Panelists set for 2026 higher ed summit April 24

BY TOM URIBES
CVHEC Communications Lead

(APRIL 15, 2025) — Maria Anguiano, vice chair of the University of California Board of Regents, will headline an influential lineup of panelists and speakers at the Central Valley Higher Education Summit 2026 Friday, April 24 when the region’s college and university CEOs convene with state and national leaders, policymakers and other education professionals from 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Fresno Convention Center.

The CVHEC summit was declared “sold out” April 2 with a waitlist available. A reception for summit attendees the night before will feature the Fresno State Latin Jazz Ensemble.

Themed “Evolving Higher Education for an Emerging Future,” the summit is presented by the Central Valley Higher Education Consortium (CVHEC) Board of Directors that is made up of chancellors, presidents and campus directors of 28 institutions of higher education in the valley’s 10-county region. 

Various CVHEC board members will introduce and moderate the four panels that are planned in the official agenda CVHEC released this week.

The line-up includes a presentation with Dr. Dhanfu Elston, senior vice president for strategy and chief of staff at Complete College America (CCA), a national non-profit organization based in Indianapolis that works with states, systems and institutions to significantly increase college completion rates and close attainment gaps for underrepresented students.  CVHEC is one of 53 CCA alliance members

 — states, systems and consortia — participating in the CCA Alliance nationwide. 

Also a new feature this year, “Voices of the Valley,” will present comments from students and institutional leaders throughout the day highlighting lived experiences and innovative practices shaping student success in the Central Valley. They are:

• Lilly Uvalle, Degree Completion Reentry advisor at UC Merced (11:15 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.) — introduced by Porterville College President Primavera Monarrez;
• Tou Bee Thao, San Joaquin Valley Prime medical student at the UCSF-Fresno Regional Campus (1:50 – 2:05 p.m.) — introduced by UCSF-Fresno Regional Campus Vice Dean Jose Barral Sanchez, MD, PhD. 

And last month, the consortium announced four area legislators will serve on the Legislative Panel “Partnership and Policy: Advancing Higher Education in the Central Valley”: State Senators Anna Caballero and Shannon Grove; and State Assemblymembers Joaquin Arambula and Esmeralda Soria, California State Assembly 27th District. 

Regent Anguiano will sit on the keynote panel of leaders from the state’s four higher ed systems also announced last month, joining California Community Colleges Chancellor Sonya Christian; Association of Independent California Colleges and Universities President Kristen Soares and California State University Chancellor Mildred Garcia. She will attend in place of UC President James B. Milliken. Ms. Anguiano, who resides in San Diego, was appointed as a regent in 2017 by then-Gov. Jerry Brown to a term expiring in 2028.

More than 200 participants have registered for the event that is free, including breakfast and lunch, thanks to support primarily by College Futures Foundation, a statewide organization based in Oakland that works to increase the rate of bachelor’s degree completion by California students who are low-income and historically underrepresented in higher education.  

For the first time since the summit’s inception in 2016, co-sponsors were secured. The inaugural class of higher ed supporters are: Emerzian Law Group PC, Kern County Superintendent of Schools, Teachers College of San Joaquin, Merced School Employees Federal Credit Union, Golden 1 Credit Union, Fresno DRIVE, and the Educational Employees Credit Union.

The summit participants will convene to explore the future of higher education in California’s Central Valley and beyond in the face of mounting challenges under the current White House administration, said Dr. Benjamín Durán, CVHEC executive director.

“The 2026 CVHEC Summit will draw educators, policymakers, and community leaders from across California for a day of dialogue, partnership and forward-looking solutions,” Durán said. “We will hear from elected legislators who develop litigation that affect the region. We will also address the new strategy direction the CHVEC board is undertaking for the next few years.”

That new direction was set at a board strategy retreat last summer established as the consortium’s pressing priorities:  artificial intelligence, workforce alignment, data sharing and enrollment recovery.

CVHEC Board chair Dr. Juan Muñoz, UC Merced chancellor,  will open the days’ agenda with a board welcome  at 10 a.m. followed by Executive Director Durán delivering opening remarks and reviewing the agenda. 

Panelists announced are:  

KEYNOTE PANEL– “Leading Together: Shaping the Future of Higher Education in California” (10:15 – 11:15 a.m.)

• Dr. Mildred Garcia, Chancellor – California State University
• Dr. Sonya Christian, Chancellor – California Community Colleges 
• Dr. Kristen Soares, President – Association of Independent California Colleges and Universities 
• Maria Anguiano, Vice Chair of the Board of Regents – University of California

INTRODUCTIONS: Fresno Pacific University President André Stephens
MODERATOR: UC Merced Chancellor Juan Sánchez Muñoz

PANEL: “A Conversation with Central Valley Presidents: New Priorities for Higher Education in the Region” (11:30 a.m. – 12:10 p.m.) 

CVHEC board members who are regional leaders will address pressing priorities established at that the consortium board strategy retreat last summer:  

• AI – Dr. Saul Jimenez Sandoval, President – Fresno State
• WORKFORCE ALIGNMENT – Dr. Jerry Buckey, President – Reedley College
• DATA SHARING – Dr. Sean Hancock, President – Cerro Coso Community College
• ENROLLMENT RECONNECT – Dr. Kim Armstrong, President – Clovis Community College

INTRODUCTIONS: California Health Sciences University President Florence Dunn
MODERATOR: Modesto Junior College President Brian Sanders

PANEL: “AI and Emerging Technologies for Student Success” ( 1:10 – 1:50 p.m.)

 will follow with insights from Dr. Elston.  

• Dr. Dhanfu Elston, Chief of Staff & Senior Vice President for Strategy – Complete College America

INTRODUCTIONS: West Hills Community College District Chancellor Robert Pimentel
MODERATOR: San Joaquin Delta College President Lisa Lawrenson 

PANEL: “Partnership and Policy: Advancing Higher Education in the Central Valley (2:05 – 2:45 p.m.)

State policy and its impact on higher education will be the focus of the panel, bringing together key legislators. 

• Senator Anna Caballero, California State Senate District 14
• Senator Shannon Grove, California State Senate District 12
• Assemblymember Joaquin Arambula, California State Assembly 31st District
• Assemblymember Esmeralda Soria, California State Assembly 27th District 

INTRODUCTIONS: California State University, Stanislaus President Britt Rios- Ellis
MODERATOR: Moderator: Merced College Superintendent/ President Chris Vitell. 

The summit will conclude with closing reflections from Durán, reinforcing CVHEC’s commitment to collaboration and regional progress in higher education.

The quarterly meeting of the CVHEC Board of Directors – the chancellors, presidents and campus directors of the consortium’s 28 member colleges and universities in the ten-county region from San Joaquin to Kern – will precede the summit that morning.  The CVHEC Welcome Reception for summit attendees will be held from 5:30 – 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 23 featuring the Fresno State Latin Jazz Ensemble which performed last year 

• Event & sponsorship questions: contact Ángel Ramírez, CVHEC associate director, at angelr@ mail.fresnostate.edu or 559.278.0576.

• Media inquiries: Tom Uribes, CVHEC communications lead – text 559.348.3278 or cvheccommunications@mail.fresnostate.edu 

For event updates: see the Summit event page, subscribe to the free CVHEC monthly e-newsletter or visit CVHEC social media platforms.