Facilitated by Nitya Wakhlu and Greg Netzer of Drawbridge Innovations, the CVHEC Board of Directors Retreat in August resulted in four advisory boards for key areas of focus in the next few years with Central Valley higher ed CEOs sitting on the boards.
CVHEC’s “secret sauce” — PRIDE
Board champions identified to ensure follow-through and accountability
Following up its recent one-day Strategic Planning Retreat, the Central Valley Higher Education Consortium (CVHEC) Board of Directors announced the development of four key areas of focus for the next three to five years and the formation of advisory boards to champion progress in each area.
The four advisory boards are: Data Sharing and Regional Dashboards; Workforce Aligned Program Development; Artificial Intelligence (AI); and Enrollment, Reconnect.
The advisory boards were created during the CVHEC Board retreat Aug. 20 when the leaders from colleges and universities across California’s Central Valley gathered at the University of California, Merced to chart a bold course for the next three to five years.
The boards consist of chancellors, presidents and campus directors of the Central Valley’s 28 institutions of higher education who make up the CVHEC Board of Directors.
In welcome remarks to the leaders at the retreat, CVHEC board chair Dr. Juan Sánchez Muñoz, chancellor of University of California Merced, said, “We need to work together to support our students. We’re here to create a vision for how we celebrate.”
Facilitated by Nitya Wakhlu and Greg Netzer of Drawbridge Innovations, the retreat emphasized interaction and problem-solving. Prior to the retreat, board members participated in a survey identifying regional challenges most pressing to their institutions.
During the session, participants divided into small groups to tackle those challenges. Using structured templates, they explored questions such as:
- What is the core challenge we need to solve?
- Who is impacted, and what are we hearing from stakeholders?
- What role should CVHEC play, and how can institutions collaborate?
- What barriers exist, and what resources are needed?
Each group developed a “challenge charter” and presented their ideas to the full board.
Using a dot-voting process, members prioritized three to five strategic initiatives for CVHEC to pursue over the next three to five years. Champions were identified for each initiative to ensure follow-through and accountability.
The group arrived at CVHEC’s “secret sauce” — PRIDE:
PARTNERSHIPS – unique CVHEC structure and membership collaboration
RESPONSIVE LEADERSHIP – we make decisions, having the CEO’s in the room with equal voice working on challenges that matter
IDENTITY – THE CVHEC WAY – doing things with a unique approach, being a national role model
DEMOGRAPHICS AND RESEARCH – serving the most underserved communities of our region
EXTERNAL INVESTMENT – our unique structure, focus, and work make us attractive for external investment
“This was the consortium at its best,” said Dr. Benjamín Durán, CVHEC executive director. “We saw CEOs from across the Valley not only identify shared challenges but also commit to being part of the solution. That’s the spirit of CVHEC.”
The advisory boards and their current members (membership in progress):
WORKSTREAM 1: Data Sharing and Regional Dashboards
Dr. Lena Tran, chancellor – YCCD (sp)
Dr. Britt Rios-Ellis, president – Stanislaus State
Dr. Carole Goldsmith, chancellor – SCCCD (sp)
Dr. Sean Hancock, president – COS
WORKSTREAM 2: Workforce Aligned Program Development
Dr. Jerry Buckley, president – Reedley College
Eddie Cunha, campus director – National University
Dr. Chad Redwing, president – Columbia College
Dr. Carla Tweed, president – Coalinga College
Primavera Monarrez, interim president – Porterville College
Dr. Vernon Harper, president – CSUB
WORKSTREAM 3: Artificial Intelligence (AI)
James Preston, president – Lemoore College
Dr. Saúl Jiménez-Sandoval, president – Fresno State
Dr. Angel Reyna, president – Madera College
Dr. Jose M. Barral Sanchez, dean – UCSF-Fresno Center
Dr. Lisa Aguilera Lawrenson, president – College
WORKSTREAM 4: Enrollment, Reconnect
Dr. Kim Armstrong, president – Clovis Community College
Dr. Stacy Pfluger, president – Bakersfield College
Dr. Leslie Minor, president – Taft College
Dr. Eddie Cunha, campus director – National University
Insights
After the retreat, board members shared the following reflections:
“Thank you Ben, Angel, and the CVHEC team for bringing us all onto the same page, and reminding us of what CVHEC can do,” said Chancellor Juan Sánchez Muñoz, UC Merced .
