Berkeley City College continues to stand out from among California Community Colleges. Our BCC president Dr. Angelica Garcia was selected by the Aspen Institute to be part of the College Excellence program Aspen Rising Presidents Fellows 2021. Also, we are proud to announce that two of our faculty members have gotten great recognition by the media. Louise Stanley, an artist & faculty member at BCC has her paintings currently on view in the show “Forbidden Fruit”, in New York. Additionally, on September 17, Fatima Shah, a general counselor at BCC, joined the NPR Podcast KQED The California Report Magazine and spoke about her journey as an immigrant from Pakistan pursuing higher education in America.

Are you looking for an exciting way to serve your community? The Peralta Community College District is looking for new members to serve on the Citizens' Parcel Tax Measures Oversight Committee.  

Welcome the new head coach of the Women’s Volleyball team of COA Taylor Elliot! Taylor has been a volleyball player since 2013. She began her career as a student-athlete at College of Alameda as a member of the Cougars volleyball team. In 2017, she accepted a position of assistant coach at CoA and started coaching the team. In 2021, Taylor was approved as the new head coach of the Cougars. She takes over from former head coach and athletic director Linda Thompson, who retires after 27 years of athletic service in Peralta Colleges.

Another month, another surprising and exciting collection of programming on Peralta College's television station Peralta TV. And even a little something for the month of Halloween with the Emmy award-winning, DRACULA: THEATER OF THE MIND

Thank you to all who were able to attend the Town Hall webinar, Safe Peralta Return to Campus, on Monday morning, October 4, 2021. Over 500 people -- 517 to be exact -- including students, faculty, staff, administrators and contractors participated in the informational session. A video recording has been posted on the Peralta TV YouTube Channel and is available here. 

I hope your semester is going well. I am following up on the email I sent last month with an update regarding Peralta’s vaccination policy effective October 13th, 2021. 

Laney College Awarded $125,000 in CAI & HRTP Grants

As announced by the State Chancellor’s Office on Sept. 16, Laney College is one of four colleges across the state that were awarded a $125,000 California Apprenticeship Initiative (CAI) High Road Training Partnerships (HRTP) Planning Grant. The goal of Laney College’s grant is to create a detailed pre-apprenticeship/bridge curriculum that will help guide and prepare students for careers in the manufacturing, automotive, and water/wastewater sectors.

CoA Distance Education Team Tackles Fake Students Problem

As if teaching online during a pandemic wasn't difficult enough, 2021 brings California Community Colleges a new challenge: fraudulent enrollments and"fake" students. Authorities believe more than 60,000 fake applications for financial aid were submitted statewide, as reported by the Los Angeles Times, the Sacramento Bee, and the New York Times.

Merritt College Planning Summit 2021

On Friday, September 17, Merritt held its annual Fall Planning Summit. Faculty, staff and administrators came together to engage in dialogue regarding the Educational Master Plan and the Accreditation Follow-Up Report. Planning Summit participants had critical conversations around what it means to “put students first,” and how to move beyond platitudes so that we can get to the work of meaningful equity-building. 

Dear Peralta Employees,

I’m writing to provide you with an update regarding the Peralta Community College District return to campus plan.  As mentioned previously, we are using the Fall 2021 semester to gradually and safely restore in-person support services as well as in-person instruction, which students need.