Hope and optimism

Greetings, CVHEC partners and colleagues … we are delighted to welcome you to 2026 and present you with the first issue of our newsletter for the new year!

We continue to be full of hope and optimism about the possibilities that this year promises as we further navigate an ever-changing and challenging higher education environment locally, statewide and nationally.  As we did in the previous year, we in higher education will work collaboratively to move our Central Valley forward.

What better way than to turn to one of our nation’s most inspiring leaders, a man whose dedication to the betterment of humanity was truly the spirit of higher education, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., with this quote from the “The Purpose of Education,” an article he wrote for Morehouse College’s student newspaper in 1947:

“The function of education, therefore, is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. But education which stops with efficiency may prove the greatest menace to society. The most dangerous criminal may be the man gifted with reason, but with no morals. We must remember that intelligence is not enough. Intelligence plus character — that is the goal of true education.”

At CVHEC, we remain committed to Dr. King’s ideals advancing education that uplifts both minds and communities. As you explore this January edition, you will see how we plan to continue with the regional efforts we were so successful with in 2025, while giving you a sense of new initiatives we will take at the direction of our CVHEC Board of Directors.  Read on and let me introduce you to two examples of great collaborative work in our 10-county region.

First, we are glad to share with you the Central Valley Transfer Project, which was tagged as a demonstration project by California Community Colleges Chancellor, Dr. Sonia Christian in 2023.  As we reported at the Complete College America national convening in November, the work by our CVHEC team, joined by faculty and staff from Central Valley colleges and universities, has resulted in surpassing our initial goals and was incorporated last summer into the CCC Vision 2030 plan.  Outcomes recently reported indicate that 90 of the 116 community colleges throughout the state are now on Program Pathways Mapper (PPM), which enables them to easily achieve the transfer pathways with all upper-division institutions on PPM, as well as the three California State University campuses (Bakersfield, Fresno, and Stanislaus) and the University of California, Merced. All are CVHEC member institutions.

We also call your attention to the article talking about faculty-driven Math and English Taskforce efforts this last year.  In the area of mathematics, you will see that the Central Valley Math Bridge has been funded by the Kern County K16 Collaborative, which allows us to extend this impactful and innovative approach to the South Valley.

Also, we are pleased to announce that we have received funding from the Kern Regional K-16 Education Collaborative  for the new Kern Math Bridge Program that will benefit South Valley students with CVHEC-member Bakersfield College. The Central Valley Math Bridge project, which we also featured at the CCA conference, attracts and encourages high school students who do not do well in math to enroll and pass college-level math courses, team-taught by their high school teacher and a community college faculty, and delivered by dual enrollment.  For these students, this program is a game-changer that serves as a springboard to success and completion when they enroll in college. With this funding, our third program in the Central Valley, we have now scaled up the program to serve students throughout our 10-county region in partnership with College Bridge, the RAND Corporation and the California Regional K-16 Education Collaboratives Grant Program.

As you continue to read, please note and calendar the revised date and time for our annual Central Valley Higher Education Summit scheduled for April 24, in Fresno. You may now register for the summit online!

We look forward to you convening with us to continue ongoing and pertinent conversations about higher ed in our Central Valley region. These timely discussions, which include state and national legislators and policymakers, serve as the basis for concrete action for over 250,000 college students served by the 28 members of the Central Valley Higher Education Consortium. Note that for the first time we also are offering sponsorship opportunities and invite you to support this Central Valley higher ed mission.

I hope you will enjoy these articles and the entire issue as we wish you a great 2026!!