BOARD NEWS: State Center Community College District Names New Fresno City College President

SCCCD MEDIA ADVISORY (May 3, 2022) — State Center Community College District (SCCCD) Board President, Nasreen Johnson, announced at its regular May 3, 2022 meeting, the appointment of Dr. Robert Pimentel to the position of Fresno City College (FCC) President. After conducting a national search, the Board voted to appoint Dr. Pimentel, effective July 1, 2022.

Dr. Robert Pimentel

“The Board of Trustees are grateful to the search committee whose commitment to the District’s values of academic excellence, diversity, equity and inclusion was evident throughout the process,” said Board President Johnson.

Dr. Pimentel is the vice president of educational services & institutional effectiveness at Fresno City College and will replace Dr. Marlon Hall who began serving as interim president on January 11, 2022, after President Dr. Carole Goldsmith was named State Center Community College District Chancellor.

Before joining FCC in 2018, Dr. Pimentel served at West Hills Community College District in key leadership positions for 11 years and as a classified staff member for nearly seven years. “I am honored to be selected to

lead California’s First Community College and one of the most equity minded institutions in the Central Valley. I am thrilled and energized to continue to serve the community of Fresno and work alongside faculty, staff, and administrators who are dedicated to the lives of our students,” stated Dr. Pimentel.

Dr. Pimentel’s contributions to FCC students and their communities include caring, consistent efforts in anti- racism, equity, and social justice, mentoring guided pathways initiatives with an equity framework, leadership in participatory governance redesign, institutional effectiveness through improved data collection and interpretation, prison and formerly incarcerated student education and expansion of workforce education and dual enrollment for our Valley high school students. As Vice President at FCC, Dr. Pimentel’s responsibilities included strategic enrollment management, Student Equity and Achievement (SEA) program, accreditation, grants development strategies and awards, institutional research and planning, career technical education, strategic planning, and budget management. Dr. Pimentel is an equity-minded leader in Fresno and surrounding rural communities of the Central Valley who is committed to finding permanent solutions that address the basic needs of community college students. He is committed to furthering student equity, diversity, and inclusion and building campus and community coalitions towards racial equity.

Dr. Pimentel is a product of the California Community College system and a first-generation college student, graduating from West Hills College Coalinga before transferring to California State University, Fresno, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in social work. He received a master’s degree in social work with an emphasis on mental health from California State University, Bakersfield, and a doctorate in educational leadership, higher education from California State University, Fresno.

SCCCD Chancellor Dr. Carole Goldsmith said, “Dr. Pimentel has a wealth of experience and I am looking forward to working with him in his new role. He has been highly successful as a vice president of Fresno City College and he enjoys tremendous support on the campus and in the District. He has been involved in a number of statewide initiatives and is known across the state for his work in Workforce Development, Enrollment Management, and Academic Research expertise. I am confident he will continue to accelerate the college’s mission to provide access to equity-centered, quality, innovative educational programs, and services.

“As part of our process, we heard from all college constituency groups and the community. I believe Dr. Pimentel’s experience in collaborative academic research will position us for a promising future. He has demonstrated his commitment to a culture of anti-racism, where respect and inquiry are valued, and has worked to foster student success as well as improve the economic, social, and cultural development of our students. We are very fortunate to have the opportunity to put forward a candidate with his expertise and knowledge of Fresno City College.”

Fresno City College enrolls approximately 24,000 students and offers curriculum for students seeking transfer to a four-year college or university, career preparation, or basic skills education. Fresno City College is a college of State Center Community College District.

CONTACT: Lucy Ruiz – Executive Director, SCCCD Public & Legislative Relations (559-243-7104)

MEMBER NEWS: Money’s Top 50 includes CVHEC Members Stanislaus State and Fresno State  

(May 25, 2022) — Two Central Valley Higher Education Consortium members were ranked in the Top 50 of Money’s 2022 Best Colleges list, the national magazine announced this month with Stanislaus State ranking No.10 and Fresno State ranking No. 17 for “Best College in the West.”

They were among 11 California State University campuses in the top 50 of the main list.

Stanislaus State is also ranked No. 19 in the nation on Money’s 2022 list of “Best Colleges in America, Ranked by Value” while Fresno State is ranked No. 29 in the magazine’s new 2022 Best Colleges list.  Fresno State also ranked No. 25 for Best Public Colleges .

Stanislaus also received points for its focus on teaching underrepresented populations and empowering the upward mobility of its students, who usually earn starting salaries that average nearly $54,000 a year after graduation.