“It’s always powerful when you see CEO’s ‘finding common vision and strength’,” said Kristin Clark, CVHEC (West Hills Community College District chancellor-emeritus and former CVHEC board chair).
“CVHEC is an opportunity to come together, share and be restored in community,” Merced College President Chris Vitelli said.
“I am excited about the AI conference and the applications it can have in the classroom,” said President Angel Reyna of Madera Community College.
The Central Valley is definitely “valley strong,” but we also are “valley kind … people are generous and free to give,” said Stanislaus State President Britt Rios-Ellis.
“There’s nothing as dope as this work here,” said Fresno City College President Denise Whisenhunt.
“Excited to keep this work going,” said Fresno State President Saúl Jiménez-Sandoval.
National Higher Education Month
CVHEC … a regional collaboration dedicated to
student access, retention and completion for students
Greetings CVHEC friends and colleagues …
We welcome you to our October newsletter and especially to National Higher Education Month!
It is fitting that this month we observe the value of higher education by presenting the direction the Central Valley Higher Education Consortium will undertake in the next three years or so following a strategic planning retreat by our board of directors in late August.
Composed of the CEOs of our 28-member institutions of higher education, the board was hosted by CVHEC Board Chair and UC Merced Chancellor Dr. Juan Sánchez Muñoz for the retreat where 23 of our 28 board members attended and participated in the day-long facilitated session held Aug. 20 at the beautiful UC Merced campus.
After revisiting the origins of CVHEC for the benefit of new leaders in the valley and discussing the vision and mission of the consortium, the group held an earnest and collaborative discussion about its future direction. The focus was on the next three years of CVHEC as we continue to foster and maintain a regional collaboration dedicated to student access, retention and completion for our students.
With this in mind, the Central Valley leaders of academia identified these four areas to pursue diligently, going forward:
- Data Sharing and Regional Dashboards
- Workforce Aligned Program Development
- Artificial Intelligence (AI)
- Enrollment & Reconnecting/Re-engaging students (who left prematurely)
As the board and CVHEC staff prepare to pursue the new work ahead, we are not abandoning the areas we have been focusing on in the last few years. We will continue to support initiatives such as the Central Valley Transfer Project and the efforts around implementing dual enrollment throughout the valley such as the Master’s Upskilling Program and its mentor component (both featured in our September e-newsletter).
Additionally, the English Task Force and the Math Task Force will continue their remarkable groundbreaking work. We have found that when faculty come together and collaborate across campus boundaries, they create solutions that no single institution could achieve alone. That’s what makes these task forces so powerful for our region and, most importantly, for our students throughout the Central Valley.
For students, the results of this task force work may mean not only passing a math or English class but truly unlocking the path to transfer, degree attainment and career success.
And in furtherance of National Higher Education Month, we hope you will enjoy this month’s “What the CV-HEC is Happening” Blog by Ekaterina Struett, CEO of College Advising Corps, a national nonprofit that has helped low-income, first-generation and underrepresented backgrounds navigate their path to higher education and career success, “Be the guide every graduate deserves.” I believe you will agree that it is a very relevant thought-piece, which Ms. Struett first wrote for EdSource and modified slightly for our audience, that is well worth reading as we all endeavor to strengthen support systems for student success in higher ed.
Please enjoy this month’s edition as much as I have.
CVHEC’s Math and English Task Forces will resume meeting this fall in virtual sessions.
Central Valley colleges gear up for fall
CVHEC Task Forces continue collaborative work to support equitable student outcomes
BY DR. JOHN SPEVAK
CVHEC Project Lead – Merced College Vice President-emeritus
As the fall 2025 semester unfolds, the Central Valley Higher Education Consortium (CVHEC) is once again turning its attention to two of the most persistent hurdles in student success: mathematics and English through two task forces established in the past seven years.
Beginning later this month, CVHEC’s Math Task Force and English Task Force — both consisting of at least one English and one math professor from each of the 15 CVHEC member community colleges in the 28-member consortium — will re-convene educators from across the Central Valley’s 10-county region in a new round of virtual meetings this fall, bringing renewed energy to collaborative solutions that help students succeed in gateway courses.
