CAMPUS NEWS
Workforce programs beneft from CARES Act funding This winter workforce-related programs at Yakima Valley College received nearly $200,000 in federal CARES Act funding to support their recovery from disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The funding, which comes from the Governor's Emergency Education Relief (GEER) funds provided by the CARES Act, supports YVC’s Education, Dental Hygiene and Veterinary Technology programs. Funds have helped YVC revamp and translate curriculum to provide optimal learning experiences while operating primarily remotely. It also enabled Dental Hygiene student works on a patient. YVC to restart the Early Childhood Education (ECE) Spanish cohort, which was suspended in March 2020 due to complications with moving instruction from face-to-face to online. “YVC faculty and staf have looked for innovative ways to teach our students since the onset of the pandemic and the GEER grant will support those eforts,” said Interim Dean for Workforce Education Skye Field. “Workforce education programs will play a big role in getting our state and local economy back on track and we’re grateful to have this support for YVC’s oferings.” The $199,998 grant is part of nearly $5 million in GEER funds given to community and technical colleges across the state to help restore workforce-related programs afected by the pandemic.
Latino students, alumni highlighted in YVC-Univision partnership People in Yakima Valley and the Tri-Cities are meeting some of Yakima Valley College’s most outstanding students thanks to a continuing partnership between the college and Univision (KUNW). Every Wednesday during the 2020-21 academic year, KUNW’s Orgullo Comunitario segment features a Latino student from YVC, Columbia Basin College, Heritage University or Central Washington University. In the segments, viewers learn more about each student’s academic program, personal interests and future goals. As of the end of February 2021, 10 YVC students had been featured on Orgullo Comunitario. Among those featured are Eddie Juarez, a pre-medicine student who aims to graduate from medical school and become a doctor, and Emilse Osorio, an enology and agriculture student with goals of advancing her career in the wine industry and becoming a winemaker. Orgullo Comunitario segments air during KUNW’s 6 p.m. Wednesday newscast and can be viewed for 24 hours following the newscast at kunwtv.com/watch.
YVC’s approves new strategic plan, mission statement
Eddie Juarez
Emilse Osorio and husband
A new fve-year strategic plan will guide YVC's academic programs, allocation of resources and decision-making following approval by the Board of Trustees in March 2021. Developed with extensive input from faculty, staf, students and community members, the plan outlines fve strategic direction categories that the college will advance: commitment to student learning and achievement; a culture of teaching, learning, and innovation; social justice through access, equity, and inclusion; strengthened community; and health and safety, fnancial, and environmental sustainability. The board also approved a new mission statement during its March meeting honoring the college’s commitment to advancing equity and inclusion. The new statement reads: “As a federally designated Hispanicserving Institution residing on the traditional homelands of the 14 Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation, Yakima Valley College cultivates equity and a culture of innovative and inclusive teaching and learning. Yakima Valley College serves all students holistically, supports all students’ learning goals, and fosters achievement within career and educational pathways. We strengthen our communities by providing opportunities for personal enrichment, economic mobility, and sociocultural engagement.” 5 Yakima Valley College
