CVHEC Summit 2023 features CCC Chancellor Sonya Christian keynote Oct. 20

 

‘Homecoming’ for former CVHEC board member

now leading California Community Colleges

 

Dr. Sonya Christian, chancellor of the California Community Colleges, will return “home” Oct. 20 when she delivers the keynote for the Central Valley Higher Education Consortium Summit 2023 in Fresno.

With the theme “Student Success through Equity and Inclusion — Thriving in the Central Valley,” the summit will be held from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friday, Oct. 20, at the Fresno Convention Center’s Ernest E. Valdez Exhibit Hall.

About 200 higher education officials and educators, legislators and partner representatives are expected to attend the summit sponsored by the College Futures Foundation.

The quarterly meeting of the CVHEC’s board of directors – the chancellors, presidents and campus directors of the consortium’s 28 member colleges and universities in the nine-county region from San Joaquin to Kern – will precede the summit on Oct. 19.

CVHEC’s Welcoming & Networking Reception also will be the day before the summit at 5:30 p.m. at the Valdez Hall Breezeway, following the board meeting, providing an opportunity to connect with other attendees and the CVHEC Board of Directors in an informal relaxed setting.

The summit, which will also include a panel of students providing first-hand experiences in their higher education journey, will feature conversations on:

Chancellor Christian, whose keynote Friday will be at 9:15 a.m., made history as the first woman and first Asian-American, as well as a first-generation college graduate, named chancellor of the state’s community college system when she was appointed Feb. 23.

The chancellor served on the CVHEC board when she was president of consortium member Bakersfield College from 2013 to 2021 and more recently when she was chancellor of member Kern Community College District from 2021 to May until assuming the CCC top spot June 1.

Dr. Benjamín Durán, CVHEC executive director, said the board looks forward to welcoming back its former colleague.

“The California Community Colleges Board of Governors made a wise choice by selecting a leader who has proven she understands California’s community colleges and will advocate on their behalf at the state and national level,” Dr. Durán said when Dr. Christian was appointed.

“Chancellor Christian understands the needs and challenges of community colleges in the rural areas of California and the students and communities they serve.”

The remainder of the summit on Friday includes a “Federal Legislative Update” by Congressman Jim Costa and Dr. Hans Johnson, of the Public Policy Institute of California, presenting “The Central Valley Landscape.”

“Central Valley Transfer Model: The Breakthrough” will be the topic of the day’s first panel presented by CVHEC’s Transfer Project team of Dr. James Zimmerman, senior associate vice provost and dean for Undergraduate Education, UC Merced; Dr. Craig Hayward, dean of Institutional Effectiveness at Bakersfield College; and facilitated by team lead Stan Carrizosa, president-emeritus of College of the Sequoias who currently serves as a CVHEC regional coordinator.

In the past year, the Transfer Project team has delivered presentations on their progress throughout the state and nation as the CVHEC initiative, with its historic Mapper Project, has become a national model.

“The Central Valley Transfer Project includes streamlined processes for CC and CSU/UC faculty to collaborate like never before,” he added. “This has not only provided clear and easily accessible transfer pathways for students but builds a community of Higher Education instructors who care about and support each other’s success!”

The morning session ends with a panel on “Different Approaches to Equitable Dual Enrollment” including Dr. Lynn Cevallos, president of College Bridge, discussing the Math Bridge dual enrollment project now underway in two CVHEC initiatives (EIR and K-16).

Following lunch, the panel “Online Educational Resources / Zero Textbook Costs” with James Preston, president of West Hills College-Lemoore and a CVHEC board member.

This panel will discuss how CVHEC is in the process of creating its Zero Textbook Costs/Open Educational Resources Task Force to strategize about pursuing state funding available for this movement that has led to significant savings for students as well as improved materials quality.  This summer, the project received a $580,180.00 state grant through the Fresno-Madera K-16 Collaborative Mini-Grant Award  to begin Phase 1.

Also featured will be a panel of Central Valley college students sharing their experiences with Math Bridge; dual enrollment (earned an AA); OER; and CVHEC’s Transfer Project.

