MATH TASK FORCE: ‘Something extraordinary’ (Jan. 26 wrap)

Modesto Junior College math professor Tina Akers-Porter discusses her strand group’s deliberations at “The Central Valley Way to AB1705 Success” Convening Jan. 26 where a call for a “principals task force” by Orosi High School Principal Marlena Celaya would bring more secondary education voices to the table.

‘Something extraordinary is happening in math in California’s Central Valley’

Math Task Force latest AB1705 session leads to calls

for more data, high school input, re-convene April 19

BY TOM URIBES
CVHEC Media/Communications Coordinator

Realizing that state guidance surrounding Assembly Bill 1705 remains elusive, valley community college math educators and officials forged ahead at “The Central Valley Way to AB1705 Success” convening Jan. 26 in Fresno with a determined and unified mindset to develop implementation plans that will serve the best interests of their students including a follow-up session set for April.

In addition, the Central Valley Higher Education Consortium (CVHEC) Math Task Force discussion centered around five strands of curriculum planning for implementation before the law goes into effect July 1, two aspects emerged at the lively day-long work session: the increased participation of institutional researchers for pertinent data-collecting and a call for a “principal’s task force” to bring upper secondary education voices to the table.

Presented by CVHEC, the convening — the latest in a series of deliberations since fall — was attended by 82 representatives from the consortium’s 19-member community colleges, one high school principal and campus research professionals.

They agreed to reconvene April 19 for reports on follow-up work that will occur as a result of this most recent event. Registration for that event will open next month with additional details forthcoming.

Facilitated by the Charles A. Dana Center at the University of Texas at Austin, the session last month reviewed five strands of curriculum planning: Validating Prerequisites; Designing Precalculus for 2025; Math Support Outside and Inside the Classroom; Building an AB 1705 Campus Team; and Guided Self-Placement.

“With tensions high and little guidance surrounding AB1705, the 19 community colleges and districts that comprise the CVHEC nine-county region are rolling up their sleeves and getting to work on this math movement the ‘Central Valley Way’,” summarized Tammi Perez-Rice of the Dana Center.

Perez-Rice, who co-facilitated the event, said the convening was solely dedicated to working and planning at a regional and institutional level in two parts. The first part was dedicated to expanding the five work groups that emerged from the Nov. 17 webinar and creating a plan to move forward.  The second half of the convening was devoted to institutional planning.

“The fruits produced from these convenings are already being felt around the region,” Perez-Rice said.  “The plans and implementations emerging from these convenings are more than just a response to AB705 and AB1705; they cultivate systemic reforms that will benefit all students in the CVHEC region and beyond.”

John Spevak, CVHEC regional coordinator who oversees the consortium’s Math Task Force and co-facilitator of the Jan. 26 gathering, said in the short-term, the five strands work groups will continue to communicate and provide updates in preparation for the April 19 convening. The strand leads are preparing summaries of their Jan. 26 breakout discussions and member college teams are preparing summaries of the tentative plans they developed in the afternoon breakout sessions for oral reports in April.

“In the longer term, our Math Task Force will continue to monitor what the California Community College Chancellor’s Office says, while mainly going forward with our own Central Valley approach to the five strands.”

That “Central Valley Way” stems from the work undertaken by the CVHEC Math task Force, first formed in 2019, in the past year that was intensified with four work sessions beginning Oct. 6 in a virtual convening with CCC vice-chancellor Eric Cooper. The first in-person session followed Oct. 13 in Fresno and another virtual session was held in two parts Nov. 17 before the Jan. 26 session.

These sessions may represent the only concerted effort by a region’s community college math community actively meeting to collaborate across campus boundaries for ways to unite as one voice and determine a curriculum course of action that meets the law’s intent, Spevak said.

“We at CVHEC, along with the Dana Center representatives and our College Bridge partners in the Math Bridge Program, feel that something extraordinary is happening in math in the Central Valley of California,” Spevak said.

