Season Five of the Netflix series Last Chance U. debuted on July 28, 2020 and features coverage of Head Football Coach John Beam and the Laney College Eagles Football team over the course of the Fall 2019 season. The series has received positive reviews and in a way has turned Coach Beam and student-athletes Dior Walker-Scott, RJ Stern, Nu'u Taugavau, and Rejzohn Wright into celebrities. Have you watched the series yet?
The free food giveaway programs at the Peralta Colleges we first announced in May and which now include all four colleges are certainly good news for students and the community. And now the program is in the news! Maaziq Madyun, a reporter for KRON TV Channel 4 recently stopped by the College of Alameda and filmed the following story, "East Bay grab-and-go lunch program helps fight food insecurity during pandemic," which was broadcast across the Bay area. The story is also available online here: https://gems.peralta.edu/all-four-colleges-now-offering-free-meals
At their regular meeting on July 28, 2020, the Board of Trustees confirmed the appointment of Dr. Carla Walter as Acting Chancellor of the Peralta Community College District until an Interim Chancellor is hired. Dr. Walter, previously the Vice Chancellor of Finance and Administration at the District, assumed the role of Acting Chancellor on July 18, 2020 per the Board Policy on Chancellor succession.
We here in the Peralta community welcome Dr. Rudy Besikof as Laney College’s Interim President. He has been at the college since 2018, when he was hired as its Vice President of Instruction, the same position he previously held at Mt. San Jacinto College for more than two years prior to joining Laney. Prior to becoming a Chief Instructional Officer in 2016, he served for five years as a dean, first at Woodland Community College as its Dean of Instruction and Learning Resources, and later at Los Angeles Valley College as a Dean of Academic Affairs. Prior to becoming an administrator in 2011, Dr. Besikof taught English and English as a Second/Foreign Language in two and four-year colleges not only in California, but also in Colorado, Japan, and France.
We are excited to share that at the July 28 meeting of the Peralta Board of Trustees, Dr. Don Miller was confirmed as Interim President at College of Alameda to serve in that role until a permanent president is hired.
The Peralta Community College District Board of Trustees were extremely busy in July following the unexpected resignation of Chancellor Dr. Regina Stanback Stroud on July 16, 2020.
On July 28, 2020, the Board of Trustees of the Peralta Community College District (PCCD) approved the appointment of Mark Johnson as Executive Director of Public Information, Communication & Media. He will continue to manage the Department of Marketing, Communication and Public Relations (MCPR) for the District. Mr. Johnson had been in the interim role for the past year.
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These are challenging times for everyone. All of us have had to make adjustments in the way we work or study thanks to the ongoing shelter in place guidelines. As recently announced, all four of the Peralta college campuses as well as the district office are closed through the end of the year while the Fall 2020 semester will be taught online with just a few exceptions. Working at home is now the reality for most Peralta employees. Our homes are now our offices too.
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The 12th Annual African & African American Graduation was held July 25, 2020, celebrating graduates from Berkeley City College, College of Alameda, Laney College and Merritt College.
On July 21, 2020, a community forum was held via Zoom giving Peralta employees including faculty, classified professionals and administrators the opportunity to hear about several exciting projects impacting the district.
Presenting were Dr. Leigh Sata (Vice Chancellor of General Services), Amy Marshall (Facilities Director, Laney College) and Keith Kajiya (Vice President, AECOM, the Peralta bond program manager). Mark Johnson (Marketing, Communication & Public Relations) moderated a Question and Answer period following the presentations.
