Nvidia CEO tells grads to learn AI; Bakersfield College adds summer certificate
Jensen Huang’s message to graduates lands as Valley campuses add AI programs and policies. Bakersfield College starts a new noncredit certificate this summer.
Nvidia CEO tells grads to learn AI; Bakersfield College adds summer certificate
Key Takeaways
- Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang urged grads this spring to move quickly on AI skills.
- Bakersfield College begins a new noncredit AI proficiency certificate in summer 2026.
- CSU Bakersfield formed an Artificial Intelligence Committee and lists an AI Essentials certificate.
- Fresno State’s AI Campus rolled out ChatGPT Edu and a “Bulldog Genie” student assistant in 2025.
"Run, don't walk," Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang told graduates this spring. The line has turned into a refrain at commencements where tech leaders keep circling back to artificial intelligence.
For Kern County readers, the takeaway is landing close to home. Bakersfield College is launching a new noncredit certificate, Artificial Intelligence (AI) Proficiency for College and Career, with the first cohort set for summer 2026. The program focuses on practical AI use for students and workers.
What Huang said
Huang’s message to the Class of 2026 has been blunt: learn how to use AI tools or risk falling behind peers who do. He told Carnegie Mellon graduates there has rarely been a better time to start a career, urging them to move quickly on skills that pair human judgment with software. The National Desk packaged that theme this week, highlighting how AI is reshaping classrooms and commencement stages.
"The timing could not be more perfect."
What Valley colleges are adding
Bakersfield College’s new certificate is short, skills-first, and aimed at both current students and working adults trying to keep pace with AI showing up in job descriptions. It is listed to start this summer, which gives counselors something concrete to point to when students ask what to take next.
At CSU Bakersfield, the Academic Senate established an Artificial Intelligence Committee for the 2025-26 academic year to study classroom impacts and recommend policies on ethics, training, and deployment. CSUB’s Extended Education site also lists an AI Essentials Certificate Program with a Spring 2026 start. Different lanes, same pressure to give students a footing.
Fresno State moved early, bundling supported AI tools under an "AI Campus" effort and rolling out ChatGPT Edu for students in July 2025. The school’s Bulldog Genie, a generative AI concierge, sits alongside a faculty hub on responsible use.
How this plays in classrooms
The National Desk’s coverage paired Huang’s push with education voices like Optima’s Adam Mangana, who has argued that AI, plus virtual reality, can change how students interact with lessons. Separate local reporting in South Florida showed what that looks like day to day, with students logging into immersive classes from home. The pitch is that AI tutors and avatars can make lessons stick.
There is a policy drumbeat too. A 50-state scan last week counted more than 130 AI-in-schools bills filed this year, most aimed at privacy, classroom use rules, and training. Kern districts will have to track that, like everyone else. But the basics are the same here as anywhere: teach the tools, guard the data.
A warm Orange Crush sat on the copy desk while I read Huang’s line again. "Run, don't walk."
Central Valley AI is produced by the CVAI Newsdesk team and developed by Kaweah Tech, a regional firm that builds, deploys, and integrates AI solutions for businesses across California's Central Valley.