The Math Task Force, which started as 15 members and has expanded to more than 75 participants, will meet in a series of three Zoom convenings related to implementation of AB 1705 and the 15-member English Task Force is planning one meeting devoted to artificial intelligence.
The task forces, by sharing concerns and best practices, have helped Central Valley community colleges make a significant transition in pedagogy, shifting from a focus on student weaknesses to one on student strengths. The upcoming gatherings will continue a tradition of faculty-led innovation that has become a hallmark of the consortium’s work in recent years.
For the English Task Force, one Zoom meeting, “The Challenges and Opportunities of AI for English Professors in the Central Valley,” is scheduled for Wednesday, Oct. 29, from 3 to 4:30 p.m.
At the three Math Task Force sessions, Central Valley math professors will share their progress following two-plus years of discussing implementation of the state law in hybrid convenings that were entitled “The Central Valley Way for AB 1705” which included college research and data experts, deans and academic leaders from higher ed as well as from K-16 school districts with support from the Charles A. Dana Center at the University of Texas at Austin. The 2025-26 academic year is the first year AB 1705 must be implemented.
Each MTF virtual session is from 10 a.m. to noon:
- Friday, Oct. 24 – “Calculus with a Corequisite” led by Professor Jeremy Brandl of Fresno City College
- Friday, Nov. 7 – “Innovative One-Course Prerequisite” led by Professor Shelley Getty of Taft College;
- Friday, Nov. 21 – “Data Collection and Analysis” led by Professor Nathan Cahoon of Taft College.
Professor Cahoon broke his group’s focus down further noting that a central tenet of AB 1705 and 705 has been to expand student choice.
“As we enter the validation phase for the one- and two-semester calculus precursors, it is essential to review the standards established by the Chancellor’s office,” Prof. Cahoon said.
He explains that the pass rate for students in the precursor classes and in the lowest tier must meet or exceed 50 percent, whereas the pass rate for direct placement, lowest-tier calculus students is 15 percent.
“The goal of this group is to ensure that the data collected and analyzed by the state is accurate,” he said. “There is still concern over previous research conducted by the RP group, and we look to validate the data they collected. A central tenet of AB 1705 and 705 has been to expand student choice. We hope to maintain student choice by preserving the option to take precursors to calculus as they choose.”
CVHEC formed the two groups soon after the passage of California Assembly Bill 705 in 2017 which mandated the elimination of remedial English courses and allowed students to go directly into transferable English courses.
That legislation also increased the options of transferable math courses students could take; mandated the elimination of remedial math courses for entrance into statistics and similar courses; and allowed students to go directly into transferable statistics and similar courses.
And it encouraged increased support for students, including corequisite courses.
The more recent passage of AB 1705, an amplification of AB 705, affected math more than English by expanding AB 705 to include STEM math courses. The Math Task Force continues to work, through sharing and collaboration, toward finding ways to allow the largest numbers of students to go into transferable calculus courses and, when necessary, pre-calculus courses.
AB 1705 went into effect this fall 2025 semester and gives community colleges two years to implement new math courses, including Calculus I with a corequisite and, for each college, one innovative pre-calculus course. At the end of those two years, the California Community College Chancellor’s office will determine if each college has submitted sufficient data to verify the effectiveness of the new courses.
Meanwhile, the English Task Force continues to work, also through sharing and collaboration, toward continuous improvement in teaching and learning in English courses. In ETF meetings during the last two years, much time was spent talking about artificial intelligence.
Discussions like this about AI have been happening across all disciplines, but they are especially important for English professors, since they work at having students not only read and think critically on their own but also write in their own personal voice.
The CVHEC Math and English Task Forces represent one of the consortium’s most impactful strategies: creating faculty-led communities of practice that span institutions and sectors; serving as a collaborative space for faculty to discuss curriculum alignment, address equity gaps and share best practices.
For CVHEC Executive Director Dr. Benjamín Durán, the task forces underscore the consortium’s methodology of collective problem-solving across the Valley – a region-wide commitment to what the consortium calls “The Central Valley Way” towards achieving its mission of enhancing a college-going culture in the region.
