OLYMPIA – The Board of Trustees for The Evergreen State College is set to hold its first regular meeting for 2023 on Friday, January 13.
The hybrid meeting will be from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and agenda items include an update on the college’s strategic plan regarding student academic success and support, as well as continuing to strengthen the college’s financial position.
There is also an action item for the Board to consider approval for the establishment of a new Prison Education Program.
Evergreen has a long-standing history in expanding prison education in Washington state starting back in 1996 with the Gateways for Incarcerated Youth, which was founded by college alum and faculty emerita, Dr. Carol Minugh along with Green Hill School staff, and the Sustainability in Prisons Project, which was founded by former Evergreen faculty member Dr. Nalini Nadkarni and alum Dan Pacholke.
Board approval would direct faculty and staff to develop a proposal according to the accreditation process required for Pell-funded prison education programs. Beginning July 1, 2023, all incarcerated students who are enrolled in eligible programs will once again be able to apply for Pell grants, thus increasing access to a college education.
“We are very excited for the Board’s consideration of this new program,” said Evergreen’s president Dr. John Carmichael. “The first line of the college’s social contract reads, ‘The Evergreen State College is an institution and a community that continues to organize itself so that it clears away obstacles to learning,’ and establishing this new program that would meet the requirements to allow for access to Pell grant funding, which clearly helps eliminate some of the barriers that exist for incarcerated students.”
Expanding access to college credits in prison is a widely recognized equity strategy that can help individuals build strong foundations for themselves and the communities where they live both during and after incarceration. In a recent cost-benefit analysis, the Washington State Institute for Public Policy has determined that for every $1 invested in college behind bars, the public stands to accrue $19.74 in benefits. College education also helps reduce recidivism in formerly incarcerated individuals.
“What we hope is that with the Board’s permission, we can build a new program that helps improve the future for students, their families, and the communities they live in,” explained Dr. Dexter Gordon, executive vice president for Evergreen. “Ninety-five percent of people incarcerated are released – a college education allows for them to be better positioned to secure employment, find stable housing, and provide for their families upon their release.”
The new program must address the requirements for Pell grant eligibility which is established by the U.S. Department of Education, and the Northwest Commission of Colleges and Universities. Evergreen’s prison education program will be developed in coordination and collaboration with the Washington Department of Corrections, the State Board of Community and Technical Colleges, and as well as many other community partners. Another Board approval would be necessary once the final program proposal is developed in advance of it moving forward for submission to the Northwest Commission of Colleges and Universities and the U.S. Department of Education.
More information about Evergreen’s Board of Trustees meeting can be found on the college’s website.
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The Art Lecture Series presents a broad range of interdisciplinary approaches to contemporary art issues by artists, writers, activists and scholars. The ongoing aim is to bring an array of practices from a variety of fields, areas of inquiry and creative production that are active in the world beyond our campus. The series provides a lively forum for the exchange of ideas between the speakers, students, faculty, staff and the public.
Please join us for this great line-up and an opportunity to gather together to engage with artists working in a variety of modes and genres in response to our rapidly unfolding contemporary moment. All lectures for the 2021-2022 academic year are online via livestreaming webinars and are free and open to the public.
January 18, 2023 | Charles Edward Williams, painter
Charles Edward Williams is a contemporary visual artist from South Carolina. He holds a BFA from Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) in Georgia and an MFA from the University of North Carolina Greensboro (UNCG). Williams has attended summer artist residencies at Otis College of Art and Design (CA), SOMA (Mexico City, Mexico), the Gibbes Museum (SC), and the McColl Center for Art + Innovation (NC). Solo traveling exhibitions include “Sun + Light,” “Warm Water,” and “Swim.” “Sun + Light” has been on view at Polk Museum of Art (FL), Gibbes Museum of Art (SC), and Residency Art gallery (LA). “Warm Water” has been on view at the Urban Institute for Contemporary Arts (MI), SECCA (NC), and Weber State University (UT). “Swim” was displayed at Morton Fine Art (DC). His work was also recently exhibited at Aqua and Scope Art Fair / Art Basel (FL) and Texas Contemporary Art Fair (TX).