After the Jan. 26 session ended, Perez-Rice reiterated a point she made the first time she visited Fresno for the first in-person convening last fall:

“This collaboration today was amazing. As I travel and talk to math faculty all over the country, what I see pulsating from the CVHEC community here in Central California is just compassion; caring about their students; putting their students first; understanding what their students need; and more importantly collaborating with each other working across institutions to make things happen.”

Inviting secondary ed voices to ‘align syllabi’

A key development of the convening was the assertion and agreement that a crucial next step is “to involve high schools in the discussion and determine how to breakdown barriers between systems for a cohesive collaborative effort to put students first across the state of California,” a message delivered by Marlena Celaya, principal of Orosi High School who was the only secondary education official in attendance.

Celaya’s comments, first in a strand session and later in general comments before the assembled group, resonated with the community college professionals as she offered to lead a task force of principals/administrators who would unify with the CVHEC community college math educators for implementation strategy — to listen and hear what the needs are and how to meet those needs.

“I’m willing to lead this work because I don’t want people to go through the wars I went through teaching algebra and volunteering all my time,” said Celaya, a former math teacher at Dinuba High School. “We would want to  hear from community colleges and say to them ‘what do you need?’

“We heard something from you today: ‘I want to know what courses are offered at the high school and what does that course description look like?’ Aligning syllabi is what I’d like to do,” Celaya said. “Mathematics is my passion.”

Perez-Rice said the April 19 convening promises more high school representation, with over twelve principals who are part of the Math Bridge Program by CVHEC and College Bridge being invited. Other secondary education officials from throughout the valley are welcome she said.  

Participant feedback: ‘great to see we’re not alone in this …’

After the event, several participants shared their assessment of the Jan. 26 convening.

“The conversations were amazing and we really appreciated being here,” said Joshua Lewis, chair of the Bakersfield College Mathematics Dept.

“There have been so many legislative changes and so many unknowns it’s nice to see the work that other campuses are doing and realize that we’re not alone, that we have shared values; that we have shared emphasis on student learning and really care about doing right by all of our students,” he added.

Nathan Cahoon, Taft college math professor, felt that the efforts of CVHEC’s Math Task Force as exhibited at the convening is strengthening the voice of the valley’s math community which will have an impact.

“It was amazing to work with incredible professionals who have some really amazing ideas,” he said. “I know I took many good notes about ideas to implement at our college.  The connections we are building here with each other will be powerful down the road as we build a cohesive effort to get some good research together that we can send to the state as one voice from all the colleges.”

Modesto Junior College math professor Marina Hernandez said coming together within the region is relished because when attending other statewide or national conferences, the focus is not as localized.

“It was very helpful to learn what other colleges in the Central Valley are doing because we share similar student population and resources characteristics and their best practices are applicable to us here in our region,” Hernandez said.

Tina Akers-Porter, Modesto Junior College math professor, said the Math Task Force work has helped her better understand what AB1705 is and what it means for her students.

“I feel like I have a better understanding of some of the challenges of the legislation and what others are worried about,” she said.  “We share some of those worries but it’s great to hear different points of view on that. A byproduct of this is we are seeing how we need to support underprepared students more, inside and outside the classroom, and sharing ideas to do that.”

Shelly Getty, Taft college math faculty and a strand leader, echoed Akers-Porter: “We left knowing we are going to start some specific tutoring and targeting students for tutoring. We will try to advertise it better and recruit so students get more access to the services we already provide which will greatly impact them.  We shared some good ideas on how to do that effectively.”

Marissa Martinez, Taft college math professor, said, “We have our work cut out for us. There’s a lot of things that we have to address with a lot of moving parts. Everything keeps changing but it was great to be able to see that we’re not alone in this, that we’re working together to better serve our students.”

She said this intercollegial collaboration and the feedback from the colleges helps “so we don’t have to reinvent the wheel — what worked, what didn’t work.”

Next steps? Data research

“I would say the next step is collecting our data to see how the numbers show where we are so we can prove that these courses are important for our student success,” Martinez said.

