MEMBER NEWS (May 2024): Medical training throughout CVHEC membership

This special edition of the Central Valley Higher Education e-newsletter featuring medical education in the Central Valley focuses on the medical school programs of two CVHEC members that confer medical doctor degrees (University of California San Francisco Fresno and California Health Sciences University) or partner directly (University of California Merced’s SJV Prime+ Program). Other valuable medical-related training is offered at nearly all the consortium member institutions, such as nursing and physical therapy at the 15 community colleges and three California State University campuses. At Fresno State, doctoral degrees are conferred in nursing and physical therapy.  In addition to our monthly board and member news, here are just a few highlights of what other CVHEC members have undertaken in recent years:

CSUB receives $1 million to build
Doctor of Nursing Practice Program

Kern Health Systems (KHS) has announced a $1 million grant toward the establishment of a Doctor of Nursing Practice Program at California State University, Bakersfield, part of a $20 million package of support made by Kern County’s largest health plan to expand access to health care, educate more primary-care professionals and narrow health equity gaps in one of the most medically underserved regions of the state.  [MORE]

University of Pacific receives nearly $1M to support future health care providers

University of the Pacific’s School of Health Sciences has been awarded nearly $1 million in state grants to further its mission of educating students who can fill the urgent need for health care providers in underserved areas. Pacific received a $2.5 million grant in 2022 to expand underrepresented students’ access to health professions and a $1.7 million grant earlier this year to increase the number of behavioral health care workers in California. [MORE]

• Nursing Pathway Program expands at the CSU [MORE]

• California Community Colleges Nursing Educational Programs Legislative Report 2020-2022 [MORE]

• Stan State: nursing program ranked among Top 4 in affordability by BestColleges.com [MORE]

• Fresno City College/Fresno State: federal funding to help address nursing shortage [MORE]

• UCSF School of Medicine, UCSF Fresno and Upstream USA expand access to patient-centered contraceptive care for Fresno County [MORE]

• San Joaquin Valley has a therapist shortage. Here’s how a university hopes to change that [MORE]

• Fresno State: Physical Therapy Program helps people across their lifespan [MORE]

• CSUB nursing alumni fundraiser event celebrates 50th graduating class milestone [MORE]

• UCSF Fresno Doctors Academy Programs Celebrate Graduating Students [MORE]

CHSU President Flo Dunn conferred honorary doctorate 

California Health Sciences University Founding President Florence Dunn was awarded an honorary doctorate degree in recognition of her leadership, dedication and service to the university.

Presenting the award at the university’s inaugural Commencement May 19 in Fresno were Dr. Kristin Clark and Dr. John Welty, vice chair and founding chair of the CHSU Board of Trustees, respectively. President Dunn and Chancellor Clark are current members of the CVHEC Board of Directors and President-emeritus Welty (Fresno State) is the founding chair of the CVHEC board.  [MORE]

MEMBER NEWS: UOP tackles therapist shortage in North Valley

UOP’s Master of Arts in Counseling Psychology opens to students in fall 2024 and will help addres healthcare shortage in North Valley.

 

UOP: Marriage and family counseling focus

of Benerd’s new master’s program

 

University of the Pacific’s Benerd College has created a master’s degree program that will focus on marriage and family counseling, an area with a severe shortage of services in San Joaquin County.

The Master of Arts in Counseling Psychology major will open with a cohort of approximately 15 to 20 students in fall 2024.

“My sense is this will be a popular degree,” said Justin Low, program lead and associate professor. “Mental health practitioners are scarce compared to the overall population, and that certainly is the case with marriage and family counseling. The shortage is very serious in San Joaquin County.”

CalMatters detailed the reasons for shortages of mental health providers, such as counselors, in a 2022 report. They include workload and burnout, pay level and California’s cost of living.

Low said graduates of the new program can likely earn salaries starting around $90,000. Benerd College has worked to align the major with state licensing requirements.