(NOTE: Panelist names and final agenda will be announced in the next CVHEC newsletter issue).

Registration for the free event and Summit updates are available at https://cvhec.org/event/2023-cvhec-summit/ or email Angel Ramirez, operations manager, at centralvalleyhec@gmail.com.

 

MEDIA INQUIRIES

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

 

Registration:  CVHEC 2023 Higher Education Summit Registration, Fri, Oct 20, 2023 at 9:00 AM | Eventbrite

  

ABOUT CVHEC

The Central Valley Higher Education Consortium (CVHEC) is a California non-profit made up of 28-instutitions of higher education in the nine-county region from San Joaquin to Kern that is the size of some states. Through CVHEC, higher education professionals and academicians in the Central Valley address difficult and complex initiatives, scaling them up across the region for mutual effectiveness to serve our students and communities.  

Open Educational Resources movement launched with $580,180 K-16 grant to CVHEC members

 

 

Open Educational Resources has the potential to save students millions of dollars in textbook and material costs that helps minimize financial barriers impeding access to quality education, said Dr. Kristin Clark (left), WHCCD chancellor, with West Hills College-Coalinga President Carla Tweed and West Hills College-Lemoore President James Preston.

OER Task Force and convening

planned for this fall

 

The pioneering Open Educational Resources Improvement Project – a collaboration of Central Valley Higher Education Consortium members and partners –kicks off with a $580,180.00 state grant as well as a new OER Task Force and convening planned for later this fall.

CVHEC-member West Hills Community College District recently announced the Fresno-Madera K-16 Collaborative Mini-Grant Award for the groundbreaking initiative that is poised to usher in a new era of educational opportunities by revolutionizing learning, teaching and research materials across the Central Valley.

The project is in collaboration with the State Center Community College District and its campuses — Fresno City College, Madera Community College and Reedley College (all consortium members) — and CVHEC.

Open Educational Resources has the potential to save students millions of dollars in textbook and material costs, said Dr. Kristin Clark, WHCCD chancellor, in the Aug. 22 award announcement. This helps minimize financial barriers that impede access to quality education.

“OER is pivotal in alleviating financial burdens on our students with the transformative power to enrich education, making it more affordable and accessible,” Chancellor Clark said.

 

The free exchange of knowledge

The initiative promotes accessibility, reusability, adaptation and redistribution said the chancellor who also serves as chair of the CVHEC Board of Directors made up of the chancellors, presidents and campus directors of 28 Central Valley institutions of higher education in the nine-county region from San Joaquin to Kern counties.

OER encompasses a diverse range of materials, such as textbooks, curricula and multimedia resources made available under open licenses that encourage the free exchange of knowledge.

Since 2016, West Hills College Lemoore has been at the forefront of OER development, showcasing WHCCD’s dedication to providing an inclusive and equitable learning environment that serves as a testament to the district’s commitment to academic excellence.

Chancellor Clark said the Fresno-Madera K-16 Collaborative Mini-Grant Award “will empower us to advance education in the Central Valley by leveraging the potential of Open Educational Resources underscoring our unwavering commitment to fostering innovation and student success.”

She called the grant “a testament to the collaborative spirit of the Central Valley’s educational community and the strides we can achieve together. We are incredibly excited to embark on this significant endeavor alongside our esteemed partners.”

 

Statewide leadership to a ZTC degree pathway

Dr. Benjamín Durán, CVHEC executive director, said this visionary partnership of consortium members will expand on WHC-Lemoore’s pioneer work with faculty and instructional administrators developing Open Educational Resources /Zero Textbook Cost textbooks, courses and pathways that serve area institutions and their feeder high schools.

“This Central Valley OER movement provides statewide leadership leading to a full ZTC degree pathway in Elementary Education for our students that immediately serves the Fresno and Madera County areas,” Duran said.

“We commend our community college members for uniting under CHVEC for this grant, enabling them to create a wealth of high-quality educational resources for the benefit of students and educators throughout the Central Valley and beyond.”

