CCC's sixth president set to arrive July 1

Jonathan Fuentes remembers playing school when he was a young child.

"It was funny because we'd have a teacher and ... I was either the principal or the superintendent, so I knew I wanted to lead in education," he said. "At that age, I didn't know it was higher education until I got to about college and grad school," Fuentes said.

His dream has been realized. He becomes the sixth president of Clovis Community College on July 1.

First as a student in the 1990s, the past five years as vice president for academic partnerships, Fuentes has been connected to Odessa College in Texas "for decades," he said.

"... (T)hat's really hard to give up," he said early this month, "but I'm also looking forward to the challenge of leading a community college."

One of his goals at CCC, he said, is to increase enrollment, including that of dual-credit students.

"That's definitely where I've spent so much of my time ... at Odessa College, so it felt like a really good fit. I'm interested in doing that. I'll sit with the board and with the team there at Clovis Community College to figure out all the goals that they've set for themselves and we'll work on setting those goals for the next school year," Fuentes said.

He said he didn't want to move too far from Odessa, which is about 200 miles east of Clovis.

"My children are at an age where I love having the extended family around. All the grandparents are in this area and so I didn't want to venture too far away from my village, for sure. ... I think that's the reason that I decided to apply to Clovis," Fuentes said.

The interviewing process, he said, was fun.

"It was led by a national search firm. At times, it was a little intense," he said.

"I enjoyed the questions that were asked and felt prepared for them."

Clovis Community College Board of Trustees Chair Lora Harlan described Fuentes as an "enthusiastic, friendly, visionary that will build on our strengths and serve us well as we transition into the future."

Fuentes agreed to a two-year contract that calls for an annual salary of $190,000 and a $600 per month vehicle allowance. He will also live in the college president's house on East 21st Street.

He succeeds Charles Nwankwo who resigned Feb. 1, 2023, after several employee groups on campus issued "no confidence" votes on his leadership.

New president feels 'at home'

Fuentes said CCC and Odessa College have similar feelings.

"I felt at home (in Clovis) with all of the people I spoke to. It felt like it was just a really nice community, filled with kind people who cared about each other," he said.

"They had their own food pantry; they had a garden; they cared about the student and all of the holistic needs it takes to help students be successful. That was really nice to see.

"They're constantly working on their data and looking at their data in order to help students be even more successful. It felt like it was a place that I knew."

A native of Pecos, Texas, Fuentes earned a bachelor's degree in government from Harvard University and his master's and PhD in political science are from the University of Michigan.

"It was interesting, because people would often ask me about my major and they'd be like, 'Oh, so you want to be a politician?' The truth was I never wanted to do that. But I care about policy work and I studied education policy throughout all of my political science courses and trainings.

"We're constantly working on policy. We're constantly thinking about budgets and so I really am doing what I was trained to do, just specialized in education," Fuentes said.

Fuentes and his wife, Alma Porras, have two children. Porras is a high school counselor.

The Odessa American contributed to this report.