CVHEC DIRECTOR’S MESSAGE (October 2024)

We are delighted to share the October CVHEC e-newsletter with you and welcome you to enjoy the content we have prepared as this fall 2024 semester moves into high gear.

In this edition, we congratulate and welcome Dr. Vernon Harper as the newly installed president of California State University, Bakersfield.  Please join us in reaching out to him with well wishes.

We also congratulate and welcome Dr. Todd Hampton as the newly appointed interim superintendent/president of the West Kern Community College District/Taft College.  Both Dr. Harper and Dr. Hampton bring strong leadership to the students in Kern County and to our CVHEC Board of Directors.

You will also see the continuing efforts in the Central Valley by our member institutions to create a rich learning environment to make our students successful as they strive to complete their post-secondary education.  You will see references to two upcoming convenings that will highlight these efforts the “The Central Valley Way to AB 1705 Success and Beyond” later this month and the Central Valley Dual Enrollment for Equity and Prosperity (CVDEEP) Task Force Convening next month.

For the first convening Oct. 25, read about the CVHEC Math Task Force bringing together regional mathematics faculty to continue addressing challenges and barriers resulting from Assembly Bill 1705.  These math professionals have worked through the summer and into the fall semester to develop strategies for delivering math solutions for many students and sharing them with their colleagues in the region for compliance with the state legislation.

We are especially proud that two of these faculty members have been invited to represent the Central Valley by delivering a session at a national mathematics convention in Atlanta, Georgia this November.  It is so good to see our region receiving national attention for the good work of our faculty. Congratulations Jeremy Brandl of Fresno City College and Shelley Getty of Taft College.

For the CVDEEP Task Force convening Nov. 14, we will see college and university professionals highlighting their work around delivering college level courses to high school students from rural high schools using an online dual enrollment strategy as a vehicle to reach populations that do not typically have the opportunity to benefit from taking college level courses while still in high school.  This is a great way to infuse equity and inclusion into our partner institutions for those students who will benefit from getting a jump-start on gateway college courses that are essential for the successful completion of their degrees and certificates.

We will also be participating in some conferences of our own. CVHEC representatives will be at the California Economic Summit Oct. 8-10 in Sacramento and the Complete College America National Conference Nov. 18-20 in Indianapolis where we hope to re-connect with many of our partners across the state and nation and meet new ones.

This month’s “What the CV-HEC is Happening Blog” is by guest blogger Marni Cahoon, a Taft College math professor, reflecting on the successful dual enrollment venture our consortium member in the West Kern Community College District has implemented

Lastly, enjoy highlights of CVHEC member institutions and other topics we thought would be of interest.