 

An evolution of teaching and learning

West Hills College-Lemoore President James Preston, who serves on the statewide California Community Colleges ZTC Task Force, said in a CVHEC “What Is Happening Blog” a year ago that his campus jumped into the “OERevolution” as a way to eliminate textbook cost barriers for students.

“However, what started as a revolution against textbook publishers and outrageous prices quickly turned into an evolution of teaching and learning as faculty utilized OER materials in creative and powerful ways,” wrote President Preston.

“Thousands of hours of teamwork, a few additional grants and six years later West Hills College Lemoore has saved students over $8 million dollars, revolutionized teaching and learning and currently offers 62 percent of our courses in the ZTC format with a dozen degrees and certificates that students can complete without any textbook costs.”

In a presentation to fellow CVHEC board members at their quarterly meeting in May,  President Preston said the use of ZTC is “a huge win for diversity and equity” that “allows for culturally responsive relevant materials.”

 

OER/ZTC Task Force

Dr. Duran said the next step for CVHEC is to finalize formation this fall of the OER/ZTC Task Force consisting of representatives from the consortium’s 28-member institutions.

“This new task force will support our members as they assist students attain basic needs that help navigate their way towards the completion of their educational goals. “

He said the first OER/ZTC Task Force Convening will be set for later this fall when task force members and other individuals and campuses can further explore strategies for addressing those basic needs.

For more information: centralvalleyhec@gmail.com.

 

For media inquiries:

WHCCD – Amber Myrick (559.934.2132) ambermyrick@whccd.edu

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

SCCCD – Jill Wagner  jill.wagner@scccd.edu

 

Also see:

 

CVHEC DIRECTOR’S MESSAGE (September 2023)

An ambitious fall 2023 semester!

 

Greetings Colleagues and Friends of CVHEC,

Welcome to the fall 2024 semester and the September edition of the CVHEC e-Newsletter. We hope the summer provided you with an opportunity to enjoy some personal time to recharge, reconnect with family and perhaps finally get some long-planned travel in.

WITH THIS EDITION of our newsletter, we announce phase one of the CVHEC Open Educational Resources  Improvement Project  introduced previously: the awarding to member West Hills Community College District of a $580,180 mini-grant from the Fresno-Madera K-16 Collaborative.

 This funding will expand on West Hills College-Lemoore’s pioneer work with faculty and instructional administrators  developing OER/ZTC textbooks, courses and pathways that serve area institutions and their feeder high schools in a collaboration of CVHEC members in the WHCCD and State Center Community College District (Fresno, Madera, Clovis, Reedley colleges) leading to a full ZTC degree pathway in Elementary Education shared with project stakeholders that immediately serves the Fresno-Madera areas. CVHEC’s OER/ZTC efforts will be scaled throughout across the Central Valley.

AS NOTED IN previous newsletters, we are delighted by the appointment of our own Dr. Sonya Christian, former chancellor of the Kern Community College District, as the new leader of the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office and the start of her tenure June 1.  Now, we are further delighted to announce that Chancellor Christian will join us as the keynote speaker to open our annual CVHEC Summit scheduled for Friday, Oct. 20.  See the save-the-date and registration information in this issue.  We hope you are planning on joining us for the summit.

AND FINALLY, WE are pleased to present in this issue’s “What in the CVHEC is Happening” blog  a special back-to-school message also by Dr. Spevak. He shares an email he received from a former student who attributes his success today to teachers like John, a former English teacher and vice-president emeritus of Merced College. It’s a timely message as so many educators return to the classroom for the fall semester and that ever-gratifying sense of making a difference in students’ lives. Cheers to teachers everywhere!

Enjoy our newsletter and may you all get off to a great start this fall.

CVHEC DIRECTOR’S MESSAGE (Summer 2023): Affirmative Action challenge!

Supreme Court ruling is not the death of Affirmative Action but

rather a challenge to renew and reinforce its spirit and outcomes

 

NOTE: See the June 24, 2023  Fresno Bee Op-Ed version of this message: https://bit.ly/CVHECoped-RenewAffirmativeActionSpirit.

