CVHEC Equity, Race and Social Justice Taskforce established

 

The Central Valley Higher Education Consortium has launched its Equity, Race, and Social Justice Taskforce which includes a three-pronged strategy to assess and recommend action for its member institutions – 29 colleges in a nine-county region.

Findings and recommendations will be presented as part of the CVHEC Higher Education Fall 2021 Summit Series that is now being planned, said Dr. Benjamin T.  Duran, CVHEC executive director, in announcing the roster and the need.

“The Equity, Race and Social Justice Taskforce was convened in response to the social unrest of the summer 2020 and the impacts of the pandemic,” Duran said. “For too many students, the pandemic exacerbated already existing problems. The taskforce is seeking to rebuild and improve higher education outcomes for the Central Valley region.”

CVHEC is mission-focused on improving certificate and degree completion rates for students and the Equity, Race and Social Justice Taskforce will strengthen that mission.

An intersegmental undertaking, the 17-member task force consists of representation from Clovis Community College; Fresno City College; Reedley College; Fresno Pacific University; Fresno State; California State University, Stanislaus; University of California Merced; Foundation of California Community Colleges (Guided Pathways); and K-16 Collaborative. Members also represent faculty, equity and institutional research leaders.

 The taskforce includes three workgroups: the Regional Scan Workgroup, the Equitable Recovery Workgroup and the Framework and Integration Workgroup.

“Integral to this work will be a collection of pertinent data to drive the findings,” Duran said.

As the regional convener, CVHEC convenes and manages the work of the taskforce and has tasked its strategies lead, Virginia Madrid-Salazar, to serve as its chair.

The charge of the three subgroups:

  • The Regional Scan Workgroup will identify best practices and barriers currently occurring in the Central Valley around equity, race and social justice in higher education. An expected outcome of this workgroup is to design and implement a regional scan tool (i.e., survey) for the region.
  • The Framework and Integration Workgroup will develop the Central Valley Equity Statement and Operational Definition of Equity in Higher Education and the pursuit of a regional framework for addressing equity, racial and social justice.
  • The Equitable Recovery Workgroup will explore the question, “Which students were pushed out during the pandemic and how do we bring them back?” This effort will focus on equity and equitable outcomes for Central Valley students and the implementation of new policies and practices for this purpose. An expected outcome will be to collect and disaggregate regional data to highlight current gaps and needs in our combined systems.

“Taskforce members represent the Central Valley’s expertise in education leadership and have spent a considerable number of years in leading equitable change in the Central Valley,” said Virginia Madrid-Salazar. “They bring thoughtful consideration to the issues facing Central Valley students as a result of the pandemic. They are committed to Central Valley students.”

The CVHEC Equity, Race and Social Justice Taskforce members include:

Alex Adams, Ph.D.
Director – Institutional Research, Planning, and Effectiveness
Clovis Community College
Equitable Recovery Workgroup / Regional Scan Workgroup

Benjamin T. Duran, Ed.D.
Executive Director
Central Valley Higher Education Consortium
Framework and Integration Workgroup Lead

Laura Gonzalez, Ed.D.
Assistant Professor, School of Education
Liberal Arts Program Director
Fresno Pacific University
Equitable Recovery Workgroup

Karri Hammerstrom
Executive Director
The Fresno K-16 Collaborative
Regional Scan Workgroup

Virginia Madrid-Salazar, J.D.
Strategies Lead
Central Valley Higher Education Consortium
Taskforce Chair / Co-Lead Equitable Recovery Workgroup
 
Ricardo Marmolejo
Guided Pathways Regional Coordinator
California Community Colleges Foundation
Regional Scan Workgroup

Larissa Mercado-Lopez, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Dept. of Women’s, Gender & Sexuality Studies
Fresno State
Equitable Recovery Workgroup

Darlene Murray, Ed.D.
Student Equity Coordinator
Reedley College
Regional Scan Workgroup

Alex Nottbohm, M.A.
Research and Data Analyst – Office of Institutional Effectiveness
Fresno State
Equitable Recovery Workgroup

Francine L. Oputa, Ed.D.
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Consultant
Director (retired) – Cross Cultural and Gender Center (Fresno State)
Framework and Integration Workgroup

