Black Panthers Birthplace Celebration at Merritt College

November 28, 2006 | read more

A belated 40th birthday celebration for the Black Panthers will take place at Merritt College on Wednesday, November 29, 2006, from 12 Noon to 2 p.m. in Building A, Room A-129.

Instructor Jon Drinnon, a longtime activist and faculty member has organized the celebration with his Critical Thinking class students.  The celebration will comprise of a special presentation by Billy X (formerly Billy Jennings) and a panel discussion with invited guests that include of former Panthers Kevin Johnson and Mary Williams.

Saxophonist Herbert Mims Jr. and Jazz Improvisation Students Perform at College of Alameda

November 17 , 2006 | read more

Jazz saxophonist Herbert Mims Jr. will lead his College of Alameda jazz improvisation students in its annual holiday concert to take place on Wednesday, Dec. 6, 2006, at 7 p.m. in the college’s F Building Student Lounge. The event is free, and the public is invited.

November 17 , 2006 | read more

College of Alameda has just been selected as one of eight winners, and the only California winner, of an American Association of Community Colleges Horizons Grant. The three-year grant will support development of a model service learning program at the college and help train faculty members in skills needed to develop service learning opportunities for College of Alameda students.

Ise Lyfe  To Perform at Sustainable Peralta Event: “Forward Ever, Environmental Justice & Hip Hop,” A Fundraiser for the Ghana Study Abroad Program Winter 2007

October 17, 2006 | read more

What does environmental racism, hip hop and study abroad in Ghana all have in common? Youth, community activism and social justice are elements that run through all of these topics and the African American Studies Department at Merritt College is the engine fueling this project.

Fall Plant Sale at Merritt College

October 5, 2006 | read more

The   Fall   Plant   Sale   at    Merritt    College’s   Landscape Horticulture Department takes place on October 7, 2006 from 9:00a.m. – 3:00p.m.  The plants where propagated by Landscape Horticulture students and Merritt’s Propagation Club. All money raised through the sale goes back into improving and supporting the Landscape Horticulture Department. Admission is free; ample parking is available.

CoA’s “College Night” Brings Together High School Students and College Reps

October 3 , 2006 | read more

High school students and their families are invited to Alameda’s Sixteenth Annual Citywide College Night on Thursday, November 2, from 6:00: to 8:00 p.m., in the College of Alameda Gymnasium, Building “G”, 555 Ralph Appezzato Memorial Parkway (Atlantic Avenue).

Peralta Opens Two New Buildings

The Peralta Community College District was proud to open two new buildings recently. The new campus of Berkeley City College (formerly Vista) was officially opened on Tuesday, August 22, 2006, and the new art building at Laney College was open on Wednesday, August 23, 2006. Both are state-of-the-art facilities the offer students the latest architectural designs to aid in their learning.

To see a slide show of the ribbon cutting ceremony for Berkeley City College, click here. For slides of the Laney art building, click here.

Bay AIDS Walk Peralta a Sponsor of Second Annual East

August 22, 2006 | read more

The Peralta Community College District is proud to be one of sponsors of the Second Annual East Bay AIDS Walk will be held at Lake Merritt in Oakland, and all are urged to get involved!

Can Racism Be Funny? “Color Stuck,” A new one-man show, premieres at Laney College

August 17, 2006 | read more

When is racism funny? When Donald E. Lacy performs his new piece “Color Struck.”
The Peralta Community College District and the Laney College Theatre Arts Department have announced a new one-man show, “Color Struck,” written and performed by veteran Bay Area performer Donald E. Lacy, Jr., will premiere at Laney College Sept. 7, 2006, at 8:00 p.m.

The Peralta Community College District and its four colleges have launched a bold, aggressive recruitment campaign, including an edgy television spot targeting at-risk communities within its six-city service area.
Although community college enrollment throughout the state is generally in a slump, enrollment rates at the Peralta Colleges have increased since the campaign, the brainchild of District Chancellor Elihu Harris, began at the end of July.

College of Alameda Recruiting Low-Income Students for New “Learning Community” Program

August 14, 2006 | read more

College of Alameda is currently recruiting students for its new Transformative Learning Connections (TLC) program, designed to increase college success rates among high-risk students. The program, funded by a $300,000 multi-year Student Support Partnership Integrating Resources & Education (SSPIRE) grant from the James Irvine Foundation, integrates academic instruction with student support services for young, low-income and racially diverse students. College of Alameda is the only East Bay college among nine California community colleges selected to develop a SSPIRE program.

Peralta TV Staffer Jailed For Refusal to Turnover Videotape to Federal Grand Jury

August 3, 2006 | read more

Peralta TV's outreach director, Josh Wolf, went to jail yesterday for refusing to turn over a videotape he shot of a protest to a federal grand jury. His case – and subsequent jailing -- has made national and international news. To read some of the stories about the case, follow the below links or visit peralta.TV.

