(FRONT): Benjamín Durán, Stan Carrizosa, Priscila Villanueva and Ángel Ramírez. (BACK): Elaine Cash, Tom Uribes, Tom Burke, John Spevak and Saundra McGlothlin.
Dr. Benjamin Durán, executive director of the Central Valley Higher Education Consortium, was interviewed by ABC30 reporter Elisa Navarro for her story on passage of the Biden Infrastructure Bill in early November and what the broadband portion means to area students and colleges. See the ABC30 news clip.
National University announced recently that its Sanford College of Education has been selected by Fresno Unified School District and the Wallace Foundation to participate in a $102 million nationwide initiative focused on building a pipeline of school leaders dedicated to supporting equity in K-12 classrooms.
A nonprofit university with a 50-year history of serving working adults and home to one of the largest schools of education in the United States, National University operates a campus in Fresno and is a Central Valley Higher Education Consortium member institution.
With funding from Wallace Foundation, the five-year Equity-Centered Pipeline Initiative will support eight large and socio-economically diverse school districts across the country, including California’s Fresno Unified School District.
“At a time when our nation is grappling with profound questions of social injustice, weaving the principles of equity into school leadership is one of the most powerful levers we have to address issues of educational access and outcomes,” said Dr. Donna Elder, associate dean of National University’s Sanford College of Education in the Oct. 20 announcement. “This work is about helping aspiring school leaders build the equity mindset to understand systemic barriers facing students and communities—and design the teams and supports needed to ensure every learner’s needs are met.”
As part of an $8.2 million grant awarded to the district, faculty and leaders from National University will team with Fresno Unified School District to evaluate and evolve current practices as part of a multi-year initiative to develop the next generation of effective, equity-centered school leaders. Beginning with the current fall semester, National University will work with Fresno Unified School District to define the characteristics of an equity-centered leader and provide mentoring and training to current and aspiring school administrators.
With a team of more than 60 full-time faculty and 935 adjunct faculty, serving more than 11,000 active students, the Sanford College of Education brings to the project a unique blend of faculty expertise—as well as deep experience in developing district partnerships and supporting in-service professional development for educators.
The new school leader pipeline initiative comes at a time when schools across the country are working to address a shortage of experienced principals and school leaders. Consistent research on K-12 school leadership has found effective principals have a strong, positive impact on schools and student outcomes. A comprehensive literature review from the Wallace Foundation, covering 20 years of research on principals and school leadership, found that an effective principal has a positive impact on student achievement comparable to that of an effective teacher but across an entire school.
“Preparing school leaders to engage with and understand the unique history, demographics and aspirations of the people and communities they serve is essential for meeting the needs of the whole student,” said Dr. Robert Lee, dean of the Sanford College of Education at National University, a nonprofit university with a 50-year history of serving working adults and home to one of the largest schools of education in the United States. “This is about building a community of practice of current and aspiring school leaders committed to integrating the principles of equity into the day-to-day work of leading a school.”
The initiative also builds on a rich history of engagement between National University and Fresno Unified School District. For the past ten years, aspiring educator candidates studying at National University have participated in pre-service practicum and rotations in Fresno Unified schools, working under the tutelage of experienced mentor teachers to prepare for the experience of classroom instruction.
The Sanford College of Education joins a select group of partners — which includes community-based organizations, teacher preparation programs and the California Department of Education — selected by Fresno Unified to participate. Fresno Unified is one of eight major school districts across the country—including Baltimore; Columbus, Ohio; Washington, DC; Jefferson County, Kentucky; Portland, Oregon; San Antonio; and Winston-Salem, North Carolina—awarded funding through the grant to participate in the initiative.
See the full National press release.
(CVHEC members are encouraged to submit items for this column: centralvalleyhec@gmail.com).
Dr. John Graneto
Dr. John Graneto, dean of the California Health Sciences University – College of Osteopathic Medicine in Clovis, was one of four honorees presented the Hispanic Health Leadership Award at the 2021 Hispanic Health Professional Student Scholarship Gala recently in Los Angeles.
The Hispanic Health Leadership Award is presented to outstanding individuals who have served in significant leadership roles and have helped improve the health of Hispanics and other underserved populations.