The degree will lead to work counseling married couples and individuals as well as entire families.

“There are advantages for students with an undergraduate degree in psychology. They know the language and some of the background,” Low said. “But by the time they go through programs such as this, those who came from the workforce and different vocations fit right in. Both paths work.

“Those entering this field tend to be self-reflective. They look at their skill set and see where they want to improve. They tend to think ‘what can I do better next time?’”

The program requires 60 units—high for a master’s program, but in line for psychology-related programs, according to Low—and 280 hours of experiential work with patients. Pacific has identified agencies and adjunct professors who will work with students.

Andra Zastrow has worked in marriage and family counseling for the past 22 years in Stockton and is an adjunct faculty member at Pacific. She views the new program as a boost for a troubled system.

“This is a very important step for getting access to care because we have such a lack of resources in Stockton,” Zastrow said. “Getting an appointment can take up to a month. Beyond that, nobody is taking insurance. Many people must pay out of pocket.

“I am so excited that Pacific has approved this program. This is a positive change in a rewarding field.”

The program is part of Benerd College’s strategic move into areas of social education.

“Leadership, education and behavioral and mental health are three areas of focus within our degree programs,” said Patricia Campbell, dean of Benerd College. “We are really expanding.”

 

See:

• UOP press release

• San Joaquin Valley has a therapist shortage. Here’s how a university hopes to change that – Recordnet (Jan. 10. 2024)

MEMBER NEWS: UOP tackles healthcare shortage in North Valley

 

Pacific receives nearly $1M to support future health care providers

 

(APR 14, 2024) — University of the Pacific’s School of Health Sciences has been awarded nearly $1 million in state grants to further its mission of educating students who can fill the urgent need for health care providers in underserved areas.

Pacific will receive $540,000 for its Entry Level Master of Nursing program and more than $430,000 to create post-undergraduate fellowships for students in any health care discipline.

“We are grateful that the state is investing in our students,” said School of Health Sciences Dean Nicoleta Bugnariu. “Many are from the Central Valley and are committed to returning to their communities to provide the care that is so needed. This funding will help us enhance their education and attract more students.”

 

Nursing grant to expand training opportunities

The Song-Brown grant, provided by the California Department of Health Care Access and Information, will allow the nursing program to create new training opportunities in places where there is a shortage of registered nurses.

Students currently conduct clinical training in several dozen sites throughout the Central Valley with more than half of them designated as shortage areas.

The funding also will allow the nursing program to expand simulation experiences to better prepare students for real-world scenarios.

The nursing program currently has a 1,650-square feet simulation space, which includes a lab, clinical skills area, simulators, control room and debriefing rooms. Simulation-based learning is incorporated in all clinical courses in the program.

“Human patient simulators are tremendously beneficial for student learning. They provide a safe environment for students to master the skills they have been taught,” said Nursing Chair and Program Director Ann Stoltz. “With this support from the state, we will be able to create even more practice opportunities for skill acquisition and clinical judgement to better prepare our future nurses.”

Pacific’s Entry Level Master of Science in nursing was launched in 2022 due to high demand for bedside nurses in the region. The first cohort will graduate in April 2024.

 

Supporting underrepresented students

A second grant will create paid fellowships for underrepresented students who are interested in pursuing a graduate health science degree.

“We are so grateful to have this opportunity at Pacific,” said Associate Professor and Chair of Speech-Language Pathology Derek Isetti. “This fellowship will greatly assist students from underrepresented backgrounds as they participate in clinical experiences that will help them to be successful in graduate health science programs.”

Five fellows per year will receive $15,000 each to help their transition through teaching, research, health career workshops, mentorship and other areas.

This is the third grant Pacific has received from the state’s Health Professions Pathways Program. The program is intended to support underrepresented students pursuing health care careers to create a more diverse workforce that better reflects the communities it serves.

Pacific received a $2.5 million grant in 2022 to expand underrepresented students’ access to health professions and a $1.7 million grant earlier this year to increase the number of behavioral health care workers in California.

