Lane’s League Membership - Benefits to Our College Community

For over 30 years Lane Community College has been a member of the League for Innovation in the Community College, a consortium of leading community colleges organized to stimulate innovation and experimentation in all areas of community college development. Lane is the only Oregon college among the nineteen member colleges that comprise the League's board.

The League serves as a catalyst, project incubator, and experimental laboratory for community colleges throughout the United States and Canada with over 700 board and associate members worldwide. The January 1998 issue of Change Magazine called the League "the most dynamic organization in the community college world."

The League’s eight major initiatives include technology, leadership, workforce development, learning, student success, research and practice, and diversity and equity. These initiatives guide the work of the League and its member institutions.

Benefits of League Membership
There are multiple benefits to Lane's League membership: An ongoing information exchange of key innovations and programs among League Board colleges; special student-focused activities such as the art and literary competitions; access to the League's portal-based multimedia resource, iStream, which includes videostreamed conference keynotes and sessions as well as all digital publications; through iSteam, League publications and the Innovation of the Year, opportunities to showcase Lane innovations and best practices to an international audience; discounted registration fees to League conferences; faculty professional development documents and interactive tools to increase teaching and learning skills; and opportunities to participate in League projects, publications and activities that include League Alliance colleges.

Lane’s Leadership at the League
Jerry Moskus, president of Lane Community College from 1990 to 2001, was elected chair of the board of this prestigious organization in 1999 and served until his retirement. Larry Warford, Lane’s Vice President for Instruction and League Representative until 2000 was instrumental in bringing League initiatives to Lane including the annual national student art and literary competitions as well as the Innovation of the Year. Notably he spearheaded the League’s Workforce Initiative that for many years featured an annual Workforce 2000 conference and for which he earned the National Workforce Leadership Award from the League in 1994. Warford also facilitated Lane’s participation in the Formation Movement.

Lane’s current president, Mary Spilde serves on the League’s board and Cooperative Education faculty Tamara Pinkas is Lane’s League Representative. 

League Student Art and Literary Competitions
The League’s purpose is to promote innovation in education and therefore offers projects that encourage creativity as well as providing recognition and awards to exceptional students. Both the student art and literary competitions demonstrate the League’s commitment to honoring outstanding artistic achievement among students in the nineteen board colleges. The Terry O’Banion rewards students who have special talent and interest in careers in technology.

Innovation of the Year
Each year the League recognizes a significant innovation at each of the member colleges. Applications are encouraged from all areas of the college and a committee of past recipients selects the award winning submission.

Lane is a Vanguard College
In 2000 Lane became one of 12 Vanguard Learning Colleges, an initiative of the League for Innovation, which conducted projects built on values that place learning first throughout their institutions. These colleges developed and strengthened policies, programs, and practices across their institutions focusing on the five project objectives: organizational culture, staff recruitment and development, technology, learning outcomes, and under-prepared students.