CVHEC 2022 Mini Grant Applications Now Open
Applications for the next Central Valley Higher Education Consortium 2022 Mini-Grant cycle are now being accepted and will continue until funds are allocated.
Once funds are allocated, grantees have until May 30, 2023 to finalize expenditures.
The CVHEC Mini-Grants project, currently funded by the College Futures Foundation, provides awards from $5,000 to $7,500 each which faculty from member institutions have creatively used for individual projects that help achieve the consortium’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 grants may also incentivize basic needs and equity, race and social justice work.
Member institutions are encouraged to apply soon to allow enough time for project completion before the expenditure deadline.
The mini-grant application can be found at https://www.cvhec.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/CVHEC-Mini-Grant-2022-Application.pdf.
For application details, contact CVHEC Operations Manager Angel Ramirez at angelr@mail.fresnostate.edu.
Previous CVHEC Mini-Grants success stories:
CV-HEC VLOG – August 2022: Dr. Mike Farr, CHSU Alumnus
This month’s “What The CV-HEC Is Happening” Blog features a guest vlog with Dr. Mike Farr, an alumnus of CVHEC-member California Health Science University when he was featured on GVWire’s “Unfiltered” weekly virtual talk show May 24 hosted by Darius Assemi, president of Granville Homes in Fresno.
Dr. Farr shared his experience as one of the first medical students in the CHSU leading to his career in two positions presently: as a retail pharmacist for Walgreen’s and as a clinical pharmacist for Integrated Prescription Management. He served as CSHU student body president and was conferred the Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) degree with 62 graduates at CHSU’s first Graduation Ceremony May 19, 2018. Dr. Farr touts the value of having a medical school in the Central Valley.
(Note: the show was the second part that followed a debate featuring two Fresno County sheriff candidates in the June election).
Presenting our renovated CVHEC Website: Meet our Board of Directors
The chancellors, presidents and superintendents of 30 institutions of higher education in the Central Valley nine-county region from Stockton to Bakersfield sit on the CVHEC Board of Directors. They meet quarterly in pursuit of CVHEC’s core mission to increase valley college-going rates and degree/certification attainment, providing a unified voice for their more than 250,000 students served jointly. See the board of directors section in our newly renovated website: https://cvhec.org/about-cvhec/
This fall, we unveil phase one of our renovated Central Valley Higher Education Consortium website which we hope will be easier to navigate as we showcase the work of the Consortium throughout the valley.
We will be featuring a different piece of our website as we continue to build it out in hopes of showcasing it as a resource for our members, colleagues and partners.
This month, we feature the professionals and experts who are carrying out the CVHEC mission. On the “About CVHEC” page, you can meet our CVHEC Board of Directors – the presidents and chancellors of our 30 members of higher education in the Central Valley’s nine-county region from Stockton to Bakersfield as well as the core staff that includes several former educational leaders who now served as CVHEC regional coordinators/liasions,
Also, see our CVHEC News web page that is being finalized this fall featuring our newsletter stories and press releases where news media can connect with us as well as the members of our CVHEC PIO/Communicators Committee, consisting of the communications professionals handling media relations at each of the 30 campuses.
Our new calendar will keep you up-to-date on CVHEC and other higher education events on our radar. For considerations and modifications to our calendar please email centralvalleyhec@gmail.com.
CVHEC Director’s Message (August 2022): Here’s to an Engaging Fall Semester 2022
Greetings to you all and welcome to the fall semester as students, faculty and staff return to in-person learning at our CVHEC campuses throughout the Central Valley.
As we all approach the 2022-23 academic year with renewed energy and enthusiasm, we are dedicating a portion of this edition of the CVHEC e-newsletter to the good work of the medical healthcare partners in the Consortium.
We are delighted to announce the establishment of the California Medicine Scholars Program (SJV-CMSP) hub in Fresno, one of four hubs in California authorized by the Senate Bill 40, authored by our very own Senator, Melissa Hurtado, (D-Sanger Hurtado). The budget bill, signed in June by Governor Gavin Newsom, includes $9,975,000 to establish a regional pipeline system for community college students who want to go to medical school.
