OAKLAND, Calif., October 10, 2023 – During the regular Peralta Community College District (PCCD) Board of Trustees meeting this evening, Dr. Ronald McKinley, Interim Vice Chancellor of Human Resources and Employee Relations for the district, announced the appointment of Dr. Denise Richardson to serve as the permanent President of Berkeley City College (BCC). She has been working as Interim President at BCC since July 1, 2023. Previously, Dr. Richardson was the Vice President of Instruction at Merritt College, a role she began in March 2020. She has been an employee of the district for over 20 years, starting as a faculty member at Laney College in 2001.

Merritt College Breaks Ground on New Horticulture Building Complex

The Bond Measures Oversight Committee (BMOC) will meet on Wednesday, August 9, 2023, from 5:30pm to 7:30pm in-person at the Peralta Community College District boardroom at 333 East 8th Street, Oakland, CA 94606, and via Zoom. 

The Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC) has elected Dr. Nathaniel Jones III as Commissioner serving as a Higher Education Finance member with a term beginning on July 1, 2023. Dr. Jones is currently serving as the Interim Vice Chancellor of Finance & Administration for the Peralta Community College District and has over 20 years of experience in higher education administration. He is a strong advocate for equity and access in education, and he is committed to ensuring that all students have the opportunity to succeed.

Dear Peralta Community,

I'm pleased to announce that Dr. Tina Vasconcellos, Associate Vice Chancellor of Educational Services at the Peralta Community College District, has been selected to participate in community college leadership professional development and has received a scholarship for in-person training costs.

The Peralta Association of African American Affairs (PAAAA) hosted a lovely event in honor of seven outstanding students on May 4th, 2023, at the Peralta Community College District headquarters in Oakland.  Dr. Lawrence VanHook (PAAAA President) led attendees through the program that included Libations by Dr. Marlon Hall (Laney College Vice President of Student Services) and a thrilling performance of "Lift Every Voice and Sing" by Laney College student Alison Fletcher. 

Yumeus Taylor is an Oakland native, but everyone calls her Missy. She has been fascinated with fixing cars since she was a little girl watching her uncle and dad work on their vehicles.   After graduating high school in Oakland, she enrolled in Laney College for general studies courses and then started taking automotive classes at the College of Alameda.   Missy is a single mom with two sons, and when she isn't working part-time as a technician at San Leandro Hyundai/Kia, she is joining her mom and sister to give back to the Oakland community by volunteering at the Bay Area Mega Center in Oakland.  

Faculty members representing all four of the Peralta Colleges participated in the Academic Senate of California Community Colleges (ASCCC) Spring Plenary in Anaheim April 20-22, 2023. The theme for the conference was “Making Space for Connection and Belonging as We Center Authentic Voices and Lived Experiences in the 10+1”. 

A very interesting article mentioning the Peralta Community College District was published last month in Educause Review. The article, “A DEI Course Design Rubric: Supporting Teaching and Learning in Uncertain Times” by Kim DeBacco and Nick Mattos, explains the process the University of California Instructional Design and Faculty Support community of practice went through to develop a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Course Redesign Rubric for sharing across the UC system. Guess what? They based the UC system rubric on one created right here in our community college district.  

Congratulations to Richard Nguyen, who was awarded the Ozzie Day Scholarship for Fall 2022 at an award ceremony on December 7^th, 2022. Richard grew up in East Oakland and his dad, Duc Nguyen, took classes from the College of Alameda Automotive Technology (ATECH) program when Duc first immigrated to the USA thirty years ago. Richard decided to follow in his dad's footsteps after graduating from high school in Oakland. Ever since his first ATECH class, he's been a straight-A student in the COA ATECH program. He expects to graduate from the Auto program next June and get a job as a technician at a local dealership.