CCS to honor longtime supporters

The Community Colleges of Spokane will honor two Spokane residents today – one for service on its board of directors and another for years of supporting literacy.

Longtime board of trustees member Betty McInturff is stepping down, and a reception in her honor is planned today following the board’s monthly meeting. The reception begins at 11:30 a.m. in the Learning Resource Center at Spokane Community College, 1810 N. Greene St.

McInturff has served on the board for 10 years, including three years as chairwoman, and her term has expired. She’s been involved in civic affairs for many years and was given the 2005 Spokane Area Women’s Leadership Conference Woman of Leadership award.

CCS Chancellor Gary Livingston, in his nominating letter for that award, wrote, “When Betty speaks on behalf of an institution or special cause, people listen – because Betty McInturff knows what she’s talking about. She does not engage in a volunteer activity without thoroughly investing herself in an organization’s mission, history and culture.”

Gov. Christine Gregoire will appoint McInturff’s replacement.

SCC will also dedicate its Hagan Center for the Humanities at the meeting, at 9:30 a.m. The center is being named for retired Spokane physician Cornelius Hagan and The Hagan Foundation. According to CCS, Hagan has quietly supported literacy efforts and programs to buy books over the years, including an endowment fund that provides students with help buying books.

The center was established in 2004 to support the humanities across the SCC curriculum, the school said in a news release. Its inaugural project, “Culinary Culture: An Interdisciplinary, Humanistic Look at Food,” featured a series of events about the power and effect of food on civilization, and about 500 students, faculty members and others participated.