February 1, 2023 | Neely Goniodsky, animator
Neely Goniodsky has directed and animated over twenty-five short films including productions at the National Film Board of Canada, The New York Times, and Seattle University. She holds a master’s degree in Animation from Royal College of Arts, London, and a bachelor’s degree in Animation from Concordia University, Montreal. Neely has been animating for over 15 years with her works reflecting an ever-ongoing search for new styles and expressions. Neely is interested in interpreting the human condition through abstract narrative and visual experimentation attempting to translate reality into visual poetry. She explores a combination of traditional animation techniques including ink and paint on paper, cut-out collage, under the camera animation, computer drawing, and 2D computer animation. Beyond animation, Neely’s works include video installations, paintings, drawings, and collage.
February 15, 2023 | Sean Negus, poet/translator
Sean Negus is a writer & artist who works in the expanded field of poetics. In addition to a book of poems published bilingually in Portuguese and English, Hurricane Music, he has also published an artist book in limited edition, Congeries. Transmedia projects of his have explored forms of visuality, performativity, and collaboration.. As a translator and editor of contemporary Brazilian and Portuguese poetry they have edited, Saccades as well as DUSIE 21. Professor in Writing & Literature and also Critical Studies at both California College of the Arts and Santa Clara University, their current work inquiring into archival poetics has been recently exhibited in publications by the Goethe-Institut and Tasaworat Collective.
March 1, 2023 | Elizabeth Chin, anthropologist and ethnographer
Elizabeth Chin is an anthropologist and ethnographer with a varied practice that includes performative scholarship, collaborative research, vernacular electronics, and experimental writing. Chin's work interrogates race and racism with fieldwork in the US and in Haiti. Currently Chin is Editor in Chief of American Anthropologist. My Life With Things: The Consumer Diaries was published in 2016.
OLYMPIA – The Evergreen State College has hired an exceptional coach to start up its men’s wrestling team.
Greg Ford, Jr. be joining Evergreen athletics after the holidays to prepare for the college’s first wrestling season in 2023.
“We are very excited to be adding this talented coaching staff member to help us kick off Evergreen’s new wrestling program,” said Zeb Hoffman, Assistant Intercollegiate Athletic Director for The Evergreen State College. “Greg has a strong wrestling background and has helped raise several athletes to the national level. We look forward to his passion and leadership to help us build this wrestling program.”
Ford will lead the men’s team. He has been involved with wrestling since he was a small child, winning his first state title when he was only five years old. He has coached for Washington’s National Wrestling Team since 2016, has been the Junior Director for Washington State Wrestling since 2018, has his gold coaching certification from USA wrestling and has also been the head coach for two high school wrestling teams.
Evergreen announced it would be starting teams for men’s and women’s wrestling and cross country earlier this month to complement the college’s men’s and women’s soccer, basketball, track and field and women’s volleyball teams.
Entrepreneurs, Kim Kaufman and Jimmy Goldsmith, have made a $150,000 commitment to give $50,000 per year for the next three years to support the new wrestling and cross-country teams.
“Kim is an Evergreen graduate and her husband Jimmy has deep experience in the sports industry. Their donation will get our new teams off to a great start, “said Abby Kelso, Evergreen’s Vice President for Advancement.
“We are beyond excited to partner with Evergreen in launching these new athletics teams. It’s the perfect project aligned with my passion for Evergreen and Jimmy’s passion for sports, “said Kaufman.
“With the popularity of youth wrestling on the rise, the wrestling program is of particular interest to us. We’re excited to cheer on the team, especially in their first few years,“added Goldsmith.
Evergreen athletics will host a signing event at 3 p.m. Friday, Dec. 30 where several wrestlers will sign their letters of intent to become Geoducks. The event will take place in the Evans Hall lobby on the Olympia campus.
For more info about Evergreen athletics visit www.gogeoducks.com. To learn more about The Evergreen State College, visit evergreen.edu.
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The Governor released his budget proposals for the 2023-25 biennium. These proposed budgets include nearly all of Evergreen's budget requests for the biennium.
