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MEMBER NEWS: Madera Community College First President’s Breakfast

November 17, 2022

California’s Newest Community College Makes History

With First President’s Breakfast/State-Of-The-College Address

Two Central Valley Higher Education Consortium members held milestone events this fall with the resumption of their pandemic-delayed President’s Breakfast and State-of-the-College Address: Madera Community College and Clovis Community College Oct. 25.

Madera Community College made campus history Oct. 21 with its first President’s Breakfast since gaining full college status in July 2020 when it became the 116th and newest campus in the California Community College system. The event was kept on the drawing board during the corona virus pandemic until this fall.

Additionally, President Angel Reyna delivered his first State-of-the-College Address during the breakfast held at the Madera County Superintendent of Schools Office where among the many highlights was the screening of an award-winning video, “Sentido de Pertenencia” – a sense of belonging – that won the nationwide “Million Dollar Community College Challenge” sponsored by the Lumina Foundation.

Chosen from among ten finalists announced in August, Madera earned A $1 million grant from Lumina for the winning video that was created by student ambassador Jennifer Hernandez and featured recent alumna Marisela Maciel, an immigrant and mother of three children. The MCC video was also featured in a Forbes article.

The president said the $1 million grant will support several projects such as murals reflecting the community (Chicano art and migrant farmworkers), a multicultural center, web site re-design and initiatives to support students age 25+ as well as identify gaps affecting underserved students.

President Reyna, who was appointed by the State Center Community College District Board of Trustees effective May 20, 2019, reported that Madera Community College will open its 35,000 square-foot Academic Village later this year.

He also announced he is partnering with Dr. Robert Pimentel, Fresno City College president and fellow CVHEC board member, to present a Men of Color Summit set for April 23, 2023 at FCC.

Related stories:

ABC30 Coverage of the MCC President’s Breakfast

Reyna Begins Tenure as MCCC President

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https://cvhec.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/MaderaCC-PresBkfst102122tu-6574eFeatured.jpg 671 2202 Tom Uribes https://cvhec.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/CVHEC_logo_315.png Tom Uribes2022-11-17 23:12:472022-11-30 23:44:04MEMBER NEWS: Madera Community College First President’s Breakfast

CCA Dual Enrollment National Focus Group Features Central Valley Students

September 22, 2022

A nation-wide communications campaign conducted by Complete College America (CCA) to recruit more Latinx students and other students of color into dual/concurrent enrollment student programs across the United States includes four Central Valley students who participated in CCA’s Dual Enrollment Student Focus Group Sept. 19 via Zoom.

The projected release of the virtual presentation is early 2023, said Dr. Brandon Protas, a strategic director for CCA.

Complete College America is a national nonprofit organization whose mission is focused on significantly increasing college completion rates with a focus on racial equity through an alliance of higher education leaders and organizations – such as partner CVHEC.

Dr. Benjamín T. Durán, CVHEC executive director, serves as one of 48 CCA leads nation-wide who provide oversight and coordination for local initiatives as well as CCA-sponsored projects. Leads act as strategic thought partners and leaders and promote the efforts and importance of CCA, Dr. Protas said.

The alliance sought the student recommendations after seeing CVHEC’s dual enrollment awareness campaign the past year that culminated in a five-minute video, newsletter stories and student panels at two convenings earlier this year. In addition to those students from the consortium’s nine-county Central Valley region, for this national project CVHEC also recruited valley students who attend a college outside the region.

Dr. Protas said the national project sought racially homogenous focus groups of students over 18 who participated in dual/concurrent enrollment in the past four years.

“The aim is to understand what impact DE/CE classes had on students of color, as well as on their motivation to go to college and to earn a certificate or degree and their experiences as a student of color,” Dr. Protas said.

“Information gathered from this national focus group will help create plug-and-play communications assets that can be used for intentional recruitment of dual/concurrent enrollment students who are underrepresented in these programs,” he said. “These would be branded through Complete College America and made available throughout the CCA Alliance to help recruit future high school students into DE/CE programs across the United States.”

The conversations were facilitated by Dr. Stepheny Hinkle Beauchamp, who CCA retained to conduct them through a race-conscious lens, Protas said. Her doctoral research is in dual enrollment rates for Latinos in Colorado.

The CVHEC students participating in the nation focus group are:

 

  • MARISSA GUTIÉRREZ, a graduate of Firebaugh High School who took dual enrollment through West Hills College-Firebaugh Center, earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology at Fresno State. She is now enrolled at University of Northern Colorado earning a master’s degree in clinical mental health counseling while working full time for a local elementary school in Greeley, CO.

 

  • VERÓNICA MÉNDEZ GARCÍA graduated from Madera High School where she enrolled in dual enrollment courses through Madera Community College before earning a Bachelor of Arts at Fresno Pacific University in spring 2022. She also served as student body president (2021-22) and was featured in a CVHEC video regarding broadband disparity. She is now pursuing a master’s at California Baptist University online.