 

 See also:

UOP Press release

UOP receives nearly $1M to support students to help fill the need for health care workers – BayCityNews Foundation

 

CVHEC BOARD NEWS: Dr. Rafe E. Trickey named Taft College president

The West Kern Community College District (WKCCD) Board of Trustees has selected Dr. Rafe Edward Trickey, Jr. to become the next superintendent/president of Taft College.

He will replace Superintendent/President Brock McMurray who is retiring after 23-plus years with the district. McMurray has served as superintendent/president since July 2022.

Dr. Rafe E. Trickey, Jr.

The board intends to approve an employment agreement at the next regular meeting scheduled for Wednesday, April 10, 2024, with a start date to follow on June 3, 2024 when he will also become a member of the Central Valley Higher Education Consortium Board of Directors made up of the heads of 28 institutions of higher education in the nine-county region.

The selection was made following a nationwide search, coordinated by Community College Search Services, that produced a strong pool of well-qualified applicants for the position.

A diverse search committee of campus and community members narrowed the list of applicants down to five finalists who presented at public forums on March 21 and interviewed with the Board of Trustees on March 22.

Taft College Board President Billy White stated, “On behalf of the Taft College Board of Trustees, I would like to extend a warm welcome to Dr. Rafe Edward Trickey, Jr. as our next Taft College superintendent/president. Dr. Trickey brings certain depth and breadth of experience and knowledge to the college in a time of transition and great opportunity.

We sincerely thank the search committee and Taft community members for their valuable time and input during this process. Please join the Taft College Board of Trustees in congratulating Dr. Trickey on his new role!”

About Dr. Trickey

Dr. Rafe Edward Trickey, Jr. currently serves as president and chief executive officer of the North San Diego County Promise, a San Diego County inclusive collective-impact partnership that is united by a shared vision of all youth and adults reaching their fullest potential in grade school, college, career and life. The North San Diego County Promise strategically and efficiently aligns programs, services and resources to improve the social, emotional, academic and life success of service community members. The North San Diego County Promise’s intentionally collaborative, equity-focused, and data-informed work is concentrated on inclusionary systems change and ensuring marginalized communities have equitable access to educational, economic, and life opportunities.

Dr. Trickey is an experienced, empowering, courageous, visionary, equity-minded, and success-focused leader, who has enjoyed an extensive career in education, public-benefit corporations, and public service. He maintains that creating success pathways, empowering people, and expanding equitable access are very important. For over four decades, he has championed the maxim that when some among us are not succeeding, none of us is really succeeding. He has served as President of Comanche Nation College, an open-access, community/tribal college in Oklahoma, as President and Chief Executive Officer of Sisseton Wahpeton College, an open-access, community/tribal college in South Dakota, as Vice President of Student Services and Vice President of Planning and Institutional Development at the College of the Marshall Islands, an open-access, public community college in the Marshall Islands, as Executive Director of Development and External Relations at Citrus College, a California Community College, as President and Chief Executive Officer of the California-wide CHP 11-99 Foundation, and as City Treasurer in the City of Oceanside, California. Among multiple community member success supporting volunteer leadership tenures, Dr. Trickey has served as a Housing Commissioner in the City of Oceanside, as a Co-chair of the Alliance for Regional Solutions’ Racial Justice Committee, as Board of Directors Treasurer with Break the Silence Against Domestic Violence, as a Leadership Mentor and Advisor with Operation HOPE-North County, and as Board of Directors Treasurer with the Oceanside Promise.

