Week of March 25, 2024

Hello Clovis Fam,

Happy Spring break week everyone. I hope everyone who was off had a wonderful time off and that you all return on Monday well-rested and ready to give your best to finish the year. For those of you who, like me, were here all week, I hope you found the quite rewarding and that you were able to slow down your pace and get a lot done as well.

I found this week interesting; let me explain. The past two weeks, I’ve been off campus (I don’t like being gone that long); and returning to campus was different this time because I came back to Spring break. An almost empty parking lot and a very quiet building. It actually took me aback. Nonetheless, I needed the time to refocus, regroup, and catch up on tasks and projects that I didn’t get done while gone.

I returned home from the Guided Pathways Institute at about 5 pm on Friday. Bonnie attempted to tempt me into going to a scholarship banquet at the CHSU at 5:30 pm. She and I decided that although I could actually make it in time for the program at 6 pm, my time would be better served going home and taking care of my home and myself. I went to the chiro, got the hair off my chin, lip, and eyebrows, went to the post office, and got my mail. I then realized that I had to eat. If I had gone to the banquet I would not have had to figure out what I was gonna eat. Hmmm, I didn’t think this through lol. I then went and got some curry chicken from the restaurant near where I got my eyebrows threaded. I played both lotteries while I waited for my food. When I got home, I unpacked, washed my clothes, walked Jade, took a shower, ate my curry chicken, and passed out.

On Saturday, I finished washing all my beddings, mopped the floors, cleaned my patio and shampooed my carpet. I then went to Firestone and got my AC charged. This is what happens when you are gone from your house for 2 weeks. You gotta catch up and put your house back in order so you can have a sense of normality and structure lol. I played with Jade outside at the dog park while my clothes were drying and I ended my day by getting a massage.

On Sunday, I went to church. It was nice being in person at church on Palm Sunday. After, I just relaxed. People always ask me, “ When do you sleep?” Well please know that I get my sleep and I always get to eat. I practice self care for myself as I encourage you to do the same.

On Monday, I had my President’s Council where we talked about the upcoming DO Manager meeting and developed a short survey to solicit feedback on critical topics of discussion from the VPs. We then had Chancellor’s Cabinet where we reviewed ARs and BPs in preparation for Communication Council. We discussed the upcoming Ag Tec meeting and the Integrated 2035 College Planning meeting. We also reviewed the agenda for the April Board meeting. All meetings will be held next week. We started preparing the KPI on Student Persistence which we will be presenting at the April Board Retreat. Since there was no Clovis City Council Meeting in the evening, I went home.

On Tuesday, we had Communication Council and I left the meeting as soon as it was over to support those of you who were able to attend the Mega Conference. I want to thank you all for making me feel welcome as I do not want to infringe upon your day to be motivated and rejuvenated. I was excited to see the Clovis Classified Professionals who were nominated as Classified Professional of the Year. Congratulations to you all. I will be working with Bonnie and Caryss to have a celebration to recognize you and to say thank you for all that you do for our students, each other, and our college. Please join me in congratulating the following Classified Professionals for their outstanding contribution.

• Howard Wu, IT Customer Support Assistant
• Jake Alanjian-Rosenbery, Instructional Administrative Assistant
• Leslie King, Executive Assistant
• Natalie Minas, Veterans Services Specialist
• Tyler Johns, Science Laboratory Coordinator

I want to give a special congratulations to Bonnie who was instrumental in organizing this year’s Mega Conference as she was one of the Penta-Chairs. Great job, Bonnie! I stayed at the conference and had lunch; I then left and had a first introductory meeting with Dr. David El Fattal, our new Vice Chancellor of Finance and Administration. I think he will be a good advocate for us and will listen to our needs without being too quick to make us fit into a one-size-fits-all model. I look forward to having him come to meet with us and to provide a transparent insight into the budget process at both the District and State levels.

On Wednesday, I met with Anthony Camacho from the Personnel Commission to go over the hiring process and timeline for recruiting for the VPAS position. After, I attended the Southeast Fresno Community Economic Development Association 10th Annual Trailblazer Awards and Prosperity Through Education and Training Luncheon. At the luncheon, I spoke with VC Andy Dunn and we talked about him having an analysis of FT grounds employees to college size so the district can fully understand our needs. I left the luncheon and met a community member who made a donation to the Clovis Clothing Closet. I met with Ryan to review the Clovis Persistence Data and to select slides in preparation for my Board Retreat KPI Presentation. I then had the pleasure of walking through Herndon Campus and saying hi to people who were holding down the fort during spring break. I ended my day by attending the Soroptimist International meeting in preparation for our hosting their Dream It, Be It Conference next Friday.

On Thursday, I worked on my KPI report and documents for the Personnel Commission’s hiring process for the VPAS position.

I had the opportunity to reflect on something over the past few days and I wanted to take this opportunity to share my thoughts. It is on the importance of My Name. As you know my name is Kim E’lise Armstrong. I was named by my Daddy. Kim means “Chief, Nobel.” My Grandfather named me E’lise which is French for Alice. My name, its history, and its origin are the foundation of my very existence and being. I carry it with great pride.

As some of you may have noticed, I am unapologetic about my name and have always been. I require that if my name appears in print as “ Kimberly,” it is to be corrected. My name is NOT Kimberly, nor do I need to settle for someone calling me out of my name. I also correct people when they call me Kimberly, I am not required to allow someone to be disrespectful of me or my heritage.

You also know that I have asked you to call me Kim instead of Dr. Armstrong. Thank you for hearing me and showing me that respect. Now let me tell you why. I bring this example to your attention. As we delve deeper into our understanding of and respect for diversity, inclusion, equity, and accessibility, I want us to be mindful of the important impact that our nouns and pronouns have on our ability to build community with our students, among ourselves, and in our diverse communities. I want us, me included, to take the time to be respectful of each of our individual rights to be called what we individually want to be called and simply when we make a mistake to apologize. I am asking for those of us who see the value in our names to be empowered and speak up and out to allow us to learn to be respectful and to grow in our quest for an inclusive culture.

Please understand that as I use my name as the example, I am talking about the larger issue- our students who assume an American name because it’s easier for Americans to say. They may not want their family name continually disrespected; some have also found it easier to assimilate by using an American name. Recall that I stated earlier about the use of nouns and pronouns, let us strive to be intentional and inclusive in the use of the pronouns that not only our students but our colleagues have chosen. I have asked and am still working on getting pronoun stickers to place on our name badges in an effort to help us learn and grow in this area. Please continue to be empowered to correct us when we misspeak.

In addition, as we embrace preferred names, let us be intentional about using them. I understand that for legal reasons or certain documents and verification reasons, we may not be able to use preferred names, but those instances are few. I asked that all name badges be designed with the individual’s preferred name and degree. If you have a name badge that does not reflect the name that you want, please return it to Bonnie/Cathy and we will gladly replace it with the one that you can proudly wear. Please be intentional about using the name that our students tell you when meeting with them. It makes them feel that they belong here.

Thank you for allowing me this opportunity to reflect and allow you to see from my perspective the importance of what we do in the work of diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility. It’s not always about a major program. Some of the things we do are quite simple and are on an individual basis.

I hope that we can all reflect upon being kind, sensitive, and respectful of our individual differences as it is important.

I hope all of you have a wonderful long weekend and that you are filled with and surrounded by much love.

In service,

Kim E. Armstrong, Ph.D.