Operating Budget
- Compensation
- Enrollment and Student Success ($1.3 million)
- Corrections Education ($1 million)
- Modernization ($2.3 million)
Capital Budget
- Full funding of the Seminar I Major Renovation ($25 million)
- Minor works
While this budget proposal is the first step in the process, it is a good sign that Evergreen's priorities have been included. The legislature will convene on January 9th, 2023 for the beginning of a 105 day legislative session. House and Senate budget proposals are expected sometime in March. While revenue forecasts are looking good, compensation requests to keep up with inflation will likely strain the legislature's ability to spend on new initiatives.
A Critical Thinker Whose Thirst for Learning is Unquenchable
Marcia Mueller’s life can be described as a continuous curiosity to learn new things. She has held many different jobs over the years. She worked as a telephone operator to pay for college tuition before rising through the ranks to become the youngest Chief Operator at the Wisconsin Bell.
During college, she spent two summers working in Glacier National Park, where a childhood love of the mountains blossomed into a concern for the environment that would help shape her professional and personal path. She also worked for a major airline, drafted legislation, trained Forest Service staff to conduct wolf howling surveys, and started a wildlife conservation non-profit. She is even a certified travel consultant and internationally exhibited photographer.
When alumnus Marcia Mueller MES ’94 considered making a planned scholarship gift to The Evergreen State College, the fate of the earth was top of mind.
Paying it Forward, Marcia Mueller MES ’94
But Marcia’s true-life calling can be summed up in three short words: Pay it forward. “It was a family thing,” says Marcia. “We were always taught by my parents to help other people and ‘pay it forward’.” It’s easy to imagine that those three words were on Marcia’s mind when a search for a more meaningful career brought her to Olympia and The Evergreen State College in the early nineties. Captivated immediately by the welcoming, open-minded campus community, she enrolled in the Master of Environmental Studies (MES) program—a decision that would allow her to pay it forward in more ways than she could have imagined.
Even though she was the oldest student in her cohort, Marcia recalls that she never felt out of place. Instead, she felt embraced by a learning and teaching culture that places importance on the power of critical thinking and prepares students to live in the real world.
“Evergreen is so unique,” says Marcia. “It teaches you how to learn and to listen. It focuses on you as an individual to make sure you are learning and are successful. When I think of Evergreen, I always think of professors and students who are world changers—who are working to make the world a better place—to sustain it.”
Marcia credits off-campus internships as essential parts of her education, allowing her to translate different disciplines into real-world impact. Internships with the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission and the Washington State Association of Counties opened doors to opportunities for a career in environmental health at the Washington State Department of Health and prepared her to launch her own environmental consulting firm, in addition to serving as a consultant to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Through all her learning experiences, Marcia never forgot the most important lesson of her life—pay it forward. Naturally, when the time came to give back, she turned to her family for inspiration. She found a role model in her beloved brother, who had established scholarships at his alma mater, the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay before succumbing to his battle with cancer.
“My brother and I both struggled to afford college and dropped out several times to work and save money for tuition. We decided to make it easier for students with financial need who are at risk of dropping out. By making a scholarship legacy gift of $1.5 million to The Evergreen State College, I can support students who demonstrate an academic focus on environmental studies and indigenous arts and governance as a way to help them change the world and pay it forward themselves someday.”
We offer our gratitude to Marcia for her generosity which will sustain the passion for learning she Evergreen students for generations to come share.
For more than 50 years, The Evergreen State College has prepared future educators, scientists, artists, entrepreneurs, and community leaders to confront the biggest challenges facing our world. One of the biggest problems we must solve together is climate change. Addressing this complex, global issue requires solutions grounded in sustainability, collaboration, and justice – values that are the foundation of an Evergreen education. Of course, values alone will not be enough. Turning cherished Evergreen ideals into action requires vision, creativity, and significant financial support. Often, that financial support comes from donors who are looking for a way to make an impact that will last for generations.
Evergreen graduates Christy Holz ’78 and Tim Ball ’80 understand what it will take to tackle climate change. The couple, who met at Evergreen, have devoted their careers to developing sustainable technologies. Together, they have helped launch more than half a dozen start-up solar companies. Now, Christy and Tom have made what might be their greatest investment yet, a $1 million gift to the Evergreen State College to establish The Evergreen Center for Climate Action and Sustainability. The center opened in September 2021 under the leadership of its first director, Dr. Anthony Levenda.
