Big Bend president addresses 'State of the College'

MOSES LAKE — Progress and the downward economy’s effect on Big Bend Community College were discussed Tuesday in a speech by college President Bill Bonaudi.

Bonaudi presented his 15th Annual State of the College Address, titled “The Beat Goes On.”

“While the beat goes on, the challenges keep hammering at us,” Bonaudi said. “We fulfilled the promise I made to you at this time last year that Big Bend will open this fall. We did that with great difficulty and only with the support of the board and the hard work of our faculty and staff.”

Bonaudi reported on the college’s achievements and challenges and shared many student success stories.

• Achievements

Bonaudi credited Big Bend Community College foundation members for bringing in more students and raising funds for scholarships.

“Those funds also support the purchase of equipment and the continuing education of our faculty and staff,” Bonaudi said.

Foundation members traveled to school districts throughout Grant and Adams counties to give presentations on scholarship opportunities.

The past year, the college was awarded a second Title V grant, in partnership with Heritage University. The college is using the $3.5 million grant to create three new courses and build on other programs.

Big Bend’s nursing program received accreditation by the National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission last quarter.

“Accreditation is the highest compliment and testimony of program excellence,” Bonaudi said.

Bonaudi said the college administrators have been working to build relationships with local companies and businesses. They conducted a needs assessment of companies in the region, asking employees if they saw a need for local training of technicians to install, repair and maintain center pivot irrigation systems of all manufacturers.

“The answer is yes,” Bonaudi said. “A subsequent meeting on campus with manufacturers’ representatives from all the major companies resulted in agreement that a central location for training and continuing education would be desirable.”

College administrators combined elements of the industrial, technical and maintenance programs into an industrial systems technology program for several training options. The Reinke Company offered to provide training materials and necessary equipment.

“Think of what we have accomplished here,” Bonaudi said. “In a terrible economic time for the college, we have been able to establish a new program to serve a major industry for our region. This is clearly a program development template for the future.”

In an effort to accommodate growth and opportunity, the college set up a Central Washington University (CWU) office in the flight training center. Students can now receive a bachelor’s degree in aviation science from CWU at Big Bend.

Bonaudi mentioned the Paul Lauzier Scholarship Foundation, which provided 31 students with grants this year. The value of the awards for this year is $43,000.

Bonaudi recognized the contributions of the Harry and Masie Masto Foundation and the unveiling of a bronze plaque, which honors leadership and a minimum contribution of $100,000.

“I assure you that the bronze wall is continuing to grow as more of our residents take the time to express their confidence in the work we do to support our students,” Bonaudi said. “By this time next year, we should see at least three more additions to the wall of recognition and remembrance.”

Bonaudi recognized other large contributions to the college, including the support of the Grant County commissioners.

• Challenges

Bonaudi addressed the ways board members prepared for budget cuts this year.

“Challenging economic times mean doing more with less if you’re going to stay open at all,” he said.

The college permanently lost about 10 positions, including vice president of instruction, flight instructor, computer science instructor and physical education instructor. This means the remaining employees took on the responsibilities from the eliminated positions.

Bonaudi talked about conferences he attended in Washington D.C. and Olympia to plead for less funding cuts.

“Our message isn’t, ‘don’t cut our funding,’ because we are way beyond that request,” Bonaudi said. “It is rather, ‘do as little additional harm to us as possible.’ Many of us can debate for hours the role of state and federal government in the support of higher education, yet without some base level of support and some permanent source of funding, we cannot continue to operate as we have since 1962.”

The continuing session of the legislature brings uncertainty to the college’s financial state. Future challenges include more budget cuts, the demand for new equipment, the need for faculty training and overcrowding, Bonaudi said.

“The need for education and training intensifies as more of our citizens lose their jobs,” Bonaudi said. “This leads to more students passing through our open doors.”

More students mean large class sizes and courses with limited space filling up quickly.

“It is unfortunate that we usually see this type of growth in stressful economic times,” Bonaudi said. “These larger enrollments are challenging physically. Where do we put them and who will teach them?”

• Student Success

Bonaudi shared success stories of several students, including a homeless woman threatened with losing custody of her child.

The woman had to leave her child’s father because of negative circumstances and did not have a diploma, a job, or a home.

“She went back to school and got a job,” Bonaudi recalled. “She made amends with important people in her life and rediscovered the blessings of family. Now she never misses a milestone or a free moment with her daughter.”

The woman is studying to become an accountant and is graduating from Big Bend in the summer. She has a 3.8 grade point average and is looking to transfer to a four-year university.

A welding student needed help paying for day care for his four-year-old daughter. He is a single dad with a full class load.

The student was awarded money for child care.

A medical assistant program student had no health insurance and could not get the required shots and physical exam needed to complete her clinical externship. She was awarded $308 for vaccinations and the physical exam.

“She completed the externship and entered the job market,” Bonaudi said.

A Royal City woman, coming from a family of six with a total income of less than $10,000 per year, dreamed of a better life.

She is now a first-generation college student and is working to become a nurse. She lives with her sister in Moses Lake during the week, but goes home every weekend to help her mother care for her sick father who receives kidney dialysis every week.

“These stories quite simply tell you why we come to work every day,” Bonaudi said. “Our pride in Big Bend Community College won’t allow us to shortchange our students or our communities. While no amount of extra effort can keep our grass green during our hot summers, you can be sure we’ll do our darndest to keep our plant operating and attractive.”