Brian Freeman

Brian Freeman was born and raised in Portland, and practiced law in Gresham for about 30 years.  He became a colonel and pilot in the National Guard when he served from 1963 to 1993.

He said education  provides a better background, makes you a better citizen, and gives you a means to make a living that is more interesting than if you’re unskilled. There are “a lot of smart people who could do more if they had only the opportunity to get an education,” Freeman said.

He’s been on the board since 2000, and before that he was on the Mt. Hood Foundation board for 12 years.

He said more than anything else he would like to see enrollment increase at Mt. Hood. He said the college  is here to serve everybody, those transferring and those going on to a job. He said when the college increases enrollment, they will know they’re serving their constituents better.

Further, he said some of the things that the board is doing to increase enrollment, like recruiting in high schools, won’t show results for several years.  He said they’re trying to attract students who attend universities, but come back home for the summer.  He said they also try to get fresh high school graduates to attend Mt. Hood the summer before they go off to college; he said it’s a good way to get started on a college career.
Freeman said for Mt. Hood, “Quality is always at the top of the list.”

He said as the world becomes more technical, Mt. Hood needs to train students in technical skills like engineering, the sciences and information technology.

Freeman said that if any segment of the college’s offerings should be given more attention, it should probably be the sciences. He said you don’t find people graduating from engineering school that don’t find a job right away, but he also said a good knowledge of the sciences is important in a lot of careers. “Students taking mechanist and automotive careers need to learn computers and new machines, so they have to go to school all the time,” said Freeman.

“We have to learn to learn these days,” he said.

He said his vision for Mt. Hood is to provide it’s services to more people.

He said, “A lot of people just don’t realize what a quality institution this is and what a quality education we can provide.”

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