Welcome to my OCAC President’s blog. Blogging is a new endeavor for me so I hope my rambles will take us both to a place we would like to be. I intend to try to keep you, who are reading this in cyber space, informed about a variety of things that are going on at OCAC. Some of the topics will concern our institutional vision, direction and future. Along these lines, strategic planning, the current and future building projects, fund raising to make the projects an ever-growing reality, student, faculty, staff and board activities, the auction, artists in residence and all of our programming will be touched upon. To begin, here is a bit about OCAC’s recent board retreat.

Setting a course for the 2009-2010 academic year, steering through an economy that continues bumpy and finding a way to simplify, or at least control the amount all of us at OCAC have on our plates to do, was the overriding theme of this year’s board retreat. The morning of September 18th 36 members of the board, student body, faculty and staff convened in the KOIN tower conference room (thank you Board Treasurer, Dick Price) to help steer the year’s course. Energetically lead by Board Chair, Randy O’Connor, the meeting began with our annual review of OCAC’s Mission, Values and Vision. That accomplished we broke into three groups to discuss strategic direction for this year.

It became clear during the retreat that we must “accomplish goals which reflect the need to improve the college experience while positioning OCAC to respond appropriately during this recession.” and the board set the following Major Goals:
• Meet enrollment goals in the degree, Studio School, and Art Adventures programs
• Prioritize expenditures over three years
• Complete the “Craft Lives Here” capital and endowment campaign I
• Complete the new thesis building by mid January and the Drawing Painting and Photography building in the spring
• Develop and communicate a revised schedule and priority list for Master Plan execution
• With the challenge of ongoing construction maintain facilities so they are clean, neat, and in good repair
• Complete the current self-study
• Ensure positive protocols while creating better campus-wide consensus building and buy in
• Implement very effective communications systems

Within these major goals are suggested tactics from the Board Retreat for OCAC leadership to determine and prioritize accomplishments for this academic year and for future years. We have plenty to work on and are determined to have an outstanding academic year!

NEW VP\CFO has been hired. I am pleased to announce that Lee Milligan has accepted our offer of employment and will begin in his new role on Monday, October 26. Lee is replacing Ron Stokes who, after doing an excellent job for OCAC for over nine years, resigned to take the CFO position at his church.

Lee and his wife have lived in Portland for the last year or so, moving here from southern California. He was CFO and President of NovaLogic, Inc.a software development firm and served as their CFO for 15 years. Lee is a Harvard graduate and INSEAD MBA with a concentration in finance. We welcome Lee to his first day at OCAC on Monday October 26.

And last, but at least: curious, some of you may have noticed a number of day-glow-pink surveyor’s marks around the campus periphery. As part of our construction project we are required to do improvements along Barnes and Leahy roads. The marks indicate locations for sidewalks, driveways, road widening and other improvements that will be taking place over the next couple of months. We will have sidewalks all around the campus, Barnes Road will be wider and there will be some small traffic control “pork-chops” at the college’s entry. Feel free to ask questions if you want more details.

And finally, feel free to ask me about anything, I’ll do my best to answer any questions you may have about OCAC.

All Best, Bonnie