Over the course of his leadership career, Dr. Trickey has cultivated a robust record specializing in student success, innovation, and mobilizing resources to improve educational outcomes and life opportunities. During his leadership tenures, the institutions he has served have secured new resources and realized measurable improvements in service population success. He maintains particular research and service commitments on utilizing a collective impact framework to guide collaboration focused on systems change, promoting and mentoring more women into top leadership positions (including superintendent positions, chancellorships, presidencies, executive directorships and public office), and the impacts evaluator attitudes, the role congruity biases many people consciously and unconsciously maintain, and evaluation practices have on perceptions of leader efficacy and leader success and persistence. Dr. Trickey is also committed to closing opportunity gaps for students and creating and delivering success-support pathways to individuals experiencing housing and food insecurity, as well as developing and implementing programs that uplift indigenous and other underrepresented and disproportionately impacted students.

Dr. Trickey was the first in his family line to attend and graduate college. He holds a Doctorate in Educational Leadership degree from the University of California, San Diego, a Master of Science in Education degree from the University of Southern California, a Master of International Affairs degree from Columbia University in the City of New York, a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and History from the University of California, Santa Barbara, an Associate of Arts degree in Behavioral and Social Sciences from Modesto Junior College, a Certificate in Fund Raising with a Specialization in the Institutional Development Process from the University of California, Los Angeles, and a California Community College Instructor Credential in Government, valid for life.

Upon accepting his new position, Dr. Trickey shared, “As a product of the Great Central Valley and a California Community College alumnus, I’m beyond delighted to begin service as Taft College’s next Superintendent/President!

I’m very eager to start engaging with colleagues and building impactful and enduring relationships with local businesses, industry, and school districts throughout Taft College’s expansive service community. I’m committed to work collaboratively for the benefit of the entire West Side, assure Taft College continues to provide state-of-the-art educational opportunities and world-class career training services, and maintain Taft College’s place as the jewel in the crown of this region.

I’m also energized about working with the dedicated members of the West Kern Community College District Board of Trustees and Taft College’s amazing faculty, staff, and fellow administrators to create success pathways, empower people, and expand equitable access. Doing so is important to me, because I believe we’re all in this together; when some among us are not succeeding, none of us is really succeeding.”

To learn more about the West Kern CCD and Taft College go to https://www.taftcollege.edu/.

 

About Taft College

Established in 1922, Taft College is one of the oldest California Community Colleges. Located in Western Kern County, Taft College provides continuous learning opportunities for over 6,000 students through more than 50 vocational and professional degrees, transfer programs, and certificates. These innovative programs are made available at a fraction of the cost of state and private colleges. Proud to transform the lives of highly diverse students and adult learners, Taft College delivers vital pathways to advanced education and enhanced employment. In 2022, Taft College proudly celebrated its centennial year of student success.

 

See:

Taft College press release

KERO TV story

CVHEC BOARD NEWS: Britt Rios-Ellis appointed Stanislaus State president

The California State University (CSU) Board of Trustees has appointed Britt Rios-Ellis to serve as president of California State University, Stanislaus July 1, 2024 when she will also become a member of the Central Valley Higher Education Consortium Board of Directors made up of the heads of 28 institutions of higher education in the nine-county region.

Britt Rios-Ellis

Rios-Ellis currently serves as provost and executive vice president of Academic Affairs at Oakland University (OU), a public research university in Rochester, Michigan.

“I am both honored and humbled to serve this outstanding University alongside the talented faculty, staff, administrators and students at Stanislaus State, and to be the first new president selected under the leadership of Chancellor Mildred García,” said Rios-Ellis.

“I am eager to get to know the Turlock and Stockton communities and work together to ensure that the positive impact of our students’ and the University’s overall success is felt profoundly throughout the region.”

Rios-Ellis will be the University’s 13th leader, succeeding Interim President Susan E. Borrego who has served in the role since the retirement of President Emerita Ellen Junn in summer 2023.

“On behalf of the Stan state community, I welcome Dr. Rios-Ellis,” Interim President Borrego said. “She will join a community of committed faculty, staff and students who are proud to be a part of such an amazing University.”

“Dr. Rios-Ellis is an inspirational, compassionate and mission-driven leader, guided by a commitment to inclusive excellence and student success,” said CSU Trustee Yammilette Rodriguez, chair of the Stanislaus State Presidential Search Committee. “Her wide-ranging experience, student-centered approach and commitment to broader community engagement make her the ideal candidate to lead Stanislaus State in its next exciting chapter.”