“When faculty come together across campuses, they create solutions that no single institution could achieve alone,” Dr. Durán said. “That’s what makes these task forces so powerful for our region and, most importantly, for our students across the Central Valley. For them, the results of this work may mean not only passing a math or English class but truly unlocking the path to transfer, degree attainment and career success.”
Dr. Durán adds that CVHEC has been pleased to convene the task forces and to help facilitate meetings “because the consortium believes in the talent of Central Valley Math and English Task Force professors and their ability to respond to challenges and opportunities effectively as they create a positive ‘Central Valley Way to Student Success’ for their math and English students.”
Also see:
Wrap up: CVHEC Math Task Force Convening Mar. 28
October is National Higher Education Month and for this month’s rendition of our “What the CVHEC is Happening Blog, we turn to the College Advising Corps, a national nonprofit that has helped over 1 million students from low-income, first-generation and underrepresented backgrounds navigate their path to higher education and career success and an op-ed penned by its CEO Ekaterina Struett advancing the observation that “if we want young people to thrive after high school, we need to offer more than a diploma. We need to offer real guidance, grounded in partnership and trust.”
(We welcome feedback as well as ideas for future blog topics: Tom Uribes, cvheccommunications@mail.fresnostate.edu).
‘Be the guide every graduate deserves’
BY EKATERINA STRUETT
CEO – College Advising Corps
Fall marks the return of high school seniors for their final year — a season filled with both excitement and anxiety. In less than a year, they’ll don caps and gowns, walk across the stage, and celebrate a milestone that signals profound change. Families and communities will cheer, seeing in them pride, hope, and possibility.
Yet for too many students, especially those in under-resourced schools, uncertainty about the future lingers even on graduation day. Many leave high school without a clear plan, step into programs misaligned with their goals — or worse, into ones that exploit their aspirations without delivering real opportunity. At the heart of this uncertainty is a critical gap: a gap in support, guidance, and reliable information, precisely when students need it most to navigate their post-graduation paths.
Only 47% of Gen Z say they had enough information to make decisions about life after high school, according to research from Jobs for the Future. That means more than half of today’s graduates are stepping into adulthood without a clear understanding of their options. This isn’t just a failure of information — it’s a failure of connection and support.
And it’s not because young people lack talent or ambition. Too often, we as adults — educators, parents, counselors, mentors and community members — fail to slow down and listen. We’re quick to ask, “What’s next?” but not “What do you want for your future?” or “What support do you need to get there?”
If we want young people to thrive after high school, we need to offer more than a diploma. We need to offer real guidance, grounded in partnership and trust.
Effective advising doesn’t just happen in a counselor’s office. It can take place at the dinner table, on a lunch break, or in a conversation with a trusted adult. Whether you’re a parent talking to your child, a teacher checking in with a student, or a colleague offering advice to a teen in your life, we can all be advisers. And guidance starts with questions, not answers: What are you interested in? What kind of life do you want? What makes you excited about the future? These conversations create space for young people to reflect and be heard.
As adults, we often worry that young people spend too much time on screens and not enough on building real connections. But we’re just as guilty. We answer questions with links, send them to websites, or expect an app to do the listening for us. Meanwhile, we miss chances to engage meaningfully. If we truly want to connect, we have to step away from our own screens, carve out time, and show up with our full attention.
That might mean grabbing coffee, going for a walk, or just asking how a young person is really doing. A meaningful path forward doesn’t start with a form — it starts with a conversation.
From there, we can help them explore their options — whether that’s a four-year university, community college, trade certification or starting work with a plan for what comes next. Don’t stop at encouragement. Help them complete financial aid forms. Review applications. Connect them with someone in the field they’re curious about. Drive them to a college tour or career fair. Small, consistent gestures often make the biggest difference. You don’t have to have all the answers — you just need to be present and willing to help.
California has made important strides to support students, including new investments in school-based counseling and digital tools for academic and mental health services. These efforts are necessary. But they’re not enough.
The student-to-counselor ratio in California is still more than double the national recommendation. In too many schools, one counselor handles everything from schedules to crisis response to postsecondary advising. That isn’t sustainable if we want students to graduate with a supported path forward.
And while we believe deeply in the power of higher education — a bachelor’s degree remains one of the strongest levers for economic mobility — it’s not the only route to a meaningful life. Students shouldn’t be pressured into one definition of success. They need trusted adults who will walk alongside them, help them weigh options and support them in choosing paths that reflect their goals and strengths.
