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Welcome Madera Community College!
The state’s 116th community college
celebrates accreditation, CCC approval
Madera Community College made its official debut July 21 with a ribbon-cutting celebration after the California Community Colleges Board of Governors voted unanimously the day before to recognize MCC as the 116th campus of the state’s community college system.
In June, the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges granted accreditation to what until then was known as the Madera and Oakhurst Community College Centers affiliated with Reedley College of the State Center Community College District.
With the new designation, the Madera Community College (4,780 enrollment) is no longer a satellite campus and will now receive funding for additional programs and staffing. Over 80 percent of Madera Community’s students are from historically underrepresented populations and the school has been recognized as a Hispanic Serving Institution.
[perfectpullquote align=”right” bordertop=”false” cite=”President Ángel Reyna” link=”” color=”#33ACFF” class=”” size=”18″]“As a new college we want to be an institution that is student- and community-centered, and provides equitable outcomes for each of our students.”[/perfectpullquote]
President Ángel Reyna takes a place on the Central Valley Higher Education Consortium board of directors, joining 27 other Central Valley presidents and chancellors.
“This accomplishment is something that our community has been waiting for a long time and much needed,” Reyna said in a CCC Board of Governors article.
“It has been a collective and collaborative effort, and we look forward to the continued work to better serve our students as a college,” he said. “As a new college we want to be an institution that is student- and community-centered, and provides equitable outcomes for each of our students. To that end, we commit towards transforming ourselves into an anti-racist institution while producing the future workforce our community needs.”
See the July 21 ribbon-cutting video.
News coverage of Madera Community College:
Board of Governors Recognizes Madera Community College as the 116th Community College in California — California Community Colleges (07/20/20)
Madera Center becomes California’s newest community college — Fresno Bee (07/21/20)
The Central Valley’s Madera Community College becomes California’s newest community college — Ed Source (07/20/20)
UPDATE: CHSU College of Osteopathic Medicine kicks off first week
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Following last month’s successful ribbon-cutting, California Health Sciences University welcomed students to orientation July 21-23 and posted this video.
Dr. John Graneto, D.O., M.Ed., dean of the CHSU College of Osteopathic Medicine, told the inaugural cohort of student doctors: “I am proud to know each of you and thank you for making this a memorable and historic event!” Classes began July 27.
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DIRECTOR’S MESSAGE (June 2020): CVHEC e-Newsletter Inaugural Issue
Sharing highlights and successes
of our CVHEC member institutions
Greetings! I am happy to welcome you to the inaugural issue of the Central Valley Higher Education Consortium (CVHEC) digital newsletter.
CVHEC represents 27 colleges and universities in the nine-county region of the Central Valley from San Joaquin County in the north to Kern County in the south. I am delighted that we can use this forum to share highlights and successes of our member institutions with you as planning for the 2020-21 academic year is underway.
As we approach the fall 2020 semester, our member institutions, led by dedicated and committed leaders, have been contemplating and planning opening the fall semester in the midst of a national pandemic, a state budget negatively impacted by the pandemic and the civil unrest in many parts of our country due to the tragic deaths of African American citizens George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and Rayshard Brooks. Students, faculty and staff can expect to experience an opening that will ensure a high-quality educational experience that will also provide for the safety of all.
As you make your way through our newsletter, we take the opportunity to introduce you to Dr. Juan Sánchez Muñoz, the newly appointed Chancellor of the University of California Merced. Dr. Muñoz comes to the Central Valley from the University of Houston, Downtown Campus and is returning home as a native Californian.
We also ask that you join us in congratulating CVHEC member California Health Sciences University (CHSU) for the historic opening of its College of Osteopathic Medicine on July 21, 2020, with an inaugural class of 75 medical students. CHSU has a mission to recruit and train Central Valley students in their university. Of the initial cohort of students, 28% are from the Central Valley and 35% speak Spanish, both important for our valley. Thank you CHSU for your commitment to our region and its communities.
Finally, we highlight work of highly talented faculty and administrators in the Central Valley region surrounding the benefit of dual enrollment to Central Valley high school students and offer a glimpse of that effort through a report titled, “Dual Enrollment in the Central Valley, Working Toward a Unified Approach for Equity and Prosperity.”
