Clatsop Community College
1653 Jerome, Astoria OR 97103
For immediate release: February 15, 2006
Contact: Nadine Faith, (503) 338-2306

College Board Takes Another Step Toward Campus Site Selection

At its February 14th Meeting, the Clatsop Community College Board authorized the College President, Dr. Greg Hamann, to proceed with feasibility analysis and development of plan options for a new college campus, utilizing the John Warren Field and surrounding areas as the site. The Board also authorized the president to secure professional services necessary for this work.

With this action, the College Board takes another step along the path that will eventually result in selecting an appropriate campus site for Clatsop Community College. That path was defined in July 2004, and reaffirmed in October 2004, when the Board authorized the president to embark upon an investigation of possible sites and approved his request that Board members Rosemary Baker-Monaghan and Frank Satterwhite assist him in that investigation. The Board also provided a set of “Project Principles and Site Criteria” that would guide the process.

Numerous sites have been considered since embarking on this path, including redevelopment of the current campus. But finally, with the aid of the guiding project principles and criteria, two primary sites were identified: the John Warren Field and surrounding areas in Astoria, and a site just east of the Skipanon River in Warrenton. After further review, the Board directed the president to focus site exploration on the John Warren field. This led to several months of collaborative discussions between the College, Columbia Memorial Hospital, the City of Astoria and the Astoria School District about the county’s needs and local institutions’ needs. On February 2, all four of these parties publicly affirmed that the College should explore development options for a new campus centered on the John Warren Field.

Dr. Julie Brown, CCC Instructor who has been following the site selection process praised the president and Board members Baker-Monaghan and Satterwhite for the manner in which they have conducted their investigation. “It is clear that they are making decisions that are good for the educational future of the county, not just the College. And the way they are making decisions is positive, too. I appreciate how they have been able to continually move forward, sifting through all kinds of information and making decisions without falling into ‘analysis paralysis.’ I am feeling very hopeful that the College will soon have a campus that our students deserve and that will serve our county for a long time to come.”