CVHEC website refresh: “a sense of recommitment” that showcases the recent forward momentum of the consortium with its 25th anniversary approaching in two years.
Update underscores communications campaign
to enhance the region’s college-going culture
(NOV. 12, 2025) — As part of an ongoing branding upgrade, the Central Valley Higher Education Summit rolls out its 2025 website refresh this month designed to enhance user friendliness and showcase the recent forward momentum of the consortium with its 25th anniversary approaching in two years.
“This refresh underscores the momentum we have established in the past few years such as our new logo last fall, the board retreat this summer identifying four new goals and the continuation of scalable work we have undertaken in various areas such as dual enrollment, transfer and our math and English task forces and communications such as our e-newsletter,” said Dr. Benjamín Durán, CVHEC executive director.
Angel Ramírez, CVHEC associate director who has spearheaded the consortium progress with Duran since he began as an intern in late 2014, calls it “a sense of recommitment.”
“Our website update reflects the momentum we’ve built as a region. We’re coming together with new energy and focus to strengthen partnerships and keep building on the college-going culture that supports every student in the Central Valley,” Ramírez said.
The website blends the conventional features with specific consortium strategies such as:
- About CVHEC: highlights the consortium’s 28-institutions of higher education membership demonstrating its reach across the Central Valley’s 10-county region.
- Board of Directors: presents the CEOs of each member institution who make up the CVHEC board and provides timely updates on top leadership changes in the region.
- “What the CV-HEC is Happening” Blog: first person informal updates on CVHEC initiatives and priorities with a personalized “behind the scenes” feel.
- Regional Data page: capturing and presenting pertinent data essential to strategy success.
- News: the monthly CVHEC e-newsletter reporting the latest CVHEC happenings as well as news about members, the valley’s higher ed scene in general and national updates. The newsletter publishes monthly except June-August when one special summer edition is published in early August.
- CVHEC Team: featuring CVHEC’s 11-member internal team that includes the addition in recent years of Dr. Kristin Clark, WHCCC chancellor-emerita; Dr. Lori Bennett, president-emerita of Clovis Community College; Elaine Cash, retired Riverdale School District superintendent; and administrative specialist Priscilla Arrellano.
- Events: CVHEC events and a community calendar of events of interest to the valley’s higher ed community.
- Contact Us: avenues for seeking more information about CVHEC’s work and for input or for assistance with something specific in higher education.
Customized strategy features that chronicle CVHEC’s various initiatives and emphasize the consortium’s focus include such pages as:
- Central Valley Dual Enrollment: shows the history and the work the consortium team members and partners have accomplished across the region to help students get an academic and economic headstart on college while in high school.
- Central Valley Math Bridge: a strategic initiative designed to align high school and college math pathways, creating a smooth and supported transition for students.
- Central Valley Transfer Project: increasing transfers from Central Valley community colleges to the region’s four-year universities that promotes the efficient Program Pathways Mapper.
- Master’s Upskilling Program: providing high school teachers the opportunity to upskill from a bachelor’s to master’s degree that meets the minimum quals to teach dual enrollment English and math courses at their respective high schools (page in development).
The website also features pages showcasing how boots-on-the-ground higher ed professionals in the region help accomplish these CVHEC strategies through committees and task forces:
- Math Task Force: streamlining and redesigning math pathways for student success.
- English Task Force: streamline English pathways for students by examining topics, concerns, and recent legislation.
- CVDEEP Task Force: a growing list of dual enrollment professionals collaborating to blur the lines between high school and higher ed (page in development).
- PIO/Communications Committee: communications professionals (public affairs specialists and public information officers) representing each of the consortium’s 28-member institutions of higher ed working collaboratively to develop and advance a unified voice for the board, made up of each of their campus CEOs, regarding CVHEC initiatives and the general promotion of higher education in the Central Valley. Also provides a resource to news media journalists seeking to reach the valley’s higher ed media relations contacts with links to their respective news pages.
Ramirez said next stages of development include building out the Masters Upskilling Program and CVDEEP pages.
“Like any website, it’s a work-in-progress so we encourage viewers to keep an eye out for ongoing upgrades and updates announced in our monthly e-newsletter,” he said.
Overall, Ramírez cites the web refresh as a symbol of the consortium’s forward thrust in this issue’s “What the CVHEC Happening Blog,” where he reflects on his 10th anniversary.