“It is an honor to receive this award that recognizes the historic endeavor of establishing an osteopathic medical school and health sciences university in the Central Valley,” Dr. Graneto said.
“Here in the richest state, our region has some of the poorest outcomes, especially for our Hispanic/Latinx community. We are making strides towards reversing that trend and expanding access to health care and health equality for everyone in our community, especially the rural and underserved populations.”
Dr. Graneto was recognized for his leadership and role in establishing the Valley’s new medical school and helping alleviate talented local students leaving the area to pursue medical education. The medical school has held numerous preparatory programs to help guide community college students and other Pre-Med students to apply to medical school.
He and his academic leadership team have embedded cultural competencies and nutrition modules designed to help the diverse Central Valley population in the first two years of the curriculum. A medical Spanish class is also required for all graduates.
See the CHSU press release.
(CVHEC members are encouraged to submit items for this column: centralvalleyhec@gmail.com).
Merced College’s Hospitality Career Academy (HCA), a new and innovative partnership between the college and JdV by Hyatt, held its inaugural graduation ceremony Dec. 6.
The ceremony honored the first cohort of 15 students from a wide variety of ages and backgrounds who completed the 12-week academy, which is designed to equip and prepare local residents for careers in the hospitality industry.
“This program is a shining example of what Merced College does best,” President Chris Vitelli said. “We provide our students with outstanding opportunities to learn and grow into new careers, and we partner in thoughtful ways with businesses and organizations in our community to help meet their needs in the process. This is a huge win-win for our region, and we’re so proud to be a part of it.
Merced College and JdV plan to offer another Hospitality Career Academy in Spring 2022, with the addition of a new mixology class to prepare students for in-demand jobs in bartending. A kickoff event is tentatively scheduled for Jan. 31.
See the MC press release.
(CVHEC members are encouraged to submit items for this column: centralvalleyhec@gmail.com).
The first cohort of Merced College’s Hospitality Career Academy received Certificates of Participation Dec. 6 and earned three units of college credit.
The first cohort of 17 National University graduate students participating in the Central Valley Higher Education Consortium Dual Enrollment Upskilling Teachers Master’s Program in English will complete degree requirements for an M.A. this month, marking a milestone for this innovative project that benefits thousands of the region’s dual enrollment students.
The Master’s Upskilling Program for area English high school teachers, which addresses equity and access issues, began in January funded by grants from the Fresno K-16 Collaborative in partnership with National University. A second cohort of 23 Fresno-area high school English teachers began their National English M.A. program in July 2021 and will be earning their master’s degree in June 2022.
The Fresno K-16 Collaborative was established in 2020 via funding by California Gov. Gavin Newsom and is supporting four dual enrollment-related educational pathways that help Fresno-area students move from high school to college and into the workforce.
CVHEC is coordinating two grants: one that is specifically for K-16 Collaborative partners in the Fresno area and a second one that allows for an expanded regional reach. In all, 67 high school English teachers from Fresno Madera, Merced and Kings Counties will benefit from the Dual Enrollment Upskilling Teachers Master’s Program for English.
Program support includes tuition supplements and in some cases book expenses. Participating postbaccalaureate students are paired with college English professors from CVHEC community colleges in a unique mentorship project.
In addition, CVHEC and Fresno Pacific University have also been funded by the K-16 Collaborative for a similar Dual Enrollment Upskilling Teacher’s Master’s Program in Mathematics. CVHEC has also provided community college math professor mentors for 16 of these graduate students.
“This is proving to be a win-win undertaking for all involved,” said John Spevak, former Merced College vice president who now serves as a regional lead for CVHEC.
“Not only are high school teachers gaining the opportunity to obtain a master’s, but high school districts will now have teachers who meet community college minimum qualifications to providing dual enrollment courses for their students,” Spevak said. “Our participating mentors also gain experience in working with the grad students and helping ensure incoming community college students are prepared and on the path to success.”
Eddie Cunha, director of the National University-Fresno Center, said a degree conferral ceremony will be held Dec. 19 for the current cohort.