Since joining the Oakland University leadership team in 2021, Rios-Ellis has focused on student and faculty success efforts with a focus on equity, resulting in an 8% increase in retention of underrepresented students, as well as decreasing equity gaps in bottleneck courses, and time to graduation. At Oakland University, she has worked with faculty to increase research activity, with the OU Senate to strengthen shared governance, and with deans and faculty to establish new and needed academic programs. She also coordinated successful fundraising and budget realignment efforts for the university and led an initiative to secure OU’s Carnegie elective classification for Community Engagement.

In all, Rios-Ellis has led more than $59 million in student- and community-strengthening health and education-related efforts funded by the National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Agriculture, the U.S. Department of Education among other agencies, as well as in collaboration with industry partners to reinforce workforce pipelines.

This marks a return to the CSU system for Rios-Ellis. Prior to joining OU, she served as founding dean of the College of Health Sciences and Human Services at California State University, Monterey Bay (2014 to 2020), where she led fundraising and strategic planning efforts and co-founded the Master of Science Physician Assistant Program — the first of its kind in the CSU.

From 1994 to 2014, Rios-Ellis served as a faculty member in the Department of Health Science at California State University, Long Beach. During that time, she also served as founding director of CSULB’s Center for Latino Community Health, Evaluation and Leadership Training (2005 to 2015) in alliance with UnidosUS, where she worked to promote and advocate for the health, culture and well-being of diverse communities. She was recognized with a CSULB Outstanding Professor Award in 2013 for her significant impact on Latinx health research and education, and she was named Woman of the Year by the National Hispanic Business Women’s Association in 2010 and the Regional Hispanic Chamber of Commerce in 2009. Additionally, in 2008, she received the Sol Award from the Los Angeles County Office of HIV/AIDS Planning Prevention.

Rios-Ellis earned a bachelor’s degree in political science and Spanish, a master’s degree in health and fitness management and a Ph.D. in community health — all from the University of Oregon.

 

 

MEDIA INQUIRIES: Rosalee Rush 209.664.6780 or rbrush@csustan.edu

See:

CSU Stanislaus press release

Britt Rios-Ellis appointed as next Stan State president

HIGHER ED NEWS: CCC board picks up Central Valley representation

 

KCCD Trustee Nan Gomez-Heitzeberg, Delta prof Cirian Villavicencio appointed

 

Two Central Valley community college representatives were appointed to the California Community College Board of Governors: Cirian Villavicencio, a professor at  San Joaquin Delta College in the North Valley, and Kern Community College District trustee Nan Gomez-Heitzeberg from the southern San Joaquin Valley.

Gov. Gavin Newsom announced the appointments Feb. 28 for the board, the highest governing body in California’s community college system that advocates for nearly 2 million students at 116 colleges across the state.

They will be working with systemwide Chancellor Sonya Christian, who served on the CVHEC board when she was a Central Valley higher education leader, to provide guidance and strategic direction to districts and community colleges in California by implementing the Governor’s Roadmap to Success for California Community Colleges.

They will also work with the chancellor to advance the California Community College’s “Vision 2030” action plan which focuses on improving student outcomes while focusing on four strategic areas: guiding field practice, removing barriers, fostering policy reform, and supporting college implementation.

“We are delighted that in addition to Chancellor Christian, the Central Valley can now claim two new members of the California Community Colleges Board of Governors,” said Dr. Benjamín Durán, executive director, of the Central Valley Higher Education Consortium.

 

“We are especially pleased that these two new BOG members — coming from the north and south regions of our valley — provide the governing board with true representation from throughout our nine-county region,” Durán added. “Please join us in extending a Central Valley congratulations to the two new Board of Governors members.”

