Week of February 12, 2024

Hi Clovis Fam,

I wanted to start this reflection and activity report by reminding you of how I have always viewed my role as President-to-Be. I stated in both my interview and on my first Opening Day that my role is to “stand in front of you and protect you and to stand behind you and promote you.” My first responsibility is for your safety. I will make sure that everyone (students, faculty, and classified professionals) has a safe place to work and learn. Second, I am here to assure you that you have the resources to be successful and grow so that you can give your best toward our students’ success. As resources become a challenge, please know that I will always put your needs before my own and that in the spirit of not only understanding my responsibility, I will rarely tell you “No.” What I will tell you is that “let us look at how we can make it happen”. As a scientist and as a person who gravitates to innovation, I truly see a plethora of possibilities. We may not be able to do it exactly as originally planned and it may not be as quickly as we would like, but we, together, will find a way to make it happen. I also vow to make sure that, as it is my responsibility to provide resources, I continue to provide professional development opportunities for you all. Please know that my commitment to standing in front and protecting and standing behind and promoting you will not waiver as it is my North Star.

Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to serve you for it is I who serves you and not you who serves me.

Thank you for allowing me that opportunity to share and reinforce my why and my North Star.

Let me begin by sharing with you, my week. I hope all of you had a wonderful weekend where you were surrounded by family and friends as you enjoyed your time and perhaps even spent time watching the Super Bowl.

On Saturday, I had the pleasure of joining almost 20 students and Sasha Fisher as we took a bus to Allensworth State Historic Park to learn firsthand about the incredible settlement of African Americans here in California. As a person who loves history, I found the experience humbling and inspiring. I learned so very much about the rich African American history right here in the Central Valley, and I especially enjoyed watching our students learn. Thank you Sasha for allowing me to go with you and the students and to share this experience with them. I will cherish this always. I couldn’t wait to return home to call my parents and tell them about the history of Allensworth and the comparisons to my history with Madison Park in Alabama.

While we were traveling to Allensworth, people were coming to campus to have assistance with their taxes. I was proud to see our students continuing to serve the needs of our community by partnering with United Way and providing this free service. Thank you Eunji Seo for leading this wonderful opportunity.

On a somber note, it was on the trip to Allensworth that I received the email that a student at Reedley College had passed away. I spent most of the bus ride in prayer and sending emails to Dr. Buckley. I want to thank Interim VPSS Kira as she was also emailing and texting putting in place counseling resources for RC that were much needed and appreciated.

On Sunday, I did not watch the Super Bowl but I went to church where I was informed that my church is in the process of starting a Family Health Institute. They have already secured the land on the current property. The buildings have already been drawn by the architect and the City of Fresno has already issued building permits and other approvals. This health facility will serve as a medical school (in conversations with an HBCU medical school to provide training for doctors). They will also train nurses and other health professionals. In addition to providing training, they will serve as a medical facility to provide medical services to those in need. As this is the case, they will have clinical training opportunities. This could be an opportunity for us to partner with them, and I have already talked to Dr. Chahal, Dr. Goldsmith, and Dr. Pimentel about the opportunity. After church, I went to get a massage as it was empty due to the Super Bowl and the celebration of the Lunar New Year.

On Monday, well the day started with some issues with heat and electricity, so the campus was closed for the first part of the day. I want to thank everyone who was involved in handling the communication and decision-making between several entities at both the district and campus levels. I want to especially thank Vice President Lorrie who was the first to become aware of the issues. I want to thank Angel for being our boots on the ground and helping to lock the buildings and put signs up all over campus. I want to thank Stephanie for following the DO’s lead, sending out communications and posting on social media and the website, and for clarifying and providing updates as we received more information. I want to thank Emilee and Gurdeep, student ambassadors, and all those in student services, who set up warming stations in AC1 to keep students (who had already arrived on campus before being informed of the situation) warm and safe while they awaited to be picked up by either their parents or buses. The care and concern for the well-being of our students and each other was amazing. Please note that we were able to identify some minor gaps and we will be working to improve processes to provide you with timely and clear messages as we work to improve coordination with the DO.

After we were given the green light to return to campus, the college opened and classes resumed. In the afternoon, I went to the Chancellor’s Cabinet meeting where we reviewed our enrollment growth, KPI status, and the Integrated 2035 Board presentation. After, I met with both our legal counsel and VC Christine Miktarian to debrief about the issues earlier in the day. We will continue to develop improved communication plans, especially for those already in the buildings when an emergency situation occurs in the future.

On Tuesday, I held my Vice President Council meeting where we debriefed about emergency communication processes. And, I gave a recap of what was discussed in the Chancellor’s Cabinet. In the afternoon, I attended the Special Board meeting and the Regular Board meeting. It was Clovis’ turn to present the College highlight, and we highlighted our Speech and Debate Club. Nathan Wensko and his students did a fabulous job presenting the value added to a student's experience being involved in the Speech and Debate Club. The students wore their medals and I was so very proud. I then gave the President’s highlight where I talked about all that our students are doing to give back to our community as well as gave recognition to our Art Department and Library for being recognized for the TNT award. The Board approved our request for the Speech and Debate team to travel out of state to compete. They also commented on how important the opportunity was and how proud they were of our students. The Board also approved our request for ASG members to travel to Washington D.C. to attend the State Conference focusing on Advocacy. Dr. Goldsmith stated that she was glad to see our students attend this very important advocacy opportunity. It was the Student Trustee who motioned for approval of both these student travel opportunities.

On Wednesday, I had the opportunity to wish you a Happy Valentine's Day either in person or via a candy gram provided by the Classified Senate. Thank you to Caryss and everyone for delivering all the kisses 😊. I had an opportunity to take advantage of the chair massages sponsored by the Black History Month committee. People were excited to have the opportunity to practice self-care. After receiving a nice massage from Selful Massage, students, faculty, and classified professionals were smiling. I ended my day by going to the Ash Wednesday service. I want to thank Amy Peterson, the Catholic Club Advisor for providing this service to all of us. Students, faculty, and classified professionals all gathered and were fed by the word. They also receive the holy sacrament. As I am not Catholic, I did not partake of the sacrament; however, I did receive my prayers and my ashes in addition to being filled with the spirit and a strong sense of peace.

On Thursday, I spent most of the day at Clovis East. In the morning, I had the opportunity to go to Reg-to-Go and see all the students registering, and to see our fabulous Outreach and Counseling team interacting with them. It is always a joy to be with the students. After, I walked over to the school’s Library for CCC’s quarterly CAPP Partnership Meeting. We discussed the Math Dual Enrollment Course, Math 103/ Money Management, the recruitment plan for next year, and the Summer Program INTDS-50. I returned to campus later in the afternoon to film a short video.

Since we are off both Friday and Monday for the President’s holidays, this is a short reflection and activity report. I wish all of you a safe, happy, and joyful weekend. Please note that I will be out of the office next week traveling to Orlando with a team to attend our first Achieving the Dream Conference. On the way to the conference, I will take the opportunity to spend the weekend visiting my parents in Baton Rouge, and on the way back I will visit my daughters in Atlanta. Although we talk all the time, I am excited to see them and to have a good time just being in their presence. In my absence, Vice President Monica will be the administrator on duty and Dean Whitney will be the hall monitor for AC1 making sure people leave on time. 😊

Thank you for allowing me to serve you and please know that every day that I do so gives me joy.

See you all on the 26th.

In service,

Kim E. Armstrong, Ph.D.