VOLUME 23
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ISSUE 2
NOV. 13, 2017
T HE P UYALLUP P OST SERVING THE STUDENTS OF PIERCE COLLEGE PUYALLUP
Cavalluzzi finalist for Olympic College position Daniel Pollock Editor-in-Chief
Puyallup campus President Marty Cavalluzzi has applied to become the new president of Olympic College in Bremerton. Cavalluzzi announced in an email sent to all Pierce staff on Oct. 29 that he has reached the final round of the application process and is one of six professionals vying for the position. In the email, he wrote his decision to apply came after much ‘soul-searching.’ “If you have an opportunity to go somewhere, you’re going to have to think about it,” Cavalluzzi said. “I’m genuinely happy here and I’m fulfilled here, It’s difficult to think, ‘do I want to move on?’” Cavalluzzi also wrote that—if selected—this new position will encourage his professional growth. At Pierce, Cavalluzzi reports to Chancellor Michele Johnson, who reports to the Board of Trustees. There is no chancellor at Olympic; the president works directly with the Board of Trustees. “The next step in my career would be (to become) the president and CEO of an
entire college,” Cavalluzzi said. Cavalluzzi has applied to no other school. In the email, he calls OC his ‘best fit.’ “I like that they’re really focused on equity, I like that they’re really focused on student success,” Cavalluzzi said. “They parallel a lot of what we’re doing here at Pierce College.” Cavalluzzi was also impressed with OC’s mission statement, values and vision. “I was going through (the mission, vision and values) and thought, ‘actually, I live all that right now,’” Cavalluzzi said. “I really like where they’re heading and what they’re doing.” Cavalluzzi called the application process ‘a time of growth.’ “If I am not the lucky candidate to get the position, staying here I’m already a better president. I can just tell because I’m looking at things differently,” Cavalluzzi said. The Kitsap Sun reported that every candidate is required to take part in a twoday interview process, which includes a meeting with the OC Board of Trustees
Marty Cavalluzzi poses for a photo in his office. Cavalluzzi has been the president of Pierce Puyallup since 2013.
and participation in public forums. Cavalluzzi will attend interviews on Nov. 8 and 13. These two days will include a breakfast with community members, forums with staff and faculty and a dinner with the Board of Trustees. The OC Board of Trustees will announce their decision in early Decem-
ber. If Cavalluzzi is selected he will begin at the college on Jan. 2. Around that time, Pierce will open a nationwide search for Cavalluzzi’s replacement. The current OC President, David Mitchell, is scheduled to retire on December 31. “He’s as good as it gets,” Cavalluzzi said regarding Mitchell. “To follow in his footsteps would be quite an honor, to be honest.” Cavalluzzi, who has been the president at Pierce for five years, is thankful for his time at the college. As a community college graduate himself, Cavalluzzi remembers receiving the type of help and mentorship he now provides. “I’ve been absolutely honored to work here,” Cavalluzzi said. “This has been the best job I’ve ever had.” If not selected, Cavalluzzi will remain at Pierce. “I’m in a win-win position right now,” Cavalluzzi said. “If I don’t get (the position) then I stay here and I’m happy. I really like this college. It’s a great place to be.”
Hobby Lobby among new Pierce professor helps developments in Puyallup students fight hunger Nyadeng Mal and Quintessa Waud
Nyadeng Mal
Puyallup’s old Haggen grocery store will be the home to a new Hobby Lobby. The home decor and craft store will fill about 58,000 square feet of the currently empty building at 201 37th Ave. SE. The remaining 17,000 square feet of the 75,000 square foot building will be occupied by Harbor Freight Tool company, according to Puyallup’s Development Services Director Tom Utterback. “With the positive response we’ve received from our 14 Washington stores, we believe Puyallup will be an excellent location,” Bob Miller, a communications coordinator for Hobby Lobby, said. The projected opening of Hobby Lobby in summer 2018 may be indicative of greater changes within the Puyallup area recently. “The last three or four years have been a high level of home building and the development that goes with it,” Utterback said. “We’ve been busy in terms of permit work”. Puyallup has been home to many changes over the past year with stores such as H&M opening at the South Hill Mall and current construction on new housing developments such as Sunrise and Wesley Homes. Utterback attributes this uptake
Professor John Lucas walks to class every day with a Ziploc bag filled with granola bars. Lucas leads the Granolas Promoting Achievement program for the Puyallup campus; he brings granola bars to class for his students. English Professor Curt Warmington started the GPA program at the Fort Steilacoom campus. Warmington noticed that students were showing up to class hungry and it was causing them to lose concentration. He realized that there was a disparity in food and wanted to do something to help. Warmington reached out to Lucas to bring the program to the Puyallup campus. “For me, it’s about making sure my students aren’t distracted by hunger,” Lucas said. Lucas empathizes with the busy lifestyles college students live and understands that sometimes, for many reasons, students just don’t have time to eat. Lucas tries to check out a bag of granola bars every day and take them to his class. “They now remind me when I forget to bring them to class, it’s a small gesture but you can see it means something to
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The Hobby Lobby storefront in Federal Way. Hobby Lobby, expected to open summer 2018, will replace the Haggen grocery store on 37th Avenue Southeast.
in expansion to the growing economy within Seattle and the surrounding areas. He cites the lower cost of housing in this area when compared to housing in the north, where industry jobs are quickly emerging. “Housing is less expensive here, so a lot of people are wanting to live here. We would love to get some of those jobs here.” Many of the jobs that are in Puyallup are centered around the retail and service industry. “The service industry has had a major interest in Puyallup because the people in Pierce County and Puyallup’s population is growing,” Utterback said. He believes that the success of
the service industry has contributed to the all-around success of the city of Puyallup. Outside businesses are starting to see the success of the businesses in Puyallup and want to be a part of the growing city. With all the detours and unpleasant-looking construction sites, it can become easy to see all the new projects as a nuisance but Utterback views it as a positive for the city, as it will bring jobs and provide the community with safety and parks and recreation. “We have a pretty strong city in terms of being able to have parks and police, whereas a lot of cities tend to struggle with that,” Utterback said.
them,” Lucas said. GPA is thriving off donations from organizations such as Coordinated Health. Students and faculty are also welcome to donate and sign out granola bars to distribute to their classrooms at the tutoring center in CTR Room 170. “If they are hungry they can’t concentrate,” Lucas said. He also added concentration is vital to the success of students and hopes more professors bring granola bars to class. The Office of Student Life is also committed to helping students get through the school day without threat of hunger. College is hectic and sometimes sitting down and having meal is impossible. Students have to commute up and down campus and all the lost calories can make it difficult to get through the school day. The food pantry is available to all Pierce College students. “If you’re hungry on campus it’s a good resource,” Garrett Bown, ASPCP president, said. “We don’t make students prove that they are in need because we want students to feel comfortable.” The goal of the food pantry is to provide students with access to free food and other Continued on page 3