About Nate Bernitz

Proud 2014 graduate of The Evergreen State College. Working to engage alumni and future alumni as an Alumni Programs Officer.

It’s About Time: Big Idea event series kicks off at Three Magnets in Olympia

Greg Mullins speaks at April's Big Idea

Greg Mullins speaks at April’s Big Idea

Over thirty alumni and friends gathered on Wednesday night after work at Three Magnets Brewing Company for the first installment of the Big Idea event series. Representing the classes of 1974, 2015, and every class in between, a lively crowd gathered on the month’s third Wednesday for April’s Big Idea.

Alumni and friends at April's Big Idea

Alumni and friends at April’s Big Idea

Three Magnets Brewing Company, owned and operated by two Evergreen alumni, Nate and Sarah Reilly ’01, served their house-brewed beers and made-from-scratch pub fare to Greeners in the Barrel Room, the restaurant’s event space.

Faculty members Greg Mullins, Shaw Osha and Trevor Speller started the conversation with a short talk, which was inspired by their team-taught program, It’s About Time. They shared reflections on how technology has revolutionized our relation to time, including anecdotes and readings from their experiences asking their students to unplug from the internet, use typewriters rather than computers, and approach art and literature SLOWLY. After their thought- and laughter-provoking talk, everyone truly was talking about time.

We hope alumni and friends will join us for the next Big Idea, a talk by Evergreen faculty Nancy Koppelman ’88, inspired by her program What Are Children For?.

Did you attend? Or wish you had? Join the conversation by commenting below.

Legislative Updates – Higher Education Impacts

Stay Connected to the Legislative Process

Read regular updates from Evergreen’s Office of Governmental Relations.

On Wednesday April 7, the Washington Senate passed a proposed biennial operating budget  and on April 8 released a proposed biennial capital budget  The Senate’s capital budget provides funding for several projects across higher education, authorizing $923.7 million ($558.7 million state bonds) in higher education facilities in the next biennium.

On Friday, March 27, the Washington State House of Representatives released proposed 2015-2017 biennial operating and capital budgets, which include funding for higher education. This follows the release of Governor Jay Inslee’s proposed 2015-17 Operating and Capital budgets on December 18, 2014.

Check out the Senate and House Budget and Funding Proposals

Evergreen Operating Budget Request

Impact on Higher Education and The Evergreen State College

The proposed Senate Capital Budget provides funding for several projects across higher education. This includes funding for three projects at Evergreen – Lecture Hall Renovation Construction, Lab I Basement Construction funding, and Seminar I Renovation Predesign.  The budget also provides authorization to purchase the Tacoma Campus property.

In addition the budget includes funds to support facilities preservation, minor works, and preventative facility maintenance and building system repairs.

Overall the budget supports Evergreen’s focus and commitment to responsible stewardship of our public facilities and infrastructure to meet current technological needs and demands, and to provide the needed facilities and infrastructure to provide a quality educational experience for students.

The proposed Capital Budget from the Washington House includes funding for three projects at Evergreen: Lecture Hall Renovation Construction, Lab I Basement Construction, and Seminar I Renovation pre-design. The budget also provides authorization to purchase the Evergreen Tacoma Campus property. In addition, the budget includes funds to support facilities preservation, minor works, preventative facility maintenance and building system repairs.

The proposed Operating Budget from the Washington House provides $257 million for financial aid, a tuition freeze $253 million for state and higher education employee compensation and benefits, an increase in funding for the State Need Grant by $53 million and $60 million to provide the state’s match for the Washington Opportunity Scholarship Program. For Evergreen, the proposed Operating Budget freezes tuition for undergraduate, resident students for the biennium, while providing $2.954 million to offset the tuition freeze. The budget also provides Evergreen $750,000 in the second year of the biennium to expand student advising and support services that lead to increased degree completion. The proposed budget does not provide funds to eliminate the student backlog in computer science at Evergreen, which is currently at 50-75 students.

Greeners joined forces with alumni from Washington's four-year baccalaureates to speak to legislators about investment in higher education.  Photo - Julie Garver, 2/18/15

Greeners joined forces with alumni from Washington’s four-year baccalaureates to speak to legislators about investment in higher education. Photo – Julie Garver, 2/18/15

Interested in receiving updates and getting involved in supporting Evergreen? Join the Associated Alumni and Friends of Evergreen.

In the News

From the Seattle Times: Record Year for Applications to State’s Universities

Alumni Gather in Portland, Oregon

The sign-in hub at Greeners after Work: Portland on March 31, 2015

The sign-in hub at Greeners after Work: Portland on March 31, 2015

Over thirty alumni and friends gathered on Tuesday night at the Lucky Lab Tap Room, on a day that brought hail, rain and sunshine to The City Of Roses. From the classes of 1975 to 2014, a lively crowd gathered on March 31, 2015, for the event Greeners After Work: Portland.

With micro brews, pizza and salad in hand, Greeners shared stories, made connections, and came together for an evening that built excitement for Evergreen and what’s next for the alumni that live and work in the Portland area. Continue reading

Education, and Kindness, is Life for Andy Smallman ’88

Andy Smallman

Andy Smallman

“Why did I have to wait until college to get an Evergreen style education”? That’s been the driving question Andy Smallman ‘88 has been asking since becoming a teacher, and then co-founder of Puget Sound Community School (PSCS), an independent, progressive private middle and high school in Seattle.