Background: https://bit.ly/CVHEC-MastersUpskillingNL0121
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The opening panel discussion at the CVHEC/UC Merced Transfer Project convening Nov. 4 in Merced included Shirley Asher, Jennifer Johnson, Karissa Morehouse, Sonya Christian, Gregg Camfield and Chenoa Woods.
By Tom Burke
CVHEC Transfer Project Coordinator
(Photo Gallery below)
In June, when I stepped down as chancellor of the Kern Community College District, many thought I would embark on the typical “retirement” life of fishing, hunting, traveling and just resting after a 40-year career.
While I did enjoy some of that, I also soon found myself right back in the saddle in a “new” role with KCCD as Deputy Chancellor and as a coordinator with the Central Valley Higher Education Consortium. So for those of you wondering: no I’m not officially “retired!”
Rather I am happy to report that the past few months have been quite a rewarding whirlwind as I plunged headlong into a new “assignment” as coordinator of CVHEC’s Transfer Project with the intent to enhance what has been my life’s work: serving students in general and in this case specifically, helping build effective pathways to our community colleges for a smoother, efficient transfer experience.
To that end, these past 45 days alone have seen the fruition of two great milestones.
First was the public celebration of the completion of Phase I of a joint program, the CVHEC/UC Merced Transfer Pathways Initiative, at a convening Nov. 4 on the UCM campus with community college partners Bakersfield and Merced Colleges. Secondly, at that historic event, we also launched Phase II of this project that includes the participation of four more CVHEC member institutions: Porterville College, Reedley College, Clovis College and West Hills College-Lemoore.
Revolutionizing Positive Outcomes
The Transfer Pathways Initiative is the result of a $500,000 grant from the California Educational Learning Lab to Bakersfield College, Merced College and UC Merced for the development of 2+2 transfer maps that streamline and guide the transfer of community college students to the University of California system.
Last month’s convening, “Charting Better Maps to Degrees – Developing Transfer Pathways to UC Merced,” demonstrated how we can revolutionize positive outcomes across enrollment, completions and equity for students while emphasizing UC Merced’s commitment to significantly expanding transfer pathways for community college students within the San Joaquin Valley to UC Merced.
With about 172 participants representing all three segments of higher education, the hybrid convening itself was a hallmark of sorts being the first major gathering convened by CVHEC and its partners since the pandemic shut down the world in March 2020. The energy from seeing and hearing our colleagues in the flesh was very evident throughout the six-hour event that was also presented virtually via Zoom (130 virtual and 42 in person).
CVHEC member community colleges were well represented at the convening where we discussed how in Phase 1, our partner teams completed 14 Transfer Pathways from Merced College and Bakersfield College to UC Merced as well as Transfer Pathway work with California State University, Bakersfield.
The convening also further introduced interested colleges to the Pathway Mapper software program, particularly its ability to enhance the student transfer experience as well as early student success results from institutions utilizing the Pathway Mapper. Participants also received information on future Program Mapper software enhancements that are scheduled.
The topics of four breakout sessions portrayed the breadth and depth of our mission:
Implementation teams of faculty, staff working hand-in-hand
The second great milestone is the launch of Phase II which actually got its start in the summer when a convening of representatives from all 15 CVHEC community colleges included an update presentation on the aforementioned Phase I completion of the 14 Transfer Pathways from Merced and Bakersfield Colleges to UC Merced.
At that June 16 convening, significant interest was expressed for participation in Phase II project implementation so in the early fall CVHEC reached out to interested member community colleges with a call to form and submit their implementation teams.
The four Phase II community colleges mentioned above — Porterville, Reedley, Clovis and West Hills-Lemoore — established teams and scheduled convenings to commence the development of curriculum transfer pathways to UC Merced. They will now be individually convening in the next four months with the first held Dec. 2-3 at Porterville College.
That recent convening was my first as a coordinator and I was impressed with the commitment and excitement by the Porterville College, faculty, staff and administrators to develop nine transfer pathways directly to UC Merced including a new pathway in Spanish.
Perhaps the pinnacle of that enthusiasm was to observe, when a potential curriculum issue arose, how UC Merced staff collaborated and interfaced with community college faculty and staff for solutions on the spot. They collectively brainstormed and developed options for resolving the issue.