In addition to this work, we want to thank AT&T for its generous contribution to advance our dual enrollment efforts with a $25,000 donation to benefit CVHEC’s dual enrollment work to increase post-secondary completion in Fresno County.
I hope you enjoy this issue of our digital newsletter and those coming in the months to come.
Benjamin T. Duran, Ed.D
Executive Director
Dr. Benjamin T. Duran, President-Emeritus of Merced Community College District (2005-2012), has served as CVHEC executive director since 2015.
CVHEC White Paper Released: ‘Dual Enrollment in the Central Valley: Working Toward a Unified Approach for Equity and Prosperity’
The Central Valley Higher Education Consortium announces two significant developments in our ongoing dual enrollment strategies:
The release of a new CVHEC report, “Dual Enrollment in the Central Valley, Working Toward a Unified Approach for Equity and Prosperity;” and,
- An award of a $25,000 donation from AT&T in June 2020 to benefit CVHEC’s dual enrollment efforts. These funds will support the work identified in the report.
In Spring 2019, Central Valley community college leaders approached CVHEC to provide convening assistance surrounding dual enrollment, a strategy that allows secondary school students to earn college credits before their high school graduation.
As a result of the discussions in these early gatherings, a dual enrollment task force was formed. Participating leaders appropriately named their effort the Central Valley Dual Enrollment for Equity and Prosperity (CVDEEP).
The task force has endeavored purposefully and strategically in addressing the complexity of dual enrollment to spotlight both challenges and best practices for colleges and high schools in the nine-county CVHEC region.
The 16-page CVDEEP report, compiled by CVHEC Strategies Lead Virginia Madrid Salazar, J.D., highlights this work and provides a blueprint to strengthen dual enrollment delivery in the Central Valley.
“CVHEC’s dual enrollment efforts will be bolstered by the generous AT&T donation received this month,” said Dr. Ben Duran, CVHEC Executive Director. “We appreciate this partnership which is AT&T’s way of acknowledging and encouraging CVHEC’s hard work to help more Central Valley students attain a higher education.”
See the report here.
See the 2020 CVDEEP Convening.
Central Valley’s new medical school opens July 21 with 75 students
Central Valley’s new medical school opens July 21 with 75 students
CHSU’s College of Osteopathic Medicine granted pre-accreditation; virtual ribbon-cutting June 30
With its new pre-accreditation status in order, California Health Sciences University announced its grand opening for the Central Valley’s new medical school, the College of Osteopathic Medicine (COM), will be July 21 when instruction begins for its inaugural class of 75 medical students.
As the university finalizes preparations to open its new state-of-the-art, three-story medical school building located at 2500 Alluvial Avenue in Clovis, a virtual ribbon-cutting video will post at 11 a.m. June 30 and can be seen on CHSU’s social media platforms after that.
The university also announced recently that the college has met all standards and requirements for Pre-Accreditation status by the Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation.
“Pre-Accreditation is a milestone achievement and the highest level awarded to COMs that have not yet graduated their first class,” said Dr. John Graneto, COM dean, in his accreditation announcement June 10. “We are encouraged by the diversity of the initial cohort and the representation by Central Valley students.”
Founded in 2012 and envisioned by the Assemi family, CHSU is addressing the shortage of healthcare providers in the Valley amidst statewide projections showing that California will need 8,800 more physicians by 2030 to serve healthcare needs.
“It’s gratifying to see California Health Sciences University fast-tracking its growth and trajectory toward becoming a nationally recognized institution and to help remedy this long-standing problem,” said Dr. John Welty, President Emeritus of Fresno State and chair of the CHSU Board of Trustees, when he wrote about the valley’s new medical school in several local newspapers recently.
Dr. Welty is also a founding member of CVHEC.
Dr. Graneto said 75 percent of the inaugural 2020 cohort are from California and 28 percent are local students from the Central Valley.
“Sixteen different languages are spoken by this diverse group of students, which is critical to help bridge the language barrier that many underserved populations experience when seeking health care,” Dr. Graneto said. “35 percent of the class speaks Spanish.”
In January, the CHSU-COM leadership, faculty and staff moved into the new facility following an expedited 18-month campus expansion project that was prepped and ready for students before the COVID-19 shelter in place orders were enacted.