This data aspect was also a key part of the convening as institutional research professionals were invited and directly participated such as Arooj Rizvi, research analyst in the Office of Institutional research and Effectiveness at San Joaquin Delta College.

“Researchers have a monumental role in the implementation of AB 1705 because policymakers are going to depend a lot on what we are able to produce as a group or even as an institution,” Rizvi said. “Being a part of these conversations helps us to see the bigger picture, the context and the requirements of what exactly it is that we are looking for in the data.”

She said it was exciting to hear at the convening what area colleges are going through.

“I realized how similar our challenges are from institution to institution, “she said.  “Working through that together and being solution-oriented is something that’s going to take all of us towards a beneficial direction. Seeing us all here today was a defining moment in history.”

Owynn Lancaster, vice president of academic strategy for CVHEC partner College Bridge, said the event was “a huge success seeing folks come together from math to talk about math and really pool their resources to address actual challenges.

“The most powerful focus of change in education is always the educator,” Lancaster said. “I know everything’s heaped on them but in a lot of ways they have the greatest power of the greatest agency for this.”

For more info: centralvalleyhec@gmail.com

For CVHEC media inquiries: Tom Uribes – cvheccommunications@mail.fresnostate.edu (or text 559.348.3278).

See also:

Math Task Force

https://bit.ly/MTFconveneKSEE24

Valley’s math ed experts unite to address AB 1705 challenge for student success

The CVHEC Way to Math Success — Implementing AB1705

Math Task Force begins discussion of AB1705 implementation – Nov. 17 next
CVHEC Math Task Force meets in-person Oct. 13 for AB 1705 follow-up

NEWS RELEASE – CVHEC Math Task Force: Impactful legislation (AB 1705) Convenings Oct. 6 & 13

CVHEC Website Feature: Math Task Force Page

PHOTO GALLERY  

Central Valley Transfer Project: valley’s four-year colleges collaborating

Fresno State, a founding CVHEC member, joined CVHEC’s historic Central Valley Transfer Project in January with (from left): Dr. Kent Willis, vice president of Fresno State Student Affairs and Enrollment Management; University President Saúl Jiménez-Sandoval; Dr. Benjamin Duran, CVHEC executive director; Tom Burke, CVHEC regional coordinator; and Dr. Sergio La Porta, associate dean of the Fresno State College of Arts and Humanities.

Fresno State joins in transfer ‘centerpiece’ with

11 CVHEC community colleges, 3 CSUs, UCMerced

 The Central Valley Transfer Project is now partnered with the region’s three California State University campuses after Fresno State signed on in January joining Bakersfield and Stanislaus in the historic Central Valley Higher Education Consortium initiative designed to open new doors for students’ successful transfer from community college.

Along with founding partner University of California, Merced, this means the valley’s four public institutions of higher education are working in unison with 8 community colleges currently through CVHEC’s project using the groundbreaking Program Pathways Mapper software. The project has also gained the full support of the California Community College Chancellor’s Office.

The community colleges already in the CVTP, with several more expected to sign on this year, are: Bakersfield College, Clovis Community College, Madera Community College, Merced College, Porterville College, Reedley College, West Hills College-Coalinga and West Hills College-Lemoore.

The Transfer Project is also expanding participation in the north end of the Central Valley with Modesto Junior College, Columbia College and San Joaquin Delta College scheduled to begin onboard this spring for a total of 11 community college partners said Stan Carrizosa, CVHEC regional coordinator and consortium lead for the project.

All Transfer Project partners are members of the consortium with their respective chancellors and presidents serving on the CVHEC Board of Directors.

“The Transfer Project is now a centerpiece for students to both enter and transfer from community college to their four-year universities,” said Dr. Benjamín Durán, CVHEC executive director. “We are excited to share this latest progress of the project which has been featured statewide and nationally at conferences such as the Community College League of California and Complete College America.”

