College of Alameda Is Pleased to Welcome New Acting Vice President of Instruction

After an in-depth review and consideration, Professor Maurice Jones has been appointed as the Acting Vice-President of Instruction at College of Alameda in accordance with AP 7123.

Professor Jones has been an esteemed member of the Peralta District and the College of Alameda communities for over 25 years, having served in several faculty, Peralta Federation of Teachers (PFT), and administration leadership roles.

He has served as Dean of the Liberal Arts Division at the College for nine years. At one time, during a period of budgetary cuts, he was the only dean and provided leadership for all three divisions at the College simultaneously. In addition, Professor Jones has previously served as Academic Senate President, PFT representative, and cluster chair. He has extensively participated in and chaired a variety of important shared governance committees.

Professor Jones has been actively engaged in curriculum and schedule development as a faculty member and as an administrator. The College will benefit from his deep insights, robust academic background, extensive faculty experience, and prodigious administrative leadership skills.

Professor Jones is an ardent champion for equity, inclusion, diversity, and accessibility; and he has national and international experiences in this regard that will benefit CoA’s diversity initiatives, particularly in the areas of Guided Pathways work and Educational Master Plan development.

The Associated Students of College of Alameda (ASCOA) Has a Full Slate of Enthusiastic Senators and Volunteers this Fall

The pandemic and initial post-pandemic periods posed challenges for re-engaging students in college life activities such as student government and committee work. This fall CoA students are back in full force in leadership roles and looking forward to a semester of participatory governance and other activities.

The College is proud and pleased to introduce the newest ASCOA members and volunteers, including:

• ASCOA President Natay Myers, serving on the Institutional Effectiveness Committee;
• Vice President of ASCOA Operations Semeon Thomson, serving on the Student Equity and Achievement Committee;
• Vice President of Programming Karen Torrez, serving Health and Safety Committee;
• Treasurer Guilherme Pacheco Santos, serving on the Budget Committee;
• Senator Demarquis (Marcus) Sillemon, serving on the Educational Master Plan Committee;
• Senator Ouahiba Khourchech, serving on the Facilities and Technology Committee), and
• Junhao (Jay) Ma, who is volunteering to serve on College Council.

Alejandro Gonzalez Has Joined the CoA ACCESO and Puente Teams

Alejandro Gonzalez will serve as the College’s new ACCESO/Puente student services specialist.

Alejandro is originally from Los Angeles California, specifically, South Central Los Angeles. He received an Associate of Arts degree in Liberal Arts from East Los Angeles College and transferred to the University of California at Berkeley, where he double majored in Chicana/Chicano Studies and Sociology. Alejandro comes to College of Alameda with nearly ten years of experience working in higher education, including five years with UC Berkeley’s Academic Achievement Programs (TRIO Programs) and nearly five years with Peralta Community College District (PCCD), working at Berkeley City College and most recently at Laney College. He has extensive experience working with college-bound programs that support low-income, first-generation-to-college, and underrepresented students. Moreover, Alejandro has strong skills in budgetary processes, grant reporting, data collection and tracking, and direct student support.

Career Center Staff Participate in CSUEB Project Rebound Event

Director of Workforce Systems Stefanie Bradshaw and Career Coach consultant Kimari Williams attended the Project Rebound event in September at the California State University East Bay (CSUEB) campus in Hayward, California.

CSUEB is launching its Project Rebound program, a special admissions and support program for formerly incarcerated students. Founded in 1967, Project Rebound has helped hundreds of students earn California State University degrees while working to promote restorative justice, reduce recidivism, and empower individuals through higher education. Currently, 14 CSU campuses have Project Rebound programs working with formerly incarcerated students.

Career Center staff had an opportunity to connect with other area organizations and advocacy groups that support re-entry. They received the tools to create/enhance the employment services that the College offers to include the Justice Impacted community. These tools include new professional organization contacts, funding opportunities, and potential partnerships.

Director Bradshaw stated that “through these new connections and relationships and by leveraging the county Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) grant funding that the career center currently receives, I feel confident that we can build a thriving Justice Impacted/Re-Entry program at CoA.”

This article is an excerpt from the President’s Report, written by Dr. Nathaniel Jones III, College of Alameda President, that was presented to the PCCD Board of Trustees during their regular meeting on Tuesday, October 25, 2022. To view it as a pdf, click here.