1990
April: CBC is one of five state facilities and five school districts to receive Governor's Awards for Energy Management. CBC was cited for energy measures that resulted in a 25 percent decrease in energy consumption over the previous one and a half years. The biggest project was a computerized energy management system for the campus. The effort saved CBC roughly $70,000 in its first year.
26 September: The CBC Foundation presents its annual fall festival to raise money for its Endowment fund. In a departure from the wine and food theme of previous years, the Foundation opts for a more family-friendly event, including carnival food, games, donkey rides, and a live auction.
1 November: After a remodel, the Vocational (V) Building is rededicated in a ribbon-cutting ceremony. Roughly 100 people attend. The V Building houses four of CBC's 30 vocational programs - welding, auto body, and machine technology. The remodel was necessary to make room for new equipment and to keep up with increased demand from industry for certified students in the trades.
1991
February: After working closely with officials from the Department of Energy, Hanford contractors, area businesses, and receiving an $80,000 grant from the DOE, CBC announces a new two-year degree program in hazardous waste management technician training.
February: The CBC Women's Resource Center receives a $20,000 donation to help women in financial need with practical services while they attend school. $15,000 is designated for child care reimbursement; $3,000 for $50 travel stipends; and $2,000 issued in four $500 scholarships for the spring quarter.
April: Donna Campbell, instructional director for Math/Science at CBC, is presented with the 1991 Award for Excellence by the Washington Chapter of the American Association for Women in Community and Junior Colleges.
September: The CBC library is remodeled to the tune of $2 million after four years of planning. The new 10,000-square-foot "wings" and modernization effort are expected to be completed by 1992.
November: The school's 35-year-old main plant boiler, which heated five of the buildings on campus, stops working. Replacements won't arrive until December 1.
November: A 2.5 percent budget reduction forces CBC to cut 35 five-credit classes from its winter schedule. 200 students and faculty gather at the MLK, Jr. statue to protest the ongoing budget cuts.
December: Three new boilers arrive to replace the 35-year-old main heating boiler that was cracked beyond repair. The $191,00 system is up and running within a week of arrival.
1992
March: The fourth annual CBC Foundation Telethon raises $17,100.
May: CBC instructors vote 75-9, by secret ballot, that they have no confidence in the administration's personnel practices.
June: After a $2.2 million remodel, the Columbia Basin College Library reopens and is rededicated.
July: CBC administrators announce that they have received a $2.5 million grant from the federal goverment. The grant, from the U.S. Department of Education Title III Program, is intended for the college to enact a plan for self-improvement.
1993
21 January: CBC officials show off the Richland expansion that adds two computer labs, instructor offices, and a student commons area, with a presentation and ribbon-cutting ceremony at 4pm.
26 January: The Martin Luther King Jr. statue, originally dedicated on January 16, 1989, is rededicated. New plaques are added and the statue, which had sunk slightly into the ground, was shored up. Pasco Mayor Joyce De Felice and CBC President Marv Weiss lead the ceremony.
May: The Benton-Franklin Regional Law Library reaches an agreement to have several of its books housed in the CBC Library.
June: Westinghouse Hanford Company announces a $25,000 donation to CBC, intended to increase cultural diversity, enhance science, engineering, and environmental degree programs.
1994
August: The CBC Board buys out the remainder of Marv Weiss' contract after three faculty votes of no-confidence in his administration.
November: Karen Grant, CBC chemistry instructor, wins the Washington Science Teachers Association award for Higher Education Level Region II Science Teacher of the Year.
September: Carleton Opgaard, who retired in 1990 as president of Tacoma Community college, steps in as acting CBC President while a search is conducted for a new president.
1995
April: The CBC Board of Trustees vote unanimously to hire Dr. Lee R. Thornton as CBC President.
30 April: The CBC Foundation raises $1,972,673 for a Work Force Training Center and scholarship endowment.
18 June: CBC awards 700 degrees and one-year certificates; roughly 350 graduates walk in the ceremony at the Tri-Cities Coliseum.
7 November: CBC breaks ground for its $4 million Workforce Training Center.
December: A 3/4 inch waterline breaks early on a Tuesday morning, ruining a $100,000 transformer and knocking out power to most of the Pasco campus just before the fall quarter ends, forcing a U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service to move to the Library. J. Pablo Soto, student and part of the naturalization ceremony, presented a painting of American symbols and modern immigrants, which was purchased by the college.
1996
8 February: Westinghouse Hanford Co. presents CBC President Lee Thornton with a check for $250,000 to help fund an economic development resource center, scholarships and programs to promote local private development, and a future leaders program which is designed to encourage youth in the sciences, technical arts, and agriculture.
February: CBC receives $325,970 worth of Microsoft software as part of a donation the company makes to Washington state community and technical colleges. The 1,130 pieces of software that went to CBC included Windows 95, Office Standard, Excel, and technical assistance to CBC students, teachers, and administrators using the donated materials.
26 February: The Tri-City Herald reports that a winter survey of the college's buildings found $2.3 million worth of needed repairs, including air conditioning systems too old to repair in five buildings, deteriorated wood siding on two buildings, six buildings needing new carpets and 52 electrical problems. The college also addresses two major problems not addressed in the report: replacing the electrical transformer that was knocked out in December, and removing asbestos from a service tunnel. The state contributes $35,000 for the asbestos cleanup.
17 March: The CBC Foundation presents "Making Dreams Come True," the 1996 CBC television showcase, from 3:30-4:30pm, to a live audience and on KNDU TV Channel 25 and KONA Radio 610 AM.
17 May: Heritage College announces it will offer classes at CBC in the fall as part of a new program that lets students in a two-year technical program use their credits toward a bachelor's degree.
September: CBC ends its environmental restoration management technology program due to low enrollment.
October: CBC opens a workforce training center, operated with a $1.2 million gift from the Department of Energy for equipment and another $1 million for training.
October: Inmates from Coyote Ridge Corrections Center in Connell begin doing maintenance and grounds work for the college.
November: The Department of Energy and J.R. Simplot donate a 15,000 square foot greenhouse and $5,000 toward costs to get it up and running, respectively, for students to study plant germination.
December: Hispanic Outlook in Higher Education names Columbia Basin College one of its top institutions for Hispanic students.
1997
November: CBC President Lee Thornton announces that it will add three sports to its athletic program in the next two years: a men's soccer, team and women's golf team in 1998, and women's fastpitch softball in the spring of 2000.
17 December: State Senator Pat Hale, R-Kennewick, attends the dedication for the Columbia Basin College Workforce Training Center. The $5 milion center at the Pasco campus was capable of handling 400 students and intended to help people improve their skills at work or to get a job.
1998
January: Running Start enrollment triples in its third year, from 111 students the first year to 378 students in 1998.
26 February: Beloved CBC Vice President Byron Gjerde dies unexpectedly in a traffic accident after hitting a patch of black ice. Memorials are held at the college and in town; the Gjerde Center is named for him.
7 June: CBC graduates 800 students at the Tri-Cities Coliseum.
1999
June: 250 of the 800 CBC graduates attend commencement at the Tri-Cities Coliseum in Kennewick.
28 June: The first class of 26 graduates from CBC/HAMMER firefighter training. About 80 people attend the graduation ceremony.
July: After a two-year evaluation the Northwest Commission on Colleges awards CBC four commendations -- for partnerships in the community, collaboration on campus, contribution to the community's cultural environment, and campus facilities that are attractive and in good repair.
28 September: The CBC Women's Resource Center celebrates its 10-year anniversary.
509-542-4887 library@columbiabasin.edu 2600 N 20th Ave, Pasco, WA. 99301