He added, “This innovative approach is the only one in the state that includes a University of California campus collaborating with partner California State University and community colleges in establishing transfer pathways for Central Valley students to get them to and through college in a timely manner.”

Dr. Saúl Jiménez-Sandoval, Fresno State president and CVHEC board member, said,  “I’m proud that Fresno State will be a dynamic partner in the Central Valley Transfer Project, as this pathway will empower community college students to become visionary Bulldogs.”

The Fresno State agreement was finalized Jan. 17 between Durán and President Jiménez-Sandoval, with Tom Burke, CVHEC regional coordinator and Transfer Project team member; Dr. Kent Willis, vice president of Enrollment Services; and Dr. Sergio LaPorta, associate dean of the College of Arts and Humanities.

At CVHEC’s Higher Education Summit last fall, CCC Chancellor Sonya Christian announced that the statewide system has designated the Transfer Project as a demonstration project as set forth in her Vision 2030 for all California community colleges. The Transfer Project’s participating community colleges are serving as the pilot campuses with plans to implement statewide.

Carrizosa said the state budget continues to support and fund the onboarding costs for all community colleges to subscribe to the Program Pathways Mapper.

Established in 2021 with UC Merced, Merced College and Bakersfield College, the project is designed to open new doors for students to successfully transfer from community college with its Program Pathways Mapper, Carrizosa said.

He said the Program Pathways Mapper — a public facing, internet-based app that can be downloaded and accessed by the public software platform — provides unprecedented ease of access for students, counselors, advisors and parents much more so than other existing platforms.

“There are no typical requirements for access to PPM such as other internal college systems like Degree Works, Assist.Org and the CSU Transfer Planner,” he said. “These are all course tracking systems but in order to use them, students need to be successfully enrolled in college and have a student email address or other form of login to try and plan. Through PPM students simply upload the public PPM app to their devices and have immediate access.”

Carrizosa said the PPM helps simplify the transfer planning process which can be the most difficult task for many students.

“In much of our Central Valley region, as many as seven out of 10 incoming college freshmen will be first generation students to attend college,” he said. “Research shows that the most difficult task for them is often the application process itself and completing the required steps for enrollment. Systems like Degree Works and others do nothing to remove this common barrier because these systems cannot be accessed until a student successfully enrolls.”

He explained that a high school student can start the Transfer Project journey as a junior or senior by enrolling in college dual enrollment courses enabling them to complete their transfer level English and Math courses while still in high school. These units roll up with them as they enter community college and track the completion of their lower division requirements for their Associate Degree for Transfer in their chosen major via PPM.

“Students can easily select a community college they wish to attend and a major they want to pursue and the lower division courses required are sequentially laid out for them through the Program Pathways Mapper software.”

In addition, the PPM then links those lower division courses to an upper division institution of the student’s choice and shows a clear sequence of upper division courses needed to complete the degree, Carrizosa added.

“The PPM contains clear and accurate information directly from course catalogues from all participating colleges,” Carrizosa said.  “The Central Valley Transfer Project is becoming an alternative continuum of courses to the traditional high school A-G or Career Technical Education continuums and is unprecedented in the state’s community college system. We call it ‘The Central Valley Way!’”

“Through the use of PPM, students complete exactly what is required of them to successfully transfer to their four-year university and they follow PPM through their last two years to degree/certificate completion,” Carrizosa said.

Baseline data results also demonstrate the promise that PPM delivers in the Transfer Project.

In a sample of 5,000 incoming freshmen to Bakersfield College in 2022 the students using the PPM increased their “percentage of on-path course completion” to over 80 percent which also closed the equity gap in this statistic for ethnic minority students when compared to their white counterparts, Carrizosa said.

“The same sample showed students using the PPM reduced the ‘number of units-to-degree’ from an average of 87 down to 67,” he added.

The project is now gearing up to expand the partnership with the College Bridge Math Project and to onboard community colleges from the northern region of the Central Valley.

For more information about the CVTP, contact Carrizosa at centralvalleyhec@gmail.com.

