New pathways for advancement open in Arvin
A❚❚BC’s expanding presence in Arvin is not just a convenience but a necessity to address educational disparities that have wide-ranging impacts in today’s world.
s natives of Arvin and Lamont who now work for Bakersfield College, our hearts swelled with pride as we both attended a ceremony last month that took place directly across from our alma mater, Arvin High: the groundbreaking of BC’s newest campus.
The Bakersfield College Arvin Campus is the culmination of decades of advocacy by our tightknit farming community known as “the garden in the sun,” where generations of migrants, first from the southern
United States and more recently from Mexico and Latin America, have settled and made their home.
Throughout its history, the city’s leaders remained committed to creating opportunities for its residents and BC’s new location in the community is a fulfillment of this tradition. The groundwork for a college in Arvin was started decades ago by Jim Young, chancellor emeritus of the Kern Community College District who was the child of Dust Bowl migrants who settled in Arvin. Chancellor Young’s work was carried on by our current chancellor, Sonya Christian, when she was president of Bakersfield College. Chancellor Christian has said that Jim Young was one of the very first people to visit her after she was named president of Bakersfield College in 2013. He shared with her the dream of a college in Arvin, which she set about to make happen.
Three years later, in 2016, Measure J passed with 65 percent approval by voters. The bond measure included funds for improvements at
Kern Community College District’s three colleges — Bakersfield College, Porterville College and Cerro Coso Community College in Ridgecrest — including for the new BC location in Arvin. The city of Arvin then donated the vacant land to BC for the campus.
Last month, on May 25, dignitaries turned the dirt on that vacant lot to symbolically mark the start of construction for the Arvin campus, which will include five classrooms, a library, a tutoring center, a writing lab, two computer labs, a bookstore, staff offices, and room for student government association activities. Doors are expected to open in fall 2024.
BC’s expanding presence in Arvin is not just a convenience but a necessity to address educational disparities that have wide-ranging impacts in today’s world. While the main Bakersfield College campus is about 20 miles from the houses we grew up in, it may as well be hundreds for some students who lack transportation, face high gas prices, or have work or caregiver obligations.
These barriers at least partially account for the fact that, like most rural communities in Kern County, Arvin has high unemployment and low college-going rates. According to the latest Census data, just 2 percent of Arvin residents 25 years and older have a bachelor’s degree or higher. It is no secret that higher education levels lead to employment and income growth. When individuals learn more, they earn more, and their families and communities prosper.
While the Arvin campus construction is just getting underway, the BC-Arvin connection has been growing for many years with a goal to boost college degree attainment. BC’s Rural Initiatives program offers courses at night at the high school for community members, and more recently the Early College program was established at Arvin High to provide college courses to students. BC’s expanded presence has increased exposure and access to college for many who may otherwise have thought it not an option. This work was on display at Arvin High’s graduation earlier this month, where more than 300 of the 506 graduating seniors had completed three or more Bakersfield College units, and 12 students graduated with an associate’s degree for transfer in communication.
Cultivating a college-going culture in the community is just as important as building a physical campus. The combination of the two will be transformative for our hometowns. We are so thrilled to see new pathways for educational and economic advancement opening up for the residents of Arvin. The journey to college is now clear and accessible because right there, in their own community, is an on-ramp to a better future.