On Thursday, April 7, the Peralta District and its four colleges were notified that they would each receive $2,000 ($10,000 total) under the Institutional Effectiveness Partnership Initiative (IEPI) Grant Program to develop a Professional Development & Learning Center (PDLC). The building would serve to aid in the onboarding of staff and students, as well as help other ongoing professional development opportunities.

In a letter of interest to the IEPI, Chancellor Jackson stated that the idea for launching the PDLC was, “born out of themes that emerged from listening sessions, recommendations by the Board of Trustees, social justice initiatives such as those championed by Laney College’s ‘Black Minds Matter’ coalition, campus/board goals and mission statements, the need for consistent staff training and onboarding of new employees, maintaining a culture of diversity, equity, access, and inclusion, as well as providing a centralized infrastructure for training and professional development sadly lacking in our organization.”

Additionally, Chancellor Jackson stated that through the PDLC, Peralta will be able to continue its journey of promoting the spirit of “Ubuntu” – a philosophy that emphasizes the importance of being part of a group or community. “This spirit of each of us bound together for the good of all is part of the culture we wish to foster through training and inculcation of this belief system into our employees and students; thereby changing the institutional climate – through an equity lens that we are all bound together as one,” said Jackson.

The IEPI was launched in 2014 to help California’s community colleges and college districts improve their operational effectiveness. It is uniquely positioned to help boost student success across the system by providing colleges and college districts the high-quality technical assistance, professional development, and resource tools needed to achieve the goals and commitments contained in the California Community Colleges’ 2017 Vision for Success.