CHSU opened the first pharmacy school in the Central Valley in 2014. Dr. Graneto also added that recruitment is now underway for the second cohort that will begin in fall 2021.
See video of the CHSU virtual ribbon-cutting June 30 at 11 a.m. on the university’s social media platforms.
The new College of Osteopathic Medicine (CHSU-COM) building on the California Health Sciences University campus at 2500 Alluvial Avenue in Clovis, CA.
The emergency/intensive care unit in the in-patient wing of the new CHSU Simulation Center on the CHSU campus.
The first floor main lobby of the new College of Osteopathic Medicine (CHSU-COM). The second floor showcases some of the student rooms and areas for CHSU-COM medical students.
The CHSU-COM Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine (OMM) Laboratory.
The operating/birthing room in the in-patient wing of the CHSU Simulation Center on the CHSU campus.
The Deans’ Suite and conference room on the third floor of the College of Osteopathic Medicine (CHSU-COM).
Valley higher education leaders discuss ‘COVID-19’ plans for fall semester
Valley higher education leaders discuss ‘COVID-19’ plans for fall semester
(JUNE 26, 2020) – The Central Valley’s 27 college and university presidents and chancellors reported today that
most of them will resume the remote education environment they implemented in the spring semester when the
coronavirus pandemic swept the world.
The Central Valley Higher Education Consortium (CVHEC) board of directors met Friday morning via Zoom to share
their respective fall 2020 campus plans.
Overall, remote instruction will continue as a necessity to keep students, faculty and staff safe until a COVID-19
vaccine is available, said Dr. Benjamin T. Duran, executive director of CVHEC, a non-profit organization
representing a 27-member strong consortium of accredited public and private colleges, universities, and
community college district members from San Joaquin to Kern counties.
“Some campuses will use a hybrid of remote and in-person courses for certain cases such as required labs,” said
Duran, who also is President Emeritus of Merced College. “All campuses will continue to practice COVID-19 safety
protocols as recommended by local health departments, California Department of Public Health and Centers for
Disease Control for on-campus instruction and for those working on campuses.”
Today’s call was similar to other calls the presidents and chancellors have shared throughout the COVID-19 crisis,
and have helped to stabilize educational delivery in the Central Valley during this academic upheaval. The CVHEC
Board COVID-19 meetings have given the presidents and chancellors an opportunity to reflect and confer on the
decisions being made throughout this crisis.
“As they have done on many issues in the past, these CEOs are pulling together to make sure their current
students’ academic needs and general well-being, as well as faculty and staff, are not compromised,” Duran said.
See the CVHEC COVID-19 resources page with links to each campus update.
The Central Valley Higher Education Consortium (CVHEC) is a 501(c)3 incorporated non-profit organization comprised of all 27 accredited public and private colleges, universities, and community college district members in California’s Central Valley nine-county region (San Joaquin to Kern counties). CVHEC serves as the convener and executes the policy objectives of the CVHEC Board that is made up of the presidents, chancellors and other administrators of these institutions of higher education. A key CVHEC objective is to increase the Central Valley’s degree attainment rate. The organization also works closely with legislative leaders as an advocate for the higher education policy positions of the CVHEC board).
Dr. Duran was invited to participate in “Línea Abierta” to discuss the local impact. Hear a Radio Bilingue interview with Dr. Ben Duran (Spanish) : Starts at 46:10
UC Merced’s new leader is son of Mexican immigrants
‘For me, it became very important to make a contribution to working-class people and working-class families to continue their education, to improve not just their
economic vitality but the impact they can make on their community…’
-Dr. Juan Sánchez Muñoz, new UC Merced chancellor
The son of immigrants from México has been given the job as the fourth chancellor of UC Merced, the youngest and fastest-growing of the UC’s 10 campuses.
Dr. Juan Sánchez Muñoz, 53, whose appointment was approved by the University of California Board of Regents on Wednesday (May 20), returns to the UC family where he and his wife each earned bachelor’s and doctorate degrees.
He served as president of the University of Houston-Downtown since 2017, where he launched the university’s largest capital campaign and oversaw increases in enrollment, retention and graduation rates. The campus has an enrollment of about 15,000.
He previously worked at Texas Tech University in Lubbock as a vice provost and senior vice president.
The chance to be “four hours from my mother” and closer to family was a draw,” said Muñoz.