Berkeley City Colleges (It’s Not Vista Anymore) Gets Set to Cut the Ribbon

July 26, 2006 | read more

After 32 years in leased facilities, Berkeley City College (formerly Vista Community College) has moved into a permanent home. A ribbon cutting and time capsule commemoration set for 10 a.m., Tue., Aug. 22, at 2050 Center St. between Shattuck Ave. and Milvia St., formally opens Berkeley’s new community college where the fall 2006 semester begins the next day. Refreshments follow in the building’s five-story, glass-enclosed atrium.

Two Peralta Trustees, Alona Clifton and Linda Handy, Honored as ‘Outstanding Women’

July 25, 2006 | read more

Two Peralta Community College District trustees, Alona Clifton and Linda Handy, who is president of the Board of Trustees, were honored last week at the Eleventh Annual African American Excellence in Business and Scholarship Gala, held July 12, in Oakland, Calif.

College of Alameda Aviation Maintenance Training Facility

July 19, 2006 | read more

A huge Pratt & Whitney JT8D jet engine, a Boeing 737 systems trainer and a 1970 Iskra TS-11 Polish Air Force Trainer airplane are among the machines worked on by students in the College of Alameda Aviation Maintenance Technology Program.

New Business Manager at Merritt

July 18, 2006 | read more

A new business manager, Jacquelin Bell, pictured, has been appointed at Merritt College, effective July 1, 2006. The position was previously held on an interim basis by George Herring, who now Acting President of Merritt.

July 13, 2006 | read more

The Peralta Community College has named Dr. Sadiq B. Ikharo as Vice Chancellor of General Services. Ikharo, who has served as Peralta’s Director of General Services since September 2005, took up his position, which is a promotion, July 1, 2006.

College of Alameda Pilots New Program for
At-Risk Youth

June 15, 2006 | read more

An innovative program for students who are under-prepared for college will be offered at College of Alameda beginning this summer. The program, called Digital Bridge Academy, was pioneered at Cabrillo College’s Watsonville campus in Santa Cruz County. It aims to “light the fire within” young adults who come from backgrounds of poverty, abuse or social problems and are typically not encouraged to attend college.

Voters Say ‘Aye’ to Peralta’s Students – Overwhelmingly Pass Bond Measure to Improve College Classrooms

June 9, 2006 | read more

Alameda County voters passed Peralta Colleges’ $390 million Measure A bond this Tuesday by an overwhelming 74.7 percent, one of the highest support rates for a community college bond measure in the state.

And What a Graduation It Was: Proud Laney Students Awarded Scholarships

June 5, 2006 | read more

Laney College awarded six of its students with scholarships for their academic achievement at this year's graduation ceremony, held June 25, 2006, at the Oakland City Center Marriott. Here's a look at each of the recipients and their impressive work while at Laney College

Peralta's Perdue Takes Top State PR Award

June 2, 2006 | read more

In an action that surprised no one but the recipient, Howard Perdue, associate vice chancellor for Admissions, Records and Student Services at the Peralta Community College District, was awarded the state's top community college PR award, the “All PRO,” by the Community College Public Relations Organization (CCPRO).

It's Official: Vista Community College to Become Berkeley City College

May 24, 2006 | read more

Vista Community College's Substantive Change Report to ACCJC/WASC, which reported a name change   from Vista to Berkeley City College, effective June 1, 2006,   was approved Fri., May 19, by ACCJC/WASC.     Peralta Community College District trustees voted 7-0 to approve the name change earlier this year.

Vista's Giselle Lopez-Tello wins 2006 Peralta Chancellor's Trophy Award

May 23, 2006 | read more

Giselle Lopez-Tello, 24, is the 2006 recipient of the Peralta Community College District's Chancellor's Trophy Award.   She starts at U.C. Santa Barbara this fall with a major in psychology.  

College of Alameda Commencement Ceremony

May 26 | read more

Dr. Norma S. Rees, retiring president of California State University, East Bay, will be the featured speaker at College of Alameda's 36th annual Commencement ceremony, to be held Friday, May 26, 2006, at 3 p.m. in the college gymnasium. Family and friends of the graduating students are invited to attend. Tickets are not required, and parking in campus lots will be free.

Peralta Trustees Name Frank Chong as Laney College President

May 16, 2006 | read more

At its regular board meeting last week, the Peralta Community College District Board of Trustees unanimously approved the appointment of Dr. Frank Chong as president of Laney College.

Chong will take up his post at Laney on July 1.

Three Days of Dancer Katherine Dunham at
Laney College

April 16, 2006 | read more

Laney College will host three days of dance classes, workshops, arts and crafts, films and a “Living Birthday Card” of 97 dancers to showcase the Northern California legacy of famed dancer, choreographer, anthropologist and humanitarian Katherine Dunham.   The historic events will take place from June 8 to June 10, 2006 in the Laney College Theater and Dance Studios.

