Three faculty make tenure at Cerro Coso

Cerro Coso Community College is proud to announce that the Kern Community College District has granted tenure to Tim Allen, Counseling (IWV), Yvonne Mills, English (ESCC) and Alec Griffin, Anthropology and Sociology (East Kern).

Timothy Allen, Counseling – A California native, Allen is a first-generation college student and the son of immigrants and had a truly interesting childhood growing up with a combination of two very distinct cultures. His father's family is from Sweden and his mother's is from Mexico. Born and raised in Fullerton, California, Allen is a product of the California Community College system having completed his Associate of Arts degree at Fullerton College. Allen holds a BA from Western Washington University and an MA from the Inter American University of Puerto Rico.

Alec Griffin, Anthropology/Sociology – Raised on a large pig farm in Northern California, Griffin attended San Diego State University for his undergrad and Cal State University, East Bay for his Master's in Anthropology. He also received his teaching credential along the way and spent 14 years teaching every grade level from kindergarten through community college. He joined the Cerro Coso faculty in 2017 at the Tehachapi campus. He is a 2020 Cerro Coso Excellence in Education Award recipient for his role in championing the Inmate Student Education Program at the college that has received state and national attention.

Yvonne Mills, English – Mills grew up in Southern California and attended Southern California universities for both her undergraduate and graduate education. Besides spending a year as a high school drama teacher, she spent eight years teaching at Moreno Valley College before joining the CCCC Eastern Sierra College Center faculty. An award-winning actor and director, Mills has worked on stages throughout Southern California. She holds a BA in Biology and English Literature from the University of Redlands, an MA in Literature and Film, and a Ph.D. in English from the Claremont Graduate University. Her doctoral research concentrated on non-Anglophone political adaptations of Hamlet.

"The faculty at Cerro Coso Community College have exhibited extraordinary dedication to student success this year, going above and beyond to ensure students have the support they need to navigate many unanticipated challenges," said President Sean Hancock. "I am proud to represent an institution with such high quality faculty and I am greatly impressed with the many talents and expertise of this year's new cohort of tenured faculty. Our students and our communities have benefited from the knowledge, enthusiasm, compassion and dedication of these faculty."