Berkeley City College Class of 2023 Commencement Celebrates Graduates and Hope

Berkeley City College’s commencement ceremony honored the class of 2023 at UC Berkeley’s Zellerbach Hall on Wednesday, May 24. It was the first in-person commencement ceremony since 2019. This year, Berkeley City College conferred 962 degrees and certificates to 551 graduates. Of those graduates, 130 were on-hand to walk the stage and receive their diplomas from Berkeley City College President Angélica Garcia in front of over 1,000 family members and friends in the audience.

With a triumphant return to fully in-person celebrations, Berkeley City College celebrated its graduating class on May 24, 2023. The commencement ceremony was held at Zellerbach Hall at UC Berkeley and included speeches from BCC President Dr. Angelica Garcia, Board of Trustees member Dyana Delfín Polk, and Valedictorian Parneet Virk.

Berkeley City College graduate and Umoja Leader Eneni Frank was this year’s BCC recipient of the Peralta Association of African American Affairs Scholarship. Frank, who will be transferring to UC Berkeley Haas School of Business, was awarded $750 along with 4 other PCCD scholars at the PAAAA Scholarship Award Ceremony on Thursday, May 4 at the Peralta Community College District Atrium.

OAKLAND, Calif., May 24, 2023 – Last night, the Peralta Community College District (PCCD) Board of Trustees approved the appointment of Dr. Denise Richardson to serve as Interim President of Berkeley City College effective July 1, 2023, and extending to June 30, 2024, or until a permanent president is hired. Dr. Richardson is currently the Vice President of Instruction at Merritt College, a role she began in March 2020. She has been an employee of the district for over 20 years, starting as a faculty member at Laney College in 2001.

The Peralta Association of African American Affairs (PAAAA) hosted a lovely event in honor of seven outstanding students on May 4th, 2023, at the Peralta Community College District headquarters in Oakland.  Dr. Lawrence VanHook (PAAAA President) led attendees through the program that included Libations by Dr. Marlon Hall (Laney College Vice President of Student Services) and a thrilling performance of "Lift Every Voice and Sing" by Laney College student Alison Fletcher. 

BCC Multimedia Art students are holding an exhibition in the Jerry Adams Gallery titled “Rethink Your Drink”, displaying poster advertisements promoting water of sugary sweetened beverages. This art exhibit is sponsored by CHEI, a community grantee of Healthy Berkeley, a program of the City of Berkeley’s Public Health Division. Students Jerry Hsaio and Brian Travis Williams won awards for their pieces “Water Wins” and “Don’t Listen to the Devil.”

AAPI Heritage Month Celebrations and Events at BCC

May is Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month. To mark the occasion, students with Berkeley City College’s AAPI LEAD club covered BCC’s campus with information flyers highlighting AAPI trailblazers and heroes including Chinese American Labor Organizer Sue Ko Lee and former US Congress Rep. Patsy Matsu Takemoto Mink. Other flyers display flags of Asian cultures sharing facts about the many diverse countries that make up the region.

The Peralta Community College District is proud to celebrate the granting of tenure to seven members of our faculty by the Board of Trustees in March, with tenure taking effect with the 2023-24 academic year. These seven join the ranks of tenured faculty at our four colleges, adding ever more experience and talent to the core of our distinguished faculty, the foundation of our ability to help our students reach their educational goals. Congratulations to all for earning this distinction and for your dedication to our students.

To view all the photos taken during the event, click here.