West Hills College chancellor named new chair of Central Valley Higher Education Consortium

The Central Valley Higher Education Consortium is a non-profit organization made up of members from private colleges, universities, and community colleges.

“I’m honored to serve in this role,” said Van Horn. “The consortium board does important work and has moved the needle on regional collaboration among and between two and four-year colleges, including private and independent universities, in the Valley. I’m looking forward to working with everyone on important initiatives that are designed to increase student success and completion for all valley communities and residents.”

The 27-member strong consortium brings together members serving over 250,000 students in the Central Valley.

Van Horn has been a part of CVHEC’s executive team since 2016 when he started serving as treasurer.

Dr. Benjamin Duran, Executive Director of CVHEC, said Van Horn brings a breadth of knowledge and experience to the role.

“We are delighted to have someone like Dr. Van Horn, with his experience and reputation in higher education, to serve as Chair of the Central Valley Higher Education Consortium (CVHEC),” he said. “He has the full confidence of the presidents and chancellors of the 27 member institutions to lead CVHEC, which is recognized as the organization in the Central Valley and the State that speaks with one voice for higher education in our region.  Dr. Van Horn will bring much to the dialogue about improving the well-being of our students in our Central Valley colleges and universities.”

Van Horn has served as the Chancellor of the West Hills Community College District since 2017. Before taking on the role, he served as the district’s Vice-Chancellor of Educational Services and Workforce Development.

He has an extensive history in higher education, including serving as Dean of Instruction at Folsom Lake College from 2005 to 2013 and as Associate Commissioner of the Community College League of California’s Commission on Athletics (COA) for nine years. Other experience includes serving as Director of Public Information Services of the California Association of Community Colleges (known today as Community College League of California), Director of Community Relations at Mt. San Antonio College, and Senior Vice President of The Resource Group, an economic development entity, where he consulted 42 community colleges in California in program development and labor market acquisition projects.