August 13, 2024 – On Thursday, August 8th, Clovis Community College (CCC) hosted a celebration to welcome new members to the college’s Executive Office Leadership Team.
Part of the necessity of this team is to facilitate conversations between students and staff.
Serving as Interim President is Dr. Monica Chahal. During her speech at the event, she stated, “We share a love and a passion for our students in doing right by them and making sure they have the best of everything, and nothing comes short of the best because they deserve the best. I get to continue to be part of that with all of you.”
This was the common factor between the attendees at the event – they all shared a commitment to do the best for every student attending the college.
This was addressed specifically by Kimberly Duong, who will be serving as the new Vice President of Administrative Services. She explained, “A lot of times people think this role is the one that always says no, and it’s not. It’s really [about] finding how we can get to that yes so we can better serve our students.”
One thing that stuck out to Dr. Armstrong about the interviewees was that every time they interviewed, they expressed knowledge in things outside of the position they interviewed for, showing that they did their research and knew the importance of their role in the college.
She stated, “Sometimes it’s a busy interview and you talk about ‘I’ve done this, I’ve done that,’ especially Kimberly, because you’re talking about budgets and money, but she always tied it to the students.”
She also added that the Vice President of Student Services Kira Tippins brought an understanding of the state budget and that Dr. Chahal knew curriculum and could see the bigger picture as Interim President.
Overall, Dr. Armstrong described the three women as a “dream team” that she knew she could count on: “They’re going to bring different perspectives to the table, which serves our diverse students the best.”
This “dream team” has their work cut out for them this upcoming school year. But considering their experience in the academic realm and their passion for students, faculty and students have a lot to look forward to with this team serving in their best interests.