New President Kashima has deep roots in college district
West Valley-mission Community College District has tapped one of its own to be the 12th president of West Valley College. Stephanie Kashima has been with the district since 1994, most recently as vice president of student services for West Valley.
Kashima replaces Dr. Charles Bullock, who served for six months as an interim replacement for Brad Davis after Davis was named district chancellor. The district’s board of trustees unanimously approved her appointment at a Jan. 21 meeting.
In a statement, Kashima said she’s taking the reins at West Valley College at a time when “our mission to help students along their pathway to reach transfer and career goals has never been more urgent.”
“In order to address unprecedented income inequality, and a new global order that yearns for wisdom and equanimity in its leaders,” she added, “we are committed to cultivating the world leaders of tomorrow through enlightened education and real-world opportunities to serve the global community.”
Kashima began her career with the district at Mission College as an associate faculty in the ESL department. She served as a faculty member for 16 years, then in 2012 went on to become dean of instruction and student success at West Valley College.
During her time on the faculty, Kashima took on a variety of leadership roles including student learning outcomes coordinator, academic senate president, faculty accreditation liaison officer, equivalency committee chair, and chair of the division of business and technology.
“President Kashima’s exceptionally strong commitment to equity and student success, coupled with her teaching background, administrative fluency across multiple operational areas, and understanding of participatory governance makes her the perfect fit for this new role,” Davis said.
Kashima earned a bachelor’s degree in English from New York University, and a master’s degree in English with an emphasis in applied linguistics from the University of Wisconsin at Madison. She is currently enrolled in the doctor of education program at the University of Southern California, with degree conferral anticipated in 2020.
Contact Anne Gelhaus at 408-200-1051.