 

CVHEC media inquiries: Tom Uribes – cvheccommunications@mail.fresnostate.edu or text 559.348.3278.

Fresno State media inquiries: PIO Lisa Bell – lbell@csufresno.edu.

See:

·  Pilot CVHEC/UC Merced Transfer Project improves process for students  

·  CVHEC Web Site Feature: Transfer Project

·  Historic Transfer Project spurs statewide movement to increase transfer rates

·  WHAT THE CV-HEC IS HAPPENING BLOG (January 2024): CVHEC 2023 — surging forward for Central Valley students

·  HIGHER ED NEWS: College Bridge to expand Math Bridge; CVHEC Transfer Project

•  A-G

·   Career Technical Education

MEMBER NEWS: North Valley, East Sierra CVHEC members partner for K-16 Collaboratives

State Planning Grants Could Lead to Expansion of CVHEC’s Dual Enrollment Initiatives

Two more Central Valley regions – North San Joaquin and Eastern Sierra – have each been awarded $250,000 state planning grants for the establishment of Regional K-16 Education Collaboratives Grant Programs as part of the statewide drive to strengthen the K-16 education-to-career pipeline. Both collaborative efforts are headed by Central Valley Higher Education Consortium member institutions.

The Department of General Services announced Nov. 9 that the state is awarding the planning grants to the two Central Valley regions as well as the Bay Area and the Central Coast for a total of $1 million. The one-year planning grants will help establish the collaboratives in those areas which will eventually seek additional funding to provide more streamlined, equitable pathways that can help local students transition from high school to college or career training and into the workforce.

In the Northern San Joaquin Region, the University of California, Merced is the lead agency for the newly formed North Valley tri-county Workforce and Education (WE Will!) Regional Collaborative that includes four other fellow CVHEC-members: Merced College, Modesto Junior College, San Joaquin Delta College and California State University, Stanislaus.

They are working in collaboration with partners from Merced, Stanislaus and San Joaquin counties through the WE Will! Collaborative.

For the Eastern Sierra Region, CVHEC-member Columbia College is heading up the K-16 collaborative planning along with several school districts, colleges and employer groups.

These partners will use the planning year to establish their collaborative and to apply together for up to $18 million in state funds available to the region for a three-year “cradle-to-career” pathway project.

These allocations amount to a total of four such collaboratives involving CVHEC members that will help bolster dual enrollment initiatives like the consortium’s successful Master’s Upskilling Program that has already been implemented in the mid valley region through the Fresno-Madera K-16 Collaborative and in the south valley area through the Kern K-16 Collaborative.

The program recruits and helps fund tuition for high school math and English teachers to earn a Master’s so they can teach dual enrollment courses in those subjects on the high school campus.

Dr. Benjamín Durán, CHVEC executive director, said the south and mid valley efforts have laid a solid foundation for the program to succeed when scaled and replicated in the North Valley and Eastern Sierra regions to better serve all Central Valley students.

“As we continue to equitably expand dual enrollment efforts in the Valley, we know one of the barriers for high school teachers to teach these classes is the lack of a master’s degree,” said Duran, president-emeritus of Merced College who was named to lead CVHEC in 2016. “With the new formation of both the WE Will! Regional Collaborative and the Eastern Sierra collaborative with this latest state funding, we will be able to expand our efforts throughout the Valley to increase dual enrollment opportunities for our students.”

In its announcement Nov. 7, UC Merced said the WE Will! Regional Collaborative – which was formed “to address streamlining and accelerating students preparing to enter the priority industry fields that would better serve our region, students and families” — will use the year to assess, design and create a work plan for the phase two application in the fall of 2023, which will be over $18 million.

“UC Merced is committed to helping break workforce barriers,” said Chancellor Juan Sánchez Muñoz who serves on the CVHEC Board of Directors that is made up of the presidents and chancellors of its 30 consortium members from San Joaquin to Kern counties.

“The WE Will! Collaborative between our campus and surrounding counties will be an essential pipeline to build a more equitable future for all students and provide the resources they need to reach their career goals,” the UCM chancellor said.

