Columbia Gorge Community College

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Columbia Gorge Community College
Columbia Gorge Community College, The Dalles - DPLA - a066be0b842fb85b467f2f544d0e516f.jpg
The front of the main building
Former names
Treaty Oak
Type Public community college
Established1977
President Kenneth Lawson [1]
Location, ,
United States

45°35′28″N121°11′20″W / 45.591°N 121.189°W / 45.591; -121.189
CampusRural
Colors    Purple and White
Nickname Fighting Salmon
MascotChinook
Website www.cgcc.edu

Columbia Gorge Community College is a public community college in The Dalles, Oregon, which is situated and surrounded by the Columbia Gorge National Scenic Area.

Contents

History

The college began in 1977 as the Wasco Area Education Service District, which not long after was changed to Treaty Oak Education Service District. The original incarnation of the college operated in leased facilities in downtown The Dalles for 16 years.

In 1989, a public vote changed the college's designation from a service district to a community college and later its name was changed to Columbia Gorge Community College. In 1993, a bond election allowed for the purchase and remodeling of the current campus facility, a former hospital.

In 2001, voters in Wasco County and Hood River County approved the annexation of Hood River County to the college's service district. The Hood River Center operated out of rented facilities near the waterfront in Hood River County. The college started the first wind technician training of any West Coast community college in 2006–07. This new program, established by Susan Wolff, was called Renewable Energy Technology. It was later transformed into Electro-Mechanical Technology, which continues today while retaining renewable energy as part of the curriculum.

In 2008, the college completed construction of its new campus in Hood River and a new Health Sciences Building on its campus in The Dalles.

In 2013, the college became independently accredited.

The college's founding president was William Bell, who led efforts to relocate the college to its new campus in 1994. The second president was Frank Toda, who led the 2001 annexation effort with board chair Mike Schend, as well as such initiatives as the new nursing program in 2001, a 2004 bond measure for the Hood River campus and The Dalles Campus improvements, Fort Dalles Readiness Center construction, and independent accreditation. From 2018-2023, Marta Yera-Cronin served as president of the college. In the fall of 2023, Cronin was succeeded by Kenneth Lawson, who was previously Vice President of Instruction at Skagit Valley College in Mt. Vernon, Washington.

The college announced in 2018 that it would be building a new skill center and student housing, which opened in fall term of 2021. [2] These projects were funded by the Oregon Legislature, City of The Dalles, Wasco County and the college itself (through a full faith and credit bond measure) without need for a local bond measure. The college added new programs including Construction Technology, Pre-Construction, and Advanced Manufacturing & Fabrication in September 2021 and Aviation maintenance technician training in 2022. The college has plans for other new programs including Agriculture Technology, and Fire Science in the near future. [3]

Campus

The Dalles Campus is located at 400 East Scenic Drive, next to Sorosis Park, overlooking the town. The campus consists of six main buildings and smaller buildings surrounding an outdoor amphitheater. CGCC is the closest community college to the Portland Metro area with on-campus student housing.

CGCC - Hood River Campus Hood River - DPLA - 0f48ad5d536f59534873466bd26bce65.jpg
CGCC - Hood River Campus

The Hood River Indian Creek Campus is located at 1730 College Way, next to Indian Creek in Hood River, with scenic views of Mt. Hood and Mt. Adams. [4]

Athletics

Starting in the fall of 2024, Mens and Woman's Cross Country Teams will be offered on campus as the schools first ever collegiate teams. [5] CGCC is a member of the NWAC conference. [6]

Accreditation

The college is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. Prior to being independently accredited, it was accredited through a contract with Portland Community College.

See also

Related Research Articles

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Wasco County is one of the 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2020 census, the population was 25,213. Its county seat is The Dalles. The county is named for a local tribe of Native Americans, the Wasco, a Chinook tribe who live on the south side of the Columbia River. It is near the Washington state line. Wasco County comprises The Dalles Micropolitan Statistical Area.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Dalles, Oregon</span> City in the United States

The Dalles, formally the City of The Dalles and also called Dalles City, is an inland port and the largest city in Wasco County, Oregon, United States. The population was 16,010 at the 2020 census, and it is the largest city in Oregon along the Columbia River outside the Portland Metropolitan Area. The Dalles is 75 miles east of Portland, within the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area.

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<i>The Dalles Chronicle</i>

The Dalles Chronicle was a twice-weekly newspaper published in The Dalles, Oregon, from 1890 to 2020. It served The Dalles, and much of the eastern Columbia Gorge region, and the outlying areas of Wasco and Sherman Counties.

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The Dalles High School (TDHS), formerly The Dalles Wahtonka High School (TDW) is a public high school located in The Dalles, Oregon, United States. It houses students from both The Dalles and the adjacent town of Mosier.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mid-Columbia Fire and Rescue</span> Emergency services provider in Oregon

Mid-Columbia Fire and Rescue is the fire protection, emergency medical services, hazmat, search and rescue, and extrication provider for The Dalles and northern Wasco County in the state of Oregon. The department is made up of both paid staff and volunteers. They protect about 16,000 people that cover an area of about 120 sq mi (310.8 km2). Formed in 1995, the department has two fire stations and serve a primarily residential area. They have an ISO rating of 4–8.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Columbia Gorge Discovery Center & Museum</span>

The Columbia Gorge Discovery Center & Museum is the official interpretive center and history museum about the Columbia River Gorge located on 54 acres (22 ha) in The Dalles, Oregon. Opened in 1997, the 48,200-square-foot (4,480 m2) Center features exhibits about the area's geology, Ice Age prehistory, Native American culture and basketry, exploration by Lewis and Clark and others on the Oregon Trail, settlement, transportation and natural history. The Wasco County Historical Museum is a 17,200 square-foot exhibit wing which tells the history of the people of Wasco County, Oregon.

References

  1. "President's Office". Columbia Gorge Community College. 2024. Retrieved February 26, 2024.
  2. Gibson, Mark (27 November 2018). "Skill center, housing project move forward". The Dalles Chronicle. Retrieved 2020-04-10.
  3. https://www.mcedd.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/CGCC-Presentation-Skills-Center-Student-Housing-1.pdf [ bare URL PDF ]
  4. http://www.cgcc.edu/sites/cgcc.us/files/catalog/CGCC-Catalog-2014-15.pdf Archived 2015-04-02 at the Wayback Machine Catalog, Columbia Gorge Community College. 2014. "Our Location and Facilities." Retrieved 2015-03-09.
  5. News, Staff Report Columbia Gorge (2024-04-03). "Columbia Gorge Community College launches new athletics program with first Cross Country teams". Columbia Gorge News. Retrieved 2024-04-21.{{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  6. "Athletics | Columbia Gorge Community College". www.cgcc.edu. Retrieved 2024-04-21.