is closest to socialized medicine. Almost all health care providers work as government employees and the government acts as the single-payer for all health services. The patients incur no out-of-pocket costs, but the system is under pressure due to rising costs.

The National Health Insurance Model has a single-payer system like Britain; however, the health care providers work mostly as private entities. The system has done a good job of keeping costs low and providing healthcare to all. A major downside to this system comes from the ridiculously long waiting times for several procedures.

The Out of Pocket Model is the kind followed in most poor countries. People mostly pay for the services they receive 'out of pocket'. However, this leaves many underprivileged people without essential health care. Almost all countries with such a system have a much lower life expectancy and high infant mortality rates.

In America the four national healthcare models exist. According to Reid, 19 million Americans are on The Beveridge model, 148 million on The Bismarck Model, 54 million on Canada Medicare,and 34 million on The Out of Pocket Model.  

Obamacare was never designed to cover everybody. According to the congregational budget office if Obamacare works perfectly, if it works exactly as it is designed in 2020 there will be 31 million uninsured people.

“Repeal and replace Obamacare,” said Reid.

According to Reid, universal coverage will happen but only state by state. Currently the two states actively seeking universal coverage and furthest along are Colorado and Oregon. Once a few states have this universal coverage and it is a success other states will see this and it will spread. Minnesota, New Mexico and New York are also looking into this.

Colorado has already written their plan and it is called Colorado Care. Everybody in Colorado has to pay into it and everyone will be covered up to 65 years of age and then medicare. This universal coverage would be great for Colorado and the country.

“As a loyal Coloradoan, I hope we get there first,” said Reid. “You beat us to marijuana and we’ll beat you universal coverage.”

Photograph and story by Melissa Chandler

New Software Incorporated

Students accustomed to no fee be prepared for fee once again

The kickoff of the 2015-2016 academic school year at Linn-Benton Community College will not only be welcoming new students, but also welcoming back the fee to print.

This new software comes from ITC Systems; which is a global leader specializing in integrated transaction control systems, offering complete cost recovery systems for university campuses, in academic and public libraries, government departments, food service environments and other closed institutional settings. The new software is called GoPrint.

GoPrint came to LBCC after research of sister colleges around Oregon such as Chemeketa Community College, Lane Community College and Portland Community College. It ultimately came down to the customer service and the price of the software.

Pay4Print software simply cost too much to maintain at $25,000 for the software and another $2,000 for maintenance. GoPrint is $3,600 for the software and a smaller annual maintenance fee as an ongoing cost associated.  

“I am amazed at how much cheaper it is,” said Russell Rinker, assistant director/managing networking systems.

This new system will allow students to have access to the GoPrint system by creating a pay account. When it comes time to print students will be presented with a screen to set up a username and password, which will avoid any confusion because it will be the students creation. This interface system uses credit card and debit card transactions, which is a technical difficulty that LBCC is still trying to deduce at this time.

In mid August, GoPrint will be implemented onto all four campuses: Albany, Benton Center, Lebanon, and Sweet Home. Students will have the opportunity to set up an account and become familiar with the system without being charged. There is no set fee as of yet, however there will be one once fall term begins. Price will be adjusted accordingly upon usage.

In the library during the 2013-2014 academic school year, paper cost was $1,000 and ink cost was $4,000. These numbers are minimalistic compared to the subsequent year. The 2014-2015 academic school year, paper cost was $2,000 and ink cost was $11,000. From one year to the next, paper cost doubled and ink cost nearly tripled.

“It was pretty much anarchy,” said Michael Quiner, chief information officer.  

On average, in the fall of 2014 the library was going through 7,500 sheets of paper a week. The first week of winter 2015 the library used 10,000 sheets of paper. These numbers are outrageous in comparison to the 2013-2014 and 2014-2015 academic school year as a whole.  

Throughout the entire campus fall of 2013, with the Pay4Print system in effect there was a combined 102,000 pages printed. Once the fee for print was removed the following year in fall of 2014, there was 202,000 pages printed.

“The huge volume of free printing came with some large costs. We spent much more on paper and ink than we did in previous years, and we had to replace the printer's several times.  As a college we strive to keep costs low for students, the amount of money we spent on free printing seems particularly excessive,” said Jane Sandberg, electronic resources librarian.

All over campus, drop-labs, Forum and the library usage either tripled or quadrupled from the prior years.

The usage trend continued at about that level for the whole school year.

Print software was initially implemented at all the campuses to stop students from abusing resources such as paper, toner and to cut back on printer services. However, this past year staff haven’t noticed students being printer aware. And this is why GoPrint will be taking place.

“This is a good move for the college,” said Rinker. “Opens up hours for the library.”

With the GoPrint software in effect on campus the library will also be receiving an update as well. If students and faculty haven’t already noticed, the library has been doing some rearranging.

The computers that once filled the computer lab are now in the the library closer to the circulation desk. The library will be absorbing the Forums computers and printer all to be completed by the start of fall term. And the Forum lab will be closing at the end of August.

With the Forum lab closing this will allow the library extended hours, more staff and have more computers in a central location for students to access. The staff from the Forum have been training in the library and will be moving to the library as well.

“This move provides computer support for students,” said Alf Price, computer lab specialist.

Implementing a GoPrint system and centralizing the computer lab will essentially help the campus get back on track with finances and benefit the students academically now and in the future.