CLEARLAKE>>> Kori Ebenhack, the new Dean of the Lake County Campus of Woodland Community College was the featured speaker at the Judge’s breakfast Thursday as the topic of higher education took center stage in the aftermath of Sunday’s Boyles Fire which led to evacuations in the area including the faculty and staff at the college.
According to her bio, she holds a Master of Arts focused in counseling psychology from California State University- Chico, and a Bachelors in industrial/organizational psychology from Rice University.
“I have been a community college student, a Division I athlete, coach, club advisor, faculty counselor, classroom instructor, and a college administrator,” she noted, adding that all these experiences shaped her orientation to developing relationships, valuing diverse perspectives and thinking strategically. Ebenhack answered questions about her vision of shaping the future of the institution during the weekly forum.
Ebenhack has been in this role since July and updated attendees on her plan for the future for the college while also giving some updates on beefing up current programs such as the culinary arts program, building a pipeline for high school students to attend college preparatory courses, working on continuing and improving the marketing efforts for the campus and addressing wildfire mitigation and preparedness.
Introducing her to the civic leaders and guests, Lake County Office of Education Superintendent Brock Falkenberg said that although she is a native Californian, having grown up in Red Bluff she spent approximately the last 20 years in Oregon and has returned to Northern California. Ebenhack said her first job was with the Yuba Community College District when it was just Yuba Community College then moved on to Washington State and Southern Oregon and retired after 32 years working in community colleges. But like a lot of retired people, she still longed to contribute to her chosen vocation.
“My goal is to contribute to the health of the college and the health of the community,” she said, adding that the staff has been “super helpful” during this transition into this new phase of the institution. She said there are about 1,000 students taking classes directly from the Lake Campus, including online courses and dual enrollment students, not all of them local, enrolling in online classes from San Francisco and other areas.
“That number isn’t bad, that’s an OK number to get started but I’d like to see enrollment grow.” She added that there are some programs she would like to see continue to grow including the well-known culinary program which she wants to see open more hours and the welding program, to name a couple.
Ebenhack said she was invited to a meeting in Mendocino County with other educators teaching High School about how to improve dual enrollment and how to bridge efforts between both counties, noting that colleges are not allowed to recruit outside of their district unless they are invited. “I think it’s important to have a third party like the Lake County Office of Education to say ‘Let’s all get together and talk about what can be done in this area.'”
The new dean said creating a robust dual enrollment program for high school students is important in order to create a pipeline for future workers and added that it’s an important conduit for young people to explore their own potential and seek possibilities for themselves.
Board of Supervisor member Bruno Sabatier said Lake County Campus at times can feel forgotten, “Woodland is where there is a lot of focus, there is a lot of population, a lot more opportunities, what is your feeling on the level of support for the need that your campus has when you are making requests and when you are making comments about what is needed at the campus? he asked, gauging the support from the parent institution.
“I don’t know what it looked like before,” she said, but added that she and the new campus president Lizette Navarette meet on a regular basis. “I have been really clear about some of the things I need here at this campus, she’s given me a separate ability to market this campus, she’s increased my marketing budget when I’ve asked for that.”
Ebenhack some of the things that need to be done is increasing signage off the highway and increasing awareness by talking about the academic routines on multiple platforms. “One person can’t do all the marketing and community outreach,” but she said she has felt a strong level of support from Woodland administration since taking over her new role.
The new dean experienced a literal trial by fire along with the existing campus administration and staff as she detailed the Boyles fire came “frighteningly close to campus, right up to the buildings.” but staff were able to close the campus on Monday to address the damage and clean up and hardly a beat was missed with staff transferring duties and assignments to be able to work remotely. She said the college didn’t really experience structural damage from Sunday’s emergency.
In terms of adding new faculty, Ebenhack talked about hiring a new biology instructor and bringing cadavers back to campus for research. Those in attendance asked about the possibility of adding or increasing other programs including agriculture, fire science and/or police science. Ebenhack responded that the purpose of a community college is to serve the community and to have a continuing education as well as solid academic programs, as well as work force training programs, which she called the three cornerstones. “It’s hard to push all those rocks at the same time.”
Transportation was discussed and Sabatier reminded everyone that the Lake Transit Authority still administers a free bus pass programs for students. Despite some interruptions, Sabatier said all the routes are back. “All the routes are doing their thing and have been at least the last three or four years.”
Local 2024 Election candidates to be featured in the next couple of weeks
Other members of the community in attendance included candidates running for local offices in the November 5 General Election like Jeffrey Dryden who is running for Governing Board member at Yuba Community College District and Mary Wilson who is currently running for Clearlake City Council. Dryden feels this is time for a change on the board and for her part Wilson says she wants to build a vibrant city including a thriving Main Street, economic development, and safe affordable housing. The candidates will each be invited to speak at future meetings of the weekly breakfast forum in Clearlake.
The event is still being held weekly at the Masonic Lodge located at 7100 S Center Drive.
