Thursday, February 13, 2020

Greetings Peralta Community!  Welcome to issue #7 of Peralta Gems. We're sending this issue a day early since the District is closed on Friday February 14 and Monday February 17. Enjoy your long holiday weekend!

COA Cougars Men's Basketball Team Upsets Top Ranked Yuba College

Congratulations to Coach Marshall Collins and the College of Alameda Men's Basketball Team! On Friday, February 7, 2020, COA won their 4th straight game and improved their conference record to 6-6 with a 71-66 win over the visiting top ranked and previously unbeaten Bay Valley Conference team Yuba College (at the time the #5 team in the state). In what was a hard-fought contest, the Cougars handed the 49ers their first 2020 conference lost, outscoring the 49ers in the second half 43-27. The Cougars guard Kameron Malbrough led with 20 points, Jeremiah Stamps added 16 points, and Dwayne Johnson contributed 10 points.

The winning streak continued on Wednesday, February 12 with a 97-82 home victory against Los Medanos College. Keep it going Cougars!

This update comes courtesy of Linda Thompson, Athletics Director at COA. Thank you Coach Thompson!

Merritt College Umoja-Sankofa Events

Photo by Tauheeda Anderson

Friday, February 7 began with Maria Spencer (Merritt College Outreach Coordinator who’s always on point, and in this case, in the photo), and Tauheeda Anderson working the Merritt College table outreach event at McClymonds High school. Once again Merritt's "The Town" bags were a hot takeaway item, loaded full of valuable info about attending college. 

17th Annual Oakland Black College Expo at Oakland Marriott City Center. Photo by Tauheeda Anderson

Merritt College also attended The 17th Annual Oakland Black College Expo Saturday February 8, 2020 at Oakland Marriott City Center, where High School Seniors, Juniors, and College Transfer Students met one on one with top HBCUs and a variety of other colleges and universities to get answers right on the spot. Students received Educational Resources. EVERYONE was welcome...and it was for students of all ages. And to make the event even more special, students were accepted to colleges on the spot!

Thanks to Taudeeha Anderson for providing photos and text for this article.

Mistah F.A.B. Black History Month Lecture at Merritt College

Oakland recording artist and community activist Mistah F.A.B. (Stanley Cox) was in the house at Merritt College on February 6th as part of the many fabulous Black History Month events taking place around the Peralta District. His motivational talk was full of wisdom and inspiring messages for the attendees.  Thanks to Janine Nkosi for tweeting!

New Peralta Strategic Plan: Work In Progress

The District is working with Dian Harrison to help facilitate a collaborative update of the Peralta Strategic Plan. Our last fully articulated strategic plan dates back to 2015, so it is time for us to put our minds together and update our strategy. Dian has almost 40 years in the non-profit sector leading organizations such as the United Way, the Urban League, and Planned Parenthood.  Further she served as Vice President of University Relations at Fisk University (HBCU), and as the Vice President of Finance and Administration at the San Jose Redevelopment Agency.  Dian, a native Californian, is the product of the Community College System, California State University, and the University of Southern California where she received a second masters degree in public administration.  She currently serves as an Adjunct Associate Professor at the Sol Price School of Public Policy at USC and is a doctoral candidate in public administration at West Chester University, the University of Pennsylvania. Ms. Harrison had a preliminary meeting with the Chancellor's Cabinet on January 6, 2020 to kick off this project. Since then, she has been meeting with various stakeholders across the District and will soon meet with constituent leadership, the Planning and Budgeting Council and students.

On Friday, January 31, 2020, Dian met with the Participatory Governance Committee (PGC). Her presentation put forward the planning process to come up with a truly collaborative strategic plan. We want to make sure the plan reflects the true voice of the district collective, resulting from a truly collaborative process. All Peralta district constituents and stakeholders should have opportunity to provide their input into the development of this updated strategic plan.  If you have suggestions or questions, please contact Dian Harrison directly at Dian.Harrison@peralta.edu. 

Participatory Governance Committee (PGC) Meeting on January 31, 2020

The agenda for the January 31 PGC meeting was just as packed as the DGS conference room where the meeting took place...in addition to the presentation by Dian Harrison regarding the Peralta strategic plan (see above), PGC also included a Chancellor update on accreditation, discussion of email communication at the District, and recommendations for BAM.  The scheduled discussion about Mission Statement was tabled for the next meeting. 

Coronavirus Update

On February 5th, Chancellor Regina Stanback Stroud provided information about the Novel Coronavirus in an announcement available here. A week later, the health risk to the general public in California from novel coronavirus remains low. 

The announcement from Chancellor Stanback Stroud provided some common-sense precautions to prevent the spread of all infectious diseases. These precautions will be helpful to also prevent the spread of other common illnesses such as influenza and gastroenteritis.  Please do read it if you have not already. 

The virus causes respiratory illness. For up-to-date information regarding the novel coronavirus, see:

• The California Department of Public Health website at https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CID/DCDC/Pages/Immunization/nCOV2019.aspx
• The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) website at https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html

If you feel like you are feeling any symptoms, please contact your campus Health Services center.  https://web.peralta.edu/health-services/

Peralta Management Retreat

On February 6, 2020, the Department of Human Resources and Employee Relations hosted an all day Peralta Management Retreat attended by staff managers from all over the District. Chanelle Whittaker, Ruby Andrews, Harizon Odembo and the whole Human Resources team are to be commended for the valuable training. 

