News

Students participating in Washington State’s Running Start (RS) program will be glad to hear that the much-anticipated U.S. Government course will be offered Fall term at Columbia Gorge Community College. The U.S. Government class, taught by CGCC instructor Dr. John Copp, will be held Mondays and Wednesdays from 1 to 2:50 p.m. on the Hood River - Indian Creek Campus.

Running Start courses are needed at many Washington high schools to fulfill graduation requirements. Running Start provides academically motivated students in Washington high schools an opportunity to take college courses as part of their high school education. Both high school and college credits may be earned for the completed courses.

Columbia Gorge Community College president Dr. Frank Toda and the college Board of Education have reached a mutually acceptable separation agreement. The board unanimously approved the agreement at a special board meeting Tuesday, Aug. 15.

Under terms of the agreement, Dr. Toda will officially wrap up 16 years of service to the college on Sept. 29. The board will begin an immediate search for an interim president while it recruits nationally for the college’s next chief executive.

Participants, volunteers and sponsors of Columbia Gorge Community College Foundation’s 18^th Annual Founder’s Cup golf tournament helped raise approximately $18,000 for Columbia Gorge Community College Foundation’s student scholarship fund. This scholarship benefit was sponsored in part by Columbia State Bank.

Levi’s Custom Concrete/Beam Excavation and Gorge Networks teams earned first place trophies in the tournament at Indian Creek Golf Course on Saturday, Aug. 5. Levi’s Custom Concrete/Beam Excavation won the low gross category and Gorge Networks took home the low net prize. Google Home and Columbia State Bank (Team A) won second place awards, while teams Toole Carter Tissot and Coats LLP and YouTube won third place awards. 

If you drive east from The Dalles, it doesn’t take long before you start seeing wind turbines dotting the landscape. On the bluffs overlooking the John Day Dam, just outside the borders of the Columbia Gorge National Scenic Area, these white giants rise 300 feet toward the clouds, their sleek blades cutting gracefully through the air as they rotate in strong Gorge winds.

When it began in 2007, CGCC’s Renewable Energy Technology program was the first community college training program for technicians on the West Coast. Since then, it has prepared hundreds of wind turbine technicians to install and service these lofty machines.

On August 21^st, 2017, a total solar eclipse will occur in the U.S. along a path from Oregon to South Carolina. Oregon Emergency Management expects as many as one million visitors in our State several days prior to the eclipse and several days following the eclipse. Since North Central Oregon has the best chance of clear skies and a clear view, we expect many of the visitors will be in our area or traveling through our area.

CGCC Student Life had a busy year. We started by moving Student Life Center to the first floor of Building 1, with more room for activities. Open center hours are more consistent now; stay tuned for our summer and fall schedule.

Columbia Gorge Community College (CGCC) Foundation awarded full-year scholarships to 42 students attending CGCC in the 2017-18 academic year. These awards totaled $99,097. Scholarship applications will be available for Winter/Spring 2017-2018 starting July 17, 2017.

As with generations of immigrants before him, Abel Cruz Flores arrived in the United States with a dream, and little else. But that dream, combined with hard work, persistence and the generosity of local benefactors, is now firmly within reach as this graduate of Columbia Gorge Community College pursues his doctorate in linguistics from one of the nation’s leading research institutions.

Cruz Flores came to the Hood River Valley from a rural village in the State of Jalisco, Mexico, at age 17; his family still lives in Mexico. He arrived in pursuit of an education, knowing this to be the key to a better life. But he also knew it wouldn’t come easily, as he explained in his June 16 commencement address to Columbia Gorge Community College’s graduating Class of 2017, where he was guest speaker.

The Gorge Tech Alliance (GTA) is an industry association to grow the tech businesses along both sides of the Gorge. CGCC and the GTA work together regularly to address workforce and training needs for this key industry in the region.