Greetings, Wolverines! 

  

Welcome to Spring 2026!  We currently have 14,343 students today (and climbing).  This represents a 6% enrollment increase from Day 1 of Spring 2025!

I hope you enjoyed Opening Day last Friday and another enthusiastic start to a new semester.  Thank you, Barbara Bray and the events team, for another tremendous centennial event.   In addition, I want to especially thank Counselor Keenan Giles, VPI Leticia Hector, and the Professional Development Committee for organizing an engaging and informative convocation week.  I really appreciated the thoughtful and creative marketing of the sessions. 

 

Here are the highlights for this week:   

  

  1. PARKING ON CAMPUS

With increased enrollment this term, campus parking will be busier than usual during the first few weeks of classes. To support students and keep traffic moving smoothly, VPAS Keith Bacon and his team, along with support from our teammates in the DSO, Valley College has added additional remote parking. This additional parking is available on I Street, with a free shuttle to and from campus. More parking information can be found here.  

 

  1. PRESIDENT CONTRERAS PARTICIPATES AS CEO FELLOW AT WHEELHOUSE

In the fall, I was honored to be invited to participate as a CEO Fellow in the 2026 Institute on Leadership at Wheelhouse: The Center for Community College Leadership and Research. Housed at the University of California, Davis, School of Education, Wheelhouse supports and strengthens leadership and practice in the California Community Colleges system through an institute specifically designed for community college CEOs and through independent research. Each year, Wheelhouse assembles a cohort of 15-20 CCC CEOs who form a tight network and learning community. I look forward to exploring adaptive, student-centered leadership, strategic communications, and leadership theory and application during my time in the program.   I participated in the orientation meeting last Tuesday, January 13, 2026.

 

  1. SBVC FOUNDATION BOARD MEETING ON WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 14, 2026

Last Wednesday, the SBVC Foundation hosted the initial Board meeting for Spring 2026.  I want to thank Executive Director, Mike Layne, and the SBVC Foundation team for putting together a robust agenda.  Among the Board Members, City of San Bernardino Mayor Helen Tran was in attendance and provided her full support of celebrating the SBVC centennial.

 

  1. IE ALIVE TAPING ON FRIDAY, JANUARY 23, 2026

This Friday, I will be interviewed on a local monthly cable tv talk show, Inland Empire Alive. The monthly public affairs program has been on the air since 1989 and spotlights issues, events and perspectives throughout San Bernardino and Riverside counties. The focus of the interview will be our centennial year and the impact that Valley has been making on the community over the last 100 years.

 

  1. FACULTY & STAFF RECRUITMENTS

Please see the attached documents to learn more about the current recruitments for classified, faculty, and management positions.  Also, please view the document

that shares the positions we have filled this academic year.

 

  1. WBB’S ALEXA JANZEN NOTCHES SECOND-BEST REBOUND TOTAL IN COLLEGE HISTORY 

Congratulations to women’s basketball forward Alexa “AJ” Janzen for posting the second-best single-game rebound total in school history on January 7, 2026 against College of the Desert. She had 24 rebounds in the game, two off the school record set in 2011. Follow and cheer on Wolverine athletics, including the upcoming season for baseball and softball, here! 

 

  1. COMMENCEMENT IS EARLIER THIS YEAR 

Commencement is earlier this year – Saturday, May 16, 2026 at 6:00pm in the SBVC Stadium. Planning is already well underway for a historic centennial Commencement ceremony. Thanks to Dr. Ray Carlos, Marwin Luminarias, and the Commencement workgroup for their hard work on making Commencement 2026 spectacular! 

  1. CCLC ANNUAL LEGISLATIVE CONFERENCE ATTENDANCE (Saturday, January 24, 2026 to Monday, January 26, 2026)

This weekend, I will be traveling to Sacramento for the annual Community College League of California’s Legislative Conference. I will be attending with the Chancellor and members of our Board of Trustees. On Monday, January 26, 2026, VPSS Yvonne Gutierrez-Sandoval will serve as the campus’ Administrator-in-Charge in my absence. I will return to campus on Tuesday morning.

 

Valley Up! 

Gil