“Climate action is the greatest opportunity for entrepreneurship, leadership, and purposeful endeavor of our time,” said Holz, who serves on the Evergreen foundation’s board of governors. “Transformative change requires transformative education to understand and ultimately solve the challenges ahead. Evergreen is uniquely prepared to educate tomorrow’s leaders who can tackle this very real crisis.”
Based on Evergreen’s Olympia campus, Center for Climate Action and Sustainability is designed to equip students with the knowledge abilities they need to be climate leaders. This interdisciplinary hub of innovation will align curriculum across the arts and sciences, connect students to community partnerships, and provide internships, all with a focus on developing justice-oriented, science-based, and equitable solutions to the climate crisis. Inspired by youth leadership in global climate action, the center allows Evergreen students to explore to the causes and consequences of climate change, builds resilience in ecological, cultural, and energy systems, and prioritizes equity in the effort to study and combat this planetary threat. In true Evergreen spirit, the center recognizes that no single person or institution can save the planet alone. Indeed, it is a public laboratory for science and action, a galvanizing force for community groups, government agencies, and students and faculty to work toward solutions together.
Thanks to the landmark donation from Christy and Tim, the Center for Climate Action and Sustainability will give Evergreen students the skills and expertise to answer an urgent call to action, starting a ripple effect of hope and progress that will be felt across time and distance. At the same time, the gift is a symbol of the impact that donors can have on Evergreen and on communities everywhere. We offer our gratitude to Christy and Tim for a gift that will be felt far beyond the Evergreen campus and for many decades to come.
In the Longhouse Education and Cultural Center
In addition to its flexible and strategic responses to the pandemic, the Longhouse Education and Cultural Center at Evergreen recently marked a milestone anniversary with a special online event. Below is a brief snapshot of how the Longhouse celebrated — and how it has engaged and expanded its community over the past two-plus years.
Happy Anniversary
In November 2021, the Longhouse marked an anniversary: 25 years of supporting culture and arts in Indigenous communities and at Evergreen.
World Premiere
In November 2021, Sky Bear Media released a documentary on the Longhouse, featuring historic photos and poignant interviews that revealed that the center — the first of its kind — has inspired generations of arts and cultural leaders.
Life-Changing Grants
Over the last decade, the Longhouse has given over $800,000 in small grants to tribal artists, including dozens of small pandemic-era emergency grants to purchase art supplies. Native artists Terresa White, Yu’pik, Joe Seymour, Squaxin Island, and others note that they were inspired to take up artistic pursuits after a contact with the Longhouse.
National Reach
During the pandemic, the Longhouse inaugurated a lunchtime lecture series where Northwest Native artists discussed their public art commissions in Portland, Tacoma, and Olympia. The series was attended by art enthusiasts nationwide, expanding the reach and influence of the Longhouse, and more lectures are planned.
New Classes and Workshops
The Longhouse returned to in-person events by offering art workshops for students, a Coast Salish weaving class taught by Susan Pavel, and a celebration of civil rights activist Elizabeth Peratrovich, Tlingit. The Longhouse also continued its Native heritage workshops in tribal communities, including hosting an online basket-hat workshop by Coeur d’Alene artist Leanne Campbell for Tribal participants.
The Gift of SIAM
The Longhouse launched the Supporting Indigenous Arts Mastery Program (SIAM), which will offer grants to select colleges and universities in 11 states and one Canadian province. The program will help grant recipients support the cultural arts of Tribal peoples in their communities.
Expanding Curation
The Longhouse’s retrospective exhibition, “Across the Waters,” was so well-received that the Longhouse is taking on management of the Evergreen Gallery. In this way, Longhouse leaders can ensure that art, including Native art, remains at the center of the Evergreen experience.
Leadership and Structure
Founding director and Vice President Tina Kuckkahn-Miller, Ojibwe, left the college to take on a new role in philanthropy, and was succeeded by Kara Briggs, Sauk-Suiattle. Laura VerMeulen, Tlingit/Haida, after a long tenure at the Longhouse, became its managing director. In addition, the Longhouse is now administered by the new Tribal Relations, Arts and Cultures division, and is creating a tribal liaison position.
