MINI-GRANT SUCCESS STORY: Fresno Pacific Tri-Alpha Honor Society Chapter

 

CVHEC 2022 Mini Grant funds FPU Tri-Alpha Honor Society for

first-generation students; grant application period now open

NOTE: 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 are highlighting how our member institutions’ innovative uses for the grants are positively impacting students. Applications for the 2023 cycle are available.

 

A Central Valley Higher Education Consortium Mini-Grant awarded to member Fresno Pacific University earlier this year has provided the foundation to establish a local chapter of the Alpha Alpha Alpha Honor Society (Tri-Alpha ) that recognizes and engages first-generation college students.

The $6,477 grant funded by the College Futures Foundation enabled the FPU’s new Zeta Sigma chapter of Tri-Alpha to cover student membership fees; hold two induction ceremonies in the 2022-23 academic year that invited members’ families; and host monthly meetings for chapter members by covering speaker honoria and refreshments.

Another element of the FPU proposal includes creating undergraduate research fellowships that will allow the university to provide stipends for students and faculty conducting research together.

“The research, in each researcher’s field of study, will be used to inform future first-generation student services on campus,” said adviser Sarah Micu, FPU Student Success and Equity coordinator.

CVHEC’s Mini-Grant funding also enabled Micu and new chapter adviser, Brianna Martinez, to attend NASPA’s First-Generation Student Success conference in June.

“The conference was great to network with other universities and generate more ideas on how to serve first-generation students at Fresno Pacific University,” Micu reported. “We are excited to continue planning and serving our students!”

Established last fall, FPU’s Zeta Sigma chapter inducted its first group of 63 students, eight faculty  and five staff members Nov.  8, (National First-Gen Celebration Day) 2022 at the main campus located in Southeast Fresno. In the spring, another 46 students, seven staff and one faculty member were inducted on April 17, 2023.).

Tri-Alpha — founded March 24, 2018, at Moravian College (now Moravian University) in Bethlehem, PA with more than 130 chapters in 35 states today — defines first generation student as: “neither of the student’s parents, nor stepparents, nor legal guardians, completed a bachelor’s degree (or, for students at a community college, the parents did not complete an associate’s degree).”

Members must also have 30 semester credits and a 3.2 GPA or above.

This society includes faculty and staff who were first-generation students to facilitate relationships/mentorship for members who might otherwise feel alone on their college journey.

Micu said an honor society recognizing first-generation scholars is a natural fit for FPU, where 49 percent of students are the first in their families to attend college or university.

“These students graduate at the same rate as continuing-generation students,” Micu said. “CVHEC funding is helping us build a more robust program for our chapter of the Alpha Alpha Alpha honor society.”

The CVHEC Mini-Grants project 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

“We commend CVHEC member FPU for expertly using our Mini-Grant funding to achieve its equity framework by supporting first generation students through these valuable Tri Alpha activities,” said Dr. Benjamín Durán, CVHEC executive director.

Mini-Grant Applications Available

Applications for the next Central Valley Higher Education Consortium 2023 Mini-Grant cycle are now being accepted and will continue until funds are allocated. Member institutions are encouraged to apply soon to allow enough time for project completion before the expenditure deadline, said Angel Ramírez, CVHEC operations & finance manager.

Once funds are allocated, grantees have until November 30, 2022 to finalize expenditures.

For CVHEC Mini-Grant 2023 Application inquiries, contact Ramírez at angelr@mail.fresnostate.edu.

 

MEDIA INQUIRIES

Fresno Pacific University: Wayne Steffen, wayne.steffen@fresno.edu (559.453.3677)

CVHEC: Tom Uribes, cvheccommunications@mail.fresnostate.edu (559.348.3278)

 

ALSO SEE:

Fresno Pacific University story about FPU’s Tri-Alpha Honor Society by Wayne Steffen,

associate director of FPU Publications and Media Relations.

 

Previous CVHEC Mini-Grants success stories:

 

MEMBER NEWS: CHSU Medical Student Enrollment Reaches 500

First CHSU-COM cohort to graduate

in spring as Class of 2024

The current session at California Health Sciences University that began in late July marks both the fourth cohort of its College of Osteopathic Medicine and the final year of its first COM cohort that graduates next spring.

