As we prepare for the culmination of another busy and successful academic year, we at CVHEC are delighted to share the April Newsletter.  In this issue we talk about our CVHEC Legislative and Policy Summit, Navigating Higher Education in a New Era: The Central Valley Way, that will be held in Fresno on Friday, May 9.

This year’s event will have a bit of a different focus than previous years. With the dismantling of the Department of Education and wholesale severance of federal funds, higher education now faces perhaps its biggest challenge in the nation’s history. Now, as massive ongoing policy and program changes hit, we find it imperative that our region’s university and college leaders deliberate critically but thoughtfully with legislators, policy makers and other educators in general to share our perspectives in search of concrete solutions for the benefit of our student populations. We must act judiciously. Our 2025 summit, with leaders from the state’s higher ed systems and our Congressional representatives sets the stage for this interaction.

As usual, we are also glad to share news about the great work going on in our member institutions.  You will read about the Central Valley Math Task Force and the recent convening that brought community college math faculty from throughout the valley to discuss and address issues that have arisen around the delivery of mathematics in California in the effort to comply with Assembly Bill 1705.  We also will be highlighting the We Will Master’s Upskilling Project for high school English teachers and similar efforts that have also taken place in the central and southern regions of the valley as part of our dual enrollment drive for students.

We are also happy to share how fortunate we are that Dr. Kristin Clark, chancellor-emeritus of  West Hills Community College District, and Dr. Lori Bennet, Clovis College president-emeritus, have recently abandoned the ranks of retirement and joined the CVHEC Team in support of our dual enrollment efforts.  They will bring so much to the consortium and these initiatives designed to support student success.

On that note, I’m sure you will enjoy Dr. Clark’s blog featured in this month’s newsletter as she provides a personal insight behind “what the CV-HEC” she was thinking in leaving the joys of retirement to resume her dedication to serving students in higher education – a gain for us all!

Please enjoy this month’s issue and please do share it with your colleagues We welcome new subscribers as we tell our higher education story the Central Valley Way!