Merritt College Honored by Campaign for College Opportunity

Merritt Colleges recently learned that the Campaign for College Opportunity named Merritt College a 2023 Champion for Excelling in Equitable Course Placement. The organization’s mission is to ensure that all eligible and motivated students in California have an opportunity to go to college and succeed, and with the passage of AB 705 they have focused on increasing access to and success in transfer-level English and math courses across all racial and ethnic groups.

OAKLAND, Calif., April 18, 2023 – Course registration fees are being waived for the Fall 2023 semester at all four of the colleges within the Peralta Community College District (PCCD) for a second year. Available to all California residents regardless of documented status, the fee waiver has no minimum course requirement.

A very interesting article mentioning the Peralta Community College District was published last month in Educause Review. The article, “A DEI Course Design Rubric: Supporting Teaching and Learning in Uncertain Times” by Kim DeBacco and Nick Mattos, explains the process the University of California Instructional Design and Faculty Support community of practice went through to develop a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Course Redesign Rubric for sharing across the UC system. Guess what? They based the UC system rubric on one created right here in our community college district.  

Peralta Community College District recently received three awards from CCPRO, the Community College Public Relations Organization (http://ccprocalifornia.org/). The CCPRO 2023 Annual Meeting took place in Los Angeles on April 12th - 14th and was attended by Thomas Rizza (Public Information Officer at Berkeley City College), Marcus Creel (Graphic Design Specialist at the district) and  Mark Johnson (district Executive Director, Marketing, Communication & Public Relations).  The conference awards ceremony took place on Thursday, April 13, 2023. 

Registration is now open for 2023 Black Student Success Week, scheduled for April 24 through April 28. This year's theme is "Vision to Action: Building Systems and Structures for Black Student Success."

Laney College ASLC Student Government leaders Meaghan Connor, Joshua Kofo, Nicholas Rothman, and Director Atiya Rashada join Student Boday President Omolola Atolagbe and their Peralta counterparts at the Student Senate for California Community Colleges (SSCCC) General Assembly, which took place from March 30th to April 2nd in Long Beach.

College of Alameda’s Learning Resource Center Coordinator Johanna Carranza, and Director of Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSI) Grant Horacio Corona Lira, presented a workshop during the 15^th Annual Alliance of Hispanic Serving Institution Educators (AHSIE) Best Practices Conference on March 13, 2023, in San Francisco, California.

Berkeley City College is thrilled to have a new Assistant Chief of Engineering at BCC, Mr. Felix Smith, who has been with the Peralta Community College District (“PCCD”) since 2008 and at BCC since February 2023. Mr. Smith has a storied and progressive background beginning his PCCD career as an hourly custodian, progressed to Permanent Custodian, then Senior Store Keeper, and then placement as Head Custodian.

Artist and former BCC Student Kimberly Cross’s work is on display as part of the “What Would You Say? - Activist Graphics from the Los Angeles County Museum of Art” exhibit at the Vincent Price Art Museum at the East Los Angeles College campus in Monterey Park.

Congratulations to Berkeley City College students Nia Roberson-French and Ian Strieter for their recognition as Phi Theta Kappa All-California Winners. This year, 112 students were chosen from across the California Community College system in recognition for their grades, leadership, and community service.