The agenda included sessions on providing meaningful performance evaluations, progressive discipline, new policies and procedures, leaves and vacation tracking, and new sexual harassment prevention training, which is now online!  Vice Chancellor Whittaker received a hearty round of applause when she announced that the online harassment prevention training was arranged at no extra cost to the district as courtesy from a preferred vendor.  This program will save individuals time and of course save the district much needed funds while still providing valuable and important training.  Well done!

EOPS Celebrates 50th Anniversary

Extended Opportunity Programs and Services (EOPS) is a state-funded program designed to ensure campus access and provide support services to students who face economic, language, and social barriers and who are historically under-represented in higher education. EOPS assists students who participate in the program to attain their educational and career goals as they prepare to enter an increasingly technological and multicultural society. Our goal is to support and enable EOPS students’ through a comprehensive program of services. 

EOPS was founded in 1969 and 50 years later it is still going strong!  Merritt College celebrated the 50th Anniversary of EOPS with cupcakes and smiles for students and staff on Thursday, February 13th.  The celebration was an opportunity to reflect back on all the students that have been assisted by this important student support program over the last half century. Many thanks to Judy Adams, the EOPS Coordinator at Merritt College, for sending these photos. 

Public Forum for Vice Chancellor of Finance & Administration Finalists on Feb 18

Dr. Carla Walter 1:00 p.m. to 1:45 p.m. Carla Stalling Walter, PhD, MBA brings expertise to Peralta Community College District that includes 20 years of successful experience in higher education. She has demonstrated excellence in executing strategic planning, institutional effectiveness, resource allocation methodologies, and participatory governance. In holding executive leadership positions as Vice President and Interim President, Dr. Walter has managed budgets that exceed $100 million in restricted and unrestricted revenues. Before entering higher education administration, Dr. Walter served as a tenured associate professor in business, coming to the field after being Chief Operating Officer in the public finance industry. As a leader in public finance, she collaborated with public agency executives in California to issue and administer over $30 billion in bonds. Both her BA and her PhD are from the University of California, Riverside. She earned her MBA from the California State University, San Bernardino. Dr. Walter is a native of Los Angeles, now living in Hayward.

Chris Nguyen 2:00 p.m. to 2:45 p.m. Chris has been in higher education since the early 2000’s. He has international teaching and management experience since 2009 working in American style universities in the Middle East, Southern Europe and Kazakhstan where his last leadership position was Provost and General Deputy to the President. He has been a Vice President for Administrative Services at the State University of New York from 2016 to 2018 and held the same position at San Joaquin Delta College in California since 2018. He has experience overseeing Finance, Accounting, Student Accounts, Human Resources, Payroll, Information Technology, Public Safety, Capital, Facilities and Purchasing. Prior to higher education, Chris worked in the Energy, Financial and Consumer Goods industries. He started out in the M&A department, got promoted to corporate finance (with a stint in the legal department) and eventually to leading the finance team of a line of business with revenues of over $200M. Throughout his career, he has focused on process improvements, efficiency and customer and student service. Chris has been through international accreditation; been through accreditation while in NY and has served on a team for Middle States; and he has recently served on an ACCJC accreditation team in California. In higher education, his focus is on helping student succeed in the classroom and out in the work force. Chris attained his bachelor’s at Santa Clara University in California and his Master’s in Business Administration at Hofstra University and his Juris Doctor at New York Law School, both in New York.

Collaborative Brain Trust on the Home Stretch

The team from Collaborative Brain Trust made its last visit to Peralta on February 10-12 gathering input before writing up their final report for the District. The CBT group including Dr. Nicki Harrington, Dr. Dona Boatright, Dr. John Spevak, and Dan Rosenberg met with the Cabinet, the VPs of Instruction and other key stakeholders during their visit.  CBT has been assisting Peralta over the past year in five main areas including:

1. Leadership and Accountability
2. Enrollment Management
3. District-wide Systems and Processes
4. Organizational Structure and Staffing
5. Fiscal Stability

They've also made recommendations for public image and marketing. We will let you know when the final report is delivered to PCCD.  Thank you CBT for your support!

Berkeley City College Library Celebrates Black History Month

Congratulations COA Dance Program

On February 3, 2020, faculty member Danny Nguyen and the College of Alameda Dance Department performed at San Francisco City Hall, as part of the Lunar New Year Celebration.  San Francisco Mayor London Breed presented a Certificate of Honor to COA Dance! Video of the performance is available here.  Congratulations Danny and COA Dancers for this well-deserved honor!

Laney Love Challenge

President Tammeil Gilkerson and Laney College PIO Larena Baldazo have created a social media campaign contest with the hashtag #LaneyLoveChallenge to encourage the Laney Community to make a difference, whether it's picking up trash for a cleaner campus, volunteering to hand out fresh fruit, or many other ways of showing leadership and citizenship in the Laney community. 

We’ve partnered with Oakland rapper, songwriter and philanthropist, Mistah F.A.B., and one LUCKY winner will take home a #DopeEra t-shirt of their choice, along with a copy of Dope Era The Book. 

To enter, leave a comment on one of our posts announcing this giveaway and share your story, or post a photo/video of your cause in action.

Be sure to use #LaneyLoveChallenge!

Eligibility: All Laney Social media followers are eligible to win. Social media links include Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/laneycollege/, Twitter: https://twitter.com/Laney_College and Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LaneyCollege/