Week of September 18, 2023

Hi Clovis Fam,

I hope you all had a great week. I think the next two President’s Reflections and Activities will be short due to my being out of town at meetings.

Last Friday I had the pleasure of attending the women’s soccer game. It felt like a college campus. The energy both at the soccer field and on the walkways between AC1 and AC2 was electrical. As our choir sang the National Anthem, I saw people who were walking to class stop. I saw people who were sitting at our umbrella tables stand. I was proud of us 😊. I then had the opportunity to enjoy our amazing drumline once again. Outstanding job, Tony! Now I’m thinking that we need to have our drumline participate in local parades. They brought a wonderful feel of pride, representative of a student-centered culture. To top it off, the women won the game 2-0!!!!!

Saturday evening I attended the FCOE (Fresno County Office of Education) Honors Gala on behalf of the Chancellor who was ill. It was held at FCC in the courtyard of the OAB (Old Administration Building) (Note my use of acronyms; I am so proud that I have been here long enough to finally know what they actually mean!) The set up of the area at FCC was incredibly beautiful. I think that we may be able to do evening events like this on our campus. It was beautiful, the night air was wonderful and it’s nice to be able to show off our beautiful campus, especially since indoor space is a challenge for large scale community events.

Monday morning, I had a wonderful start to my day. I finally met Taylor Apparcel!!! I have been corresponding with Taylor every Tuesday and Thursday night and on Saturdays. He saw me walking in and introduced himself to me. Took all I could to not hug him. I now have a face to a name. I am so very thankful to him for taking care of Herndon at night, for watching over our Willow campus on Saturdays and when Maya is off. Thanks, Taylor, for helping me to see you 😊.

Monday was a full day where we had an abundance of engagement and educational activities and events. Hats off to Maricarmen and everyone in student activities, ASG, faculty, classified professionals, and everyone on the Hispanic Advisory Committee. We held our opening of Hispanic Heritage month with an outstanding keynote speaker who shared with all of us the history of Clovis and how “brown people” were treated. How there was only one night club where “black and brown people” could go to dance. He gave honor to his grandmother and to all the people from earlier generations; he spoke of the importance of listening, writing down, and recording their stories so that they will never be lost. He talked about how his grandmother was the actress and storyteller in his family, and she is the reason he writes. It was great to see all the students in attendance, and it was great to see the faculty support by asking their students to attend. I saw Felipe Agredano and his class there, and I saw several faculty and classified professionals there to support and also learn. As we build an inclusive culture, it is important for our students to see us outside of class or our offices…. engaging with and relating to them. They then had a wonderful activity and Hispanic candies and cookies for us to enjoy after.

I had Chancellor’s Cabinet and President’s Council meetings. We talked about preparing for the Enrollment Recovery and Enrollment KPI presentation to the Board, enrollments (still looking good and congratulations everyone!), and ARs and BPs. We were scheduled to discuss use of credit cards so that we can provide basic needs (emergency housing) to students after hours and on weekends. This discussion has been postponed to the next Cabinet meeting and the VPASs will be invited to the discussion. I brought this item to the Presidents Council and to the Interim VC of Finance. All the Presidents are supportive of having an improved process to provide after hours and weekend emergency service without expecting employees to incur the costs on their personal credit cards. The Presidents also talked about best ways to provide community resources for long term support of our students when they are no longer in the acute or emergency situation. We talked about having county-wide resource guide and by housing social service agencies on our campuses. (These are things that I did in Arkansas as part of our Holistic Support Service culture.)

I sent a letter to everyone, including students (thank you Carla Stoner-Brito), to inform everyone of the September 13th Federal Court ruling in South Texas that serves as a threat to DACA.

Later Monday evening, I had the pleasure of attending the most engaging and informative Constitution Day that I have ever seen. Charlotte Samuels, Darby Cogburn, and Nathan Wensko organized this fantastic event. Student Pratham Singh was our emcee. There was a trivia contest and faculty served as interviewers of a local reporter. They even ended with a display of our award-winning debate team debating the following “Is Social Media a Threat to the Constitution?” I know why we brought home the Bronze medal last year. I expect great things from these incredible students.

