Greetings Peralta Community!  Welcome to issue #11 of Peralta Gems. This issue contains important information about the District response to COVID-19 so please read closely. But before we get to that, I want to reflect on "community." The District frequently states, "The health and safety of members of the Peralta community remains our top priority." And that is absolutely true.  Community can seem abstract and removed, but it is not.  We are the Peralta Community.  We are real people: Chancellor Regina Stanback Stroud, Laney College Bursar Kihn Tran, College of Alameda student Jaylan Campbell, you, me, all of us. And while there are no confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the Peralta community, we know concerns about the spread of this novel coronavirus are significant. From canceling face-to-face classes, moving up Spring Break, to closing the campuses and working remotely, we are the people for whom these decisions are being made. Thank you to everyone for your flexibility, positive attitude, and continuing support in these stressful times. --Mark Johnson

Student Profile: Jaylan Campbell – College of Alameda

Cougar volleyball player Jaylan Campbell is a talented student-athlete with a flawless academic record at the College of Alameda. Jaylan was recruited from San Leandro high school by COA head coach Linda Thompson and has played on the Cougars women’s volleyball team for the past two seasons. Of her experience at COA, Jaylan says: “Not only does College of Alameda allow you to partake in the sport that you love, but it allows you to excel academically and participate in extra-curricular activities.” Jaylan is scheduled to receive her associate degree in history from COA on May 22, 2020.  Check out this short video of Jaylan Coach Thompson posted on Twitter: https://twitter.com/coacougars/status/1188694521317449730?s=21

Some of Jaylans accomplishments and accolades while at COA include:

Freshman Year

• 2018 Bay Valley All-Conference Second Team
• 2018 Cougar MVP Award
• 2018 COA Academic Honors

Sophomore Year

• 2019 Bay Valley All-Conference First Team
• 2019 Cougar Setter of the Year Award
• 2019 COA Academic Honors

California Community College Athletic Association

• 2019 CCCAA Scholar-Athlete Honor Roll (chosen out of nearly 24,000 Californian student-athletes)

Thank you Jaylan and congratulations - we are so proud of you! The Peralta Community is excited for all that your bright future holds for you. 

COVID-19 Updates

For the latest information about the Peralta Colleges and COVID-19, bookmark https://web.peralta.edu/health-services/coronavirus/.  Here is the status as of Friday, March 13, 2020: Berkeley City College, College of Alameda, Laney College, Merritt College, and the District office will be closed starting Saturday March 14, 2020 through Saturday, March 21, 2020.  All employees are asked to work remotely while the college campuses and district offices are closed. All employees (including student workers) will maintain their respective schedule and continue to be paid during this time. For more information on the campus closures, see the full statement from Chancellor Stanback Stroud here.

At an Emergency Meeting on March 11, 2020, the Peralta Community College District Board of Trustees voted to approve the following changes to the academic calendar:

• Spring Break (originally scheduled as the week of April 13-18) has been moved to the week of March 16-21, 2020.
• Flex Day (a faculty training day originally scheduled March 19, 2020) will now be held on Monday, March 30, 2020.

These changes, made with appreciated support of the Peralta Federation of Teachers (PFT), are a response to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) intended to increase social distancing and better protect our community. Read the complete announcement here. 

On Thursday, March 12, 2020, Presidents from the four colleges notified faculty, staff, and administrators at the college campuses of changes regarding events.

Effective now through April 10 the following conditions will be put into place in order to protect our students, staff, and community from the COVID-19 infection and reduce the possibility of community transmission:

Event Cancellations/Postponements
Following guidance from the Alameda County Public Health Department, all upcoming college and district related medium-sized gatherings (more than 100 people) where students, staff, and outside community members come together in close proximity to one another will be cancelled and/or postponed.

Specific upcoming events between March 11 and April 10 that are now cancelled/postponed include:

• Professional learning events greater than 100 people and/or when the district/college cannot ensure that students and staff are beyond arm’s length of one another due to the venue or planned activity;
• All college-sponsored performances, including vocal, instrumental, dramatic, and dance concerts.

See the March 12, 2020 Update at https://web.peralta.edu/health-services/coronavirus/ for more information. 

Faculty Prepares for Remote Instruction to Begin March 23, 2020

Academic Affairs has added a new section on the website to provide resources for emergency online teaching.  Check out the Academic Continuity and Emergency Preparedness site here:  https://web.peralta.edu/academicaffairs/academic-continuity-and-emergency-preparedness/. Additionally, “Emergency Remote Teaching” resources for instructors are live here.