Gomez-Heitzeberg, who taught at Porterville College and was an administrator at Bakersfield College, is a lifelong advocate for education who has witnessed firsthand the transformational power of community colleges.

“My experiences in the classroom, as an administrator, and as a trustee have strengthened my advocacy,” said Trustee Gomez-Heitzeberg. “I appreciate the opportunity to represent the Central Valley and look forward to working with my colleagues to bring Vision 2030 to implementation across the State.”

She brings more than 30 years of experience in serving the disinvested rural student populations of Kern County in various roles, including as: a tenured faculty at Porterville College; an interim president and vice president of Instruction at Bakersfield College; a director of Bakersfield College’s Delano Campus; and the associate vice chancellor for Kern CCD Child Development Centers.

Upon her retirement from BC’s administration, Gomez-Heitzeberg was first elected to serve on the Kern CCD Board of Trustees in November 2018.

Kern CCD Board of Trustees President John Corkins noted that the Southern San Joaquin Valley had been lacking representation on the Board of Governors for a long time.

“Trustee Gomez-Heitzeberg has a deep understanding of what our students here in the Central Valley need to be successful,” Corkins said. “Through her appointment to this important governing body, she will be a tireless advocate for Central Valley students and a voice for higher education in the Valley up in Sacramento.”

Former Kern CCD Chancellor, Tom Burke has worked with Trustee Gomez-Heitzeberg in a variety of roles over the last 25 years.

“Her extensive experience working to provide higher education opportunities for students in the San Joaquin Valley will serve the Valley well as she joins the Board of Governors as the only representative from the Southern Central Valley,” said Burke who is now a regional coordinator for CVHEC helping lead its Kern Master’s Upskilling Program and Central Valley Transfer Project.

Villavicencio, a Delta College Political Science professor and co-chair of the Department of Political Science who will assume one of two faculty seats on the board, said he is “deeply humbled” by the Governor’s appointment.

“I will help represent and elevate the voices of 1.9 million California community college students, as well as 56,000 of my fellow faculty colleagues,” said Villavicencio who received Delta’s Distinguished Faculty Award in 2020.

“While our system faces many challenges from artificial intelligence to closing equity gaps among our underserved and disproportionately impacted students, I know there are many opportunities to improve our system and the lives of our students.”

Dr. Villavicencio has over 18 years of experience in higher education and has been active in local, state, and national politics, including serving as a staffer for the California Asian American Pacific Islander Legislative Caucus in the state Capital. He was elected twice as a delegate to the Democratic National Convention in support of former President Barack Obama in 2008 and 2012.

“We are so very proud of Dr. Villavicencio and his commitment to serve the entire community college system in California,” said Delta College Superintendent/President Dr. Lisa Aguilera Lawrenson, a CVHEC board member.

“The fact that he was selected to represent professors from all over the state speaks to the high quality of our Delta College faculty and their determination to help students succeed,” President Lawrenson added.

The Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges was established in 1967 to provide statewide leadership to California’s 73 community college districts, which operate 116 community colleges.

 

The Board has 18 voting members as specified in statute. Twelve members are appointed by the Governor, require Senate approval for six-year terms, and must include two current or former local board members. Five members are appointed by the Governor to two-year terms and include two students, two faculty members, and one classified member. The lieutenant governor also serves as a member of the Board.

 

###

 

 

See:

Announcement from the California Community College Chancellor’s Office
Announcement from Gov. Newsom’s office

Kern press release [checking with KCCD PIO to see if they will post it. If not, we can post the pdf)

Delta press release

 

 

MEMBER NEWS: WHCCD gets federal grant for RuBICON – rural broadband

$1 million USDA grant awarded to West Hills CCD

for broadband cooperative formation

Project director recruitment underway

 

The West Hills Community College District (WHCCD) has received a $1 million federal grant that will play a pivotal role in establishing the Rural Broadband Initiative Cooperative Network (RuBICON), a project aimed at providing affordable broadband services to rural communities and farms in the Central Valley.

