Kanter will join leaders of the Central California Higher Education Consortium (CVHEC) for the session via a live video feed. The public portion of their meeting is scheduled for noon in Room 130 in the Mary Stuart Rogers (MSR) Building. Parking in the University’s lot in front of the MSR Building along University Way will be free during that portion of the sessions.
The CVHEC includes 22 Central Valley public and private universities and colleges from Kern County in the south to San Joaquin County in the north. Consortium members have established a nearly decade-long tradition of working closely with area high schools to encourage Californians to earn college degrees.
Strategies on the discussion table at the October 8 session will include sharing of resources and using innovative technologies such as online classes to stretch higher education opportunities beyond individual campus classrooms. Challenges posed to college and university budgets by the economic downturn prompted CVHEC leaders to focus the upcoming meeting on how to maintain access to college degree opportunities for students in the Central Valley.
“We are honored to have this opportunity to discuss the issues facing higher education with Under Secretary Kanter,” CSU Stanislaus President Hamid Shirvani said. “It is important that our Central Valley alliance find some common ground on how to find new ways to preserve the California dream of higher education opportunities in the midst of this budget crisis and increased demand for access to college.”
Reporting to U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, Kanter oversees policies, programs, and activities related to postsecondary education, vocational and adult education, and federal student aid. She served as Chancellor of the Foothill-DeAnza Community College District in the Bay Area, one of the largest college districts in the nation, from 2003 to earlier this year. After starting her education career at the high school teaching level in Massachusetts and New York, Kanter established the first program for students with learning disabilities at San Jose City College. She later moved into the administrative ranks as a vice chancellor and college president until accepting California’s top community college post.