Oregon's Community Colleges to Convoy to the State Capitol | Linn-Benton Community College

Oregon's Community Colleges to Convoy to the State Capitol

CC Day at Capitol

Show your support of LBCC on Community College Day at the Capitol! Follow us throughout the day this Thursday, March 7 on Facebook & Twitter. Share your support for LBCC using the hashtags #beLB! #MyOregonFuture

Oregon’s community colleges will join together for a unique statewide event. On Thursday, March 7, 2019, the state’s two-year colleges, along with the Oregon Community College Association (OCCA), will rally with students and convoy to the capitol. The convoy will start at various locations across the state with the colleges meeting up in Salem at 12 p.m.

“This initiative was created to show that Oregon’s community colleges are all united in making sure our collective voices are heard in Salem,” Casey White-Zollman, president of the Oregon Community College Marketing and Public Relations group, said. “We work together throughout the year on many initiatives. Our shared goal is to make sure all of our institutions are adequately funded in order to keep tuition costs affordable and to best ensure student success.”

The convoy was created as part of OCCA’s Legislative Days—a designated time during the Legislative Session for community college students and leaders to meet with their local legislators and raise awareness of the value community colleges have in Oregon.

“This year is critical for community college funding,” OCCA’s Executive Director Cam Preus said. “To keep tuition increases to roughly 3.5 percent statewide in each year of the upcoming biennium, and to maintain current programs and services, Oregon’s 17 community colleges need $647 million in funding. We are also asking lawmakers for an additional $70 million for Career-Technical Education programs and $70 million for student success programs to support first-generation college students and those from underrepresented populations.”

The colleges will meet at Chemeketa Community College at 11 a.m., then travel together and assemble on the capitol steps to walk around the building as a unified group.

Individual meetings the colleges have scheduled with their local legislators will take place throughout the day. Legislators are invited to meet up with the colleges on the capitol steps at 12:30 p.m. for a group photo opportunity with students and participating college mascots.

Community colleges north of Salem include:
•    Clatsop, Tillamook Bay, Oregon Coast, Portland, Mount Hood, Clackamas, Chemeketa
Community colleges south of Salem include:
•    Klamath, Rogue, Southwestern Oregon, Umpqua, Lane, Linn-Benton
Community colleges east of Salem include:
•    Treasure Valley, Blue Mountain, Central Oregon, Columbia Gorge

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About LBCC: More than 18,000 students rely on Linn-Benton Community College each year for higher education including career technical education, transfer degree programs, professional development, corporate training, small business development, community education classes and more. Serving the mid-Willamette Valley with six locations including its main campus in Albany, LBCC partners with multiple business and industries to enrich the community and support economic growth. LBCC students choose from more than 80 programs and go on to be tomorrow’s innovators, leaders, skilled workers and community builders.

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