Published February 2003

Education Briefs

U.S. Bank, EdCC Foundation
aid low-income parents
U.S. Bank and the Edmonds Community College Foundation are lending a hand to help young parents trying to get an education and get off welfare.

U.S. Bank will give $3,000 to fund career assessments, GED testing fees, books and materials, and monthly literacy events, and the EdCC Foundation will give $7,000 to support child-care and transportation assistance to aid low-income parents at the college.

The college’s Family Literacy program helps parents with incomes below the poverty level gain skills for employment, strengthen their families and support their families without depending on welfare, according to the college.

The program provides parents with courses on basic skills, family life skills, career opportunities, job search strategies, resume and cover-letter preparation, as well as opportunities to gain work experience.

For more information about the program, call 425-640-1255 or go to www.edcc.edu/ftw on the Web.

Cascadia/UW-Bothell campus
earns architectural honors
The Cascadia Community College/University of Washington, Bothell, campus received an Honor Award by the American Institute of Architects, the highest prize awarded by the organization.

Out of 200 entries, only 12 won awards, and only four won Honor Awards.

The co-located campus of Cascadia Community College and the University of Washington, Bothell, which opened in fall 2000 on time and $6.5 million under budget, serves students earning their first two years of a four-year degree, professional technical degrees, as well as baccalaureate and master’s level degrees.

The two institutions share the library, food services and physical plant. This type of co-location is the only one of its type in the United States, according to Cascadia.

The judges commended the project as a “rare achievement of a massive set of buildings delivered with great respect for human scale ... drawing together the learning community and protecting their communal experience while retaining its connection to the world outside.”

Judges said they “particularly admired the integration of interior and exterior spaces highly responsive to available light, just what we seek in the Northwest.”

Columbia College recognized
for partnership with military
Columbia College recently was honored with the 2002 Ray Ehrensberger Award by the American Association for Adult and Continuing Education Commission on Military Education and Training.

The college was recognized for its partnerships with the military and the private sector in providing education for military adult learners; its continuing support of Servicemembers Opportunity Colleges, of which Columbia College was a charter member in 1972; and for the quality of its 150 online courses available to military and civilian students throughout the world.

“This award recognizes the outstanding work of Columbia College staff and faculty throughout the college in supporting military adult learners,” said Mike Randerson, dean for the Extended Studies Division and assistant vice president of Columbia College.

Fifteen of 31 Columbia College extended campuses are located on military bases, including Naval Station Everett. One of every four Columbia College students of the total 7,000 outside of the main campus in Columbia, Mo., serves in the military or is a military dependent, according to the college.

Previous recipients of the award include the University of Oklahoma, Southern Illinois University-Carbondale, Embry Riddle Aeronautical University and the University of Maryland.

UW’s new computer science, engineering center expected to open for fall
In January, finishing touches were put on the glass roof and atrium of the new Paul G. Allen Center for Computer Science & Engineering at the University of Washington, marking the final phase in the building’s construction.

All that remains is “finish work” leading up to a planned opening in time for fall quarter, said Ed Lazowska, Bill & Melinda Gates chair in computer science.

The project, which will triple Computer Science & Engineering’s laboratory space, has attracted $40 million in private funds so far, including a $14 million gift from Paul Allen, supplementing $30 million in state and UW funds, Lazowska said in a prepared statement.

To date, total public and private support for the building itself is within $2 million of the $72 million total required.

But the fund-raising drive will continue beyond that to help fund $3 million in technology for the building and $20 million in endowments for scholarships, fellowships and professorships.

“These components are essential for our program to hold its place among the nation’s best and to continue to energize the regional economy,” Lazowska said.

General contractor for the computer science and engineering center was Mortenson, with the design team led by LMN Architects.

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