PORT ANGELES — A total of 379 degrees were handed out at Saturday’s commencement ceremony at Peninsula College.
And now that the regular school year is over, college President Tom Keegan reflected on the year.
Based on his estimation, the North Olympic Peninsula’s only institution of higher learning had — to borrow a line from a Frank Sinatra tune — a very good year.
“I know it doesn’t make a great headline,” Keegan said, “but looking back on the year I’m struck at how hard our faculty worked, how many hours everyone put in to make things go smoothly.”
There’s a lot to show for their efforts, he said.
For one, the college moved forward with a slew of collaborative efforts, including the Elwha Research Consortium, funded with a $1 million grant from the National Science Foundation.
The consortium includes the Olympic National Park, University of Western Washington and the Lower Elwha Klallam tribe. It takes a proactive approach to studying the Elwha River before its two dams are removed in 2008.
Starting this fall, Peninsula College students will be conducting original research on the river that scientists promise will be useful for decades to come.