College of Alameda Auto Tech Student Awarded Ozzie Day Scholarship

May 15, 2006 | read more

Veng Tang, a third-year student in the Automotive Technology program at College of Alameda, was awarded the Ozzie Day Scholarship today.

College of Alameda Student Designers 2006 Fashion Show

April 19, 2006 | read more

The Apparel Design and Merchandising (ADAM) program at the College of Alameda presents its annual fashion show of student designs Saturday, May 6, 2006, from 2 to 4 p.m. at the First Unitarian Church of Oakland. Admission is $10, and tickets must be purchased in advance. The proceeds from the fashion show benefit the ADAM Scholarship Fund.

Laney College Manager Goes to Oxford

April 17, 2006 | read more

Leslee Stradford, manager of Laney’s June Steingart Art Gallery, has accepted an invitation to participate in the prestigious Oxford Round Table at the University of Oxford in England in July. A gifted painter, educator and lecturer, Stratford, pictured, will speak on the dramatic split between the Arts and Science in education and intellectual life.

College of Alameda Science & Technology Symposium Focuses on Career Trends

March 30, 2006 | read more

College of Alameda presents its first Science and Technology Symposium on Tuesday, April 25, 2006.   This mini-conference offers Bay Area technology companies the opportunity to interface with the college community and specifically COA community college students preparing for careers in science and technology.   From 12 noon until 2:30 p.m. at College of Alameda's F-Building/Student Lounge, there will be presentations and displays reflecting science careers and educational opportunities.

College of Alameda Offers Ancestral DNA Testing to the Public

March 30, 2006 read more

Genealogy buffs and others interested in learning more about their ancestry are invited to trace their roots using cutting-edge DNA technology in a five-hour workshop at College of Alameda starting Saturday, April 1, from 12 noon to 3 p.m. To register, call (510) 748-2352. Cost of the workshop is $50.

Peralta's Heyman Tapped By U.N. For Hate Media Panel

March 30, 2006 | read more

Peralta's Executive Director for Marketing, Public Relations and Communications, Jeffrey Heyman, has been tapped by the United Nations to join an international panel on countering the rise of “hate media” throughout the world.
The panel is part of a three-day conference of United Nations heads of public information offices held by the UN's departments of Public Information and Peacekeeping Operations at UN Headquarters in New York in April.

Laney Journalism Prof on KQED-FM

March 30, 2006 | read more

Laney journalism professor Burt Dragin will discuss his book "Six to Five Against: A Gambler's Odyssey" on the popular radio call-in program Forum with Michael Krasny at 10 a.m., Thursday, April 6, on KQED radio, 88.5 FM.

March 24, 2006 | read more

The College of Alameda Music Department is partnering with the Oakland Public Conservatory of Music to present biweekly concerts and jam sessions beginning this month and continuing until May. The second concert/jam session takes place Sunday, March 26, from 2 to 6 p.m. at the Conservatory, 1616 Franklin St. in Oakland. Concerts will take place every second and fourth Sunday afternoon at the Conservatory, and are free and open to the public.

A New Era: PCTV Becomes peralta.TV Featured in the East Bay Express, peralta.TV Moves in a New Direction

March 17, 2006 | read more

Board Meetings and Telecourses to be Streamed, Available On-demand For over 20 years, PCTV has delivered unique, informative and educational programming to the East Bay community. And, beginning today, that quality programming is now available to anyone with an Internet connection. In recognition of this exciting new direction, the Peralta Community College District has unveiled a new PCTV, now called   peralta.TV, complete with a truly interactive Web site ( www.peralta.tv ), complete with downloads and streaming video.

Trustee Bill Withrow in Brown-Bag Lunch Series

March 13, 2006 | read more

Trustee Bill Withrow in Brown-Bag Lunch Series - Students, faculty, staff and the community are invited to join Peralta Trustee Bill Withrow in a series of Friday Brown-bag lunch meetings at each of the Peralta Colleges.
Trustee Withrow will be discussing Peralta's Strategic Planning Process and the Role and Responsibility of Peralta's Board or Trustees.

System Failure: A Documentary on the California Youth Authority
at Merritt College

March 8, 2006 | read more

On Thursday, March 9th, Merritt's Puente Program's English 1A class will co-host an   Bars and Witness.   The documentary film and discussion about the California Youth Authority and its injustices will begin at 12:00 in Building A, Room 129.     This event is free and open to the community.

Laney Grad, An International Student, To Speak In San Francisco For International Women's Day

March 7, 2006 | read more

Rutendo Kashambwa, a recently Laney College graduate and current student at UC Berkeley, will speak on the challenges of growing up in Zimbabwe at the International Women's Day Briefing, to be held at the War Memorial Veterans Building in San Francisco at 5:30 pm Wednesday, March 8, 2006.