His mother, who grew up in La Estancia, Zacatecas, México, never stepped inside a classroom. His father, who picked grapes in the Valley after arriving from León, Guanajuato, México, later settled in Los Angeles as a factory worker.
Muñoz remains the only one of six children to have earned a college degree. He is the youngest of three boys.
“What I learned from my parents is integrity, ethics to work hard and to understand your obligación to your family,” said Muñoz during a telephone interview from Houston on Thursday.
UC President Janet Napolitano praised Muñoz’s accomplishments as a “testament to the power and opportunities created by public higher education.
“I am certain he will build on his valuable experience to lead Merced, UC’s newest campus,” said Napolitano in a statement, “so that it continues to grow and thrive.”
News of Muñoz’s appointment was welcomed by Valley education leaders, including Fresno State President Joseph I. Castro, who spent time in a leadership position at UC Merced.
“His unique skill set and life experiences prepare him well for this vitally important leadership position,” said Castro. “Dr. Sánchez Muñoz and I have already begun discussing strategies to strengthen the partnership between UC Merced and Fresno State in service to the Central Valley and California.”
Benjamín Durán is executive director of the Central Valley Higher Education Consortium, a 27-member organization of accredited public and private colleges, universities, and community college district members in the San Joaquín Valley.
“I have received phone calls from colleagues who are very interested in welcoming him and supporting him and doing everything that we possibly can,” said Durán. “I think it is it is a wonderful, wonderful tribute that we now have two Latinos leading two of our leading institutions here in the Central Valley.
“I just think that it is a sign of the times. And they are both very, very, very well qualified and very, very good for their selections, obviously.”
John A. Pérez, the former state Assembly Speaker and now chair of the UC Board of Regents, said Muñoz’s experience and qualifications made him “an outstanding choice to lead UC Merced.”
“Add to that his passion for ensuring the success of all students, especially public school students from underrepresented and underserved communities, and it is clear that he is the perfect match for UC Merced as the campus moves forward on its impressive journey,” said Pérez in a press release.
Muñoz, a former Marine Corps sergeant, said it is up to UC Merced and other partners to improve educational attainment levels in the Valley that are stubbornly lower than most of the state.
A 2018 study showed that between 20 percent and 30 percent of adults over the age of 25 in the Valley did not have a high school diploma. That also results in overall lower average wages and income.
“If we fail to educate students in K-12, very few of them can matriculate to higher education,” he said.
Education, he said, is the only ticket out of poverty. Attorneys, doctors, anesthesiologists, many elected officials, bankers, investment officers, superintendents, and principals all have a higher education in common, he said.
“For me, it became very important to make a contribution to working-class people and working-class families to continue their education, to improve not just their economic vitality but the impact they can make on their community, ” said Muñoz, who will assume his new position in July.
Muñoz, an all-league football defensive end at Salesian High School in L.A., will step into a job where higher education funding cuts are a certainty because of the coronavirus pandemic.
“I haven’t been read into the discussions that have taken place on campus, or relative to the budget,” said Muñoz. “So, speaking about those particular points at this time would be a bit premature.”
UC Merced, which opened in 2005, had an enrollment of 8,151 this school year with 55.5 per cent of them Latino. The university was designated an Hispanic Serving Institute in 2010, the second UC campus to get that status by having at least a 25 percent Latino enrollment.
The campus is expected to accommodate 10,000 more students after the completion of Merced 2020, a public-private partnership that will double capacity.
Muñoz earned his bachelor’s degree in psychology at California State, Fullerton; a bachelor’s in psychology from UC Santa Bárbara; a master’s in Mexican-American Studies at Cal State Los Angeles; and, a doctorate of philosophy from UCLA.
He has worked as a secondary school teacher, community college adviser, and, instructor.
Muñoz succeeds Dorothy Leland, whose mother was Latina, as chancellor. He becomes only the third Latino to serve as chancellor at a UC campus.
Muñoz’s wife is Dr. Zenaida Aguirre-Muñoz, another first-generation college graduate. She is an associate professor of psychology, health, and learning sciences of the University of Houston.
The couple has three sons.
The regents approved his salary at $425,000.
Original story can be found at:https://www.mercedsunstar.com/news/local/education/uc-merced/article242908566.html