This year, for the first time, Money separated its annual rankings into two lists: a main ranking of 623 colleges nationwide and a secondary ranking of the nation’s 48 most selective schools. Designed to help families look at the costs and payoffs of any university they consider, Money’s Best Colleges list highlights colleges that have a record of helping students graduate and launching them into jobs with above-average wages. One of Money’s main messages this year is that a college doesn’t need to be super selective to be a good investment.

The colleges and universities were ranked on 24 factors in quality, affordability and outcomes. Money made several changes to its rankings calculations this year, including removing Payscale earnings data and calculating earnings weighted by majors differently, which makes it difficult to compare a college’s performance this year with previous years.

 See:

 • FresnoStateNews.com press release: Fresno State makes the top 50 of Money’s 2022 Best Colleges list
• Stanislaus State press release: Stan State Ranks No. 19 in the Nation on MONEY Magazine’s Best Colleges List

 

CV-HEC Photo Blog: Higher Education Policy and Legislative Summit May 5-6, 2022

For this issue, our What The CV-HEC Is Happening feature is a “photo-blog” capturing scenes from the  CVHEC Higher Education Policy and Legislative Summit held May 5-6 presented under the theme “Post Pandemic World: Recovering with Equity and Inclusion in the Central Valley” in Fresno.

Dr. John D. Welty, Fresno State President-emeritus who left the CVHEC board nine years ago when he retired, returned to join founding board members Dr. Frank Gornick, West Hills Community College District chancellor-emeritus, and Dr. Benjamin Duran, Merced College president-emeritus and current CVHEC executive director, in recalling the early days of the consortium.

At the rare gathering of the presidents and chancellors of 30 Central Valley higher education institutions and other leaders, summit participants engaged in four panel presentations exploring challenges faced by colleges and universities during the pandemic with these topics:

  • Looking at Recovery Through a Lens of Equity and Inclusion
  • Dual Enrollment as an Equity Strategy for Valley High School Students
  • Creating the Central Valley Transfer Model – A Pathway for Valley Students
  • Broadband for All – Taking Broadband to the Next Mile in the Central Valley

A student panel once again provided the voices of those served by higher education professionals including several who “starred” in two CVHEC videos made in the past year:

During the CVHEC Board of Director’s quarterly meeting held the day before the summit, the University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine Fresno regional campus was seated as the 30th member institution of the consortium.

Following that board meeting, CVHEC presented a Cinco de Mayo Reception featuring Las Hermanas Medina (Sofia, Bela and Paulina) of Hanford and theme decorations by the Kings Cultural Center in Armona. (Special thanks to Dr. Juan Medina, KCC Director, and wife Chely)

 

 

CVHEC joins valley’s broadband development movement – SJVRB seeks response to RFQPP

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The Central Valley Higher Education Consortium has joined the movement for high-speed broadband ubiquitous deployment and universal adoption for the Valley’s eight-county region led by the San Joaquin Valley Regional Broadband Consortium which is now seeking additional partners through a Request for Qualifications for Prospective Partners (RFQPP) and a call for Expression of Interest (EOI).

SJVRBC ‘s mission is to deliver high-speed, affordable broadband (including both wireline and wireless networks), devices and digital literacy to Valley rural and urban residents, giving them greater access to commerce, healthcare, education and other municipal, state and federal services.

It is under the leadership of the California Partnership for the San Joaquin Valley, and the California Emerging Technology Fund (CETF), on a new joint effort — collectively called #SanJoaquinValleyNetwork — to seek State and federal funding for broadband infrastructure projects throughout the San Joaquin Valley.

Representing CVHEC on the SJVRBC are Dr. Benjamin Duran, executive director, and Angel Ramirez, operations manager.

Duran said that the broadband consortium work echoes the message conveyed in CVHEC’s video released a year ago,  “Pursuing the Last Mile: Broadband in the Central Valley.”

“This is a very important effort that aligns with CVHEC’s commitment to expanding broadband access as discussed at our recent Higher Education Policy and Legislative Summit,” said Duran. “The #SanJoaquinValleyNetwork is seeking public funding to deploy infrastructure and provide high-quality, affordable broadband service and digital literacy to educational institutions, students, residents, businesses, public agencies and tribes in the region.”

Approximately $70 billion in public funds will be available to accelerate broadband deployment and adoption through California’s Broadband Budget Bill (SB 156) and the Federal Infrastructure Bill (Broadband) so SJVRBC anticipates several competitive funding opportunities over the next three years to help build out broadband infrastructure and support adoption in the eight-county region.

The San Joaquin Valley Network Request For Qualifications for Prospective Partnerships (RFQPP), and information about submitting the Expression Of Interest by June 6 may be downloaded at: https://sanjoaquinvalleynetwork.org.

