Linn Benton Community College Forerunners

Russell W Tripp, 91, in front of many of his awards and commendations.

For many, LBCC has been a landmark on Southwest Pacific Boulevard for most of their lives. A large building that has “always been there” for anybody born after the late 1970’s. 

LBCC was built from the ground up with the sole purpose to educate. The home office of the school was originally at the old Capital Business College building on the corner of First and Ellsworth. This was the very same school our 31 U.S. President, Herbert Clark Hoover attended business school.

LBCC was created due to the lack of nearby accessible education services between Salem, Oregon and Eugene, Oregon. The only post- secondary school at the time between the two was OSU. It was members of the Linn County Chamber of Commerce that initiated the pursuit of creating the community college. As with most ventures, the organization ran into some roadblocks.

“We were working, mainly, to get a community college going. When we applied in Salem to the state education department, they said it doesn’t make any sense. You’re too small, unless you include Benton county,” said Russell Tripp, a former and original member of the LBCC board of education. “Benton county didn’t want in. At the time they thought we would be competitive with OSU. Over the period of a couple years, Corvallis people were convinced that a community college would be an asset, instead of a problem. So they came around, and they’ve been the some of our biggest supporters”.

Once the school was approved, however, the biggest challenge was where to put it. There were those who fought for a Lebanon location, and those for an Albany location.

“It was interesting. Albany offered that site through the chamber of commerce, who raised the committee that had an option on the land to buy it if the college ended up there. Lebanon offered a site too. It was kind of crazy, because on the board, we had a man from south Benton County out towards Monroe, and he was voting for Lebanon, and Dan Ashton from Sweet Home said Albany made more sense, and he was criticized by the Lebanon people for not going in their direction. So it was quite a fight, but it ended up alright.” Tripp said.

The issue of where to put the school has long been at rest, and now there are auxiliary branches of LBCC in Sweet Home, Lebanon, and Corvallis.

"There was an enormous amount of chaos, but we were somehow dealing with it amazingly well," said Bob Ross, LBCC's Biology instructor since day one of the school.

The design of the school has been a topic of conversation amongst students for a long time. One of the questions asked most is regarding the design its self. Why are there so many breeze ways, or wind tunnels?

“We thought it was best to have a solid building. If you’ve ever been to Umpqua Community College, they have beautiful little buildings, and they’re all scattered around. So kids were having to put their coats on to travel between buildings during storms. We thought it would be better to have the facilities enclosed to keep the kids dry. It did create a bit of a wind tunnel effect, which at the time, we didn’t think too much about that. It was about keeps the kids dry.” Tripp said.

LBCC is a school built for education, by those within our own communities, to help students succeed and to give instructors what they need to teach the best they can. 

"The college has fostered personal and professional growth and development among its leaders, staff and teachers, as well as the development of a wonderful professional community that is focused on helping students to strive to reach their fullest potential as well," said Ross.

The original LBCC board of education members were, Dan L. Ashton representing Sweet Home, Russell W. Tripp representing Albany, Ken J. Purdy representing Scio, Glen Huston representing Lebanon, Robert I. Hadland representing Shedd, and Herbert Hammond and Loren J. Smith representing Corvallis.

Russell W. Tripp, 91, is the last surviving member of the original board, and biology instructor Bob Ross is in his 50th year teaching at LBCC.

Creating Student Clubs at LBCC

A Gathering of Leaders

When it comes to starting, running and maintaining a club at Linn-Benton Community College, there is more to it than just gathering together and hanging out with friends. This may be one of the many benefits of being part of a club, but there is still work involved.

Starting a club requires eight students, including the one starting the club. They sign the form which requires the student’s name, student number, and an active email. Each club requires a faculty advisor as well. That is the requirement that can sometimes make it difficult when starting. Faculty are very busy people, and being a club advisor is voluntary, so they may not have time to invest, and being a club advisor can be extremely time consuming.

“It is important for clubs to have interested faculty because it enhances the student experience. Being advisor to the Commuter is one of my favorite parts of my job," Faculty Advisor and Journalism Instructor Rob Priewe said. "To be a good advisor, faculty and staff need to be sure they can commit the time needed. That is why it may be difficult for some faculty. They want to make sure they can do a good job," Priewe said.

If you continually get denied in your search for a faculty advisor due to time constraints, you can obtain a volunteer advisor to help. The volunteer advisor is someone who isn’t a student, and is brought on by the club, after the individual is cleared by Human Resources and Public Safety. Doing this reduces the time requirement of the faculty advisor and can help in attaching such person.

Once all the forms are completed, you will get your first email inviting you to the mysterious sounding Council of Clubs meeting.

One of the things requested of the club president, or representative, is to attend bi-weekly meetings, currently labeled as, “The Council of Clubs”. While it sounds like something out of a fantasy show or medieval times, the council's job is to work together to assist other clubs in staying active. Another important aspect of the meetings is to inform LBCC with what the clubs are doing, and what they may expect in the future.

“We give them opportunities to run fundraisers and earn club money for any special events, and material needed,” said Courtney Miller, the Clubs and Engagement Director.

Miller is proactive in her role as she usually has an agenda created and sent out to each club two days prior to the meeting, which allows time for the club representatives to add discussion points or new items to the agenda.

“I do oversee the meetings. As a student leader, I have to be the one to officially start and end each meeting. I maintain the meetings with discussions and voting. I also have to have a student leader to be my "minutes taker", they proper keep notes of each meeting, in case anything was missed,” Miller said.

Those that are asked to attend are any club member that is sent as a representative for their club. If you want to have a counting vote at the council of clubs meeting, you need to be in attendance.

If you are looking to start or revive a club, and not just join, the process is relatively streamlined. One can obtain a club charter petition from Heather Morijah, the program assistant for Student Life and Leadership, in the Diversity Achievement Center.

For more information on clubs or creating them, please contact:

Heather Morijah, program assistant for Student Life and Leadership, morijah@linnbenton.edu

Courtney Miller, Clubs and Engagement Director, courtney.miller.5666@mail.linnbenton.edu

For general information on LBCC Clubs, visit: https://www.linnbenton.edu/current-students/involvement/institutional-equity-and-student-engagement/clubs-and-co-curricular-programs