Greetings, Valley College!

Summer 2025 has been busy.  My cabinet is hard at work preparing for a robust Fall agenda.  I provided a brief update at Coffee with the Cabinet last Monday on the progress we are making as we plan for a collegewide reorganization, a restructuring of our committees, the development of a participatory governance handbook, the creation of the Valley Up! Initiative 2025-30, and celebrating 100 years with 100 events!

I want to thank our Academic Senate leadership for meeting with the Cabinet these past few weeks so we can invite their input and share our progress.  Thank you, Andrea Hecht, Tatiana Vasquez, and Jamie Salyer for your leadership and engagement in these initiatives.  It is going to be an amazing year in Valley College history.

Last week, the management team participated in a districtwide training learning about changes in the CSEA collective bargaining agreement.  As I walk the campus, I am happy to see the smiles among our teammates and we appreciate all the hard work during this very busy summer.  Here are the highlights for this week:

1. SBVC Enters Its Centennial Year!

We have officially entered our 100th year of community and transformation! You may have noticed our centennial logo rolling out across our website and social media platforms last week.

Please take a moment to update your email signature to reflect this historic milestone: www.valleycollege.edu/signature.

Updating your signature helps SBVC tell a consistent story across campus and the community. A unified brand strengthens our visibility, reinforces our identity, and invites others to be part of the legacy we are building together. If you need help, please contact the marketing team at marketing@valleycollege.edu.

2. Save the Date: FALL Opening Day & Centennial Opening Ceremony – Friday, August 22

Mark your calendars! SBVC's Fall 2025 Opening Day and Centennial Opening Ceremony will take place on Friday, August 22, 2025. To ensure everyone can participate, campus offices will be closed until noon that day. We are preparing a joyful, community-focused launch into the fall semester and our 100th year. More exciting details and a full schedule will be shared soon!

 

3. Representing SBVC at the Esri Education Summit

This past weekend, I had the privilege of representing San Bernardino Valley College at the ESRI Education Summit in San Diego. The summit brought together educators and innovators from across the country to explore how GIS (Geographic Information Systems) is transforming education and career pathways. I look forward to building deeper connections with ESRI and continuing to prepare our students for high-demand fields in GIS and geospatial technologies. You can learn more about the summit here.  Special thanks to VPI Leticia Hector, VPAS Keith Bacon, Instructor Todd Heibel, Executive Vice Chancellor Jose Torres, Vice Chancellor Dr. Nohemy Ornelas, and members of the Board of Trustees for participating (Gonzales, Reyes, and Aguilera) and supporting this event.  There were some very engaging sessions on how to connect with K-12, how to utilize GIS in Administrative Services, and how AI is transforming GIS.  We also connected with leaders from Arroyo Valley High School (the only high school attending the conference) and received praises for Dean Patty Quach.  We also discussed ways to strengthen our relationship with Arroyo Valley High School.

4. Summer Stress Busters

We continue our Summer Stress Busters workshop series on campus this week on July 16, with a final session on July 30. Thank you to our CalWORKs department for providing this valuable opportunity for students and employees to decompress and reset during the heat of summer. These mindfulness sessions are open to all and held in-person and via Zoom – see the flyer attached for more information.

5. Back to School Extravaganza on Campus – Friday, July 18

We are proud to partner with San Bernardino City Unified School District (SBCUSD) to host their annual Back to School Extravaganza this Friday, July 18, right here on our campus! This event will bring more than 4,000 K-12 students and families to SBVC for school supplies, entertainment, and community resources. What a wonderful opportunity to introduce future Wolverines to our beautiful campus and strengthen our high school partnerships. Thank you to all who contributed to building and continuing this partnership with our biggest and nearest school district!

 

6. REMINDER: SHARE YOUR SBVC MEMORIES!

As we celebrate our 100-year anniversary, the SBVC Foundation and Marketing teams are gathering photos, memorabilia, and memories from alumni, retirees, employees and community members. Have an old yearbook, graduation photo, or letterman jacket tucked away? We'd love to feature it in our Centennial Retrospective Exhibit. Submit items or questions to emulhall@valleycollege.edu.

 

7. Help Us Improve the Scoop & Wolverine Weekly!

Do you have ideas about how we can improve the Summer Scoop or Wolverine Weekly for the centennial year? Your ideas are welcome! Let us know what kinds of updates, highlights, or content would help you stay more connected and informed. Is there anything you would like to see or hear more about in our weekly communications? I would love to hear from you.

8. ENGINEERING TRANSFER PATHWAY TO CAL POLY POMONA

On Monday, July 7, 2025, VPSS Yvonne Gutierrez-Sandoval and I met with Dr. Jeyoung Woo, Dr. Brandon Tuck,  Elizabeth Salgado, Dora Lee, and Winny Dong from Cal Poly Pomona to discuss strengthening an engineering transfer pathway from Valley College to Cal Poly Pomona. We learned that Pomona is our nearest public university for Engineering.  Pomona shared inspiring data of our students who have transferred to Cal Poly Pomona.  We explored the Transfer Success Program (TSP), potential STEM-MESA collaborations, academic engagement and success programs and services, our faculty connecting with Pomona faculty, and invited their Counseling team to connect and potentially present at a Valley College Counseling Department meeting.  Pomona is pursuing an MOU with Valley College.  More information coming soon as we share this information with the management team and the College.

Thank you for all you do to keep our campus vibrant and mission driven. I look forward to seeing many of you on campus throughout the summer and again soon for Opening Day!

valley up

Gil