The Clovis-based medical school now has 500 new and returning medical students enrolled.

“The campus has never been livelier now that we have all four cohorts of medical students at CHSU,” said John Graneto, DO, dean of the CHSU College of Osteopathic Medicine.

The Class of 2027 is the fourth COM cohort to date, with over 150 new student doctors beginning their first year of medical school.

And with about 25 percent from the Central Valley and over 90 percent from California, the university hopes most of its medical students will complete residencies here and practice locally, Dr. Graneto said.

Many of the CHSU medical students completed their undergraduate education in top California schools such as  University of California campuses at  Davis, Irvine, San Diego, Los Angeles (UCLA), Merced and Berkeley, as well as California State University campuses at Fresno and Stanislaus.

About 800 applicants were interviewed from the over 3,000 candidates who applied for fall 2023 admission to CHSU-COM.

“I am proud that our diverse medical students collectively speak 40 different languages with approximately one third who speak Spanish, which means they represent the patient populations they will serve,” said CHSU President Florence T. Dunn in her monthly newsletter Aug. 31.

Nearly 200 CHSU medical students have already completed the first two years of coursework. Now as third- and fourth-year students, they experience hands-on learning through clinical clerkships in Central Valley hospitals, clinics and private practices.

This spring, CHSU class of 2024 medical students will learn where they matched for their desired residency before graduating in May.

“Our inaugural class of students will graduate this May before beginning residencies to make an immediate impact on the health care provider deficit in the Central Valley,” stated Dr. Graneto.

“I’m excited that starting next year a steady stream of new CHSU-educated physicians will join the community every year,” he added.

 

MEMBER NEWS: Higher education comes to West Fresno with opening of city college satellite campus

The Fresno City College West Fresno Center opened its doors for instruction on Aug. 7, 2023.

‘I feel that it is going to bring in a lot of attraction from

other investors to serve and improve West Fresno’

 

By Rachel Livinal

KVPR – Central Valley Journalism Collaborative

(August 7, 2023) – Fresno City College is debuting its new campus in West Fresno as students kick off the fall semester.

On Monday, Gurminder Sangha rushed in and out of his office, making sure things were running smoothly. The parking lot began to fill up early as the West Fresno Center opened its doors to instruction for the first time. An open house was held over the weekend.

“I’m very happy with the opening and the support our staff is giving to our students,” said Sangha, who is the campus’ dean of educational services and pathway effectiveness.

The campus has garnered lots of attention. It’s part of a wider effort to help bring resources to underserved neighborhoods. Sangha said with the campus located near residents in West Fresno, the potential for higher learning is “right in their backyard.”

“Just by us being here, I feel that it is going to bring in a lot of attraction from other investors to serve and improve West Fresno,” Sangha said.

The campus offers courses in teaching, social justice, and public health — all intended to educate future community leaders.

“There will also be an elementary teacher education program that students will be able to complete right here and the purpose behind that is that students from the local community will come here,” Sangha said.

Sangha said students can get their elementary teacher education certificate from the West Fresno campus and transfer to Fresno State, then teach within the community.

The West Fresno Center also offers the Future Health Care Professionals program, which helps high school students in west Fresno easily obtain priority registration for the Allied Health Program.

Cassie Fang is a first-year student looking to become a medical assistant.

“I was thinking of taking online classes, but now I don’t want to – since I like it in person. I learn better in person,” Fang said.

The campus is in its first phase of development, and will continue to grow as construction resumes. The Advanced Transportation building will be open to students in January.

The campus will continue to grow as Fresno City College revisits its plans with district staff and the community to see what should be improved by 2035.

 

See

• original KVPR story.