 

Greetings Colleagues and Friends of CVHEC,

As I was preparing to write the introduction for this special summer edition of our e-newsletter, the much anticipated, but still devastating, decision by the United States Supreme Court to strike down Affirmative Action burst into the national scene June 29 sending my phone into non-stop notifications from family and higher ed colleagues beset with disappointment and anger.

And, as the country was reeling from that monumental decision, SCOTUS took further action to declare unconstitutional President Biden’s efforts to bring some relief to those holding student loans.

In one week — after decades of progress — equity, diversity and access in higher education were simultaneously under attack.

However, I offer that this Supreme Court ruling is not the death of Affirmative Action but rather a challenge to renew and reinforce its spirit and outcomes.

Upon hearing the news and fielding those phone calls, I thought back to 1996 when California voters passed Proposition 209, effectively ending Affirmative Action in California; and even back to the University of California vs Bakke case in 1976.  Having spent decades in higher education first as a student and mostly as a professional educator, I reflected on and contemplated how California dealt with those landmark decisions.

I recalled that, despite the initial impacts from those decisions that have cost countless students of color the chance to earn a higher education, advocates and colleagues here in California have nonetheless long embraced the quest for equity in pursuit of student populations that reflect the rich diversity of our state despite legislation and court action to the contrary.

Following that elimination of Affirmative Action in our state 27 years ago, educators in our four segments of higher education — the University of California, the California State University System, the California Community College System and the Independent Colleges and Universities — initiated new strategies and initiatives to attract and enroll students from underrepresented groups that had been targeted by Proposition 209 and the Bakke case.

Yes we made some gains in the face of anti-Affirmative Action adversity here in California but there is still more work to do, especially as evidenced by these new Supreme Court rulings.

If we truly believe that all means all and everybody means everybody, it is appropriate that the impact of race, economic status and a person’s life experiences are all factors that should be considered as students pursue the dream and promise of a higher education.

Today, now more than ever, the equity efforts long in play here in California are essential nationwide. We must not let up in our quest to strive and reach goals that have not yet been met but are being pursued relentlessly by countless higher education professionals, policy makers, legislators, students and community supporters throughout our state and in other states similarly affected.

Locally, the work of Central Valley Higher Education Consortium members – made up of 28 colleges in the nine-county region from San Joaquin to Kern – under our equity umbrella aligns very well with reinforcing and renewing efforts to address the spirit and outcomes of Affirmative Action as it was intended when first conceptualized, not as it has been characterized lately.

I am confident that our Central Valley colleges and universities will continue to make their institutions open to all because it is the right thing to do, not because it is legislated.

So I invite and encourage my esteemed colleagues serving students throughout the Central Valley and beyond to once again rise to this new challenge, as we have always done, with a renewed vigor in continuing the good work you have done for our students.

Let us use the anger and disappointment we felt initially and get on with the work ahead of us. We must assure that the spirit of Affirmative Action, as it was originally intended, thrives for the good of our entire community.

Now, please do enjoy the rest of this historic summer!

CVHEC Board to appoint  ZTC/OER Task Force

Spring board meeting features strategic planning,
Transfer Project/Math Bridge convergence

The Central Valley Higher Education Consortium’s new Zero Textbook Costs/Open Educational Resources Task Force will form in the coming months, West Hills College-Lemoore President James Preston reported to the CVHEC Board of Directors at its quarterly meeting May 11 in Fresno.

The action highlighted a full agenda of information for the board made up of the chancellors, presidents and campus directors of 28 institutions of higher education in the Central Valley’s nine-county region.

In addition to the ZTC Task Force, the agenda also included:

  • Announcement of the development of a strategic plan in concert with Ed West that will drive the organization’s work for the next 3-5 years;
  • A presentation outlining the convergence of two CVHEC projects: the Central Valley Transfer Project and Math Bridge;
  • A welcome and farewell of incoming and departing members of the board, signifying transition among the valley’s higher education campus leaders.

Dr. Kristin Clark, CVHEC Board of Directors chair, welcomed the 14 members who attended the meeting at the Wyndham Inn and another 7 joining in virtually.