Leadership and Change
Greener grads are government leaders and artists. They are scientists and entrepreneurs. They are people who found their passion and purpose at The Evergreen State College. The college, now 50, is dedicated to ensuring that students continue to dig deep and pursue their passions. It’s also committed to ensuring that every student feels a sense of opportunity and belonging when they come to campus.
We had a conversation with the two dynamic and thoughtful men who, upon the completion of Dr. George Bridges’ presidency, are leading the Evergreen community into its next half-century. It’s our pleasure to share a portion of that conversation below.
John Carmichael, B.A. ’87, MPA ’98, Ph.D.
MPA Evergreen; Ph.D. in education and human resource studies, Colorado State University
Dr. Carmichael, an Evergreen alumnus, has deep ties to the campus, having worked at the school for more than two decades. Most recently, he served as the vice president for finance; before that, as the chief of staff and secretary for Evergreen’s Board of Trustees.
Dexter Gordon, Ph.D., Executive Vice President
M.A. in Communication Ethics, Wheaton College; Ph.D. in Rhetoric and Culture, Indiana University
Dr. Gordon has a national reputation for leadership in curriculum reform in higher education. Most recently, Dr. Gordon was a distinguished professor at the University of Puget Sound, where he taught rhetoric and media (among other topics) and served as the head of the university’s African American Studies Program and as the founder and head of its Race and Pedagogy Initiative.
When you contemplate Evergreen’s first 50 years, what comes to mind?
Carmichael. I’m part of those first 50 years, and I can say that my education at the school was really central to my personal development. Evergreen taught me to be secure in my point of view and how to work collaboratively with other people.
Gordon. Evergreen was innovative and unafraid of difference—the college was experimental and responsive to the zeitgeist of change. It offered an education that was marked by active student engagement with communities across difference, and with justice as a central principle.
What organizational strengths and capacities are you two building upon as you move forward?
Gordon. Partnerships and collaboration are at the heart of Evergreen and its history. Such partnerships among faculty, staff, and students, and between our Tacoma and Olympia campuses—including the s'gʷi gʷi ʔ altxʷ: House of Welcome—and their broader communities have resulted in innovative and meaningful educational programs. This is a legacy we have inherited, and it has served us well.
Carmichael. The past few years—the pandemic, and this era of political and social upheaval—have reignited Evergreen’s original, innovative spirit. This 50th anniversary year has echoes of the founding. We’ve learned to adapt so that we’re engaging students in ways that are relevant to them, ways that respond to the challenges they have right now and to the future that they face. It’s the kind of inventive, evolving work that Evergreen was made for.
What role do donors and supporters play in students’ lives?
Carmichael. When students are the first in their family to go to college, enrolling in any college is a courageous act. They don’t assume that there’s a place for them. Gifts from the college’s alumni, donors and friends help us show students that there is a place for them at Evergreen, and there are people here who can help them make a good life for themselves and their families.
Gordon. Our goal is to educate a broad representation of people—our students come from an ever-expanding range of communities. Donations of every size help us support students who may not otherwise be able to go to Evergreen, and it keeps education accessible to working families. Gifts also help Evergreen students to graduate with little or no debt.
Final words?
Gordon. It’s a challenging time for higher education and for leadership in higher ed. Still, through our own model of collaborative leadership, John and I intend to pass along this practice of collaboration across difference. It’s part of Evergreen’s legacy and a profound strength.
The Grand Experiment
I entered The Evergreen State College as a first-year student in 1972, a member of the college’s second entering class—ready to be part of a new, bold effort in higher education. It was a transformative experience for me, as it is for many of our graduates. Four years after I began, I left Evergreen ready to take on the world.
Now, some 50 years later, the school is celebrating a half-century of achievement, and I can’t think of a more appropriate time to thank you, Evergreen’s loyal contributors. From funding scholarships to our work with Native American tribes, and from supporting our leaders to creating equitable learning spaces, you are helping us continue the great Greener traditions of helping students expand their horizons and take on the challenges that await them.