“Submitting an EOI is a strategic way to partner with like institutions, community-based organizations, tribal communities and broadband providers to this crucial technology to the most unserved and underserved in our communities,” said Dr. Frank Gornick, CETF SJVRBC Partnership project manager (and West Hills Community College president-emeritus who also served on the CVHEC Board of Directors during his WHCC presidency).

Some funding is likely to be available in Fiscal Year 2022 and the Request For Qualifications for Prospective Partnerships is the primary vehicle for the SJVRBC to engage with prospective partners — public, private, or non-profit entities willing to partner or collaborate — in pursuit of public financing in the future to improve broadband access to underserved and unserved households in the San Joaquin Valley consistent with the Map of Needs and Opportunities released recently by the California Department of Technology as part of its recommended design for the $3.25 billion statewide broadband network Gov. Gavin Newsom approved last summer.

That proposal, drafted by GoldenStateNet, the organization tasked with administering the network, outlines 8,700 new miles of “middle-mile” fiber optic cable to connect regions with poor internet access. It provides guidance on how to optimize routes of new fiber builds and recommends “joint build partnerships” to reduce costs.

For SJVRB’s request, prospective partners may include, but are not limited to: Internet Service Providers (ISPs, including wireless ISPs or WISPs); K-12 school districts; higher education institutions (California Community Colleges, California State Universities, University of California); tribal governments; counties; cities; library districts; water districts; health care systems and facilities; land-use development corporations; community-based organizations (CBOs); and other entities that will adhere to applicable statutes which regulate California contractors.

In addition, SJVRBC will identify entities interested in co-sponsoring competitive grant applications to obtain public funding to deploy infrastructure and provide ubiquitous broadband service to the targeted populations in the San Joaquin Valley as identified on the Map of Needs and Opportunities.

All interested parties should submit the completed EOI in PDF by 5 p.m. PST June 6, 2022 via email to frankgornick@sanjoaquinvalleynetwork.org.

 

See San Joaquin Valley Regional Broadband Consortium – PRIMER

Recommended design for the $3.25 billion statewide broadband network.

CVHEC video:  “Pursuing the Last Mile: Broadband in the Central Valley.”[/vc_column_text][vc_video link=”https://youtu.be/uWIt8fWG1RE” align=”center” title=”Pursuing the Last Mile: Broadband in the Central Valley”][/vc_column][/vc_row]

CVHEC Director’s Message: Consortium Summit ’22 Wrap – Recapturing the Magic

CVHEC board members and May 6 summit participants enjoyed the music of Las Hermanas Medina at the Cinco de Mayo reception the day before more than 130 higher education leaders and advocates convened for the Higher Education Policy and Legislative Summit in downtown Fresno.

 

Greetings and welcome to our May CVHEC e-newsletter,

As the spring semester ends, there is so much to talk about.  For the first time in two years, students and their families are enjoying attendance at live commencement ceremonies at colleges and universities throughout the Central Valley – you can feel the magic in the air.

Also, in a very generous gesture, institutions are honoring those graduates in 2020 and 2021 who were deprived of their commencement events by the pandemic by providing opportunities for them to participate in this year’s ceremonies as well.  We know the graduates would also want to thank the staff and faculty on their campuses for helping them achieve their educational goals.  Congratulations to ALL graduates and to your respective support systems!

As we celebrate our graduates, we hope you enjoy our May issue of the CVHEC Newsletter.  You will see this was an exciting month for us as well.  On May 5 and 6, CVHEC held its spring Board of Directors meeting and our first CVHEC Legislative and Policy Summit since 2019 live in Fresno.  Participants were appreciative of the opportunity to reconnect in-person with colleagues and make new connections.

At the board meeting, the CVHEC Board of Directors was happy to welcome the University of California, San Francisco – Fresno campus as the 30th member institution of the Consortium.  CVHEC also invited six newly-appointed CEOs as members of the Board.

This summit marked the 20th Anniversary of CVHEC with over 150 participants celebrating two decades worth of success by our member institutions in increasing the college-going rate for Valley residents. Please view the Summit photo gallery blog for the visual story of this very successful Summit.

Highlights of the summit include a conversation with Dr. John Welty, President Emeritus of Fresno State and founder of CVHEC, in addition to a panel of students from the region sharing how they navigated the pandemic.  The annual visit and legislative update by Congressman Jim Costa also added to the day.

These highlights, the information that was shared with attendees about the initiatives in the Central Valley to improve student success, and the ability to network in a live setting were invaluable and welcome.

Enjoy our newsletter and enjoy your summer.

See: PHOTO BLOG

BOARD NEWS: UCSF-Fresno becomes CVHEC’s 30th institution of higher education member

(UPDATE May 25, 2022) — The University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine Fresno regional campus  is the 30th institution of higher education to join the Central Valley Higher Education Consortium.