Dr. Ellen Junn, Stanislaus State president and CVHEC board member, said, “As the California State University serving this region, Stan State is committed to preparing our graduates to address and meet the needs of our regional workforce. We are dedicated to working collaboratively to aggressively pursue equity and diversity in degree and credential attainment as we work to ensure the best possible preparation for student success in the workforce.”

WE Will! provides collaboration between all education partners and the workforce to design ways for students to experience connected learning experiences, acceleration opportunities and successful transition into locally available careers.

“We know employers don’t stop at the county border when they are expanding,” said San Joaquin Delta President Lisa Aguilera Lawrenson, also a CVHEC board member. “We are looking forward to collaborating with our workforce partners and educational partners to get beyond the ‘border’ and plan for the region. Together we can provide a workforce for the needs of today and the future.”

The Eastern Sierra project will also include UC Merced and Stanislaus State as well as K-12, postsecondary, and industry partners, including the superintendents of schools in each participating county, several K-12 districts; and workforce investment boards, including Mother Lode Job Training. Those counties are Tuolumne, Calaveras, Amador, Mariposa, Alpine, Inyo and Mono.

“This is the first step toward a very exciting opportunity for our rural counties,” said Dr. Lena Tran, Columbia College president who is also on the CVHEC Board.

“We are very honored to serve as the lead for a project that will be designed specifically by and for our rural mountain communities. This planning year gives us a chance to build our collaborative and find what works for our students, our schools, and our employers.”

Earlier this year, the state awarded full implementation grants to the Central San Joaquin Valley and Kern County, as well as the North State, Redwood Coast, Orange County, Sacramento, Los Angeles, Border and Inland Empire regions totaling approximately $163 million.

The state grant was awarded through the 2021 Budget Act, which allocated $250 million to the Department of General Services and is being administered through the Foundation for California Community Colleges.

 

See the UC Merced press release (includes a full list of WE WILL partners) and Columbia College press release.

For CVHEC media inquiries contact Tom Uribes: tom@uribes.com (559.348.3278)

For UC Merced media inquiries, contact PIO Desiree Lopez: dlopez298@ucmerced.edu (209.746.5137)

 

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.

Governor Newsom Announces Appointments

Governor Newsom Announces Appointments 5.18.20

Published: 

SACRAMENTO – Governor Gavin Newsom today announced the following appointments:

Jennifer Norris, 51, of Sacramento, has been appointed deputy secretary for biodiversity and habitat at the California Natural Resources Agency. Norris has served as fish and wildlife administrator for the United States Fish and Wildlife Service since 2013, where she was deputy field supervisor from 2011 to 2013, assistant field supervisor from 2010 to 2011, critical habitat coordinator from 2009 to 2010, Rio Grande ESA coordinator from 2006 to 2009 and fish and wildlife biologist from 2004 to 2006. She was a biologist at the New Mexico State Land Office from 2001 to 2004. Norris earned a Doctor of Biological Sciences degree in ecology from the University of New Mexico and a Master of Science degree in conservation biology from the University of Michigan. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $167,004. Norris is a Democrat.

Ted Craddock, 53, of El Dorado Hills, has been appointed deputy director of the State Water Project at the California Department of Water Resources, where he has served as the acting deputy director since 2019. Craddock has served in multiple other positions at the California Department of Water Resources since 1994, including assistant deputy director of the State Water Project, project manager of Oroville Spillways Emergency Recovery, chief of utility operations for the Hydropower License Office, program manager of the East Branch Extension, advisor to the State Water Project deputy director, and civil engineer. Craddock is a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers and the United States Society on Dams. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $196,932. Craddock is registered without party preference.