“Launching our newly refreshed website, building on the momentum of last year’s new logo – it isn’t just a design update; it’s a statement that CVHEC is stepping forward, more visible, more confident, and ready to lead,” he writes. “Seeing it all come together made me pause and realize that this is what growth looks like. Not just bigger programs, but a stronger identity, a renewed purpose, and a clear sense of direction.”
He also said a video documentary chronicling the CVHEC story is currently in progress and set for release in the spring as part of the communications component he began when he first joined CVHEC that included bringing in retired Fresno State public affairs specialist Tom Uribes in 2020 to coordinate communications and media relations and help build the consortium presence in general.
“We need programs that happen locally where high schools and community colleges deliver math and English courses so students come to college with those gateway courses out of the way,” said Central Valley Higher Education Consortium Executive Director Ben Duran (president emeritus of Merced College), at the recent Center for Educational Partnerships‘ PACE Listening Tour that featured Lupita Cortez Alcalá of Policy Analysis for California Education.
College and K-12 Faculty Strengthen
Collaboration for Central Valley Students
BY PATTY GUERRA
University Communications, UC Merced
(NOV. 6, 2025) — More than two dozen educators from kindergarten through college converged at UC Merced to discuss the challenges they’re facing and the opportunities ahead.
The Oct. 21 event, the PACE Listening Tour, hosted by the Center for Educational Partnerships, featured Lupita Cortez Alcalá, the newly appointed executive director of Policy Analysis for California Education (PACE).
PACE is an independent, nonpartisan research center housed at Stanford University and co-led by faculty directors at the University of Southern California and University of California campuses at Davis, Los Angeles and Berkeley.
“Our superpower is connecting research, policy and practice,” Alcalá said. “We provide evidence-based recommendations.”
Essentially, she said, the role of PACE is to work with educators to identify issues, find solutions and suggest actions. She also shared an overview of California’s TK-12 and higher education policies and budget for 2025-26.
“We want to hear from you – what key issues are impacting the K-16 education system?” Alcalá said. “What are the most pressing challenges and promising opportunities in education today and what actions can be taken to address them?”
Attendees, who came from districts spanning Stanislaus to Kern counties, shared issues that include funding uncertainty, lack of data sharing among systems and a dearth of students completing college-preparatory A-G courses in high school.
“It would really help if we could close the A-G achievement gap,” said Christiane Spitzmüller, vice provost for academic affairs and strategy at UC Merced.
Ben Duran, executive director of the Central Valley Higher Education Consortium (CVHEC) and former president of Merced College, pointed out that 40 percent of students drop out of school when they can’t pass college-level English and math courses.
“We need programs that happen locally where high schools and community colleges deliver math and English courses so students come to college with those gateway courses out of the way,” he said.
Duran also said there are efforts already underway to strengthen partnerships between the different levels of educational systems. Earlier in the day, he attended a State of Education event at UC Merced featuring superintendents of Merced County school districts.
“We are blurring the lines between high schools, community college and university,” he said.
That kind of collaboration is vital, said Orquídea Largo, associate vice chancellor of CEP and chief outreach officer at UC Merced.
“We need for our faculty to understand the needs of the communities that they intend to research,” Largo said. “CEP is prepared to serve as a liaison for our faculty and the communities we serve to strengthen relationships between researchers and K-12 practitioners.”
Jorge Aguilar, superintendent of the Wonderful College Prep Academy in Delano and Lost Hills, agreed.
“We somehow have to formalize an incentive structure for K-12 practitioners to feel more comfortable and lean into this idea that your work can benefit students more if you work with researchers.”
Sandra Fuentes, dean of early college at Reedley College, said her institution is interested in taking part in research that identifies best practices.
Alcalá said the region is uniquely positioned to address some of these issues.
“What’s great about the Central Valley is you know each other,” she said. “You can act a little faster and quicker.”
UC Merced, with its large first-generation student population, is well-positioned to lead change for the entire educational community.
“We tell people all the time we think UC Merced is the most exciting place in higher education in North America,” Spitzmüller said. “Students come with ambition and grit, but many have not had the same opportunities other students have had.”
Alcalá said she would return in January to share an update on the next proposed state budget and its impact on higher education.
A follow-up summit is planned in the spring, Largo said.
“We are hoping to bring researchers, faculty and K-12 practitioners together so they show how an effective post-secondary research and K-12 practitioner relationship can form.”
See original UC Merced PACE story.
UC MERCED MEDIA CONTACT: Patty Guerra
Public Information Officer
Office: (209) 769-0948
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
BY TOM URIBES
CVHEC Communications/Media Lead
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.
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