Robert Pimentel, Ed.D.
Vice President, Educational Services & Institutional Effectiveness
Fresno City College
Regional Scan Workgroup

Onar Primitivo, M.Ed.
Executive Director, Equity & Justice – Office of Equity, Diversity & Inclusion
University of California Merced
Framework and Integration Workgroup

Raymond Ramírez, Ed.D.
Director, Student Equity and Success, Educational Services and Institutional Effectiveness
Fresno City College
Lead – Regional Scan Workgroup

Neisha D. Rhodes
Director for Presidential Initiatives
California State University, Stanislaus
Framework and Integration Workgroup

Dmitri Rogulkin, Ph.D., M.B.A.
Executive Director, Research and Institutional Effectiveness
State Center Community College District
Equitable RecoveryWorkgroup

Michelle Stricker, M.S.
Guided Pathways Lead Regional Coordinator, Central/Far South
California Community Colleges Foundation
Co-Lead Equitable Recovery Workgroup

Soua Xiong, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Department of Counselor Education and Rehabilitation
Coordinator, Student Affairs & College Counseling
Fresno State
Regional Scan Workgroup

CVHEC eyes recommendations by state equity taskforce for implementation

Post-secondary systems seeking to emerge from the pandemic stronger and better able to help all learners thrive can look to a new report by California’s Recovery with Equity Taskforce that provides recommendations the Central Valley Higher Education Consortium will explore during an upcoming Higher Education Fall 2021 Summit Series.

Recovery with Equity: A Roadmap for Higher Education After the Pandemic, submitted recently to Governor Gavin Newsom and the Governor’s Council for Post-Secondary Education, includes a series of interconnected, interdependent recommendations developed by the state taskforce to help post-secondary systems.

Dr. Lande Ajose, who chairs the Governor’s Council for Post-Secondary Education and created the taskforce, said, “Student success in higher education is critical to the health of our state and regional economies. We need to ensure that California’s systems of higher learning fully recover from the pandemic and thrive, while keeping students our number one priority. Their success is inextricably tied to the future of California.”

The report’s 11 recommendations are organized to advance four guiding principles:  Fostering Inclusive Institutions, Streamlining Pathways to Degrees, Facilitating Student Transitions and Simplifying Supports for Student Stability.

It concludes with actions that leaders in California can pursue to support California’s post-secondary institutions recover from the pandemic more equitable and resilient than before, and more aligned with the economic needs of the state.

Dr. Benjamin Duran, CVHEC executive director, said the consortium, which consists of the leaders of 29 colleges in the nine-county Central Valley region, will review the recommendations and begin collaborating for implementation.

“We look forward to sharing out the Central Valley’s equity, dual enrollment and transfer efforts and aligning them with the Recovery with Equity recommendations,” Duran said. (See the story in this issue about the CVHEC Equity, Race, and Social Justice Taskforce).

Read the full story and report recommendations.

 

 

 

 

Mini-Grant Success Stories – Brandman University’s Textbook Award Program

For the past three years, Central Valley Higher Education Consortium Mini-Grants have been awarded to member institutions in support of CVHEC’s mission to increase degree attainment rates. We will highlight how members’ innovative uses for the grants are positively impacting students in our CVHEC e-Newsletters. We begin telling this story with Brandman University which created the Textbook Award Program for 50 students.



CVHEC Mini-Grants support Brandman students in pandemic  

In an innovative use of the Central Valley Higher Education Consortium Mini-Grants Program, CVHEC member Brandman University funded the Textbook Award Program, reaching out to its students at three Central Valley campuses for immediate relief to about 50 participants during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The CVHEC Mini-Grants, in various amounts up to $7,500 each funded by partner College Futures Foundation(CFF), are intended to support activities providing assistance and professional learning associated with Guided Pathways, Math Pathways, implementation Corequisite English and math course development (implementation of AB 705 and EO 1110), and advancement of Pathways for Associate Degrees for Transfer.

For this year’s cycle, in response to the COVID Pandemic and racial unrest last summer, the criteria was expanded to incentivize basic needs and equity, race and social justice work.

This led Brandman to use its Mini-Grant funds to create $150 book vouchers for undergraduate, first-generation students, reports Sonia Gutierrez-Mendoza, director of the Visalia and Lemoore campuses.

