Linn-Benton Community College

Distinguished Staff, Pastega Excellence, Outstanding Part-time Faculty and staff service award winners were recognized at the college Inservice Day held April 12. “Inspiring us to continue to do great work.” The Distinguished Staff Award was presented to Mark Weiss, Career and Counseling Center faculty member. Mark began work at the college in 1981, serving as part-time, non-contracted faculty in Parenting Education through 1982. He was re-hired as a part-time counselor in 1989, and became full-time in 1990, providing career counseling, crisis counseling and consulting with the college's child care center. Mark has served as president of the college Faculty Association and chair of Academic Affairs, and as president of two professional organizations: The Oregon University and College Counseling Association, and the Oregon Career Development Association. Mark was recognized for his dedication to students, helping to remove barriers and create paths for students to succeed acad...

If you missed the President’s Winter Forum on Thursday, Jan. 14, President Hamann covered several interesting topics, including the rollout of a new college budget model, which will be presented at the Board meeting Jan. 20. The new model will provide information to the board on college needs, and then guidance on how to go about funding those needs - a slightly different approach from the current budget model. A solution to the Benton Center parking and expansion project will also be presented at the board meeting. The project is projected to provide an additional 268 much-needed parking spaces at the center, along with an additional 20,000-square-feet of instructional space. President Hamann also shared that at the end of this year the college will no longer be part of Achieving the Dream, but will move instead to the new Guided Pathways partnership, which includes 30 community colleges nationwide. The new partnership will provide support for initiatives already developed in part ...

Victoria Fridley Fred Stuewe Dean Dowless Jack Stone Linn-Benton Community College announced Distinguished Staff Award and Pastega Award winners at the college’s Inservice April 16. Business Management faculty member Jack Stone was named Distinguished Staff. Stone, of Corvallis, began work at the college in 1996, and is retiring from the college in June. Nominated by his peers for his dedication and commitment to LBCC, students and the community, Stone was recognized for his devotion to teaching, and his inspiring mentorship, friendship and leadership to fellow faculty and staff at the college. The Pastega Faculty Excellence Award was presented to LBCC welding faculty members Dean Dowless and Fred Stuewe. Dowless, of Corvallis, began teaching at the college part-time in 1983, and has been a full-time instructor since 1993. Stuewe, of Philomath, began teaching part-time in 2004, and became full-time in 2009. Dowless and Stuewe were recognized for their dedicat...

Stephen and Carolyn Lebsack received the Pastega Faculty Excellance Award, and Teresa Thomas (r) received the Pastega Classified Excellence Award. Linn-Benton Community College announced Distinguished Staff and Pastega award winners at the college’s Inservice held Sept. 17. Alice Sperling was named Distinguished Staff. Established in 1980 to recognize employees for their contribution of both time and energy to the college, nominees must have completed 10 years of continuous employment with LBCC. Sperling, of Tangent, began work at the college in 1995 as an instructional assistant. She held several positions before becoming faculty coordinator for the LBCC Center for Teaching and Learning Excellence in 2005. She retired from the college in June.  Nominated by her peers for her dedication and commitment to LBCC, students and the community, Sperling is lauded for her ability to teach others to teach, listen and communicate effectively. Carolyn Lebsack and Stephen Lebsack received...

Linn-Benton Community College awarded Sheri Billetter with the Distinguished Staff award at fall in service held Sept. 13. Billetter was hired at LBCC in 1996 as a faculty member of the Dental Assisting Program. Sheri served as the Program Chair from 1996 to 1998, and as Department Chair from 1998 through June of 2011. She retired in June of this year. A Corvallis resident, Billetter was nominated by her peers for her dedication and commitment to LBCC, to students and to the community. She is credited with making the college dental assistant program one of the most successful and respected programs in the Western region. LBCC’s Distinguished Staff Award was established in 1980 to recognize employees for their contribution of both time and energy to the college. Nominees must have completed 10 years of continuous employment with LBCC.