The district, a Central Valley Higher Education Consortium (CVHEC) institution member, announced the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) award Feb. 21 as well as a search for a project director for RuBICON, which aims to empower local communities by forming a cooperative that delivers reliable and cost-effective broadband access, bridging the digital divide in the rural Central Valley.

The district said this groundbreaking endeavor draws inspiration from the historic electric co-op movement, envisioning equitable change and progress for rural America in the 21st century.

Jeff Seed, WHCCD associate vice chancellor of Information Technology, emphasized the broader impact of this grant, stating, “This is not just about broadband access – it’s about fostering sustainable farming, building robust local economies, and empowering our rural communities for the digital future.”

In a social media post, Chancellor Kristen Clark, who is also CVHEC Board of Directors chair, said, “Excited about this opportunity for the West Hills Community College District to help support high-speed broadband on the Westside of the Central Valley.”

Project RuBICON has garnered support from a diverse coalition of partners committed to assessing and delivering connectivity to rural communities in the Central Valley. The initiative will collect comprehensive data to understand current needs and identify solutions to address connectivity gaps. In addition to infrastructure development, West Hills will offer digital literacy education for local communities and leverage its Farm of the Future to create a framework for agricultural technologists, propelling the community toward Agriculture 4.0.

“This project is designed to facilitate cost-effective broadband deployment, with the goal of serving as a model that can be replicated across the country,” Seed added.

For WHCCD media inquiries, contact Amber Myrick at 559.934.2132 or ambermyrick@whccd.edu.

 

See:

WHCCD press release

Project direction position and application process info 

CVHEC broadband video press release

$1M boost for affordable Internet in the Central Valley – YourCentralValley.com

CVHEC BOARD NEWS: Retirement of WHCCD Chancellor Clark – STATEMENT

The West Hills Community College District (WHCCD), announced today the retirement of Chancellor Dr. Kristin Clark  effective July 2024. For the past two years, Chancellor Clark has served as chair of the Central Valley Higher Education Consortium Board of Directors, which is made up of the chancellors, presidents and campus directors of 28 institutions of higher education in the region’s nine-county area. She also served on the board during her term as president of West Hills College Lemoore prior to the WHCCD chancellorship. The West Hills Community College District will soon initiate a search for a new chancellor. Dr. Benjamín Durán, CVHEC executive director, issued the following statement.

Dr. Benjamín Durán, CVHEC executive director,  and WHCCD Chancellor Kristin Clark at the Central Valley Higher Education Summit October 19, 2023 where she delivered the welcome address.

UPDATE July 26, 2024: Chancellor Clark honored at farewell reception (see photo gallery below).

STATEMENT

Chancellor Clark: a champion

of higher education for all

We at the Central Valley Higher Education Consortium along with so many others in the region and the state, are experiencing mixed feelings with Chancellor Kristin Clark’s announcement of her retirement effective the end of this academic year.

We are happy for Chancellor Clark as she completes a stellar academic career this spring in preparation for her retirement but at the same time we are saddened that the Central Valley region is losing a leader of her caliber.   As the chair of the 28-member CVHEC Board of Directors the last two years, Chancellor Clark has been a champion of higher education for all and certainly for the initiatives and projects the Consortium has undertaken. She has been instrumental in building our network of Central Valley college and university leaders to speak in a single voice on higher education policy issues.

Additionally, Chancellor Clark is recognized throughout the state as the leader of one of the most innovative and student-centered multi-college districts in rural California.  The West Hills Community College District and the communities it serves have been fortunate to receive her professional and personal leadership.

Please join us in wishing Dr. Clark all the best, as she gets ready to explore the next phase of her life. Well done, Kristin!

Benjamín Durán, Ed.D.
Executive Director – The Central Valley Higher Education Consortium  
President-emeritus – Merced College

See the WHCCD  retirement  announcement press release.

Bio – Chancellor Kristin Clark

Chancellor Clark Farewell Reception – CVHEC photo gallery:

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