Before I led a college access organization, I worked in human resources. I hired people with all kinds of backgrounds — elite university grads, community college starters, GED holders, certified technicians. I learned that talent, adaptability and drive don’t always come in the packaging we expect. That experience shaped how I lead today: with a commitment to helping students recognize their potential, no matter their starting point, and supporting them in building futures that make sense for them.
A high school diploma is worth celebrating. But it should come with more than applause. It should come with a map — built in partnership with students and grounded in the belief that every young person deserves a future they can see, shape and own.
Let’s help them build it.
Reelected to the CVHEC Board of Directors Executive Committee for one-year terms that began Oct. 1: University of California Merced Chancellor Juan Sánchez Muñoz, Fresno State President Saúl Jiménez-Sandoval and West Hills Community College District Chancellor Robert Pimentel.
Chancellors Muñoz, Pimentel and President Jiménez-Sandoval get new three-year terms
Three Central Valley higher ed leaders were re-elected to new three-year terms on the executive committee of the Central Valley Higher Education Consortium Board of Directors effective Oct. 1, announced Dr. Benjamín Durán, CVHEC executive director.
Dr. Juan Sánchez Muñoz, chancellor of University of California Merced, who is currently serving a one-year term as chairperson for the board that began in January, was re-elected to the executive committee along with Fresno State President Saúl Jiménez-Sandoval and West Hills Community College District Chancellor Robert Pimentel. The previous three-year terms for all three expired Sept. 30.
The CVHEC Board of Directors consists of the chief executive officers of 28 institutions of higher education in the valley’s 10-county region that comprise the consortium membership. The executive committee conducts business on behalf of the board when it is not available, especially for timely or urgent matters, and sets the agenda for board business, Durán said.
Per CVHEC bylaws, each higher education segment has a set number of representatives on the committee who are elected by the full board of directors. Seven executive committee members serve three-year terms beginning in October the first year.
“The executive committee acts as a smaller, more agile governing body, often handling operational issues and strategic planning between full board meetings, and serving as a sounding board for CVHEC internal leadership,” Durán explained.
The full board meets quarterly with the next session being planned for an early December target date, said Ángel Ramírez, CVHEC associate director.
Executive meetings are also held four times a year prior to board meetings with the first meeting of the 2025-26 executive committee planned for early November at UC Merced where the committee will vote to fill the secretary, treasurer and chair position from among its membership, Ramírez said.
At the recent CVHEC board retreat in August, Chancellor Sánchez Muñoz welcomed the valey higher ed leaders and said about CVHEC’s next steps, “We need to work together to support our students. We’re here to create a vision for how we celebrate.” [
President Jiménez-Sandoval said, “Being reelected for three more years to the executive board of CVHEC is a tremendous honor, as it allows us to continue our noble work in our Valley. This continuity of leadership will allow us to be intentional about our resolve to harness the power of AI, build a strong pipeline between community colleges and four-year institutions, and promote the power of higher education.”
The membership of the 2025 CVHEC Executive Committee by segment with their terms noted is:
• CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITIES (2)
President Saúl Jiménez-Sandoval, Fresno State (2025 –2028)
President Britt Rios-Ellis, CSU Stanislaus (2024 –2027)
• CALIFORNIA COMMUNITY COLLEGES (3)
NORTH – President Chris Vitelli, Merced College (2024 –2027)
CENTRAL – Chancellor Robert Pimentel, West Hills Community College District (2025 –2028)
SOUTH – President Brent Calvin, College of the Sequoias (2024 –2027)
• UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA (1)
Chancellor Juan Sánchez Muñoz, UC Merced ( 2025 –2028)
• PRIVATE/INDEPENDENT (1)
President Andre Stephens, Fresno Pacific (2024 –2027)
“Why would this happen, especially when these funding programs have existed for decades and have a proven track record of success?” – Dr. Benjamin Duran, CVHEC executive director.
Fresno State, Central Valley colleges
lose federal grant for Hispanic students
BY MARINA PEÑA
Reprinted from The Fresno Bee – (Updated Sept. 23, 2025)
Central Valley colleges and universities will lose millions in federal funds under the Trump administration’s plan to eliminate a long-standing grant benefitting campuses with significant Hispanic student populations.
