Portland Community College | Portland, Oregon

What would Rock Creek get, should the bond pass?

Photos and story by Dana Haynes

So what would each campus get if the bond were successful?

Starting at Rock Creek, we’re looking at:

• More space to offer nursing and allied health care programs. This is big, because Washington County is where the vast majority of the population explosion is going to occur. So that’s where the workforce shortages in health care will be most acute in the coming decades.

• More classroom space to serve more students.

• Renovation of welding, auto collision and repair, diesel repair and building construction technology facilities. All of these fields lead to good, well-paid jobs. The kind of jobs people raise families and buy homes with. And we know the workforce shortage is out there. President Pulliams gets calls all the time from leaders of business and industry, asking, “Please train more welders. If you train ’em, we’ll hire ’em!” Same for the other fields.

• Expand child-care facilities for students. This is huge. One of the biggest impediments to being a college student is the lack of high-quality child care. We’ve seen this for years.

• Modernize the arts facilities. For those of you who don’t get out to Rock Creek all that often, it sports a thriving arts culture. What’s needed is better facilities for the creation and display of art.

• Increased capacity for student services. It would be great to have a “one-stop shopping” site for students to get registered, see a counselor, find out about financial aid, buy books, all without running around the campus.

OK, so that’s the big picture for the changes Rock Creek would face. Tomorrow: Cascade.

Send your feedback to dana.haynes@pcc.edu. And thanks in advance.