 

  • AMIRA MALDONADO earned an Associate of Arts degree (plant science) through Reedley College’s Wonderful Prep program while at Sanger High School and is now in her second undergrad year at University of California, Davis (human development- sports medicine).

 

  • JOSÉ ACOSTA, a Sanger High School alumnus, took dual enrollment courses through Reedley College’s Wonderful Prep program and is in his second undergrad year at UC Davis (Animal Science).

 

The students have been enthusiastic in sharing their respective success stories, said Tom Uribes, CVHEC communications/media coordinator who coordinated the local student effort with Saundra McGlothlin, CVHEC regional coordinator and dual enrollment lead.

“We identified students who took just a few dual enrollment classes and found themselves motivated to pursue a higher education and we had some who went all out taking enough courses to earn an associate degree a week or two before they formally graduated from high school,” Uribes said. “All have been very articulate in sharing their respective stories either in our video, newsletter stories or serving on the panels.”

https://cvhec.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/CCA-DE-student-focus-0922-final4.png 428 1100 Tom Uribes https://cvhec.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/CVHEC_logo_315.png Tom Uribes2022-09-22 08:48:512022-09-22 12:06:51CCA Dual Enrollment National Focus Group Features Central Valley Students

MEMBER NEWS: ‘Sentido de Pertenencia’ — MCC Wins $1 Million Community College Challenge

August 18, 2022
Read more
https://cvhec.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/MCC-LuminaYT-art-scaled.jpg 1522 2560 Tom Uribes https://cvhec.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/CVHEC_logo_315.png Tom Uribes2022-08-18 12:24:062022-08-18 16:48:43MEMBER NEWS: ‘Sentido de Pertenencia’ — MCC Wins $1 Million Community College Challenge

Presenting our renovated CVHEC Website: Meet our Board of Directors

August 12, 2022

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.

https://cvhec.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/BOD-collage-AR.png 3456 6912 Tom Uribes https://cvhec.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/CVHEC_logo_315.png Tom Uribes2022-08-12 12:29:462022-08-18 16:43:53Presenting our renovated CVHEC Website: Meet our Board of Directors

CVHEC Member News: CLP Guidance Pathways

February 17, 2022

Four CVHEC Members Highlighted in Career Ladders Project
Look at Guided Pathways Redesign Challenges

The Career Ladders Project recently highlighted four CVHEC member organizations in stories illustrating how 15 California community colleges are redesigning their Guided Pathways programs and structures prompting college leaders across the state to share the stories to help clarify opportunities, spur conversation and motivate Guided Pathways redesign teams.

Founded by the California Community Colleges Board of Governors in 2002, Career Ladders Project is a nonprofit that operates under the fiscal sponsorship of the Foundation for California Community Colleges.

The project promotes equity-minded community college redesign by collaborating with colleges and their partners to discover, develop, and disseminate effective practices. CLP policy work, research, and direct efforts with colleges lead to system change—and enable more students to attain certificates, degrees, transfers, and career advancement.

The Guided Pathways stories are presented in one-page narratives — grouped into topics — produced by Career Ladders Project with funding from the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office.

The four CVHEC members highlighted are:

Bakersfield College

• Integrating Student Supports in Guided Pathways Redesign

• Aligning Redesign Across Campus

• Using Data in Guided Pathways Redesign

Madera Community College

• Centering Students in GP Design

West Hills College Lemoore

• Aligning Redesign Across Campus

• Supporting Students from a Distance

Reedley College

Managing Guided Pathways redesign and Engaging the College

 

See the CLP Redesign stories overview.

0 0 Pablo https://cvhec.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/CVHEC_logo_315.png Pablo2022-02-17 23:49:152022-02-17 23:49:15CVHEC Member News: CLP Guidance Pathways

Welcome Madera Community College!

August 5, 2020

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)

• August 5, 2020 • CVHEC Digital Newsletter August 2020 issue.
0 0 Pablo https://cvhec.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/CVHEC_logo_315.png Pablo2020-08-05 07:56:102020-08-05 07:56:10Welcome Madera Community College!

Upcoming Events

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May 12, 2023 | CVHEC Higher Education Summit

May 18
9:00 am - 3:00 pm

May 18, 2023 | CV Math Bridge Kick-off

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  • CVHEC DIRECTOR’S MESSAGE (March 2023): Spring forward!March 19, 2023 - 12:35 pm
  • CVHEC Website Feature: Dual Enrollment PageFebruary 24, 2023 - 9:47 am
  • CVHEC IN THE NEWS: College Bridge Dual Enrollment Math Bridge ProjectFebruary 23, 2023 - 7:49 pm
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