Empty board seat has five applicants

The Mt. Hood Community College District board will appoint a new board member Wednesday to serve the unexpired term of Ralph Yates, whose resignation was effective last month.

Five candidates applied for the position by the Oct. 3 deadline: Catherine Baker, Andre Wang, Paul Capell, Katherine Kralj and James Zordich.
Whoever the board chooses at its 6 p.m. meeting will serve the remainder of Yates’s term. A May 2013 election will determine who will serve a full four-year term.

The candidates answered questions as a part of their application and one of the common stated goals was to provide affordable and quality education for MHCC students. Other input came from personal interviews this week with The Advocate.

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Catherine Baker, a second-year MHCC political science student and an Associated Student Government member, when asked what her reasoning was behind applying for the open position, said, “I thought maybe this is the kind of thing I should go for and since my major is political science and I do want to sit on a board of education (as a part of a career),” she said.

“This would be a great experience for me. Even if I don’t get the seat, I can campaign in May,” said Baker.

As for what she would be able to provide the board as a new member, she said, “I feel that I can give the view of the students more accurately (being a student herself).”

Asked what she feels the focus of the board should be, Baker said she feels the board currently puts most of its focus on financial issues and politics.

“There needs to be more balance between money and people,” she said.

“I think students are really tired of not having any say and having any voice. I would appreciate the chance to be their voice.”

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Andre Wang, a part-time business law instructor at MHCC and a self-employed attorney, said he submitted his application after board chairman Dave Shields requested he do so.

Even though Wang is among the applicants, he said he is hesitant about serving on the board because he is a part-time instructor at MHCC.

On his board application, he wrote, “As an employee, I have reservations about serving on the MHCC Board of Education due to the inherent conflict.”
Wang currently serves on six other various boards, including the board of directors at Adventist Medical Center and the Gresham Area Chamber of Commerce.

On his application, Wang wrote that he feels the community resources at MHCC should be put to “wise and judicious use.”

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Paul Capell, member of the MHCC Foundation board, is vice president of West Region Energy Lead at HDR Engineering Inc.

As for prior governmental experience, he was also the mayor of Prineville, Ore., from 1997-98. Capell also ran for a position on the district board last year.

Asked what he would be concentrating his efforts on should he be elected, Capell said that although he knows the college is faced with numerous challenges, he wants to “ensure quality education.”

“We need to continue offering affordable and quality education,” he added.

Capell says he is excited at the chance to work on the board at MHCC. “If selected, I am anxious and willing to serve the board,” he said.

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Katherine Kralj, who is recently retired and a former counselor and student at MHCC, said that if chosen for the board, she is eager at the opportunity “to put time into the things I believe in,” primarily higher education.

Along with being a counselor at MHCC, Kralj has also been a counselor at other colleges and was a counselor at LaSalle High School.

“After being counselor at MHCC, I learned a lot about the college,” said Kralj.

As result of her work as a counselor and dealing with students directly, Kralj says, “I feel like I have a good handle on high school students and their families.”
Like the numerous other applicants, Kralj says she feels her priority as a board member would be to ensure that “community college is available and affordable.”

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James Zordich brings with him experience on numerous other boards, including being a board member of the Southern California Historical Society. He recently served as a member of the Boring Water District Budget Review Committee.

In response to the board application question of what he believes the role of MHCC should be in the community, Zordich wrote, “The principal mission of the college is that of providing an affordable and diversified post-secondary educational experience.”

As for why he applied, Zordich said, “It has been my long-held belief that a person cannot hold the right to criticize unless he actively participates in the process of resolution.”

Zordich said he feels the board members should be more visible within the community and public relations need to be improved.

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To be eligible for the board position, applicants had to be qualified voters in Multnomah County, north Clackamas Country or west Hood River Country and at least 18 years old. The board will review the applications Wednesday night before appointing a new board member.