Dear PCCD Colleagues,
On behalf of the Board of Trustees, I am pleased to announce the Screening Committee has forwarded four finalists to the Board of Trustees for consideration as our next Peralta Community College District Chancellor. The finalists are listed in alphabetical order below, and you may access information about them on the PCCD website.
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 Announces Rising Scholars Grant
Merritt College was awarded a grant recently from the Rising Scholars network for the purpose of providing instruction and wrap-around services for incarcerated youth. This grant will provide us with $1.5 million over five years, and enable the College to implement in-person, on-site assistance with enrollment, student education planning, counseling, tutoring, exit planning, and instruction.
Laney Shares Free College Success Stories with Partners at Oakland Rotary
One of the chief collaborative partners of Laney College has been a member of Oakland Rotary #3, who come to the Tiny Home Ribbon Cutting & Advanced Manufacturing Showcase. On behalf of Laney's Carpentry program, the College invites the community to our Tiny Home ribbon-cutting ceremony which will be held on Wednesday, October 11th 5:00pm at Laney College’s Construction Canopy.
College of Alameda Hosts the Third IEPI Site Visit
On September 13, 2023, College of Alameda hosted the third site visit of the Institutional Effectiveness and Partnership Initiative (IEPI) leads, marking an important follow-up to our status report submitted under the IEPI Grant.
Berkeley City College Awarded Second Hispanic Serving Institution Grant
We are excited to announce that Berkeley City College has been awarded a Title V Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) grant from the Department of Education to continue advancing the educational attainment of Latino students and low-income students. Building on the work of Conocimiento Los Caminos -BCC’s original five-year Title V Developing HSI grant awarded in 2020- the Adelante Project will increase the number of students earning certificates and attaining postsecondary degrees.
Peralta TV can be seen on
Channel 27: Alameda, Berkeley
Channel 28: Emeryville, Piedmont, Oakland
AT&T U-Verse Channel 99
Merritt Announces New Director of Hispanic Serving Institutions Program
Mr. Jorge Murillo has been appointed as Merritt College’s new Director of Hispanic-Serving Institutions Program. Working alongside faculty, classified professional staff members, and administrators, Mr. Murillo will take the lead on building and implementing the College’s Aspira Project, which will be funded by a five-year, $2.9M grant from the U.S. Department of Education’s Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) Title V Program.
