Hello, Campus Community,

I hope summer is going well for everyone and you have been able to spend some quality time with family and friends. It has been a pleasure talking with some of you, as I have been on-campus time-to-time preparing for my official start. I have been meeting with the Chancellor and district leadership as well as getting more acquainted with the college leadership team. I have enjoyed spontaneously meeting faculty, classified professionals, students, and community members on campus.

The reception I have received from the campus community has been both supportive and inspiring. WVC’s culture of care, kindness, and collegiality is wonderful. And I am honored and excited to be in this role, serving all of you.

I would like to acknowledge and thank the recent Provost/Vice President of Academic Affairs screening committee for their work in identifying three excellent final candidates. After careful consideration and with the thoughtful input from the campus forum surveys, I have invited Dr. Joshua Moon-Johnson to join our college leadership team in this role pending board of trustee approval August 15. Dr. Moon-Johnson’s start date will be September 13 but expect to see him on campus for our August 23 welcome week and on the first day of classes.

Dr. Moon-Johnson (he or they) is excited to join West Valley College as the Provost/Vice President of Academic Affairs and is coming from the College of San Mateo where they served as the Vice President of Student Services. He has previously served in leadership roles including the Dean of Library and Learning Resources and Dean of Equity Programs & Pathways at American River College, as the Assistant Dean/Director of the Multicultural Student Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the Director of the LGBTQ Center and Women’s Center at UC Santa Barbara. Dr. Moon-Johnson has dedicated his career and life to LGBTQ+ advocacy, racial justice, and education reform. His understanding of identity, equity, and conflict has led him to a career educating on topics of social justice and has led to becoming a best-selling author with his first book, Beyond Surviving: From Religious Oppression to Queer Activism, which was also ranked #3 on Book Authority’s 20 Best-Selling LGBT Activism Books of All Time. Dr. Moon-Johnson also published Queer People of Color in Higher Education in 2017, and his newest book, Queer & Trans Advocacy in the Community College, published with Dr. Emilie Mitchell and Dr. Lemuel Watson came out in 2022. He has served on the faculty at Concordia University-Portland, the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Semester at Sea/University of Virginia, Binghamton University, and Brooks Institute of Art.

He received a doctorate in adult and higher education and a certificate in LGBT studies from Northern Illinois University, and a master’s degree in social sciences, student affairs, and diversity from Binghamton University, State University of New York. Dr. Moon-Johnson also has a master’s degree in marketing from The University of Alabama as well as a bachelor’s in business from the University of South Alabama. He was also a student at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College. Dr. Moon-Johnson currently serves as a board member and equity team lead for the Association of California Community College Administrators (ACCCA), and he previously served as the Vice President of the Board for the Sacramento LGBT Community Center. Dr. Moon-Johnson served in a lead role for Half Moon Bay, California’s first Pride celebration, and he was awarded the 2023 Equity Warrior Award from CoastPride.

As we welcome Dr. Moon-Johnson, I also want to express my sincere thank you to Mr. Chris Dyer for stepping up to serve in the acting Provost/Vice President of Academic Affairs role while still managing for several months the Vice Provost responsibilities. His dedication to serving the college, students, colleagues, and the community is commendable. Please take time when you have the opportunity to acknowledge his service. Enjoy the rest of your summer! I look forward to seeing everyone at our all-college day on August 25.

In collaboration and community,

Jennifer Taylor-Mendoza, Ph.D.