Dr. Juan Munoz, University of California, Merced chancellor who is the board treasurer, reported  the consortium’s $2.9 million budget shows a carry-forward of $855,000.

Dr. Benjamín Durán, executive director, confirmed the annual CVHEC Higher Education Summit has been rescheduled for Oct. 19-20 and announced that the consortium’s Central Valley Dual Enrollment for Equity and Prosperity (CVDEEP) Task Force will convene in September.

But the three major presentations underscored the value the consortium provides the higher education community from Stockton to Bakersfield.

OER / ZTC Task Force Forming

For the ZTC project, CVHEC board members were asked to begin selecting a representative for their respective institutions to serve on the new local task force to strategize about pursuing state funding available for this movement that has led to significant savings for students as well as improved materials quality.

President James Preston, who serves on the statewide California Community Colleges ZTC Task Force, explained the project and funding streams as well as strategic follow up steps to his fellow CVHEC board members.

“The Zero-Textbook-Cost Degree Grant Program reduces the overall cost of education for students and decreases the time it takes students to complete degree and certificate programs,” he said. “We call it the ‘OER revolution’ because it really was kind of a revolution against the price gouging of textbooks. It has become an evolution of teaching and learning.”

He said funding is coming from the K-16 collaborative grant; statewide ZTC funding from the CCC Chancellors Office; and California State University or private university funding, noting that $90 million will be available for phase three.

“As a small college, West Hills College – Lemoore averages between 3,500 and 5,000 students and we have saved our students about $6.5 million since 2017,” Preston said. “We’ve got up to 15 ZTC degree pathways now with 70 percent using zero textbook cost and about another five percent that are low textbook cost.”

He outlined several pluses for the use of ZTC/OER including that “it’s a huge win for diversity and equity” and it allows for “culturally responsive relevant materials” that can be updated in a timely fashion.

CV Transfer Project and Math Bridge Overlap

In a presentation about the convergence of the Transfer and Math Bridge projects, the uniqueness of the CVHEC concept was recognized when Dr. James Zimmerman, UC Merced provost, and Dr. Lynn Cevallos, president of College Bridge, recounted the successes of their respective projects to date as well as some of the challenges faced.

Zimmerman noted that while the transfer project — in implementing its Program Mapper software — helps students plan out courses leading to successful community college admissions and then to four-year, they discovered the need for student planning to start much earlier in high school. In discussion with fellow CVHEC partner Cevallos, they realized CVHEC’s dual enrollment projects provide that missing piece.

“In our conversations about our good work, we’re thinking why in the world aren’t we trying to take these two silos and integrate them in a way that’s going to be best for your institutions and best for CVHEC’s mission,” Zimmerman told the board.

“So we’re calling it an evolution,” he said. “We’re hoping that we can move this forward. We’re excited about what’s been happening and just wanted to give you a sense of what we’re thinking.”

Cevallos said the Central Valley is ripe for this forward thinking due to more consistency among the CVHEC collaborators than in other areas of the state, noting that the consortium’s role in bringing together its community college members with school district partners provided the foundation for the College Bridge success that will extend to this merger.

Zimmerman said MOUs are in the works for state funding to carry the merger idea forward.

Duran told the board that “this melding represents two unique elements we don’t see around the state” — the collaboration between intersegmental faculty literally sitting down in a room together and the intersegmental institutional collaboration between its members.

“The University of California Merced is the only UC campus in the state that is collaborating with community colleges and CSU’s to create this model transfer project,” he said.

He reported that the CVHEC Transfer Project team is in communication with other UC campuses around the state as well as higher education institutions nation-wide interested in trying something similar.

“This is a unique organization that you folks have brought together,” Duran told the board.

Strategic Planning and Evaluation

The third presentation is designed to strengthen CVHEC strategies: virtual guests were Laura Lara-Brady and Kathy Booth of West Ed which CVHEC has contracted to conduct an evaluation that will help develop a strategic plan to drive the organization’s work for the next 3-5 years.

Ed West is presently surveying board members and stakeholders to establish strategic themes and follow up interviews. The results will be used by the CVHEC board’s executive committee at its working meeting in September to propose a strategic plan for full consideration at the board’s fall meeting in October, Duran reported.

