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Artist Guillermo “Yermo” Aranda is starting on-site work on his mural for Gavilan College’s Hollister campus. The mural will be one of the last major projects before the first phase of the campus is completed in November.
Gavilan Director of Capital Projects Serafin Fernandez presented the final mural design concept at a Gavilan Board of Trustees meeting on Oct. 8. The mural is titled “Cultural Resources,” and depicts the history of San Benito County and Gavilan College from the perspective of local Indigenous tribes. Aranda interviewed tribe members, students and faculty as part of the development of the mural. Fernandez read Aranda’s narrative for the piece at the meeting.
“To me, what rang out loud and clear is the importance of education and the importance of reclaiming our identity,” said Fernandez, quoting Arranda, “We are still here.”
The board later approved a contract extension with the insurance brokerage Keenan & Associates. Unexpected weather and delays in approval from California Fish and Wildlife pushed the project’s completion until after the initial insurance contract expired.
The parking lot and access road for the campus have also been completed. Next steps for the campus will include installing furniture. Gavilan will host a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the campus Nov. 13.
The board also approved a series of contracts with local schools, including San Benito High School District, to help fund Adult and Career Education Services. Gavilan allocated $125,135 to the high school district for the program.
Vice President of Academic Affairs Moaty Fayek presented a Precision Dashboard site for Gavilan. Fayek has been developing the site to improve the administration’s ability to analyze data and track its performance.
Fayek also announced that Gavilan won a $375,000 grant from the National Science Foundation to fund STEM achievement for Hispanic students.
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