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Mayó, 2009
Portland Community College Hit Hard
Enrollment
grows by
double digits
Enrollment growth at Portland
Community College has accel
erated dramatically with the bad
econom y pushing more stu
dents back to school.
The college’s fourth-w eek
spring enrollment report shows
total headcount increasing by
10.5 percent and 18.9 percent in
full-time equivalent (FTE) over
a year ago. It’s the seventh con
secutive term of growth at the
college.
This has been the largest and
most sustained increase in the
number of students coming to
PCC since the early part of the
decade, just before the last re
cession took hold, college offi
cials said.
“I have previously experi
enced an increase of enrollment
during depressed econom ic
times but I must say this time it
has been much more dramatic
than in p a st y e a rs,” said
Veronica Garcia, dean of PCC
enrollment services.
Another impact has been the
20 percent increase in students
applying for financial aid.
Total headcount at PCC now
stands at 37,951, an increase of
3,616 students from spring 2008.
PCC is helping local compa-
An EMT training class at the Cascade Campus of Portland Community College in north Portland is tight on space. The college's Emergency Services
Department has experienced a 39.7 percent increase in enrollment this spring.
nies transition laid-off workers
into new careers by helping
them take advantage of college
services. The $374 million bond
measure passed last November
and will alleviate some crowd
ing issues when classroom s
and labs are built. The purchase
of the Willamette Building at
Southwest Second and Yamhill
also will free up classroom
space on campuses.
The enrollment situation at
PCC is not unique. Most of the
O regon’s 17 community col
leges have seen dramatic enroll
ment increases due to the dire
economic situation, including
Central Oregon, which reached
credit enrollment capacity in
late M arch and tem porarily
closed its admissions process.
“We aren’t in the same boat
and will make keeping accessi
bility and affordability to our
students our top priorities,”
said PCC President Preston
Pulliams. “Students know we
are critical to help the state get
out of this historic recession.
Bu, with our faculty and stu percent this spring.
Home to the trades and in- .
dent services stretched to the
limit, it makes it harder and dustry, ed u catio n , first re- ,
harder to accommodate every sponder, fire science and busi
ness administration programs, '
one who needs our help.”
At PCC, the biggest surge in the north P o rtland cam pus ’
students is happening at the swelled by 15.9 percent in FTE ;
Cascade Campus where FTE and 13.9 percent in overall ’
has ballooned by 24.6 percent headcount in winter term.
and total headcount by 24.8
i
OAME Trade Show Thursday
The Oregon Association of
M in o rity
E n tre p re n e u rs
(OAME) Luncheon and Trade
Show is Thursday, May 7, be
ginning promptly at 10 a.m. and
concluding at 3 p.m. at the Or
egon Convention Center.
The 21st annual event will
host over 120 small and large
businesses; state, county and
federal government agencies;
and business development re
sources that assist minority.
women and em erging small
businesses. Tradeshow admis
sion is free.
“The OAME Trade Show is
a personal, face-to-face forum
to make sales, network and ob
tain resources am ong busi
nesses large and small, new
entrepreneurs, business devel
o p m en t and co ach in g r e
sources,” said Sam Brooks,
OAME founder, president and
chairman of the board.
This year’s theme focuses
on “Building Sustainability
w ith E q u ity .” A panel o f
OAME members and support
ers will discuss and give ad
vice on how to achieve a sus
tainable green environm ent
w ith e q u ity fo r M inority
Women and Emerging Small
Businesses.
For registration, exhibit and
luncheon information or res
ervations, call 503-249-7744.
photo by M ark
t: be green
W ashington /T hf . P ortland O bserver
A new streetscape with sidewalk improvements, curb extensions, art, trees and orna
mental streetlights is coming to North Denver Avenue in the Kenton neighborhood.
Investment in Kenton
PDC to make $2 million upgrade
The Portland Development
Commission has approved a $2
million streetscape im prove
ment project in the heart of the
dow ntow n K enton business
district, covering North Denver
Avenue from North Interstate
Avenue south to North Watts.
The project will include the
installation of trees, sidewalk
improvements, curb extensions,
storm water planters, art, orna
mental streetlights and pedes
trian crossings.
The sidewalks will be wid
ened and the center tum lane,
currently little used, will be
eliminated, providing capacity
for outdoor cafes and more pe
destrian activity.
The streetscape work will
create up to 42 construction
and construction-related jobs.
The new storm water planters
will help infiltrate runoff and
create one of the first green
main streets in Portland.
PDC will enter an intergov
ernmental agreement with the
Portland Bureau of Transpor
ta tio n in the am o u n t of
$2,847,545, subject to budget
appropriation, to complete the
project.
The improvements are part of
the larger Downtown Kenton
Redevelopment Project, begun
in fall 2005 by the PDC, and are
consistent with the Downtown
K en to n -D en v er
A venue
Streetscape Plan.
T h e PD C e x p e c ts the
project to make Denver Av
enue a safer and more attrac
tive place for pedestrians and
shoppers, spurring the revi
talization of the Kenton com
mercial corridor.
The planned project is within
the Interstate Corridor Urban
Renewal Area. Design and en
gineering will be com pleted
soon with bids going out in late
April and May. Construction is
expected to be completed in
2009.
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High court
retirement
opens process
(A P) — President Barack
Obama said Friday he will re
place retiring Supreme Court
Ju stic e D avid S o u te r w ith
so m e o n e w ho s h a re s the
president's respect for “con
stitutional values” and hopes
to have “him or her” seated
on the nation's highest court
by the start of the next term in
October.
Obama thanked Souter for his
dedicated service, and quickly
looked ahead to the nomination
of a replacement.
"As I make this decision,”
Obama said, “I intend to con
sult with members of both par
ties, across the political spec
trum. And it is my hope that we
can swear in our new Supreme
¥
David Souter
Court justice in time for him or
her to be seated by the first
Monday in October.”
Souter informed Obama of his
plans in a brief letter Friday.
Obama praised Souter, who is
leaving after nearly two decades
in Washington. His retirement
gives Obama his first pick for
the Supreme Court.
Souter's departure is unlikely
to change the court's conser
vative-liberal split. Obama's
first pick is likely to be a liberal
leaning nom inee, much like
Souter.
The vacancy could lead to
another woman on the bench
to jo in Ju stice Ruth B ader
Ginsburg, currently the court's
only female justice.
At 69, S o u ter is m uch
younger than either Ginsburg,
76, o r Ju stic e John Paul
Stevens, 89, the other two lib
eral justices whose names have
been mentioned as possible re
tirees. Yet those justices have
given no indication they intend
to retire soon and Ginsburg said
she plans to serve into her 80s,
despite her recent surgery for
pancreatic cancer.
In Philadelphia, Sen. Arlen
Specter said he would like to
see more ethnic and gender di
versity on the high court.