PCC Program Named for Oregon Senator Margaret Carter

Cascade Campus President Algie Gatewood said much of the success for the Skill Center is a direct result of Carter's efforts, both as an academic and a lawmaker.

(PORTLAND, Ore.) - Portland Community College will honor state Senator Margaret Carter at 2:00 PM Tuesday, October 9th, by naming a program in her honor at the Cascade Campus.

Carter, a longtime Oregon lawmaker, served as a councilor and faculty member at PCC Cascade and helped create the Skill Center, which has helped thousands of residents of North and Northeast Portland make their way into the workforce.

As of Tuesday, it will become the Margaret Carter Skill Center. The event kicks off at 2:00 PM in the Moriarty Arts and Humanities Building, on the Cascade Campus, 705 N. Killingsworth Street.

Speakers for the event include U.S. Sen. Gordon Smith and State Sen. Peter Courtney, who serves as Senate president. Carter serves as president pro tem.

Senator Smith has been a supporter of the Skill Center, both as an Oregon legislator and as a member of the state's congressional delegation.

"It is difficult to imagine what Portland Community College would be like had we not had this long, wonderful relationship with Senator Carter," said PCC District President Preston Pulliams. "The senator has been an advocate and an ally, as well as part of the PCC family. She is one of the great champions of PCC's essential mission: to provide access to anyone who wants a college education."

Cascade Campus President Algie Gatewood said much of the success for the Skill Center is a direct result of Carter's efforts, both as an academic and a lawmaker. "She has always been there for these students, for this faculty and staff, for the neighborhood, for Portland and for Oregonians," Gatewood said.

Earlier this year, Carter was named national president of NOBEL Women, the National Organization for Black Elected Legislative Women. "Now, as she takes her gift of leadership to the national level, we felt this would be the ideal time to honor her services to us all," Gatewood said.

Carter serves District 22 in North Portland. She was first elected to the Oregon House in 1985 and moved to the Senate in 2001, winning re-election in 2005. She has played a pivotal role in the creation and long-term support of the Skill Center through her efforts on the House Education Committee, the Joint Trade and Economic Development Committee, the budget-writing Ways and Means Committee, and in her leadership position in the Senate.