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.

MEMBER NEWS: CCO honors  8 CVHEC members with ‘Champions’ Awards

Campaign for College Opportunity honors 

8 CVHEC members with ‘Champions’ Awards

Eight CVHEC member institutions were honored as 2021 Champions of Higher Education and Equity Champions for Excellence in Transfer by the Campaign for College Opportunity.

Honored at CCO’s annual Champions of Higher Education for Excellence in Transfer virtual awards ceremony Nov. 16 were Bakersfield College; Clovis Community College; California State University, Bakersfield; College of the Sequoias; Fresno City College; Fresno State; Modesto Junior College; and Reedley College.

These colleges and universities are leading the state in: conferring the Associate Degree for Transfer (ADT); enrolling ADT earners on guaranteed pathways to a bachelor’s degree; and intentionally working to support Latinx and Black students on their path to a degree, said Michele Siqueiros, CCO president.

For a breakdown of specific awards, see the CCO announcement and video.

(CVHEC members are encouraged to submit items for this column: centralvalleyhec@gmail.com).

 

Dr. Santanu Bandyopadhyay Named Modesto Junior College President

Dr. Santanu Bandyopadhyay, named president of Modesto Junior College effective June 1, said growing enrollment and forging meaningful alliances with regional employers are among his immediate goals.

The Yosemite Community College District Board of Trustees selected Bandyopadhyay, who was serving as interim president since January at its May 12 meeting. Previously, Bandyopadhyay had served as president of Columbia College in Tuolumne County, YCCD’s other  institution, since July 2018 when also he joined the CVHEC Board of Directors.

Marking its centennial anniversary this fall, MJC serves about 22,000 students at MJC’s East and West campuses in Modesto.

President Bandyopadhyay takes over at a critical moment for California’s 16th-oldest community college as it focuses during its centennial on reconnecting with students after a year of mostly online learning forced by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“My short-term priority is to re-open the campus — paying particular attention to equity — build the enrollments we have lost during the pandemic, develop centers of excellence to cater to the need of our  local businesses and ensure long-term fiscal stability,” he said.

“The effect of the pandemic was most severe on students who need us the most — therefore, an equity-focused recovery is critical for long- term economic growth of the region. Developing a deep connection with local businesses and partnering with them to understand and satisfy their needs in innovative ways continues to remain our priority.”

Bandyopadhyay has more than 23 years of experience in higher education.  He was first the director of institutional research and planning and then as executive vice president  Cypress College in Orange County.  He also served at Zane State College in Ohio and Ohio University and taught computer science at theNational Institute of Information Technology.

In addition to his college administrative and teaching experience, Bandyopadhyay has been involved innational initiatives such as Achieving the Dream, Foundations of Excellence and Survey of Entering StudentEngagement.

Bandyopadhyay earned a doctorate in higher education from Ohio University, an M.B.A. from Ohio   University and a bachelor of science in physics from Kolkata University in India.

See Modesto Junior College announcement.

Contact Us

  • centralvalleyhec@gmail.com

  • 559.292.0576

Join Our Newsletter