UCSF Fresno’s application for membership was formally accepted by the CVHEC Board of Directors at its quarterly meeting May 5 at the DoubleTree Hotel in Fresno as part of the annual CVHEC Higher Education Policy and Legislative Summit.

Dr. Michael W. Peterson

Michael W. Peterson, MD/MACP, associate dean for Undergraduate Medical Education and Research at the UCSF Fresno Campus, was seated on the consortium board which is made up of the presidents and chancellors of 30 colleges and universities in the nine-county region from San Joaquin to Kern counties.

Dr. Benjamín Durán, CVHEC executive director, said the consortium is delighted to welcome Dr. Peterson onto the board representing UCSF Fresno as one of two medical schools holding membership.

“The success of the consortium the past two decades and its growth to 30 members demonstrate the capable leadership of the valley’s college and university chief executives working together as one voice for the benefit of all our residents seeking a higher education,” Duran said. “UCSF Fresno will strengthen that voice and service to our region.”

The non-profit CVHEC, which was incorporated in November 2002 with 23 member institutions under founding president, Dr. John Welty, now president-emeritus of Fresno State, observed its 20th anniversary at the summit to kick off a year-long observance of the milestone.

The consortium provides a unified voice to address the Central Valley’s higher education needs relevant to CVHEC’s mission: increase access, persistence and certificate and degree completions for residents of the region.

UCSF Fresno expressed their support of this concept in its letter of application co-signed by Dr. Peterson and Lori Weichenthal, MD, FACEP who is  UCSF Fresno associate dean of Graduate Medical Education and Clinical Affairs: “We hope to be included in the Central Valley Higher Education Consortium so that we may join you in speaking with one voice on increasing educational attainment and advocating for policy issues that affect our region.”

Established in 1975, UCSF Fresno is focused on improving health in California’s San Joaquin Valley and central California through excellence in teaching and patient care, innovative clinical research and community partnerships. Each year, UCSF Fresno trains more than 300 physicians and 300 rotating medical students, including those in the new UCSF San Joaquin Valley Program in Medical Education (SJV PRIME).

“Roughly 50% of the physicians trained at UCSF Fresno stay in the Valley to provide UCSF care,” Peterson said.

“As a regional campus of the consistently top-ranked UCSF School of Medicine, we look forward to partnering with consortium member institutions to increase awareness, preparedness and matriculation of students from the Valley into medical school and other health professional schools with the goal of seeing them graduate and ultimately, serve our region.”

Presently, UCSF Fresno partners with its sister campus UC Merced, also a consortium member, in the SJV PRIME and is gearing up for SJV PRIME+, a BS-to-MD program.

In addition, the medical school partners with CVHEC-member Fresno State on various programs, including research and pathway programs aimed at providing undergraduate students with experiences that foster interest and preparedness for careers in medicine.

UCSF Fresno also helps prepare middle, high school and college students for careers in health and medicine through a variety of pathway programs.

Peterson said pathways in the Valley from high schools, to community colleges, to four-year universities, to medical school, and through residency are desperately needed to help prepare, recruit, train, and retain future health care professionals from underrepresented racially and ethnically diverse backgrounds within the region.

“Diversity, equity and inclusion are at the very heart of UCSF,” Peterson wrote. “Equitable and inclusive environments are essential to effective learning, high-quality patient care and cutting-edge research.”

 

CVHEC BOARD ACTION – MAY 5, 2022

(May 5, 2022) — The University of California San Francisco – Fresno Campus became the 30th institution of higher education to join the Central Valley Higher Education Consortium today.

UCSF’s application for membership was formally accepted by the CVHEC Board of Directors at its quarterly meeting this afternoon at the DoubleTree Hotel in Fresno, the first in-person meeting of the board since the pandemic shutdown two years ago.

Michael W. Peterson, MD/MACP, associate dean for Undergraduate Medical Education and Research at the UCSF-Fresno Campus, was seated on the board which is made up of the presidents and chancellors of now 30 colleges and universities in the nine-county region from San Joaquin to Kern counties.

Today’s board meeting precedes resumption of the annual CVHEC Higher Education Policy and Legislative Summit that will be held tomorrow (May 6) also at the DoubleTree from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. with the theme “Post Pandemic World: Recovering with Equity and Inclusion in the Central Valley.”

 

– See the CVHEC Summit Event Website for the agenda and breakdown of panels.

– Original summit press release: CVHEC Founder Welty Returns for Summit and 20th Anniversary

– For more summit details: CVHEC April e-Newsletter. 

 

MEDIA CONTACT: Tom Uribes 559.348.3278 (tom@uribes.com)

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