March 10, 2006 | read more

Ron Dellums and Nancy Nadel will speak at the Laney College Theater kicking-off the Sustainable Peralta Colleges Initiative Conference Friday, March 10. The free event is open to the public; registration begins at 8:30 AM.   Peralta Trustee Nicky González Yuen asserts, "Let's dream big and dramatically expand the work being done at Merritt, Vista, Laney and the College of Alameda to build a movement for environmental sustainability both regionally and globally."

New Laney Class Explores Living in a Diverse Society

March 2, 2006 | read more

Is the color line in U.S. society shifting? Is the ‘playing field' becoming more level economically and politically? Are we now a poly-cultural society? What role has the hip-hop generation played in the transformation of U.S. society? What are the stories of minority groups in the Bay Area? Issues of ethnicity, race, and religion permeate contemporary social life. They signal societal fault lines with respect to upward mobility, assimilation, identity, education, immigration, labor relations, music, etc., but also underscore the rich social and cultural diversity contributed by minority communities today, which is altering life in the U.S. in significant ways.

Peralta TV Delivers Democracy Now!

February 14, 2006 | read more

As the largest public media collaboration in the United States, Democracy Now! is broadcast daily for radio and TV to over 350 stations across the country. Beginning this week, those in the East Bay who have grown to relish listening to Democracy Now! on the radio, can watch their favorite news program every morning and evening on Peralta Colleges Television.

Vista Ambassadors Teach Berkeley's King Middle School Students to Focus on Real Life Learning

February 2006 | read more

A new spring   collaboration which involves Berkeley's Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School, Vista Community College student ambassadors, and the League of Women Voters is inspiring eighth graders to focus on learning relates to real life.

Chavez Brothers Share Top Honors in College of Alameda Auto Tech Program

February 2, 2006 | read more

Mario and Juan Chavez, brothers who were last year's star students in College of Alameda's Automotive Technology program, have both been declared winners of the department's $300 Ozzie Day Scholarship for Fall 2005. The scholarship is given each semester to the Automotive Technology student with the highest GPA and the most units in the program.

Peralta's Innovative Bond Measure Featured in Chicago Tribune

February 2006 | read more

CFO Thomas Smith Interviewed The Peralta Community College District's innovative $150 million bond that now take care of a once-unfunded liability – medical coverage – was featured in an article in the Chicago Tribune on January, 22, 2006. Interviewed in the article was Peralta's vice chancellor for finance and budget, Thomas Smith, who, working closely with the Peralta Federation of Teachers and Peralta's retired employees, developed the strategy for the bond, which is the first of its kind in the country.

Cash for College at College of Alameda and
Laney College

February 2006 | read more

Cash for College, a free financial aid workshop for Bay Area high school seniors and their families, will be held at College of Alameda on Wednesday, Feb.15, from 6:00-8:30 p.m. in the college's F Building, and at Laney College on Saturday, Feb. 25, from 9:00 a.m. to noon in the Student Center.
The workshop will provide information on federal and state grants, loans, and the requirements for receiving financial aid.   Experienced financial aid advisors will offer step-by-step assistance in completing the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid, a form that all high school students who plan to attend college must complete to receive financial aid) and the Cal Grant Application. Both applications have deadlines of March 2, 2006.

Peralta's New Bond Issue: Funding a Previously Unfunded Liability Safeguarding Retirees and Setting Trends

January 2006 | read more

Special to the NewsCentre by Jerry Herman, PRO President - Oakland, January 20, 2006 -- Peralta retirees might feel a little more secure about our health benefits now that the district has sold $153 million in bonds as a first step toward financing its unfunded liability.

College of Alameda's Anthropology Instructor, Nathan Strong Selected for “Who's Who Among America's teachers” in 2004 and 2005

January 2006 | read more

In recognition of his extraordinary teaching efforts, Dr. Nathan Strong, an anthropology instructor at College of Alameda, has been selected for inclusion in the 2004 and 2005 editions of Who's Who Among America's Teachers . This honor is bestowed on only five percent of the nation's educators each year and Strong who has been teaching on and off at the Peralta Colleges since 1988 is among them.

History in the Making: Vista to Become Berkeley City College

January 2006 | read more

Vista Community College will change both its name and location in June 2006.    On June 1, it will become Berkeley City College.   Peralta Community College District trustees voted 7-0 to approve the name change for the 32-year-old school at their January 10 meeting.  

James Irvine Grant Goes to College of Alameda

January 2006 | read more

College of Alameda has been awarded a grant of up to $300,000 from the James Irvine Foundation to develop a program to increase college success among high-risk students. CoA is the only East Bay college among nine community colleges throughout the state selected last week to share the $3.5 million grant.