One example of some of the comments shared in this preliminary discussion touched on the CVHEC’s uniqueness in bringing together the four segments of California’s higher education system to speak as a collective voice for the Central Valley.

“That’s very unusual. We’re kind of a Unicorn in that respect, we’ve heard that said several times,” said Dr. Clark. “And I come from outside the Central Valley. I know that people do not play nice together in other pockets. I mean you can’t even talk to the high school down the street much less talk to regional partners like this so I think that we get a lot of attention because we’ve made it work and people want to replicate that.

Transitions

In the transitions portion of the board meeting, four new campus CEOs were welcomed to the board: President Kim Armstrong, Clovis Community College; Interim President Steve Watkins, Bakersfield College; Interim President Chad Redwing, Modesto Junior College; and Interim Chancellor Tom Burke, Kern Community College District.

Two board members were bid farewell: Dr. Ellen Junn, whose retirement as Stan State President is effective August 1; and Dr. Sonya Christian, Kern Community College District chancellor who left that position April 30 to become chancellor of the CCC effective June 1.

Chancellor Christian was unable to attend her final meeting but she plans to reconnect at the summit in October when she returns in her new role.

President Junn attended, returning to the city where she served as provost at Fresno State prior to Stan State. She echoed the satisfaction of serving with “remarkable” valley CEO colleagues noting “it is unusual for college leaders to have so much camaraderie” as the CVHEC board enjoys. She will be honored at  Warrior Tribute for President Junn June 9.

The next CVHEC board meeting will be Oct. 19, the day before the summit.

CVHEC DIRECTOR’S MESSAGE (May 2023): Extraordinary times!

Winding down an extraordinary

academic year in the Central Valley 

Greetings colleagues,

As we welcome you to the May issue of our newsletter, we take this opportunity to thank, congratulate and salute all the CVHEC educators who have dedicated themselves to sending off another group of Central Valley students into the next phase of their academic and or professional lives.  This annual commencement season is truly a magical time of the year and reminds us all why we chose careers in higher education.

In this issue we present more about Math Bridge, the math pathways initiative launched May 18 by bringing together representatives of six regional community colleges and their partner feeder high schools. At this kickoff held in downtown Fresno, these dedicated and determined professionals began the process to jointly create college level dual enrollment math courses targeted at underrepresented student populations that will allow them to complete a college math course before graduating from high school.  This innovative project is unique because of the intersegmental collaboration between high school and community college math faculty members working together to ensure their students’ success.

You will also have an opportunity to visit the CVHEC board meeting held May 11 in Fresno.  Board members heard a joint presentation by Dr. James Zimmerman, senior associate vice provost and dean of Undergraduate Education at UC Merced, and Dr.  Lynn Cevallos, president and founder of College Bridge.  They addressed the evolution and overlap of two CVHEC endeavors, the Central Valley Transfer Project and the Math Bridge initiative, that helps clear pathways for students getting into and through community college and onto the university of their choice.

We also bid farewell to two dear colleagues although one will remain well in sight, Dr. Sonya Christian who served on our board as chancellor of the Kern Community College District but now moves up to chancellor of the California Community College system. And joining us one last time at the meeting was the esteemed Dr. Ellen Junn, Stanislaus State president whose retirement is effective next month. We know you join the board in thanking them for their service to higher education in general and the consortium in particular. And you may read about our newest board additions in the story and photo gallery about the board meeting.

Please enjoy this issue as well as the conclusion of this extraordinary semester.

CVHEC DIRECTOR’S MESSAGE (April 2023): Blurring the lines!

‘Committed to the deeper work — blurring the line between high school and college

Greetings colleagues,

This April edition of our CVHEC e-newsletter ushers in the final month of a busy spring semester for many of our CVHEC member colleges and universities not to mention our own relentless team.

In spite of wrestling with all the challenges in just the second year of a post-pandemic world, faculty, staff and CVHEC partners have been working diligently on regional strategies that will shed light on the good work our Central Valley colleges and universities are doing collectively for the well-being of our students.

