Assemblymember Jose Medina (left) meets with the GGSE, including Dean Milem (right)
California Assemblymember Jose Medina meet with faculty, students, and staff of UC Santa Barbara’s Gevirtz School on November 3, sharing his insights on the workings of Sacramento while also asking about the concerns and needs of the school and its students.
“I feel at home in a department of education,” Medina said to begin, pointing out that he brings to the legislature a lifetime of experience in education from his many years as a teacher with the Riverside Unified School District, also serving as a member of the Riverside City Teachers Association, and a representative to the state council of the California Teachers Association. Among his victories he touted helping ensure the University of California, Riverside Medical School received $15 million of full and continuous funding through the state budget, to train students for crucial jobs in the health-care industry.
Medina also expressed his approval that Governor Brown recently signed a bill to approve ethnic studies would be taught in California high schools. He also praised the diverse Gevirtz School group meeting with him, since faculty and student diversity are issues he champions.
Faculty members and students stressed their deepest concern is the growing cost of graduate education that might prevent talented young scholars from entering the field. Gevirtz School Dean Jeffrey Milem pointed out that funding students through grants was much harder in education than, say, engineering, as external grant money is much harder to get and those grants tend to be for smaller amounts.
Everyone at the table noted it was more than time to review and revise the California Master Plan for education, in the hopes it could become more accessible and equitable, and that the three sectors of higher education – community colleges, Cal State, and the University of California – could create stronger connections and more viable pipelines for students.
Assemblymember Jose Medina was first elected to the California State Assembly in 2012. He represents California’s 61st Assembly District, which consists of Riverside, Moreno Valley, Perris and Mead Valley. Medina begins his third term in the Assembly continuing his appointment as chair of the Assembly Committee on Higher Education.