Dr. Kenny Bahn of the UC San Francisco Medical School – Fresno headed a team to develop the application for funding and collaborated with CVHEC partners, California Health Sciences University and regional community colleges that will feed the medical pathways in the valley. Valley wide collaborative efforts will hopefully lead to more physicians and allied health professionals settling in the region.
In keeping with the medical theme, please see the video in our “What The CV-HEC Is Happening” Guest Blog featuring Dr. Mike Farr, an alumnus of CVHEC member California Health Science University, in an interview on GVWire’s “Unfiltered” virtual talk show. Dr. Farr was conferred the Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) degree in CHSU’s first Graduation Ceremony in 2018 and touts the value of having a medical school in the Central Valley.
Please join us in welcoming to the CVHEC Board of Directors Dr. Brock McMurry, newly appointed interim superintendent/president of the West Kern Community College District (Taft College). He will be seated at our next quarterly meeting this fall along with two new members also recently appointed to their posts: Dr. Robert Pimentel, president of the historic Fresno City College (the oldest Community College in California) and Dr. Andre Stephens, president of Fresno Pacific College (see our May issue).
This fall, CVHEC will push forward with several exciting developments that will be featured in future issues including the resumption of in-person convenings to address issues of higher education relevant to our mission. Be on the lookout for our continuing work in Dual Enrollment and Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility (DEIA). In collaboration with the three K16 Collaboratives in the Central Valley, CVHEC will also be pushing for improved transfer pathways and a valley wide dialogue on creating meaningful STEP and math pathways for our students.
Also this fall we unveil our renovated website which we hope will be easier to navigate and showcase the work of the Consortium throughout the valley.
The 2022-23 academic year stands to be another exciting and productive year. We hope you will stay engaged with us and join us for the in-person convenings we will hold as the pandemic wanes.
CMSP-SJV: Pathway for Community College Students to the Medical Field
California Medicine Scholars Program-SJV: a collab of UCSF Fresno and other CVHEC members
A valley wide collaborative by Central Valley Higher Education Consortium partners and Sen. Melissa Hurtado (D-Sanger) has led to a major accomplishment for the Central Valley with the launch this summer of the California Medicine Scholars Program (CMSP) and the designation of the University of California, San Francisco – Fresno as one of four Regional Hubs of Healthcare Opportunity (RHHOs) in the state.
Established under Senate Bill 40, CMSP is designed to pave the pathway to medical school for community college students, increase the numbers of underrepresented minority physicians and result in more physicians and allied health professionals settling in the region. The budget bill signed in June by Governor Newsom includes $9,975,000 to establish the regional pipeline system for community college students who want to go to medical school.
“We are delighted to announce the establishment of the California Medicine Scholars Program (SJV-CMSP) hub at UCSF-Fresno, one of four hubs in the state authorized by SB 40 and authored by our very own Sen. Hurtado,” said Dr. Benjamín Durán, CVHEC executive director.
“Establishing a hub in the Central Valley helps build a culture that promotes equity of opportunity in medicine and pre-medicine among eligible, local community college students,” Duran said.
CVHEC plays key role
Sen. Hurtado, who introduced the legislation last year in response to a provider shortage in the Central Valley, said a key factor in the Valley being the only region initially guaranteed a hub in the final legislation was Duran’s collaboration and advocacy on behalf of CVHEC partners in the early planning meetings.
“The Central Valley is experiencing a healthcare provider shortage,” Sen. Hurtado said. “Patients face longer than average wait times to see a physician and have to drive long distances to access the nearest hospital. Thanks to the hard work of Dr. Duran and the Central Valley Higher Education Consortium on the passage of the California Medicine Scholars Program, many students in the Valley will be given the opportunity to live their dream and attend medical school.”
CVHEC rallied leaders of the Consortium that is made up of 30 institutions of higher education in the nine-county region from Stockton to Bakersfield to support UCSF-Fresno as one of the state’s four hubs authorized by the legislation for the program. UCSF-Fresno, a regional campus of the UCSF School of Medicine, joined the Consortium as its most recent member in May.