First, we alert you that the 2023 CVHEC Annual Summit originally set for May is being rescheduled to October.

This will give us the opportunity to deliver a more impactful and compressive summit that, in addition to bringing higher education leaders and policy-makers together, showcases the great work being done in the region.  Please be on the lookout for updates.

One of the things we continue to express is that passing the college math gateway courses can make the difference for a student between college completion or not.  In this month’s newsletter, please read about some of efforts going on throughout the region that aim to eliminate this barrier.

Specifically, we are pleased to announce our new state-funded Dual Enrollment Math Bridge Program in collaboration with the Central San Joaquin Valley K-16 Partnership.  This comes on the heels of our first venture with College Bridge announced in January that is in full swing with the recruitment of high schools and that was featured in valley news media (see related story in this issue).  CVHEC and its partners are committed to undertake this deeper work that can effectively blur the lines between high schools and its colleges in the Central Valley

In this issue’s What the CV-HEC is Happening Blog, Dr. Manjula Joseph from Fresno Pacific University speaks about some of the experiences these high school teachers are having while earning a Master’s degree that will not only qualify them to teach dual enrollment math courses at their high schools, but also make them even better teachers by humanizing mathematics.

Thanks again for taking some of your valuable time to peruse our e-newsletter.

CVHEC to lead California delegation at CCA Day on the Hill May 16- 17

Dr. Benjamin Duran, executive director of the Central Valley Higher Education Consortium, will join Complete College America for its CCA Day on the Hill in Washington, D.C.  May 16- 17 where “a network of higher education experts share strategies and lessons for the implementation of higher ed strategies at scale.”

Complete College America, a national non-profit organization founded in 2009 to raise postsecondary attainment in the United States, is a national alliance of state and higher education leaders .

Alliance partners collaborate to introduce bold initiatives that help states and institutions confront inequities, close institutional performance gaps and increase college completion rates, especially for marginalized and historically excluded students.

At the CCA Day on the Hill event, Alliance members directly engage in the federal legislative process with their federal representatives and share best practices in states and regions that can be translated into federal policy while advancing CCA’s legislative agenda at the federal level, said Charles Ansell, CCA vice president for Research.

“As Congress looks to reauthorize the Higher Education Act next year, CCA Alliance members who participate in this opportunity will bolster the organizations’ efforts to make a lasting federal policy impact to support students seeking to complete college,” Ansell said.

The event starts on Tuesday, May 16 when Alliance members will attend an in-person training for the Day on the Hill with CCA’s federal lobbyists, Arnold & Porter (A&P). A&P will set up all member meetings while in DC and will provide a schedule for their Hill visits, which will take place between 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Wednesday, May 17.

Dr. Duran is the Alliance lead for California’s central region, serving as the go-to resource as members work to advance student success.

Dr. Brandon Protas, assistant vice president for Alliance Engagement, said CCA recognizes CVHEC — made up of 28 institutions of higher education in the Central California’s nine-county region with the presidents and chancellors of each member institution serving on its board of directors — as the convener and facilitator of education, community and legislative representatives as well as technical support experts as needed by members in carrying out the CVHEC board’s key policy objective:  to increase the Central Valley’s degree attainment.

The consortium works with legislative leaders as an advocate of the higher education policy positions of its board, he noted, fortifying the Central Valley as an “educational powerhouse.”

“We are thrilled that Executive Director Durán is partnering with CCA leveraging his visionary leadership and commitment to equitable degree attainment to influence federal policy that ensures higher education accessibility for all,” Dr. Protas said.

“This strategic collaboration not only strengthens the Central Valley community but empowers its diverse student population to see policy work that helps them to achieve their fullest potential, thereby promoting the Central Valley as an educational powerhouse for generations to come.”

Duran said the CCA, which CVHEC joined in 2016, shares many of the consortium objectives.

“CCA is a valuable partner because it provides a network of higher education experts who share strategies and lessons for the implementation of higher ed strategies at scale,” Duran said.  “The CCA alliance advocated for work in corequisite support and math pathways projects, working with multiple states to create the conditions for change required to implement the strategies at scale.”