“When CVHEC expanded its criteria this year and called for initiatives that could help students during the pandemic, we asked our students ‘what are some of your pain points during this difficult time?’” she said.

“Over and over, we heard them say ‘we can’t buy textbooks because Financial Aid is not in yet’ so with CVHEC’s expanded criteria for the mini-grants, we created this program and notified recipients of their award right before the winter break, when expenses add up for their families.”

Richard Carnes, director of Brandman’s Modesto campus, credited Gutierrez-Mendoza for the Textbook Award ideaand its innovative appeal since the grants are usually applied to long-term pathways projects.

“Those long-term projects are good and necessary, but students need help now,” Carnes said.

“We told our students that CVHEC projects like the Mini-Grants demonstrate to them, and to our university team, that the higher education community here in our Central Valley is united and supportive of your endeavors and want to help make a positive impact on your success and persistence,” he added.

Gutierrez-Mendoza agrees. “Students can’t walk those pathways very well if they have pebbles in their shoes, or worse,” she said.  “When we told our students how CVHEC was there with its CFF partner to lend a hand, they were so grateful. To know that, even in a small way, this grant helped students persist in their college education is an amazing feeling.”

That gratitude was reflected in a letter campaign the students undertook thanking Dr. Ben Duran, CVHEC executive director, his team and CFF. The Brandman students, who are adult-learners, shared how the textbook awards positively impacted them during a difficult year.

Bethany Burnes

Bethany Burnes of Brandman University’s Visalia campus, who reported she has been off work for “what seems like forever due to COVID restrictions” while also welcoming her third child born on Christmas Day, said, “Things have been really tight with our household budget and with your assistance some of the pressure is now off of me and frees up some money for my babies. I appreciate this grant so much!”

Karla Melgar of the Modesto campus said the Textbook Award “was such a big help for me and my family since I’m the only one currently working full time.  Once again thank you!”

For Marybel Herrera, also a Visalia campus student who plans to graduate this spring with a bachelor’s degree in Liberal Studies, the award is “like the icing on the cake to my last semester at Brandman University. In a time like this, and all the changes that COVID has brought to everyone, this award is a nice change. Once again thank you!”

Duran commended Brandman University for responding to this year’s Mini-Grant program criteria expansion, which was intended to encourage CVHEC member institutions to create innovative ways to help students when the pandemic was having the greatest impact, and creating the Textbook Award Program to help fulfill that need with the grant funds.

“We applaud Brandman for identifying a basic need that was just in time especially during this period in our history when there has been so much uncertainty,” Duran said.  “We definitely want to see more students complete degrees and this simple use of our grant dollars shows the great impact a small grant can have when our members are allowed to use their creativity to connect with their students whose immediate needs they know best.”

Innovative Central Valley academic leaders help overcome a year of pandemic

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

Greetings Colleagues and Friends of CVHEC,

We are delighted to invite you to this issue of the Central Valley Higher Education Consortium (CVHEC)  e-newsletter.

As we hopefully begin to emerge from the year-long pandemic and welcome the spring flowers to the valley, we share some of CVHEC’s highlights since our last issue including a glimpse at how our academic leaders and community collaborate to lead our students forward.

First, we want to re-welcome our newest member, the University of the Pacific (UOP) located in Stockton. We are happy to invite our north valley colleagues back into the Consortium after some time away.  Founded in 1851 in Santa Clara, UOP is our most senior institution and has been serving the northern valley since 1923 when the campus was moved to Stockton.

Another of our independent members, Brandman University is also featured in this issue.  We take pleasure in sharing with you a heartwarming story of the university assisting students impacted by the pandemic.  The innovative use of CVHEC Mini-Grant funds by Brandman leadership to bring some relief to students suffering financially during the COVID19 shutdown is highlighted.  We think you will agree that these sorts of uplifting stories are what we need in times like these.

You will also read about the work that Central Valley colleges are doing around the equity, race and social justice agendas our institutions are pursuing. In particular, we extend our gratitude to the professionals who make up our CVHEC Equity, Race and Social Justice Taskforce announced in this issue. The expertise, talent and experience these dedicated scholars from our member institutions contribute to this valley-wide undertaking is a tribute in itself to our higher education community here in Central California.

Again, thank you for joining us in enjoying this issue.

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

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