Duran credited Dr. Kenny Bahn, assistant dean for Undergraduate Medical Education at UCSF Fresno, who headed the Central Valley team that developed the application for funding in collaboration with CVHEC partners — California Health Sciences University, Fresno State and regional community colleges — that will feed the medical pathways in the valley.
He also praised the CVHEC community college leaders who responded to his invitation in January to support Sen. Hurtado’s bill.
“These collaborative efforts will hopefully lead to more physicians and allied health professionals settling in the region,” Duran said.
Statewide, the CMSP will be housed at the Foundation for California Community Colleges. In addition to UCSF-Fresno serving as the lead agency for the San Joaquin Valley Regional Hub of Healthcare Opportunity (SJV-RHHO), the state’s three other regional hubs of will be based at the UC Davis School of Medicine, UC Riverside School of Medicine and UC San Diego School of Medicine
The four hubs will bridge gaps between community colleges, four-year universities, medical schools and community-based health clinics and organizations to provide greater pre-medical opportunities for students and help diversify California’s primary care physician workforce, UCSF-Fresno said in its announcement of the hubs and funding June 28.
Addressing physician shortage
All hubs reside in regions underserved in health care and are currently experiencing a physician shortage. Each grantee will receive $1.6 million for the first three years ($540,000 annually) with additional funding ($250,000) available in the fourth year for sustainability. Funding supports the creation of the RHHOs and provides a strategy to increase the number of underrepresented minority physicians and ultimately reduce disparities in health and health outcomes across the state.
The SJV-RHHO launched July 1, creating the first pre-medical diversity pathway from community college to primary care physician program in the San Joaquin Valley under the name California Medicine Scholars Program (SJV-CMSP).
Dr. Banh said the vision of the SJV-CMSP is to increase the numbers of underrepresented minority physicians through a collaborative partnership effort.
“This program fulfills a need in the pathway to practicing physician at the community college level,” Dr. Banh said. “The mission specifically is to increase the number of regional community college students who transfer to and are accepted into medical schools from California State University, Fresno.”
The SJV-CMSP Network
In addition to UCSF Fresno, CHSU, Fresno State and CVHEC, the SJV-CMSP partners include: the State Center Community College District (Fresno City College, Clovis Community College, Madera/Oakhurst Community College, Reedley Community College); College of the Sequoias (Hanford, Tulare and Visalia campuses); the Merced Community College District (Merced and Los Banos campuses); the West Hills Community College District (Coalinga, Firebaugh and Lemoore campuses); the Yosemite Community College District (Columbia College and Modesto Junior College); the California Area Health Education Center Program; the Central Valley Health Network; and the Valley Health Team Family Residency Medicine Program.
“Developing a high-quality undergraduate medical education program and the foundation for a future medical school requires that enough qualified students from the region are available to be recruited to the program,” said Michael W. Peterson, MD, associate dean for Undergraduate Medical Education and Research at UCSF Fresno.
“Improving efficiencies and developing financial sustainability of pathway programs are essential to continue the tremendous momentum and success we have accomplished to date with programs like the Doctors Academy built by our very own Katherine A. Flores, MD, and to expand to serve community college students with the SJV-CMSP,” Dr. Peterson added.
To better coordinate and increase the success of existing pathway programs, SJV-CMSP and future programs, Associate Dean Peterson and Assistant Dean Banh also announced that UCSF Fresno created an Office of Health Career Pathways within the Department of Undergraduate Medical Education.
Named as the office’s inaugural director was Emy Lopez Phillips, EdD, who is an alumna of three CVHEC members: Fresno City College, California State University, Stanislaus and Fresno State.
See:
- The full UCSF press release and California Medicine Scholars Program for more details about the program including student admission criteria.
- More about the statewide CMSP Coalition
- The Foundation for California Community Colleges press release.
- Sen. Melissa Hurtado live discussion of SB40. (Oct. 14, 2021)