The challenges, of course, are many and serious—for all of us. I have to say that they feel even more daunting today than they did 50 years ago. Our democracy is being challenged at fundamental levels, we continue to struggle with racial and social justice, and our lives and livelihoods face the dual threat of a global pandemic and economic uncertainty.
Even so, the staff, faculty and leadership at Evergreen remain undaunted. We believe in the enterprise of higher education. Like you, we believe in the young people who come to us to learn and grow, because we know that they are the key to making the world a better, richer, more humane place. In turn, generous contributors like you play a key role in supporting this enterprise.
Over the last year, for instance, your contributions to the Student Emergency Fund provide over 625 micro-grants totaling more than $312,767 for students to overcome expected financial obstacles to stay in school. Your generosity to scholarships made it possible for 100 students to afford tuition. Although such contributions are always important to students, they were particularly important this year, with the financial strain imposed by COVID-19. In all, contributors to Evergreen gave $7,733,831 in the past fiscal year.
With your help and that of other donors, Evergreen continues to change and grow. We received a transformational $1 million gift from Christy Holz ’78 and Tim Ball ’80 to launch the new Center for Climate Action and Sustainability. Alumnus Marcia Mueller, MES ’94 decided to create a planned gift to support scholarships for generations to come. And, on the administrative front, the college welcomed George Briggs, Ph.D., back to the faculty after six years of wonderful service as the president and brought in a team of leaders to take the helm: President John Carmichael, Ph.D., and Vice President Dexter Gordon, Ph.D. You can read about these inspirational people in this year’s featured stories.
In short, Evergreen continues to evolve. At the same time, we also hold fast to what matters. Our students continue to look to us for guidance; we continue to marvel at their innovation and courage. And we continue to be grateful to you for being part of Evergreen’s grand educational experiment.
Pam MacEwan ’76
Chair, Board of Governors
The Evergreen State College Foundation
In November Evergreen welcomed 450 local Latinx High School students for the 2022 Latinx Youth Summit. With 35 workshops, activities, and performances this summit immersed students in the exciting possibilities of college, careers, and personal growth for their futures. The theme for this summit was: "Quisieron enterrarnos, pero se les olvidó que somos semillas/They wanted to bury us, but they forgot that we are seeds."
Students heard from Keynote Speaker, Yosimar Reyes, who is a nationally-acclaimed Poet and Public Speaker. Reyes was born in Guerrero, Mexico, and centers queer, working class, and immigrant themes in his work. Reyes has been described as "a voice that shines light on the issues affecting queer immigrants in the U.S. and throughout the world.”
A powerful and beautiful performance by Ce Atl Tonalli followed the Keynote address that engaged students in traditional Aztec dancing. Ce Atl Tonalli is a traditional Aztec dance group from the Northwest. This group visits Mexico regularly to reconnect with the land and learn more about their ancestral languages and cultural traditions.
Students had an opportunity to hear from Latinx community members who went on to pursue a college degree, while sharing their experiences, challenges faced, and opportunities they discovered. Evergreen Alumni Miguel Pineda '08, Priscella Desiderio '08, Khalo Flores '16, and Olivia Salazar de Breaux '13 shared the power of an Evergreen education and the positive impacts it had in their lives and their communities.
Sin Fronteras (Without Borders) played beautiful 'nueva canción' (new song) Latin American music to end the wonderful Latinx Youth Summit. Immersing students in traditional and new takes on Latin American music. Sin Fronteras is a Seattle based trio playing traditional Latin American music with roots in Colombian, Chilean, and Mexican cultures.
You may be wondering, 'who made that beautiful mural behind the stage?'
The mural adorning the Latinx Youth Summit stage was created during the Spring 2022 Quarter in The Mural Project: Exploring our Roots Through Public Arts with Evergreen Faculty Catalina Ocampo in collaboration with artist and Evergreen alumni Patricia Vázquez Gómez '05. Students created a mural focused on Evergreen’s marginalized histories, navigating questions about "Who counts as 'the public' and who is excluded? What demands can be made on public spaces whose uses have traditionally been decided by institutions that are unresponsive to the needs and experiences of historically marginalized communities? Whose experiences do public artists represent? Whose stories do they tell?"