Thanks to ASG for providing food for the students who same to the Constitution Day event. I also was impressed with them making sure to be respectful of the various religious and dietary restrictions and accommodating them.

On Tuesday, I had Vice President’s Council and I updated them on what we discussed in Chancellor’s Cabinet. That evening, I met with a student that I met during Crush Days. She came by herself with no family support. She came to see me Tuesday because her family was encouraging her to drop out of school. She lost her job at Starbucks because they would not alter her schedule to allow her to continue taking her classes. She opted to stay in school and not continue working at Starbucks. Mind you, she was already working two jobs while going to school full time with us. She has money saved up so she can make it without the Starbuck’s job. But her grandparents told her that she should never lose a job. She was being selfish and disrespectful. She cried a lot. This is what our first-generation students go through. Please be reminded that education is not as valued as we would like it to be, and that some of our students are battling family and cultural barriers. I talked to her about workstudy and encouraged her to talk to financial aid about the opportunity.

After I left the student, I went to the Men’s soccer game and caught the last 10 minutes. It was an intense game. When I arrived, the game was tied 2-2. We end up losing 2-3. Our team played with heart and gave their all. I was proud of them, our coaches, athletic trainers, and athletic director. I got into it with the Ref named Tim. He had the nerve to want to argue that Mardi Gras started in Mobile, Alabama. Those of us from Louisiana just aren’t having that!

I then got a chance to go over and see the end of the Hispanic (Day 2) celebration. The music was wonderful and I saw people smiling as they got food from the food trucks. Hats off to Maricarmen, Emilee, and all those who helped.

On Wednesday, I was to have a short uneventful day. All I had to do was to go to the Habitat for Humanity luncheon and then catch a plane to San Diego. Well, that’s not quite how the day went. Yes, I went to the Habitat luncheon and sat at the table with Ruben, Bonita, Rich, Rob, and Rico. Fabulous event! I told the CEO at the end that I would love to have Clovis Community College have a team for the Women’s Build in the spring. So, if you are interested, please let me know. I have put walls up in two different houses, and I would love to give back to our community by being involved in building a house here in Fresno County.

Prior to going to the airport, I received a text from Dr. Goldsmith regarding and article in the Fresno Bee that she thought I should be aware of. CUSD Board was voting (that night) to not allow and LGBTQIA+ community group to meet at their facility. I asked Leslie to inform my President’s LGBTQIA+ Advisory Group of what was happening and to let them know that Clovis will be opening our campus to them to meet. I want to personally thank Leslie and Kirtley King (and all others) who went to the CUSD Board meeting in my absence. SCCCD was also strongly represented as well. Board President Johnson was also there and addressed the board. The new VC of Communications (Jill Wagner) reached out to the Fresno Bee reporter so we can get the contact information of the CUSD parent who brought the issue forward so that we can provide support.

I caught my plane and made it safely to San Diego. Representatives from the District and all four Colleges attended the conference. Clovis had Marco, Monica, and myself in attendance.

Thursday morning I attended the DEIA: In Action Institute sponsored by the State Chancellors Office. We were reminded that DEIA is part of the Chancellor’s 2030 Strategic Plan and were provided with tools and frameworks within to promote the work. I have attached the agenda for your review.

I continue the Conference on Friday and then will return home Friday night.

I missed you all. I missed Caryss’s bridal shower and know she felt celebrated and loved. I missed all the remainder of our Hispanic Heritage Week activities . I have heard that everything was outstanding. I am mostly sorry that I missed the Salsa dancing class. I’ll take a raincheck and am still looking forward to learning salsa.

I am writing this reflection without access to my notes, so if I met with you and left you out, I am so very sorry. Please charge it to my head and not my heart. My reflection and activities will be short next week also, as I will be taking a team to the Guided Pathways conference.

Friday, as I conclude the DEIA: In Action Institute, I want to encourage all of us to be reminded of the following: we are somebody’s ancestors, teach accordingly.

I always send you hopes for a wonderful and safe weekend.

Take care and I look forward to seeing you Monday.

In service,

Kim E. Armstrong, Ph.D.