Chemeketa Community College graduates wave to audience members as the 2019 ceremony begins (Rachel Alexander/Salem Reporter) Winemakers, adult high school graduates, formerly homeless students and military veterans were among the 700 students who walked across the stage at Chemeketa Community College’s graduation on June 18 at the Oregon State Fairground[Read More…]
COMMUNITY
Here’s where kids can get free summer meals in Salem
Veronica Diaz squirts mayonnaise on her son Victor’s sandwich during a free summer lunch at Washington Elementary School on June 18, 2019 (Rachel Alexander/Salem Reporter) Veronica Diaz remembers eating summer lunches at Four Corners Elementary School when she was a kid in Salem. It was a chance for her and[Read More…]
Chemeketa breaks ground on $12 million agriculture complex, with hopes to grow programs
Duane van Dyke hand plows the future site of the Chemeketa Community College Agriculture Complex with work horses Clare and Sophie at a groundbreaking event June 11, 2019 (Rachel Alexander/Salem Reporter) A bare grass field on the east end of Chemeketa Community College’s Salem campus will become a complex for[Read More…]
Art Witkowski, Diane Watson face off in Chemeketa board race
Art Wiktowski, left, and Diane Watson, are running for Chemeketa Community College board. (Photos courtesy of candidates) For the first time in six years, a Chemeketa Community College board race has drawn a challenger. Art Witkowski, a former Chemeketa instructor who now works in health sciences education for the state[Read More…]
Jessica Howard is “all in” as Chemeketa’s next president
Jessica Howard in her office at Portland Community College (Rachel Alexander/Salem Reporter) Most college students start their academic careers with an associate’s degree before moving on to more advanced education. But Jessica Howard isn’t most college students. The college administrator, who will become Chemeketa Community College’s 11th president on July[Read More…]
Following tuition increase, Chemeketa looks to layoffs to balance 2019-20 budget
Responding to declining enrollment and revenue, Chemeketa Community College is planning to cut 33 positions, including laying off seven employees for the 2019-20 school year. The announcement comes after the college’s board voted to raise tuition and fees by $10 per credit in February, the largest such increase in over[Read More…]
Salem’s IKE Box is moving – and taking the building with it
IKE Box, the downtown coffee house, will be moving to a new location in the same neighborhood – and taking the building with it. IKE Box director Mark Bulgin knew the coffee shop and community hub on Cottage Street at Chemeketa Street might have to move after Salem’s YMCA announced[Read More…]
Chemeketa board chooses Jessica Howard as college’s next president
Jessica Howard will be the 11th president of Chemeketa Community College (Rachel Alexander/Salem Reporter) A Portland Community College administrator will be Chemeketa Community College’s next president, the college board announced Monday. Jessica Howard, who currently serves as campus president for Portland Community College’s southeast campus, has accepted a job offer[Read More…]
Chemeketa board ups tuition amid enrollment slump, imperiled state funding
The Chemeketa Community College campus in Salem. (Rachel Alexander/Salem Reporter) At a meeting Wednesday, the Board of Education of Chemeketa Community College voted unanimously to approve an increase in tuition and fees for the upcoming 2019–2020 academic year. When fall term begins this September, in-state students will pay an extra[Read More…]
Chemeketa to host community forums, candidate interviews for president finalists
Finalists for Chemeketa Community College president are Julie White (top left), Tod Treat (bottom left), Jessica Howard (top right), Robert Wynegar and Kimberlee Messina, who has since dropped out. Students, faculty and community members will have a chance to question four finalists for Chemeketa Community College president at a series[Read More…]