Greetings, San Bernardino Valley College! 

Valley College is vibrant!  Valley Up is elevating our College’s strategic planning, student life, and defining our work for the next century.

The Wolverine Weekly shares information about the amazing work happening on campus and in our community.  It is also intended to share the hard work happening behind the scenes to advance the College mission and vision.  For example, last week I had the opportunity to connect with Tatiana Vasquez regarding the amazing work from our Participatory Governance Task Force.  I met with CTA leadership to learn more about lecture lab parity and a number of other timely topics.  I met with Academic Senate leadership to review our 2025-26 goals as a Cabinet and the goals of the Senate leadership. 

In addition to the important work above, I had the honor of participating in multiple activities, such as the first kick at the men’s soccer game, the Pathways to Purpose Convening (supporting justice impacting communities), Young Women’s Leadership Conference, and we celebrated VPI Leticia Hector’s birthday!

Some highlights to share:  

1. STUDENT SERVICES GROUNDBREAKING FRIDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2025

On Friday, October 3, 2025, SBVC will host a groundbreaking ceremony for our Student Services building is 11:30 a.m.   The event will take place in the grassy areas near the Greek Theater.  Lunch is included with your reservation. Come celebrate this great new facility for our students! 

2. COLLEGE COUNCIL MEETING, SEPTEMBER 24, 2025

Last Wednesday, College Council discussed the use of “proxies” at College Council and I provided initial concepts for the Collegewide reorganization (in accordance with the reorganization timeline).  We are also encouraging the Program Review committee to provide recommendations for a revised faculty prioritization process.  Thank you, Bethany Tasaka and Dr. Dani Graham, for leading this work among the faculty.  I also shared an update on the current College recruitments as well as the number of positions filled at Valley College.  We have filled over 83 positions since July 2024.  I want to thank the President’s Executive Cabinet for all their hard work collaboration with HR and DSO Finance.  I also want to especially thank our teammates in HR for prioritizing alongside us our goal of reaching full staffing 2026.  Vice Chancellor Kristina Hannon, Stacy Holloway, Karla Bonnet, Erica Mosley, and the entire team have been stellar! Please visit the College Council webpage to stay updated.

3.  LATIN JAZZ GREAT PONCHO SANCHEZ LIVE IN CONCERT AT SBVC, OCTOBER 12, 2025

On October 12, SBVC will host a free concert featuring grammy-winning Latin jazz musician, Poncho Sanchez, at the Greek Theatre. The concert is at 6 p.m. and seating is first come, first served. The Dariel Peniazek guitar duo will open for Sanchez. Bring a blanket and enjoy food truck fare.  Please join the fun as part of the closing events for Hispanic Heritage Month as well as one of our 100 Events celebrating our centennial. 

4. THANKS TO SBCCD OLYMPICS PARTICIPANTS! 

SBVC earned Silver Medals at the SBCCD Olympics at Crafton Hills College last Friday.  This year, there was no “raftgate” controversy, but there was some intense moments that required the Commissioner (Chancellor Dr. Diana Z. Rodriguez) to issue a ruling on the CHC rafts passing the line while their athletes threw water polo balls into the goal.  The ruling was fair and firm.  Special thanks to Barbara Bray for another amazing centennial celebration and to everyone who came out for the second annual SBCCD Olympics at Crafton last Friday!  I want to acknowledge our team of all stars, Jerret Williams, Damon Smith, Nick Mendoza, Maureen Ryan, Lucas Cuny, Rosie Esparza, Mike Layne, Jason Alvarez, Dr. Jessy Lemieux (substituting for Susan Mattson), Erik Morden, Bryce Wholley, and Matt Robles.  You showed the Wolverine spirit. We will host the second event on October 17th and more details will be shared early next week.  #ValleyUP!

5. DR. LISA HENKLE HONORED BY LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS 

Congratulations to our own Dr. Lisa Henkle, who will receive the League of Women Voters of San Bernardino Citizens of Achievement Award. We are proud of her dedication to voter education and outreach in the community. For those who would like to see Dr. Henkle be honored, the League of Women Voters will hold a recognition ceremony on Sunday, October 12, at 12:30 p.m. at the Sterling Natural Resource Center. Congratulations! 

6. MEN’S SOCCER POLLS NO. 5 IN STATE!  

Congratulations to the men’s soccer team, which was ranked No. 5 in the latest state poll of sports information professionals. Last Friday, the Wolverines handed El Camino their first loss in a nonconference (non-playoff) game at home since 2018.  Congratulations Head Coach Josh Brown and the entire soccer team!  GO VALLEY!

 

7. HORROR FILM FESTIVAL  (CENTENNIAL EVENT)

Celebrate spooky season with the SBVC Horror Film Festival. A film will be shown at 6 p.m. each Thursday in October in the library viewing room. There will be panels and Q&A time. The first film is “Dracula.” 

8. GET READY FOR WELLNESS SPOOKTACULAR, OCTOBER 30, 2025

Start thinking of a theme for your office or department costumes and decorations for the Wellness Spooktacular on October 30, sponsored by Student Health Services and Basic Needs. Bragging rights are on the line for the most immersive and creative spaces! All candy and giveaways will be supplied -- simply host a trick-or-treating station. Trick-or-treating will be 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Greek Theatre walkway and a resource fair and lunch will be 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Email basicneeds@valleycollege.edu with questions and RSVP here.  The President’s Conference Room is the favorite to take home the prize this year—be sure to stop by for a spooktacular experience!

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.  MEETING WITH SAN BERNARDINO CITY MANAGER, SEPTEMBER 30, 2025

Today, I had the opportunity to meet with San Bernardino City Manager, Eric Leavitt.  I met with him to discuss a number of items to help SBVC celebrate the centennial.  We are hopeful that the City of San Bernardino will declare March 26, 2026 Valley College Day.  We also discussed additional College branding throughout the City of San Bernardino among other topics.  Stay tuned as we Valley Up our centennial celebrations!

11. GREAT CALIFORNIA SHAKEOUT, OCTOBER 16, 2025

SBVC will be participating in the Great California Shakeout on Thursday, October 16, at 10:16 a.m. We will have a 15-minute drill triggered by our mass notification system, which will include phone announcements, texts, and voicemail. Please watch your email for more details! 

12. 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. 

Finally, I want to congratulate our Men’s and Women’s Cross Country teams for outstanding performances at the UC Riverside meet last weekend.  Both the men’s and women’s teams crushed it with many of our runners setting PRs (personal records).  Each morning, I am inspired by the love and hard work of our runners and the amazing support they receive from the coaches.  We appreciate you Jim Rattigan, Michael Ramirez, Chris Valderrama, Ricardo Sanchez, and Yoselin Canseco.

 

Valley Up 

Gil