Resources for Students:

“In Case of Campus Shut Down” resources for students are live here. The resources available are abundant including instructions on how to use CANVAS (Peralta's main online instruction platform) and other online tools, where to find computer and WIFI / internet access, FAQs and more. 

Congratulations Kinh Tran, Peralta District Classified Employee of the Year

At the Peralta Community College District Board of Trustees Meeting, Kinh Tran, the Laney College Bursar, was honored at the Peralta District Classified Employee of the Year and the District nominee for consideration as the statewide Classified Employee of the Year. Laney College President Dr. Tammeil Gilkerson introduced Ms. Tran to the Trustees with these comments. 

"We seek to inspire students to achieve high levels of performance and reach their goals in an inclusive and diverse learning environment. To this end, our classified professionals play a key role in supporting students through the design and delivery of high quality student-focused services and support that help facilitate student learning. This tireless service to students is exemplified by Ms. Kinh Tran who has devoted over 32 years of her life to the community here at Laney College."  Dr. Gilkerson continued, "As Laney College Bursar, Kinh ensures that students are well informed and assists them with the disbursement of scholarships and payroll checks, and receiving and processing student fee payments so they can successfully enroll in their classes...She tirelessly puts students first."

"She goes over and beyond every single day...This woman started as a part time employee in 1987 as account clerk and moved to higher positions including accounting technician. She became full time bursar in 2005 and has been serving us tirelessly ever since. She is the full representation of this District and the grit and resilience and amazing service of our communities." Dr. Gilkerson concluded, "Bursars often go unseen, unheard and unappreciated so I am pleased to present this nominee to you tonight for your consideration."  Kinh received a standing ovation from all attending the meeting and two lovely flower bouquets in honor of her service and dedication. And of course the Trustees voted unanimously to forward Kihn Tran as the district nominee for the statewide honor.  Thank you Kihn for all you do!

College of Alameda CNA Program Approved by the California Department of Public Health

The CoA Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) Program has been approved by the California Department of Public Health! CoA has been working on a non-credit Certified Nursing Assistant pathway for several years. Special thanks to our CNA Director/Instructor Genevieve Dace and Dean Eva Jennings. We should be up and running our first cohort in fall semester 2020. This piece was originally published in the March 12, 2020 issue of The College of Alameda Splash newsletter, reposted with gratitude.

Tenure Reception on March 10, 2020

Before the Board of Trustees Meeting on March 10, 2020, a reception was held at the District Atrium to celebrate the awarding of tenure to 30 faculty members representing all four colleges. The event was sponsored by Dr. Siri Brown, Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs and her team, who did a fantastic job. 

Dr. Regina Stanback Stroud (Chancellor), Dr. Donald Moore ( District Academic Senate President), Dr. Jennifer Shanoski (Peralta Federation of Teachers President) as well as college Presidents Dr. Tammeil Gilkerson (Laney College), Dr. David Johnson (Merritt College), and Dr. Tim Karas (College of Alameda) each spoke as part of the presentation, congratulating the newly tenured faculty. 

Here is the list of faculty members that were confirmed for tenure by the Peralta Board of Trustees:

A photo gallery of images from the Tenure Reception is available on the Peralta SmugMug page here: https://peraltacolleges.smugmug.com/Tenured-Faculty-Receptions/Tenured-Faculty-Reception-2020/. More photos are available here in this private gallery. Additionally, a photo booth was set up at the reception. Those photos are available here (photographer will grant access permission upon request). 

Congratulations to all the newly tenured faculty members!  This honor is well deserved.  Keep up the fantastic and exciting scholarly work!

Coming Soon in Peralta Gems

Stay tuned for the next issue of Peralta Gems where we will share information about:

• Ron Gerhard (Acting Chancellor, Chabot-Los Positas Community College District) visits to discuss Student Centered Funding Formula (SCFF)
• Notes from the District Facilities Committee meeting on March 6
• The District Wide Manager's Meeting on March 10 and a follow up on the Standards of Excellence. 
• Suzanne Kunkel's retirement luncheon on March 11
• ...and much more!

Upcoming Events

Normally, this section of Peralta Gems contains an incomplete list of events happening around the Peralta District as pulled from events calendars on the college websites. There are no schedule upcoming events from Saturday March 14 to Saturday March 21, 2020 since students and teaching faculty are on Spring Break and the college campuses and the district office are closed.