Ellen Junn, 62, of Turlock, has been appointed to the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education. Junn has been president of California State University, Stanislaus since 2016. She was provost and vice president for academic affairs at California State University, Dominguez Hills from 2014 to 2016. Junn was provost and vice president for academic affairs at San Jose State University from 2012 to 2013. She was associate provost at Fresno State University from 2008 to 2011. Junn is an executive steering member of the Millennium Leadership Initiative — part of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU), a member of the board of directors of California Partnership for the San Joaquin Valley, an executive committee member of the Central Valley Higher Education Consortium, and a member of ITHAKA Higher Ed Insights, American Psychological Association, and Phi Kappa Phi National Honor Society. She earned Doctor of Philosophy and Master of Arts degrees in cognitive and developmental psychology from Princeton University. This position requires Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Junn is a Democrat.

Robert Shireman, 58, of Berkeley, has been appointed to the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education. Shireman has been senior fellow and director of higher education excellence at the Century Foundation since 2015. He was executive director at California Competes: Higher Education for a Strong Economy from 2010 to 2015. Shireman was deputy undersecretary at the U.S. Department of Education from 2009 to 2010. He was president of the Institute for College Access and Success (TICAS) from 2004 to 2009.  Shireman was senior fellow at the Program on Education and Society, Aspen Institute from 2003 to 2004. He was program director for higher education at the James Irvine Foundation from 1998 to 2002 and was senior policy advisor at the National Economic Council from 1996 to 1998. He was education advisor and legislative director for United States Senator Paul Simon from 1989 to 1996. Shireman was a policy analyst at the West Coast Regional Office for the Consumers Union of the United States, Inc. from 1986 to 1988. He earned a Master of Education degree from Harvard University and a Master of Public Administration degree from the University of San Francisco. Shireman is a member of the boards of the Opportunity Institute and uAspire. This position requires Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Shireman is a Democrat.

Sara Barth, 51, of Pleasanton, has been appointed to the State Park and Recreation Commission. Barth has been executive director of the Sempervirens Fund since 2016. She held multiple positions at the Wilderness Society from 2003 to 2016, including, senior regional director for the Pacific and Southwest Regions, vice president for regional conservation, and California/Nevada Director. She was a legislative assistant to United States Senator Barbara Boxer from 2000 to 2003, legislative representative for the Endangered Habitats Team at the National Wildlife Federation from 1996 to 2000 and conservation fellow at the World Wildlife Fund from 1994 to 1996. She is a member of Emerging Wildlife Conservation Leaders and the California League of Conservation Voters. Barth earned a Master of Science degree in conservation biology and natural resource policy from the University of Michigan. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Barth is a Democrat.

Asma Mahdi, 37, of Los Angeles, has been appointed to the State Park and Recreation Commission. Mahdi has been policy director at the Better World Group since 2019. She was communications manager at the UCLA Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research / Sustainable LA Grand Challenge from 2016 to 2019, executive director and communications director at Green Muslims from 2014 to 2018, outreach and communications specialist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Marine Debris Program from 2012 to 2016 and coastal cleanup day coordinator at Heal the Bay in 2011. She earned a Master of Environmental Science and Management degree from the University of California, Santa Barbara. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Mahdi is registered without party preference.

Katherine Toy, 51, of San Francisco, has been appointed to the State Park and Recreation Commission. Toy has been executive vice president of partnerships and programs at the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy since 2017. She was associate director for alumni volunteer engagement at Stanford Alumni Association/Stanford University from 2007 to 2017, program director at San Francisco School Volunteers from 2005 to 2007 and executive director at the Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation from 2000 to 2004.  She was assistant director of the Stanford Alumni Association from 1998 to 2000, teacher and director of student activities for the Las Lomitas School District from 1995 to 1997, intern teacher at Carlmont High School/Sequoia Union High School District from 1994 to 1995 and teacher at the Bryn Mawr School from 1991 to 1994. Toy earned a Master of Arts degree in education from Stanford University. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Toy is a Democrat.

