Friday, January 24, 2020

Greetings Peralta Community!  Welcome to issue #4 of Peralta Gems. Past issues are archived on the Peralta website here. We hope you find it informative and useful. Please send me photos and stories you'd like to be shared in Peralta Gems and our social media accounts. Thank you! Mark Johnson markjohnson@peralta.edu

Welcome Back Students!

Merritt College students in the house during Welcome Week! Photo courtesy of 106.1 KMEL Radio

Excitement and anticipation were in the air this week as students were back on our campuses for the Spring 2020 Semester. Each of the colleges did a fantastic job of putting together lively events to bring students together and get them started on a great semester of learning. 

BCC Students at Spring 2020 Welcome Week. Photos courtesy of John Nguyen

There are few things that students love more than FREE FOOD!  Joking aside, there are students in our community who don't always know where or when their next meal will be. Serving free food is fun for those who don't need it and critically important for those who do. Here the team at BCC is making sure students are well-fed and motivated to learn.

106.1 FM KMEL brought the beats to Merritt College during Welcome Week!

The Fab Lab at College of Alameda is "the room where it happens" and is ready for student makers to create cool things.  Photo courtesy of Island High School.

Laney College also had a fun filled list of activities during Welcome Week which culminated on Thursday January 23rd with lunch and Dragon Dancing in celebration of the Lunar New Year. Cheers to David Lee (APASS) and Gary Albury (Director of of Student Activities and Campus Life) for producing a fabulous event for students (including free food!).  More photos, including videos of the dragon dance, are available here: https://peraltacolleges.smugmug.com/Laney-College-Lunar-New-Year-Celebration/

Welcome New District Employees

Delisle Warden

Welcome Delisle Warden, Interim General Counsel & Chief of Staff, reporting to Chancellor Regina Stanback Stroud. Some of you may recognize Mr. Warden as he worked on a consulting project for the Chancellor late last year to review legal procedures and processes within the organization with an eye for cost savings. Peralta has outsourced the general counsel role for the past several years. Bringing the role back in-house will allow Peralta to make significant savings on legal costs. Mr. Warden is a graduate of the Harvard Law School and also has an MBA from Washington University in St. Louis, has been a member of the California Bar Association since 2007, and brings a wealth of experience to Peralta.  Fun fact...he's also a self described #HipHopHead so ask him about his favorite musicians.  Welcome Delisle!

Brain Slaughter

Welcome back Brian Slaughter, Director of Purchasing, who will report to the Vice Chancellor of Finance and Administration when hired. Mr. Slaughter has had a lengthy and successful career managing the purchasing operations for K-12 and colleges around the Bay Area, most recently at the Cupertino Union School District, but also including stops at Merced Community College District and Mt Diablo Unified School District. There are few, if any, people who know California state laws governing purchasing better than Mr. Slaughter. We say "welcome back" because Mr. Slaughter was head of purchasing at Peralta in the early 2000s. Welcome...it is good to have you back Brian!

Meet Chancellor Stanback Stroud

We hope you have already met Dr. Regina Stanback Stroud, but we know there are still many of you whom she has not yet had the pleasure to meet. She is creating opportunities to connect at each of the four college campuses.  In fact, she's coming to a campus near you on Wednesday, January 29, 2020. 

Chancellor's Town Hall Reception Schedule on January 29, 2020

Dr. Regina Stanback Stroud, Chancellor of the Peralta Community College, cordially invites you – faculty, staff, administrators, and students – to attend a Town Hall Reception at a college near you on Wednesday, January 29, 2020. See the details below for specific locations and times.

You will have an opportunity to engage with the Chancellor, much like the public forums during the Chancellor Search, but in this case she is interested in hearing more from YOU. Attendees are encouraged to bring questions and to share your thoughts about the Peralta Community College District. Your ideas matter.  Come and share them with Chancellor Stanback Stroud.

Light refreshments will be served. Everyone is invited. We hope faculty, staff, administrators, and students will take this opportunity to meet, ask questions, make suggestions and get to know the new Chancellor.

Chancellor's College Office Hours Schedule Spring 2020

In addition to the Town Hall Receptions, Dr. Stanback Stroud will be keeping office hours at each of the colleges on selected Fridays throughout the Spring 2020 Semester.  For these campus office hours, no appointment is necessary. Please come by, say hello and share your thoughts. She is looking forward to being on the campuses and meeting with everyone.

Chancellor's Report from January 21 Board of Trustees Meeting

Click here to watch the Chancellor's Report section of the Board of Trustees meeting from January 21, 2020.  In this edition, Dr. Stanback Stroud welcomes back Dr. Debbie Budd as Acting President at Berkeley City College, corrects information about enrollment, discusses the success of District Flex Day, shares information about the forthcoming Standards of Excellence to be adopted by all district managers, and then turns the mic over to the college presidents to share news from the four campuses. The Chancellor's Report video is 26 minutes and well worth your time. For those wishing to watch the whole Board meeting, the 3+ hour video is available here: https://youtu.be/jIEcqds9zTw

American Association of University Women Conference Announced

Trustee Karen Weinstein, a member of the Berkeley branch of the American Association of University Women, announced the upcoming AAUW NCCWSL - the National Conference for College Women Student Leaders.  The Conference will be held at the University of Maryland, college Park from May 27-30, 2020.   From the NCCWSL website: “Each year nearly 800 college women leaders join AAUW for three days of leadership education and training designed to ignite their future careers and initiate advocacy on their campuses and in their local communities. Celebrating its 35th year anniversary in 2020, NCCWSL brings together world-class speakers, top brands, and hundreds of passionate and inspired college women who are eager to become the leaders of tomorrow. With more than 10,000 attendees over the conference’s history, it is the premier leadership event for college women across the country.” Faculty and staff are encouraged to let students know about the opportunity.  Scholarships are available.  For more information visit the NCCWSL website at https://www.nccwsl.org/.

Upcoming Events

Here is a brief and certainly incomplete list of events that are coming up in the next few weeks. In addition to the college campus events listed in the table below, here are a few more items:

• California Community Colleges Chancellor Eloy Ortiz Oakley, Peralta Chancellor Regina Stanback Stroud, each of the four college presidents plus KMEL personality Shay Diddy will be at McClymonds High School in Oakland on Tuesday, January 28 from 4:30pm to 8pm for the Oakland Town Hall & College Fair sponsored by the Black and African American Advisory Panel of the California Community Colleges. Please RSVP here if planning to attend. 
• Chancellor Stanback Stroud's Town Hall Reception at each of the four colleges (see above for details).