In particular, the level of commitment by host Porterville College to fulfill this mission for their students was further demonstrated by the active involvement and attendance in the two-day convening by the Vice President of Instruction Thad Russell, Vice President of Student Services Primavera Arvizu and President of the Academic Senate Robert Simpkins. In addition, Porterville College President Dr. Claudia Habib made an appearance at the convening impressing upon faculty and staff the importance of their contributions to this project for their students’ success and thanked them for their work on the pathways.
Equally, I was impressed with the Transfer Project planning team, especially CVHEC colleague Stan Carrizosa, a former College of Sequoias superintendent/president, and James Zimmerman, senior associate vice provost and dean for Undergraduate Education at UC Merced.
We hope this level of partnership by all parties will be emulated by all our members, which I am convinced will only lead to a great reward: positive outcomes across enrollment, completions and equity for students.
And that will clearly make for happier fishing, hunting and traveling days along the way (when I can squeeze them in)!
Happy Holidays to all!
See UC Merced press release: https://news.ucmerced.edu/news/2021/uc-merced-offer-simpler-transfer-pathway-central-valley-community-college-students
See Merced Sun Star story: UC Merced announces partnership to encourage Valley community college student transfers
Dr. Benjamín Durán, CVHEC executive director; Dr. Sonya Christian, Kern Community College District chancellor; Lark Park, director of the California Education Learning Lab; and Dr. Juan Sánchez Muñoz, UC Merced chancellor.
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_images_carousel images=”6150,6118,6120,6119,6184,6171,6164,6162,6161,6147,6148,6149,6151,6144,6142,6141,6096,6140,6107,6170,6139,6138,6136,6135,6121,6122,6126,6127,6130,6131,6132,6133,6110,6109,6108,6143,6059″ img_size=”large” autoplay=”yes” title=”Gallery: CVHEC/UC Merced Transfer Pathways Initiative — UC Merced campus Nov. 4″][/vc_column][/vc_row]
Eight CVHEC member institutions were honored as 2021 Champions of Higher Education and Equity Champions for Excellence in Transfer by the Campaign for College Opportunity.
Honored at CCO’s annual Champions of Higher Education for Excellence in Transfer virtual awards ceremony Nov. 16 were Bakersfield College; Clovis Community College; California State University, Bakersfield; College of the Sequoias; Fresno City College; Fresno State; Modesto Junior College; and Reedley College.
These colleges and universities are leading the state in: conferring the Associate Degree for Transfer (ADT); enrolling ADT earners on guaranteed pathways to a bachelor’s degree; and intentionally working to support Latinx and Black students on their path to a degree, said Michele Siqueiros, CCO president.
For a breakdown of specific awards, see the CCO announcement and video.
(CVHEC members are encouraged to submit items for this column: centralvalleyhec@gmail.com).
Dr. Carole Goldsmith, who was named the 11th chancellor of the State Center Community College District last month, was confirmed by the SCCCD Board of Trustees Dec. 14 and begins her new position on Jan. 1. She fills the position vacated when Dr. Paul Parnell retired on July 6.
Dr. Carole Goldsmith
Dr. Goldsmith was serving as the president of Fresno City College at the time of her appointment and in that capacity was a member of the CVHEC Board of Directors, which is made up of the presidents and chancellors of its 29-member institutions in the nine-county region from San Joaquin to Kern counties. She will remain on the board now as SCCCD chancellor. Dr. Goldsmith has also previously served as president of West Hills College Coalinga.
Dr. Goldsmith earned a bachelor of arts degree in history at Fresno State, a master of science in educational administration from National University (both CVHEC member institutions) and a doctorate in educational administration from the Joint Doctorate program offered by Fresno State and University of California, Davis.
In addition to Fresno City College , the district’s campuses are Reedley College, Clovis Community College, Madera Community College, Madera Community College at Oakhurst and the Career & Technology Center.
SCCCD Board President Annalisa Perea said, “With more than 20 years of experience in a variety of educational leadership roles along with her knowledge of this district and the community, she is the right choice for this significant position.”