###

Original post can be found at:https://www.gov.ca.gov/2020/05/18/governor-newsom-announces-appointments-5-18-20/

Stan State, Merced College celebrate improved transfer program

Stan State, Merced College celebrate improved transfer program

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stanislaus State and Merced College signed a historical agreement on Friday, Feb. 21, at the Merced College amphitheater. The agreement — which will ease the transfer process for Merced College students who plan to attend California State University, Stanislaus — symbolizes a renewed support of educational success between the two institutions.

The “Warriors on the Way” celebration began as Chris Vitelli, president of Merced College, took the stage to welcome students, faculty, and community members in attendance.

“This is a very exciting opportunity and event for both of our institutions,” he began. “This will provide the streamlined support and wrap-around services for our students that want to transfer to our largest receiving institution, Stanislaus.”

A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed between Vitelli and Ellen Junn, president of CSU Stanislaus, permanently acknowledging the agreement. The partnership will allow Merced College students guaranteed priority admission to Stan State when they complete their Associate Degree for Transfer (ADT) at Merced College and meet all application deadlines.

“This is an agreement that can be seen as a renewal of our commitment to work together and further cements the relationship that began when Merced College was established 58 years ago,” Junn said.

As Merced College provides Stanislaus State with the greatest student admission, it is only seen fit for the two institutions of higher education to work together to provide better resources for their students.

The program will not only make the transfer process run smoother, but will also provide the Central Valley with more educated residents as the years roll out. As the population grows in both Merced and Stanislaus Counties, a greater transfer and graduation population can be predicted for both schools.

“We recognize the tremendous partnership between two institutions that believe in the future of many of the students that are here, and the hundreds of thousands in this community that will benefit from the relationship that we have been forging over the last several years,” Vitelli continued.

The MOU calls for a counselor at each campus, guaranteed up to 32 hours per week, that will be available to the disposal of its transfer students. This role will be beneficial as students are made aware of the different opportunities that are available to them at the Stan State campus.

Briana Sanchez, a Merced College student graduating in the fall, stood at the podium as she emphasized how important the Warriors on the Way program currently is for her.

“I am a first generation college graduate,” Sanchez began. “I had to learn my own steps. Learning everything on my own wasn’t easy. Many people told me I shouldn’t apply to transfer out of Merced College because it wasn’t going to happen for me.”

Thanks to determination and the Warriors on the Way program, Sanchez says she is now able to see her dreams within reach. Sanchez will be graduating with her ADT in communications, social and behavioral psychology, and administrative and office professional.

“Thanks to Merced College and Stanislaus, I am now a Warrior on the Way,” Sanchez concluded.

 

 

The original post can be found at https://mercedcountytimes.com/stan-state-merced-college-celebrate-improved-transfer-program/

U.S. News & World Report Ranks Stan State a Top 10 Western Public University

September 10, 2018

 

Stanislaus State has been ranked as one of the West’s top universities by U.S. News & World Report for 23 consecutive years, and this year’s rankings break new ground for Stan State.

According to the annual rankings released this morning, Stan State is a top 10 public university in the Western region, moving up from No. 13 in last year’s rankings, in addition to being ranked No. 48 overall, up seven spots in one year and an improvement of 13 spots over the last two years.

In addition, the publication ranks Stan State’s undergraduate business program as one of the top 350 in the nation, public or private.

U.S. News & World Report’s general excellence methodology considers data from 16 areas related to the quality of academic programs, then ranks schools according to a composite score. The “Best Colleges 2019” guidebook will be on newsstands Oct. 16.

This ranking is the latest in a series from national publications that highlight Stanislaus State’s high-quality academics and accessibility. In August, Washington Monthly ranked the University the No. 1 “Bang for the Buck” four-year college in the West Region. Earlier this summer, in its national “Best Colleges for the Money” category, Money magazine moved Stan State into the top 50 for the first time, placing the University at No. 49 overall and No. 31 among public schools. Also, for the 13th consecutive year, Stanislaus State was selected as one of the country’s top 384 colleges by The Princeton Review.

Contact Us

  • cvhecinfo@mail.fresnostate.edu

  • 559.278.0576

Join Our Newsletter