The decision, announced Sept. 10 by the U.S. Department of Education, affects funding for Fresno State, UC Merced and community colleges in Madera, Reedley, Clovis, Fresno and Merced.
The discontinued grants, for decades, awarded funding to colleges and universities deemed Hispanic-Serving Institutions and will heavily impact California, a Hispanic-majority state with the nation’s largest Hispanic student population.
U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon said in a statement that the grants were discriminatory for “restricting eligibility to institutions that meet government-mandated racial quotas.”
Higher education officials in the Central Valley said they were alarmed by the decision.
“My initial reaction was, ‘What’s going on?’ “ said Benjamin Duran, executive director of the Central Valley Higher Education Consortium. “Why would this happen, especially when these funding programs have existed for decades and have a proven track record of success? I just saw it as being racially motivated because they’re targeting institutions that serve predominantly Latino students, simply because they enroll at least 25% Latinos.”
Duran, a former president of Merced College, said 14 Central Valley community colleges that identify as Hispanic-Serving Institutions will take financials hits.
With nearly 60% of its student body identifying as Hispanic, Merced College was awarded a $2.75 million Developing Hispanic-Serving Institution (DHSI) grant in October 2022.
That grant funded student support services, professional development for faculty and counselors, and an increase in dual enrollment pathways to create opportunities for high school students to get a head start on college.
Merced College now faces the loss of about $1.1 million in funds for that grant, or approximately $550,000 per year for the final two years of the grant, according to a spokesperson for Merced College, which will lead to those programs and resources getting scaled back.
Duran said the funding is typically used to support all students through services like professional tutoring, counseling, computer labs, and increasing awareness of available programs and opportunities on campus. He noted that the funds are primarily invested in staffing rather than physical infrastructure or new buildings.
“For the Trump administration to come in, and in one fell swoop, with the Secretary of Education, who is not an educator herself, and cut this funding is devastating and surprising, to say the least,” he said.
Jason Bush, the interim associate vice president for research and sponsored programs a Fresno State, said the university is “still trying to understand the full impact of affected programs as it’s an evolving situation.” But he said the programs most affected at the university include those focused on pursuing a master’s degree and expanding Asian American and Pacific Islander representation in criminal and civil justice professions, both supported by the U.S. Department of Education.
In July 2021, UC Merced received a $15 million grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to support the university’s status as a federally recognized Hispanic- Serving Institution (HSI). The grant increased faculty diversity and promoted equity in research and teaching.
A spokesperson for the University of California said the public university system “remains committed to expanding access and ensuring that students from all backgrounds have the opportunity to succeed.”
California State University Chancellor Mildred Garcia said in a statement that federal HSI funding is used “to support all CSU students, not just Hispanic
She added that the CSU system is closely watching the U.S. Justice Department’s decision not to defend a federal law that underpins the Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSI) grant program, as a legal challenge threatens its future.
She also highlighted the high stakes for CSU campuses, where nearly half of the 460,000 students identify as Latino. Garcia explained that HSIs play a crucial role in advancing economic mobility, particularly for students from low-income and first-generation backgrounds.
“The CSU remains firmly committed to ensuring that all of our students— especially our Latino students—have access to a high-quality, affordable education,” she said.
In California’s Central Valley, all four campuses within the State Center Community College District — Clovis, Fresno City, Madera, and Reedley — are designated as Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) and have secured millions in grant funding to enhance various programs for student support services.
Cris Monahan-Bremer, a spokesperson for Fresno City College said that the State Center Community College District Board of Trustees recently adopted a budget recently that “deliberately set aside (funds) to ensure continuity with these programs, knowing that federal support could shift.”
“Because of the district’s strong financial position and careful planning, we are prepared to navigate this challenge,” he said.
This story was originally published September 23, 2025 at 5:30 AM.
Read more at: https://www.fresnobee.com/news/local/article312133885.html#storylink=cpy
Marina Peña The Fresno Bee
Marina Peña is the Latino communities reporter for The Bee. She earned a bachelor’s in Political Economy and another one in Journalism from the University of Southern California. She’s originally from Buenos, Argentina, but grew up in Los Angeles.