Weathering the storm … a time for inspiration

Benjamin T. Duran, Ed.D. CVHEC Executive Director

Seasons Greetings to all!

The holiday season always brings not only the sense of joy and warmth of family, great friends and colleagues, but serves to bestow wonder to what lies ahead in the new year.

But this year feels “different.”

Yes, many of us can still aspire to that same holiday cheerfulness, but clearly the year 2020 has wrought a new world that, while we feel somewhat subdued, reinforces gratitude for what we have accomplished and fortifies a renewed commitment and motivation to face any challenge.

As we collectively look back on the last nine-months, CVHEC takes pride in that we all stepped up in a meaningful way and are meeting these challenges together.

That collective pride was aptly displayed at our board meeting this week when we personally bid farewell to one of our ardent leaders, Dr. Joseph I. Castro, as he departs his position as Fresno State president to become chancellor of the California State University system in January. It was befitting of the season to hear so many heartfelt expressions of appreciation for Joe’s contributions as a CVHEC board member and of support for his new quest — enough to light up any holiday celebration! We look forward to continuing to rely on Joe in his new post as we move through this time of transition.

So many we serve in our region have faced extraordinarily trying times this year and for them, life may never be the same. We know higher education is evolving to better meet our student’s needs and new paths for higher education delivery are continuously being forged. Although this is an ongoing challenge, we will be adamant in doing our part.

As we look ahead, we have our sights set on many endeavors, most notably our upcoming CVHEC Virtual Summit Series which is a spin on our annual live Higher Education Legislative Policy Summit (usually held in October). In the Spring, we will take on some of those challenges presented to us this year: Broadband in the Central Valley – focusing in on Education, Ag and Telemedicine needs; calling for action through the CVHEC Equity and Racial and Social Justice Ad Hoc Committee; and yes, exploring the future of Higher Education in the Central Valley.

This season of giving also provides cause for pause to acknowledge our many partners, funders, and friends. Thank you for continuing to support the work CVHEC is doing for our students in the valley, thank you for the flexibility and creativity that this year has made us all tap into, and thank you for being ready to take on 2021 with us. You make the work we do at CVHEC possible.

I’ll leave you this issue with the final words that Chancellor-select Castro expressed to the board this month as he departed our Zoom session: “The best is yet to come, both here at Fresno State and across the Central Valley. Keep being bold!”

May you and your family find continued happiness during this “different” holiday season.

Benjamin T. Duran, Ed.D.
Executive Director – Central Valley Higher Education Consortium (CVHEC)

CVHEC Mini-Grants support degree attainment strategies

The Central Valley Higher Education Consortium Mini-Grants have been creatively used by faculty from member institutions for individual projects that help achieve the consortium strategy of increasing degree attainment rates.

Now in its third year, the CVHEC Mini-Grants program, currently funded by the College Futures Foundation, provides awards with a maximum $7,500 each.

Last year, the grants awarded for projects in various amounts provided assistance and professional learning associated with Guided Pathways, Math Pathways, implementation Corequisite English and math course development, and advancement of Pathways for Associate Degrees for Transfer. This new funding cycle is seeking to additionally incentivize Basic Needs and Equity, Race and Social Justice work.

One project last year funded a four-day workshop for faculty learning, strategies and techniques that have made the institution’s English coreq model successful.

Another produced a video capturing student voices for Guided Pathways and funded professional development for student services personnel to redesign student services for Guided Pathways.

A third grant supported faculty stipends for researching effective supplemental learning models/services and development of recommendations as well as travel to colleges to investigate supplemental learning models.

“These grants provide great incentive for faculty to undertake measures that will help their students pursue courses relevant to attaining their degree,” said Dr. Ben Durán, CVHEC executive director.

The filing period is now open for the CVHEC Mini-Grants and while there is no set deadline to apply, the funds must be expended prior to April 30, 2021 so applicants are encouraged to submit their request as soon as possible to get started on their respective projects.

For more information or to receive another application packet (first distributed in October), contact Duran (bduran@csufresno.edu) or Angel Ramirez (angelr@csufresno.edu) in the CVHEC office.

Counselors FOCI Series 6 and Spring 2021 Workshops

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The Charles A. Dana Center of the University of Texas at Austin will facilitate its Focused Online Collaborative Interactions (FOCI) Series 6 for counselors and advisors focusing on guiding students into Math Pathways.

This no-cost FOCI series consists of six highly interactive sessions that inform and guide counselors and counseling departments to scale math pathways toward increased equitable access and outcomes in transfer level mathematics courses aligned to students’ academic and career goals.

The FOCI Series 6 will provide a Central Valley cohort of only 25 a learning opportunity with the tools and support to carry on in their counseling practice.

For more information on this FOCI Series please view the FLYER.

REGISTER HERE for FOCI Series 6
Registration Deadline: Jan. 27, 2021 at 12:00 pm PT

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SPRING 2021 Professional
Development Opportunities

Registration is OPEN and filling up! These are no-cost opportunities.

FOCI Series 5 on equity: “Driving Equitable Student Outcomes, Implementing Equity-Minded Teaching and Learning” (FLYER)

Registration for the Focused Online Collaborative Interactions (FOCI) Series 5 on equity from Feb. 4 – April 15 is open until 2 p.m. PT Jan. 28.  
REGISTER HERE 

This six-part series will give Central Valley region faculty the opportunity to engage with the research-based ideas and strategies that are most compelling for addressing equity gaps while meeting the needs of college students from diverse backgrounds and preparation.

Dates & Times: Thursdays, 2-4 p.m. PT

• Feb. 4, Feb. 18,
• March 4, March 18,
• April 1 and April 15

Pedagogy Virtual Convening (FLYER)
Feb. 23-25, 2021 (2-4 p.m. PT)
These workshops are designed to help support faculty in implementing student success strategies in their online courses. Topics include:

• Helping Students Transition to Learners (REGISTER) 

• Introduction to Psychosocial Factors: Belonging (REGISTER) 

• Differentiated Instruction Online (REGISTER)

Continuous Improvement of Corequisite Supports Virtual Convening (FLYER)
March 9-11, 2021

Participants will explore a continuous improvement framework for identifying, implementing and evaluating incremental changes to increase the efficacy of the corequisite models at their institution.

• Tuesday, March 9 (2-4 p.m. PT): Promoting Continuous Improvement (REGISTER) 

• Wednesday, March 10 (1-4 p.m. PT): Introduction to Quality Improvement (REGISTER)

• Thursday, March 11 (2-4 p.m. PT): Continuous Improvement Planning (REGISTER)[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Contact Us

  • centralvalleyhec@gmail.com

  • 559.292.0576

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