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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (March 21, 2012)
March 21. 2012______________________________ ^JortlanÖ ©bsfTUCr________________________ Page II Transitioning to Retirement PCC leader made building access to college a priority Preston Pulliams, district president of Portland Commu nity College, announced his plans to retire from the college next year, July 2013, at PCC’s Board of Directors meeting Thursday night. Pulliams has served as PCC’s president since 2004, and is perhaps best known for leading the college through a dramatic surge in enrollment while state funding for public education has declined, tirelessly seeking other resources and looking for more efficient ways to help serve the region’s educational needs. “The leadership that Dr. Pulliams has brought to the college has created outstanding new opportunities for stu dents and for our community - and we are deeply apprecia tive of his commitment,” said Jim Harper, chair of the PCC Board of Directors. “Dr. Pulliams has made a huge impact on PCC, and the Board remains committed to the important initiatives launched under his leadership. His announcement gives us the time to launch an inclusive, thorough process to find his succes sor,” Harper said. During Pulliams’ time at the college, he worked to increase the college’s visibility among community and business; leaders, sharing his vision for increasing access to higher education and ensuring that students have the best oppor tunities to succeed. PCC’s full-time enrollment has grown 40 percent since 2006-07, serving students who are pursuing degrees and certificates, skill building for job transitions, high school diplomas, continuing education and personal development. One of the most significant achievements during Pulliams’ tenure was the passage of a $374 million bond measure in 2008, the largest educational bond measure in Oregon. Funding from the bond has allowed PCC to engage in ongoing work to increase the number of classrooms, expand workforce training programs, and modernize facilities throughout the college district. This has included PCC’s 100,000-square-foot Willow Creek Center in Hillsboro, which opened in 2010, and the Newberg Center, which opened in continued on page 19 Portland Community College President Preston Pulliams has announced his plans to retire in 2013. Blanchet House Celebrates A new Blanchet House of Hospitality is under construction on Northwest Glisan Street in Old Town right next door to the old landmark which has served Portland's disadvantaged residents with food, clothing and other services for 60 years. Old Town mission building new facility The Blanchet House of Hospitality, a Portland based non-profit, is celebrating its 60th anniversary. Supporters are in the final stages of a $ 12 million fund-raising effort to replace its 100-year-old building that housed the mission since its beginning. The new site is next door at the com er of Northwest Third Avenue and Glisan Street in Old Town. The current facility, with its small dining hall and even smaller kitchen, has served over 15 million meals since Feb ruary 1952. It has also provided transi tional housing for thousands of men over the years who, in exchange for room and board, help with the preparation and delivery of hot meals to the homeless and underserved. Nearly 300,000 meals were served in 2010. The project has been many years in the making and has been made possible thanks to many involved partners, in cluding the City of Portland, which pro vided the land and a significant grant to help make the new building possible. continued «r on page 19