See the SCCCD press release.
Dr. Carla Tweed, a Central Valley native, will lead her alma mater as the 6th president of West Hills College Coalinga effective January 14, 2022 when she also becomes a member of the Central Valley Higher Education Consortium board of directors. See the WHCCD press release.
Mr. James Preston, former vice president of Educational Services who was serving as interim president of West Hills College Lemoore, was selected earlier this month to serve as the college’s 4th president effective January 1, 2022. See the WHCCD press release.
Congratulations to Sonia Gutierrez-Mendoza, director of UMass Global’s Visalia Campus, (formerly Brandman) on her appointment as assistant vice chancellor for Admission Operations of the independent university. The appointment was effective Nov. 29 when Sonia moved to her new office in the Irvine central office. She participated in her final CVHEC Board meeting during the recent quarterly Zoom call Dec. 2. Gutierrez-Mendoza joined UMass Global in 2009 and the CVHEC board in 2018. She has led multiple university campuses in the Central Valley since 2012 and in 2018-2019 she spearheaded the initiative for a new campus location established in Visalia.
NOTE: For the past three years, CVHEC Mini-Grants have been awarded to member institutions in support of CVHEC’s mission to increase degree attainment rates. We are highlighting how our member institutions’ innovative uses for the grants are positively impacting students.
A Pre-Med Pathway Bootcamp helped 25 local students prepare to apply to California Health Sciences University College of Osteopathic Medicine (CHSU-COM) thanks to funding from Central Valley Higher Education Consortium’s Mini-Grant project.
CVHEC’s $6,000 mini-grant offset course fees for students so they only had to pay $25 to reserve their seats. The grant also provided all MCAT prep supplies and instruction, T-shirts, certificates of completion and a catered lunch for the attendees.
“Our local pre-med students greatly benefited from only having to pay $25 for this in-depth Pre-Med Pathway Bootcamp,” said Dr. Kevin Steed, assistant professor of Biomedical Education who served as program director with Samuel Kadavakollu, PhD, chair of the Biomedical Education Department and associate professor at CHSU-COM.
“We appreciate CHSU’s and CVHEC’s commitment to keeping this program affordable for local students, many of whom would not have been able to participate if they had to pay thousands for a program of this caliber,” Dr. Steed said.
CHSU’s four-weekend bootcamp held in October was divided into three main categories with sessions that provided the aspiring pre-medical students an opportunity to prepare for the Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT), learn about the medical school application process and experience the medical school environment.
In addition to classroom learning, pre-med students experienced HoloAnatomy using the Microsoft HoloLens; participated in a culinary workshop in the CHSU-COM Teaching Kitchen where they practiced cooking healthy recipes; and stepped into the shoes of a current medical student by participating in medical simulation scenarios in the CHSU Simulation Center with manikins and real Standardized Patients.
Graduates of the bootcamp were presented with certificates by John Graneto, DO, dean of the College of Osteopathic Medicine and Lisa Chun, DO, associate dean of Osteopathic Clinical Education and Simulation.
CHSU is now planning for its next Pre-Med Pathway Bootcamp in spring 2022.
The CVHEC Mini-Grants project, currently funded by the College Futures Foundation, provides awards up to $10,000 each which faculty from consortium member institutions have creatively used for individual projects that help achieve CVHEC’s strategy of increasing degree attainment rates.
Previous mini-grants have supported assistance and professional learning associated with Guided Pathways, Math Pathways, implementation of Corequisite English and math, course development and advancement of Pathways for Associate Degrees for Transfer.
The 2021 funding cycle also sought to additionally incentivize basic needs and equity, race and social justice work. Details about applications for the 2022 funding cycle will be announced in January.
For more information about CVHEC Mini-Grants, contact Angel Ramirez at angelr@mail.fresnostate.edu.
Students prepared to apply to California Health Sciences University College of Osteopathic Medicine (CHSU-COM) at the Pre-Med Pathway Bootcamp with funding from the Central Valley Higher Education Consortium Mini-Grant project.
Boot camp students participated in a culinary workshop in the CHSU-COM Teaching Kitchen where they practiced cooking healthy recipes.