Despite doing well in a traditional high school himself – the Seattle-area native was told “you can go to any college you want” – Smallman didn’t apply anywhere initially, and ended up in Alaska as a disk jockey at a small radio station. From there, he studied audio engineering in Ohio, sold used records in Seattle, and worked for the Daily Racing Form. It was during this time that a friend suggested Smallman was well-suited to volunteer helping kids. A year later, he was honored with Match of the Year by Big Brothers Big Sisters of Puget Sound and knew he was destined to work with children. That’s when he started to look at colleges. Continue reading

Provost Michael Zimmerman Shares Insights from Washington High Schooler’s Winning Essays on Liberal Arts

Michael Zimmerman Ph.D

Michael Zimmerman Ph.D

Evergreen’s Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, Michael Zimmerman Ph.D, is a regular contributor to The Huffington Post. Zimmerman is also a founder of WaCLA, the Washington Consortium for the Liberal Arts.

Last week, the organization announced the three winners of the contest. Read more for Zimmerman’s piece, in which he shares insights from the award winning essays.

Continue reading

That Time When Matt Groening Was On Portlandia

The Peabody Award winning satirical sketch comedy show, Portlandia, finished up its fifth season just a couple weeks ago. Episode 43 in the latest season was particularly notable for Evergreen.
The episode, titled “Fashion”, which aired on February 12, 2015, featured a guest star a few of us may know: Matt Groening ’77. Of course, Carrie Brownstein ’98 is one of the show’s two stars, and a co-creator, so for those of you who already watch the show this is just a fun blast to the past. But in this episode, jump straight to 19:15 (the scene starts at 18:25) to hear a mention of Matt Groening going to “Evergreen State”. Then, watch the whole episode, in which one of Fred Armisen’s characters, Spyke, faces trial for making unlicensed Bart Simpson merchandise.

Original Portland Timber Player and food pod pioneer Roger Goldingay ’73 looks back on 40 years

Roger Goldingay. Photo Credit: Doug Beghtel/The Oregonian

Roger Goldingay. Photo Credit: Doug Beghtel/The Oregonian

The Oregonian interviewed Roger Goldingay ’73, an original player for the Portland Timbers professional soccer team and revered Portland food pod pioneer, for their March 19 issue. Read the interview, during which they discuss the Evergreen graduate’s decision to come to Portland, his friendship with Bill Walton and the growth of soccer in the Pacific Northwest.

Roger Goldingay has been featured in the Evergreen Magazine, for the spring 2011 issue, in an article titled “The Patron of Curbside Cuisine”, and is a member of the Evergreen Author’s Directory for his book “Never Look Back”.

We can be grateful he did look back, at least this one time, for the forty year anniversary of The Portland Timbers. A lot has changed in forty years: in Portland, for Evergreen, for professional soccer and for Roger Goldingay.

Gallery Fotoland at Evergreen presents Nichole DeMent ’02, “Oracle”

Nichole DeMent’s process starts with printing a photograph onto Japanese rice paper, which is then infused with beeswax. She further transforms the piece by collaging and painting over it, creating a multi textured, delicately transparent “visceral topography” as she puts it. “By taking risks with paint, wax, and other media,” DeMent says, she allows her “creative subconscious the freedom to play, dream and inevitably teach me about my own human story.”

Nichole DeMent: Oracle

Nichole DeMent: Oracle

Beginning April 8 and running through May 15, DeMent’s “Oracle” series will be on display in Photoland‘s exhibition space, on the first floor of the Daniel J. Evan’s Library at The Evergreen State College.

DeMent received her B.A. from The Evergreen State College in 2002 with an emphasis in Fine Art Photography and Art History. Her work can be found at SAM Gallery and Waterworks Gallery in the San Juan Islands. She works currently as the Executive Director for Center of Contemporary Art (CoCA) in Seattle.

New exhibit at Evergreen Gallery honors recently retired Susan Aurand and Lucia Harrison

An opening reception on April 2, from 5:00 – 7:00 pm at the Evergreen Gallery, honors artists and long faculty members Susan Aurand and Lucia Harrison. The exhibit, titled “Nature: Observation, Metaphor, Transformation”, celebrates “Four Decades of Art” by the two influential teachers.  The exhibit will run until May May 6.

From the Evergreen Gallery:

The Diver 1, Susan Aurand

The Diver 1, Susan Aurand

“The art of both artists parallels the changing environments in their personal and professional lives. Susan and Lucia have highly developed observational skills that they began developing at an early age, in very different environments. At Evergreen, when they taught interdisciplinary programs with scientists, they helped others hone these skills, while continuing to build their own.

Susan grew up in the Midwest where her relationship with nature was confined to mostly housing developments. Wild nature roamed in her imagination. Initially Susan concentrated on ceramics, and sculptural elements continue to be important in her artworks. When she came to teach at Evergreen, she gravitated toward two-dimensional art. Her work in drawing, painting and assemblages reflects her interests in mythology and metaphor and her passion for the ever-changing quality of light and color in nature.

Beneath the Forest Floor II, Lucia Harrison

Beneath the Forest Floor II, Lucia Harrison

Lucia grew up on Cooper Point in Olympia roaming the forests and shores of Puget Sound. Trained as an artist and social scientist, Lucia developed an interest in qualitative research methods, ethnography, and environmental education. While teaching with scientists, she developed a practice of field journaling as inspiration for her paintings, drawings, and artist books. These works reflect her observations of nature and the inspiration she finds there. As nature inspires her, so too her artworks inspire viewers to deepen their own interest in the natural and cultural history of South Puget Sound.”

Candyce Lund Bollinger ’87, Parent Educator

Candyce Lund Bollinger Head Shot

Candyce Lund Bollinger ’87. Photo: Michaela Winkley

Author’s note: Candyce Lund Bollinger has conducted three interactive workshops for the Evergreen parent and child caregiver community, with four more scheduled, during the 2014-2015 academic year. Following Bollinger’s third workshop on January 9th, we sat down for an interview.

Candyce Lund Bollinger ‘87, well-known for her work in the Olympia parenting and education communities, is a parent educator at South Puget Sound Community College and in private practice. Continue reading