On July 1st, 2021, the Laney College team welcomed the new Vice President of Instruction Dr. Becky Opsata. Before joining Laney, Dr Opsata served as Dean of Institutional Effectiveness and Accreditation at Diablo Valley College for 15 years, and before that at California State University Northridge as faculty member in Communication Studies for 6 years. Dr. Opsata comes to Laney bringing impressive work experience and big plans for the college. On July 7th, one week after being appointed Vice President of Instruction, Dr. Becky Opsata was already engaged in some of her projects for the next year, getting students back to campus.
During her time at both Diablo Valley College and Cal State Northridge, she was the head of the Speech and Debate team in both institutions. She coached and supported many students engaged in speech, debate, and communications. She proudly shares that her years of experience coaching the Speech and Debate teams in both institutions gave her the opportunity to see many thorough discussions about several social issues.
Questioned about some of the projects she thinks to implement at Laney College, Dr. Becky confidently shares that her priority now is working on the best strategy to get students back to campus, “We want to encourage students to go back to College. Of course, we will continue to offer and improve remote learning because we have those students who simply love online classes. It is a 50 / 50, some of them want to go back to the classroom, some of them prefer to stay remotely. It is important to have both”
Laney College has gladly received Dr. Becky with excitement. The president of the institution, Dr. Rudy Besikof, proudly welcomed the new Vice President of Instruction. He believes that her years of experience in leadership will certainly improve the institution, “Dr. Opsata comes to us from Diablo Valley College, where she spent extended time, first as a faculty member in Communication Studies, then a department chair, and finally as Dean of Institutional Effectiveness. Her experience and leadership within both Institutional Effectiveness and Instruction are already benefiting us at the college, as she is also bringing her years of experience as Accreditation Liaison Officer”
Dr. Becky Opsata has a Ph.D. from the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Southern California, a MA from Kansas State University, and an undergraduate degree from Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota. Asked about what motivates her to work in Laney College, Dr. Opsata says, “The Community College serves the community. It serves who is here, it is open to who is here. It is really embedded in the town where it is. It makes us stronger. It is exciting”
