This week I traveled to Pittsburgh to speak at the CAEL (Council for Adult and Experiential Learning) conference.
Pittsburgh has 446 bridges, three rivers, and a remarkable ability to surprise you. Once the steel capital of America, it has traded smokestacks for robotics, medicine, and innovation. Though I suspect the city still has a little steel in its soul.
Here’s a pic with some of the California delegation –
Another pic with more of the California delegation … this time with the Credit for Prior Learning folks.
With Su Jin Jez from California Competes –
Walk by the Allegheny River in Pittsburg. Check out the bridge
Good morning California.
It is November 7, 2026.
A good day to be a Community College Champion
From California Community Colleges.
Our Time is Now!
Merritt celebrates Black Panther Party anniversary in major celebration
The Black Student Union (BSU) hosted a 60th anniversary celebration of the Black Panther Party on Friday in the Merritt College parking lot. The BSU invited other college community groups, outside vendors and guest speakers to the event. Saturu Ned, the main speaker at the event, is a co-founder of the Black Panther Alumni Legacy Network, an organization that focuses on continuing the legacy of the party’s community initiatives like health services and food drives.
$3 Million Federal Grant Brings Applied AI Training to Moorpark College Students
Moorpark College has been awarded a five-year, $3 million federal Title III Strengthening Institutions Program grant to launch the Applied AI Initiative for Workforce Readiness, Faculty Capacity, and Economic Mobility. The initiative will help students and faculty prepare for a workforce where artificial intelligence is quickly becoming part of everyday work. The grant will fund a new interdisciplinary Applied Artificial Intelligence certificate that students can pair with their main field of study, from business and communication to cybersecurity and film and television. Rather than training AI specialists, the program will help students become professionals who can use AI effectively, responsibly and critically in their chosen careers.
New Apprenticeship from Gavilan College Helps Paraeducators
Become Special Education Teachers
State and local education leaders gathered at Britton Middle School on August 26 to launch the Special Education Paraeducator-to-Teacher Apprenticeship Program, a paid pathway that allows participants to work in Morgan Hill Unified School District classrooms while progressing toward a California Education Specialist Credential. Participants can enter at different points along a path from an associate degree to a bachelor’s degree and teaching credential. The pathway has two entry points. Paraeducators working toward an associate degree can earn it at Gavilan College through tuition-free, flexible, in-person classes offered during evenings and weekends. College graduates can enter a post-baccalaureate residency, completing online credential coursework through Teachers College of San Joaquin while working alongside a mentor teacher in Morgan Hill Unified School District.
In Case You Missed It
California Community Colleges Earn Wellness Coaches Designation
Shasta College, Santa Rosa Junior College, and Southwestern College have made history as the first colleges in California to earn full designation status as a Wellness Coach Designated Education Program from the California Department of Health Care Access and Information (HCAI). This designation is part of a $6.1 million statewide investment to strengthen the state’s behavioral health workforce through the California Community Colleges system.
The Wellness Coach Designated Education Program grant is administered through a partnership between HCAI and the Foundation for California Community Colleges (FoundationCCC). As a key component of California’s Master Plan for Kids’ Mental Health , the program operates under the Children and Youth Behavioral Health Initiative, which aims to grow a larger, more representative workforce supporting the emotional, mental, and behavioral health of California’s youth and young adults ages 0-25.
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Beyond the Campus Food Pantry
Food insecurity remains a persistent barrier to college completion. While hunger overlaps with other basic needs challenges, including housing insecurity, mental health concerns and transportation barriers, many students still struggle to obtain the food assistance they need.
Although campus food programs distribute millions of meals and serve hundreds of thousands of students each year, many continue to operate with limited staffing, unstable funding streams and growing demand.
A new report highlights the challenges facing students and campus food assistance programs, calling for greater awareness, improved access and more sustainable institutional support. Released by the Hope Center for Student Basic Needs, Trellis Strategies and Swipe Out Hunger, the research draws on responses from 112,240 students and 299 campus leaders across three surveys.
Fun Photos & Spotted on Social Media
From Norco College:
Highlights from the Esports Smashdown to Ghosttown!
Check out the epic plays, thrilling matches, and unforgettable moments that had everyone on the edge of their seats!
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From College of San Mateo:
Thank you to CSM’s Welcome Center staff, student services teams, and local high school partners for planning ahead for fall 2027. From dual enrollment and concurrent enrollment to the transition after graduation, this work helps students take their next steps.
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From Evergreen Valley College:
The LGBTQ+ Studio Q Pride Center hosted a resource fair today. Thank you for all the community groups that attended!
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From Irvine Valley College:
On November 4, IVC had the honor of hosting Assemblywoman Cottie Petrie-Norris’s eighth annual Veterans of the Year Celebration!
Among this year’s three honorees was IVC’s own Rose Adon, a U.S. Navy veteran who served as a petty officer second class. Adon received her award from 2024 honoree and Marine Corps veteran Dr. Martha McDonald, IVC’s vice president for student services.
Congratulations to Rose and fellow honorees Kenneth Jackson and Garrison De Vine! Thank you for your service and dedication to our country.
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And check out this from from Palo Verde College’s Día de los Muertos celebration:
And From the Home of the Renegades
Dia De Los Muertos – Remembering, Reflecting and Healing
This week the AB540 Student Support Program at Bakersfield College put together a series of Dia De Los Muertos themed altars where students could preview exhibits, participate in an optional guided reflection time, and make their own contribution to the displays. The purpose was to honor those who came before us, and the memories and lessons we continue to carry.
Pedro Coata Meza, Program Technician for the AB540 Student Support Program, helped coordinate the event. His goal was to create a space for students and staff to honor those who are no longer with us. “Today we are honoring Dia De Los Muertos. This event allows people to remember individuals and close family members who have passed away,” he said, “so we are highlighting their life, how important their lives were, and always trying to keep them in our mind.”
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Remember – our greatest challenges enable us to do our greatest work.
That’s all for today.
See you next Saturday!
With much hope and joy,
Your Chancellor,
-sonya
#OurTimeisNow
#NuestroTiempoEsAhora
