Monthly Highlights
January 2006 Highlights
A BUDGET DEFICIT for 2006/07 was forecast by President Mary Spilde to the Board of Education, employees and the news media. A new projection should be issued in mid-February. The deficit follows three years of stability but reflects declines in enrollment and eroding state funding. Spilde said the college's top priority is to stay focused on student success and to preserve the quality of education and training programs.
A SUSTAINABILITY AWARD was presented to Lane Community College and four businesses by Eugene Mayor Kitty Piercy at her State of the City address on January 5.
EXPRESSLANE, the college's online registration and web services system, served a record number of students the first day of winter term. The system served 6,001 individuals, surpassing the former record of 5,800 first-day users in fall 2005, and comparing to the overall average of 1,300 users per day.
GONYEA ROAD FLOODED the morning of January 17. Rain diminished and floodwaters receded in the evening and the access road was open by the next morning.
COLLEGE EMPLOYEES CONTRIBUTED $95,175 to the 2005/06 Employee Giving Campaign, an 18 percent increase over last year. Participation increased from 39 to 40 percent of all employees. In all, employees gave $61,000 to the Foundation and $34,000 to United Way. As a result, Lane was given the Helping Hand Award by United Way of Lane County.
GENE KNIGHT was named Classified Employee of the Month for January. Knight maintains the equipment in the college laundry and has worked at Lane for 18 years.
CONNIE MESQUITA received the Eugene Human Rights Commission Leadership Award at the 20th annual community Martin Luther King Jr. celebration. Mesquita retired from Lane's Multicultural Center in December after 26 years with the college.
MARVA SOLOMON, counselor at Lane, won the Associated Students of LCC and the Black Student Union of LCC award.
TOVA STABIN was named interim diversity coordinator following a competitive process. She frequently has worked as a diversity trainer at Lane since 2001, and has been a diversity educator and resource consultant in the community for 20 years. She assumes the interim assignment due to former coordinator Jim Garcia's appointment as interim Chicano/Latino Student Program coordinator in the Multicultural Center.
Excerpted from Lane Weekly and news sources by Joan Aschim, public information officer, Marketing and Public Relations, (541) 463-5591, January 2006.