Greetings, Valley College!   

  

The calendar has been packed with excitement with Winterfest, President’s Holiday Gathering, and the Chancellor’s Winter Celebration.  These opportunities are so important for community building as a college, as a district, and as a community.
 

Last week, we were inspired by our students participating in the SBVC Honors Mini Conference, our culinary students preparing the food for the President’s Holiday Gathering, and our jazz students performing at the President’s Holiday Gathering. I would like to thank Carol Damgen, Giancarlo Anderson, Stacy Meyer, Glenn Smith, and Tamara Schlinkert.

We are headed to the final stretch of the Fall 2025 semester! Let’s finish strong together.

 

Here are the highlights for this week: 

  

  1. SAN BERNARDINO VALLEY COLLEGE EARNS DESIGNATION AS BLACK SERVING INSTITUTION (BSI)

It’s official!  San Bernardino Valley College received official notification this morning. “Dear President Contreras, on behalf of the Black-Serving Institution (BSI) Governing Board, I am pleased to share that your institution has been officially designated as a Black-Serving Institution. Please accept my heartfelt congratulations on this significant milestone.” I am so proud of our collegewide effort to earn BSI designation and I especially want to thank the members of the BSI Task Force for leading this effort:  Veada Benjamin, Dr. Anthony Blacksher, Nia Bowens-Mcleod, Keynasia Buffong, Lorrie Burnham, Davena Burns-Peters, Brianna Cunningham, April Dale, Aida Gil, Keenan Giles, James Griffin, Ernest Guillen, Yvonne Gutierrez-Sandoval, Kimberly Jefferson, Dr. Stephanie Lewis, Gabriel Martinez, Amanda Moody, Maria Notarangelo, Garry Parker, Carmen Rodriguez, Dr. Kirk Rogers, Christian Sarfo-Poku, Ayanna Spivey, and Dr. Daniele Smith.   

 

  1. THANKS TO ALL WHO MADE WINTERFEST POSSIBLE

Thanks to everyone who made “All Aboard the Polar Valley Express” come alive last week!  Many of you and members of the community enjoyed the snow, decorations, train, a visit from Santa and Mrs. Claus, and great vendors. Thank you for making the holidays bright for our students and community. Kudos to Barbara Bray, Anna Pishchanetskiy, Marvellee Diaz, Gilbert Ortiz, Vova Aladin, Lana Tarasyuk, Cynthia Arevalo, Amber Barzak, Vanessa Averbach, Matthew Kim, Angel Castillo, Gio Elizarraraz, Vlad Zuev, Shanty Ramirez Garduño, Itzel Mariano Saldana, Isabella Maldonado, Robert Hernandez, Jesse Garcia, Aleksandra Orozco, Andrea Hernandez, Rae Edwards, Thomas Robles, Paul Bratulin, the Office of Student Life, Maintenance & Operations, Custodial, LFSAA, and the entire campus community that came together to make this event such a success.

 

  1. PRESIDENT'S HOLIDAY GATHERING A SUCCESS 

It was a pleasure to kick off the festive season with you all at the President’s Holiday Gathering last week. We enjoyed delicious food, music, and the epic Holiday Basket Opportunity Drawing, benefiting student textbook scholarships. Thank you for your generosity, holiday cheer, and what you do for our students every day.  I would also like to acknowledge all the participants in the President’s Holiday Décor Contest and those who placed in the competition: VPI Leticia Hector, the Arts & Humanities Division Office, the Office of Adult Ed (second place), Facilities (first place), the Cafeteria, and Student Accessibility Services (third place). Finally, I want to thank the entire Valley College community as 20 employees signed up or increased their employee contributions totaling more than $3,500.  Thank you, Mike Layne, and your team for getting scholarships in the hands of our students.

    

  1. LAST COFFEE WITH THE CABINET OF 2025 

In last week’s Coffee with the Cabinet, we provided updates on the upcoming College Council meeting (including an action item on the College reorganization), taking action on a campus mural in 2026, Financial Aid accolades, and the request to explore the feasibility of a walking challenge for employees (Jeff Huynh).   Thank you to all who attended and engaged in the conversation. Looking forward to more Coffee with the Cabinet in 2026! 

 

   5. INTRODUCING THE COURSE SCHEDULING INTELLIGENCE DASHBOARD 

The Office of Research, Planning & Institutional Effectiveness has launched a powerful new resource to support data-informed scheduling: the Course Scheduling Intelligence Dashboard, developed by our project liaison Nkosi Sampson. This innovative tool uses historical enrollment data dating back to 1999 (excluding COVID years), as well as waitlist information, to help estimate how many enrollments can be fulfilled for planned sections in upcoming terms. The dashboard also includes insights into student preferences, such as course modality trends and time-of-day patterns. This tool will support departments and deans as they plan schedules that meet student needs and help us advance our goals for student success and enrollment management. Explore the dashboard here. 

 

   6. BLOOD DRIVE WEDNESDAY 

Give the gift of life on Wednesday, 9:30 AM to 3:30 PM while the LifeStream Bloodmobile is in Parking Lot 10. Donors will receive a $10 In-N-Out Burger gift card, while supplies last.  

 

   7. ESL CELEBRATION WEDNESDAY 

Come support our ESL students at the ESL Achievement Celebration at 5 PM Wednesday in B-100. I’m proud of how SBVC supports the success of ESL students. Thanks to Dirkson Lee for organizing this celebration! 

 

   8. FOUNDATION TEAM TO PRESENT AT CASE CONFERENCE 

The SBVC Foundation team has been invited to give a presentation about our employee giving program at the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) District VII/VIII Conference March 8 in San Diego. This is a major conference for higher education advancement professionals. Their session will be “Taking your Community College Employee Giving from Nothing to Something.” Presenting will be Phylicia Sanchez, Eve Mullhall, and Lacee Domon. Kudos to the foundation’s innovative work supporting our students! 

 

   9. CELEBRATING 100 YEARS WITH 100 EVENTS. CENTENNIAL MOMENTS - VIDEO RECAPS     

SBVC continues our year-long celebration of celebrating 100 years with 100 events. We have celebrated many events already and our marketing team continues capturing the lived centennial experience on campus and is sharing highlight videos throughout the year. Watch all the recaps on our YouTube channel.    

    

   10. WHAT DOES ‘VALLEY UP’ MEAN TO YOU?     

Tell us what “Valley Up” means to you! Film a response and we’ll share it at Valley Up! — San Bernardino Valley College. Submit your response here.     

    

Valley Up!   

Gil