For more information, visit www.completecollege.org.

UPDATE – CVHEC 2023 Summit re-scheduled for Oct. 20

(UPDATE MAY 26, 2023) – CVHEC SUMMIT RE-SCHEDULED:  The Central Valley Higher Education Consortium Higher Education Summit 2023 originally set for May has been rescheduled for Oct.  20, 2023. The CVHEC Board of Directors, which will meet the day before the summit (Thursday, Oct. 19), confirmed the new summit dates at its spring quarterly meeting May 11.

As we get closer to the May 12, 2023 date we had set aside for our annual CVHEC Summit, it has come to our attention that a number of conflicts not apparent when we first identified that date have arisen.  After considerable reflection and mixed feelings, we have decided that it would be in the best interest of our CVHEC family and friends to postpone and re-schedule the annual summit to coincide with the fall CVHEC Board of Directors meeting in October 2023.

The quarterly CVHEC Board of Directors Summit remains scheduled for Thursday, May 11. The board of directors will confirm the October summit dates at this quarterly meeting.

We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused and look forward to seeing you later this year. Thank you for your continued support and collegiality. Watch our monthly e-newsletter and social media platforms for updates.

CVHEC DIRECTOR’S MESSAGE (March 2023): Spring forward!

Spring forward to our CVHEC summit, Math Bridge Kick-off and Kern Mentors!

 

Welcome to this month’s CVHEC e-Newsletter.  As we move into the spring of 2023 with a little more daylight on our hands, we are happy to share some timely items following our last issue.

First, as we in the Central Valley continue to bask in the pride and excitement of our own Dr. Sonya Christian, chancellor of the Kern Community College District, being chosen by the California Community Colleges Board of Governors to lead the California Community College System, we are delighted to feature her in this issue’s “What the CV-HEC Is Happening Blog.”

The Chancellor-select reflects on her time working in the valley with her fellow presidents and chancellors on the CVHEC Board of Directors and the strides we have made as a united voice for higher education in our nine-county region [or Kern Co if that is what the blog focuses on]. Please enjoy her guest blog in this month’s issue and, once again, congratulations Sonya!

Registration for the CVHEC Annual Summit is now open!

Please plan on joining us May 12 for this great event as well as our special CVHEC Welcome Reception the day before at Arte Americas. The summit – always historic in that it brings together the higher education leadership in our nine-county region – provides the opportunity to showcase the great work that is taking place in our Central Valley colleges and universities to provide meaningful pathways for our students seeking a higher education.

In furtherance of our mission to increase access to college for students, we are pleased to announce the Central Valley Math Bridge Kick-off May 18 in downtown Fresno with our partners College Bridge and the Rand Corporation. With this the formal launch, we are excited to shine a light on the great work that can come out of small colleges in the Central Valley that we will share with the rest of the state and eventually nationally as this project creates a model for meaningful dual enrollment math pathways and expansion that can be replicated in other regions of California.

This same spirit carries forth in the South Valley where our Kern Master’s Upskilling Project is now recruiting community college professors to serve as mentors for high school teachers enrolled in the project to earn master’s degrees in math or English. In collaboration with the Kern Regional K-16 Education Collaborative,  we are working to improve student progress from high school to postsecondary education and ultimately into the workforce by providing 100 South Valley high school teachers the opportunity to earn a master’s degree that achieves state qualifications for teaching community college dual enrollment English or math courses at local high schools.

We encourage Kern area community college math and English professors to join us in this innovative project.

And finally, as we close out March next week, let us acknowledge Women’s History Month by expressing our appreciation to the incredible women leaders who serve on the CVHEC Board of Directors as the presidents or chancellors of the colleges and universities in our region, led by board chairwoman Dr. Kristin Clark, chancellor the West Hills Community College District.

As you read through this issue, we hope you find inspiration in the many great higher education advancements taking place in the Central Valley. Thanks for being a partner and a friend of CVHEC.

Contact Us

  • centralvalleyhec@gmail.com

  • 559.292.0576

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