When I was selected to serve as Superintendent/President of College of the Sequoias, Ken Nunes was serving on the Board of Trustees representing Tulare and South Visalia. I came to know Ken not simply as a trustee, but as a colleague during one of the most difficult periods in COS history.
We faced shrinking revenues, rising expenses, construction challenges at the Tulare campus and, most seriously, an accreditation sanction that threatened the institution’s future. When you work shoulder-to-shoulder through something that consequential—protecting an institution that thousands of students and families depend upon—you learn a great deal about a person.
I learned that Ken was steady under pressure. His accounting background showed in his attention to finances, willingness to ask difficult questions, and insistence on transparency and accountability. Through those difficult days, we developed a professional relationship built on trust and a shared commitment to COS.
We were also planning for COS’s future. Many priorities envisioned then have since become reality: modernized career and technical education center, a comprehensive student success center, a new athletics stadium, and expanded university partnerships. Especially meaningful is the partnership bringing a Fresno State Center to the COS campus, expanding access to four-year degrees for students who cannot easily relocate or commute to Fresno.
Since the COVID crisis, the Board, administration and staff have continued to grow enrollment, increase the number of degrees/certificates earned, increased the number of graduates each year, increased the number of successful transfers to four-year colleges/universities. While accomplishing all of this the Board, administration and employee organizations have also worked collaboratively to provide salary and benefits ranking among the highest in the state—helping COS attract and retain the people who serve its students.
None of these accomplishments belong to one person. They reflect years of collaborative work. But it is proven time and again in public governance that sustained progress also benefits from institutional knowledge and continuity in governance.
The Ken Nunes I came to know through good times and bad was attentive, transparent, fiscally responsible and deeply committed to the students and communities COS serves.
Stan A. Carrizosa Sr.