Dr. Angélica Garcia, President of Berkeley City College (BCC), a dynamic leader, educator, and fearless advocate for equity and social justice, has been honored by inclusion in a list of 25 outstanding educators published by Diverse: Issues in Higher Education. The March 4, 2021 issue of Diverse, published in honor of Women’s History Month, is the publication’s 10^th anniversary of highlighting women who have made a difference in the academy by tackling some of education’s toughest challenges.

When Laney College’s football was featured on the Netflix Series ‘Last Chance U’, it was a great opportunity to share with the world Coach John Beam's impressive program and the care the Laney coaches, faculty and staff have for students. It was the players that were the stars of the show: there were a number individual stories that couldn’t help but stand out.

This March on Peralta TV we have an embarrassment of riches: documentaries that will take you around the world, featuring incredible artists, singers, coaches, guardians of our natural world, and work underway to "complete the unfinished business of the 21st century - Gender Equality".

Tune in and be inspired.

Peralta TV can be seen on:
Channel 27: Alameda, Berkeley
Channel 28: Emeryville, Piedmont, Oakland
AT&T U-Verse Channel 99

On February 18, 2021, an announcement from Interim Chancellor Dr. Carla Walter was sent to the Peralta Community including students and employees. Here is the email message from Dr. Walter.

Earlier this week, the Peralta Community College District completed Phase One of our technology upgrade of Oracle’s PeopleSoft system. This has been an all consuming project.  Together, we did it.

Two Peralta Community College District Administrators, Dr. Siri Brown (Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs and Student Success) and Dr. David M. Johnson (President of Merritt College) have recently received recognition for their community service from local non-profit organizations. 

Given Merritt’s history and cultural significance, and the fact that half-way into February, here are some thoughts about Black History Month. Carter G. Woodson—the second African American to earn a Ph.D. from Harvard, and the founder of the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History—was the driving force behind the creation of Black History Month. 

To guarantee a strong start to the semester for Laney students, faculty and staff members joined together to create two virtual One-Stop Saturday Enrollment Events, January 23rd and 30th, as well as several Ask Me sessions, which took place during Welcome Week. This effort was led by Vicki Ferguson, Vice President of Student Services, and was made possible by our innovative and dedicated staff members.

The event took place via Zoom, where Laney representatives answered general questions, offered one-on-one support, and referred students out to specific Zoom rooms, hosted by each department. This event was supported with a Google ad, Facebook events, and posts on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, as well as a student-wide text message, generating over 4,200 impressions.

The events received advertising support from the District marketing office, with Google ad search helping drive prospective students to the virtual events. 

At the beginning of the fall 2020 semester, Berkeley City College President Dr. Angélica Garcia called for a President’s Task Force on Equity & Racial Justice in response to community input on the need for BCC to be responsive and supportive to fostering an inclusive community that values diversity. Berkeley City College is committed to state Chancellor Dr. Eloy Ortiz Oakley’s Call to Action and the guide to engage in practices that promote open dialogue and address campus climate, create inclusive classrooms and anti-racist curriculum, review and update the College’s Equity Plan, and fully implement the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Integration Plan.

According to the independent web-based research site, Intelligent.com, College of Alameda has been ranked in the top 50 nationally for the Best Associate in Psychology Degree Programs. Their comprehensive research guide is based on an assessment of 2,277 accredited colleges and universities. Programs are evaluated based on curriculum quality, graduation rate, reputation, and post-graduate employment. The College’s Psychology for Transfer AA-T Degree also was ranked as the best in the area of mindfulness training.

Jasminh Au is a current senior student for the Gateway to College Program at Laney College and has been announced as the program’s 2021 DREAM Scholar. She is an aspiring Oceanography major and is planning to directly transfer from Gateway to the Hawaii Pacific University at Honolulu. She is a resilient, confident and great student leader in the program.

William Ochoa, Director of Gateway to College says, “to my understanding she is breaking down barriers as to what a dually enrolled student can obtain through her tenure here at our program.” Each DREAM Scholar received a Phi Theta Kappa scholarship in recognition of their success.