• https://bit.ly/CVHECmember-FCCWestOpenHouseAug4-5

MEMBER NEWS: UCSF Fresno Celebrates New Doctors

UCSF Fresno celebrates the Class of 2023:

new doctors for the Central Valley and California

By Brandy Ramos Nikaido,
UCSF Fresno Communications

It takes 11 years or more to produce a practicing physician after high school, depending on the specialty. On June 15, UCSF Fresno celebrated the completion of years of training for more than 100 graduates including medical residents and fellow physicians, Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery dental residents, a Head and Neck Oncology and Microvascular Reconstruction fellow and two Emergency Medicine physician assistants.

“Commencement is the celebration of the culmination of years of training, hard work, commitment and dedication exhibited by our graduating residents and fellows,” said Stacy Sawtelle Vohra, MD,  Designated Institutional Official and Emergency Medicine Residency Program Director at UCSF Fresno.

“We applaud them as they enter the next phase of their careers and are thrilled that many are staying in the Valley to care, teach, heal and conduct clinical research that addresses Valley health issues.”

The San Joaquin Valley has one of the lowest number of doctors per 100,000 people in California. And about 30 % of the physicians in the region are at or nearing retirement age. UCSF Fresno is the largest academic physician training program in the Valley and the biggest contributor adding physicians to the region’s workforce. For example, 83% of the residents completing training in UCSF Fresno’s four-year Psychiatry Residency Program this year are staying in the Central Valley to provide much needed mental health care.

Residency is the required hands-on clinical training after medical school when clinicians fine tune skills under the guidance of attending faculty members prior to practicing independently. Fellowships are advanced training after residency and are instrumental to retaining residents who wish to continue their medical education in a particular sub-specialty.

“For some of the graduates who completed medical school during the COVID-19 pandemic, this was the first time celebrating a medical education graduation in person,” said Steven Tringali, DO, Acting Director, Clinical Affairs, and Internal Medicine Residency Program Director at UCSF Fresno.

“We are grateful for the tremendous teamwork they have afforded one another, the compassionate care they provide to our patients, and the contributions they have made to our regional campus and community.”

As a regional campus of the UCSF School of Medicine, UCSF Fresno carries out its training and patient care through a network of affiliated partners including Community Health System, VA Central California Health Care, Family HealthCare Network, University Centers of Excellence and many other clinical sites.

 

See the original UCSF press release.

MEMBER NEWS: Delta College partners in ‘Growing Futures:’ turning vineyards into state-of-the-art

 

By Alex Breitler, Director of Marketing, Communications & Outreach

San Joaquin Delta College

 

A new pilot program in the northern San Joaquin Valley is steering youth toward promising careers in their own communities, while also supporting the growing workforce needs of the region’s heritage wine industry.

The “Growing Futures Initiative,” now in its first year, was launched by the nonprofit San Joaquin A+, Delta College (a Central Valley Higher Education Consortium member), Lodi Unified School District and the Lodi Winegrape Commission.

The concept is to put Lodi-area high school students into early college and career programs focused on the wine business and the many career paths it entails – everything from actually growing grapes to running and repairing heavy equipment, operating tasting rooms or marketing.

“This is a growing community, with a lot of opportunities. But a lot of our students leave. They go elsewhere. And we want them to be able to stay here in our county, help grow our county and make it strong,” says Danell Hepworth, dean of Career Technical Education and Workforce Development at Delta College.

Hepworth was one of a number of project organizers interviewed in a new mini-documentary about the Growing Futures Initiative produced by The 74, a nonprofit news organization.

Through paid internships, students have been spending time in vineyards, cleaning tanks, setting tables in tasting rooms, and many other tasks that could give them confidence in selecting a career path in agriculture and, ultimately, the ability to stay close to home to work and raise their families in the future.

The program has a distinctly modern approach, too, as it’s tapping into students enrolled in Lodi Unified’s Valley Robotics Academy, a school whose mission is centered around technology. Tech has many applications in modern agriculture, and young people are in the best position to bring that technology to the forefront in the decades to come.

Don Shalvey, CEO of San Joaquin A+, sums it up in the documentary as, “Do what you love, earn what you need, right where you want to live.”

More details: www.the74million.org/article/how-a-california-wine-region-is-growing-futures-by-turning-vineyards-into-state-of-the-art-classrooms 

 

 

 

 

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