Happy Gregorian New Year!

Quick Facts from Fall 2024

I want to give a huge thank you to Dr. Francisco Herrera and the Institutional Research Department, along with Marcus Creel from Marketing, for the Fall 2024 quick fact sheet, now available on the IR website. This document beautifully illustrates our incredibly diverse student population, highlighting the diversity in ethnicity and age. I want to particularly call out the data on students attending multiple Peralta colleges in the same term. This fall, 43% took classes at more than one college, and 17% took classes at three or all four. We call this "the swirl," and I want to emphasize that it's a feature, not a bug. It's a benefit of Peralta that students have this freedom. You'll hear more this spring about how we're embracing the swirl to better serve students and operate more efficiently. I also want to note the continuing decline in our male student demographic, a national trend we need to address. Please take a moment to look at the new fast facts on the IR website.

District Service Center Holiday Party

Our District Service Center's holiday party was a blast, with amazing food and fun activities. Thanks to the organizing committee: Tachetta Henry, Marcus Creel, MoMo Lim, Ann Gonzalez, Marshniel Chandra, Elizabeth Palafox, Yang Hu, Emily Kaplan, and Mark Johnson – welcome back, Mark!

Beautification Council Clean-Up

In December, COO Greg Nelson partnered with then-Council member-elect Ken Houston and the Beautification Council to clean up the streets near Laney and the District Service Center. I hope you've all driven by Fifth and Eighth lately. I'm grateful to our District Office, Community Safety, and General Services teams for their support. The Beautification Council's mission to restore quality of life and combat blight is vital. They also have innovative job readiness programs. They even have a billboard on I-880 featuring their work with Peralta, including a "Where's Waldo?" shot of Greg – it's not a costume, that's his actual University of Georgia jersey!

Laney Professor Victor Siu & Chinese Youth Orchestra Visit China

Over the winter break, the Great Wall Youth Orchestra, including members of Laney's Chinese Youth Orchestra led by Professor Victor Siu, had an incredible opportunity to visit and perform in China, sponsored by the Purple Silk Music Education Foundation. This was their first international tour! Professor Siu shared some exciting news: the university they performed at is interested in a long-term relationship with Laney, possibly visiting the U.S. this year. The Laney Youth Orchestra is truly bridging cultural divides. Congratulations to Victor Siu and all the young musicians.

A Little Healthy Competition: Basketball at the Peralta Colleges

Finally, let's talk basketball! It's college basketball season, and we have four exciting teams: Laney Women, College of Alameda Men, and both men and women at Merritt. Our marketing team created these fantastic schedule posters, with photos by Faiza Ali and designs by Marcus Creel. All four teams are playing this Friday! College of Alameda is hosting a free men's game at 6:00 PM. Merritt is hosting a double-header, men at 5:30 and women at 7:30. Laney Women, currently in first place, host Los Medanos at 5:30. Last Friday, College of Alameda and Merritt played a great game, with College of Alameda winning by 10. President David M. Johnson and President Melanie Dixon were both there to cheer on their teams. The rematch is February 12th at Merritt – I wonder if President Johnson will be happier with the outcome then? That concludes my Chancellor's Report. Thank you.