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.
The Peralta Colleges are often mentioned in news media outlets. Recently, our colleges have seen a lot of positive press from national news outlets, such as when Dr. Angélica Garcia was appointed to a presidential committee including celebrities resulting in the mention of Berkeley City College in publications ranging from InStyle (12 Million readers) to Telemundo Puerto Rico (471 Thousand readers). Here are a few other recent news items mentioning our colleges.
Laney College Student Accessibility Services (SAS) Increasing Number
As Laney College closes 2022-23, it does so providing nearly double the disability accommodations that it did five years ago. In the last 4 years, Student Accessibility Services (SAS) has met more student needs by doubling its staff, creating outreach with external groups, creating certificates for students with disabilities, and opening a Test Proctoring room. The work has been a team effort from the Assistive Technology Specialist to the Test Proctor, the Staff Assistant, and counselors under the leadership of faculty coordinator, Dr. Nathan Failing, Dean Diane Chang, and Vice President Marlon Hall.
The Laney College Women's Track & Field team began championship season this past week, flocking to the podium and walking away with 4 medals. With the conclusion of the Coast Conference Championship, the Eagles are now headed to the NorCal Championship at Yuba Community College.
On Saturday, April 29th, Laney College hosted its Annual Career and Technical Education (CTE) Open House. We had 437 potential students, parents, and community partners visiting our campus. In addition, 14 industry and community partners, including labor unions, tabled to demonstrate the pathway of how our certificates and degrees lead to fulfilling careers. With about 100 Laney College employees supporting the event, students were able to register on the spot. Over the weekend, we gained 122 new students and 236 seat enrollments for the Fall 2023 semester. We also gained 114 new students and 151 seat enrollments for the Summer 2023 session.
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.
Yemisi C. Obalade Jr. tells a personal story of success and accomplishment:
“I wear many hats here on Laney’s campus. For Instance, I am vice president of Laney’s Black Student Union, one of the Senators for the ASLC (Associated Students of Laney College), and an intern at Laney’s Athletics as a student trainer. I am also a part of Umoja-Ubaka, a learning community, where I've got many opportunities, one of them being a participant of the Huston-Tillotson University recruiting visit to Laney.
The University of Alaska, Anchorage women's basketball program has started its 2023 recruiting class with one of the top junior-college prospects in California, as head coach Ryan McCarthy announced Wednesday that Kya Pearson has signed a scholarship agreement with the Seawolves, an event gaining media coverage https://goseawolves.com/news/2023/4/19/womens-basketball-seawolves-start-class-with-california-jc-star-pearson.aspx.
A partnership between Laney Media Studies faculty member and virtual production specialist Koina Freeman and Magicbox (https://www.magicbox.ninja/ ) has led to opportunities for students in the discipline.
Laney College Spring ‘23 Self-Care Fair
On April 11th, the Wellness Team for Mental Health Services sponsored the Spring ‘23 Self-Care Fair for Laney College, which focused on providing a space for students to take a break from stress. April is Stress-Awareness month, which made for the perfect time to give students the opportunity to partake in several different stress-decompression activities. The fair was open to all Laney students, with a handful of students from the other Peralta campuses attending as well.
