CHANCELLOR’S C-DIRECTOctober 26, 2016

Dear Colleagues:

The past week had exceptional moments. For example, Board President Riley and I spent some time in San Diego learning about the system there with its Participatory Governance process, its budget set-up, its administrative structure and the systems that are used to be financially solid. Some faculty and staff will soon visit San Diego, as well, and we look forward to their report and discussing the San Diego model with them. As in previous weeks, our outreach efforts were very fruitful and we continue to engage in many positive activities to build on what we already have. Additionally, I continue to respond to inquiries as much as I can, with the involvement of the Academic and Faculty Senates, and dialog with anyone who needs clarification as to where we are heading as a District. Taking advantage of local opportunities to improve our financial base remains a reachable goal with the continued development of PCCD’s Workforce Development and Continuing Education. Finally, we are putting forth more efforts through Enrollment Management to reach out to those who need training and education, allowing us to also reach a good financial balance. I appreciate everyone’s well wishes to me as we go through the adjustments of new leadership and the vision I shared at the open forums.

Meeting with Supervisor Wilma Chan’s Staff

Vanessa Cedeño and Melanie Moore, staff members from Supervisor Chan’s office, came to the District Office and visited with Interim AVC King and me. Their visit is a direct result of my participation in the Oakland Thrives efforts. The County Supervisors have set forth an impressive and ambitious agenda to provide workforce training and jobs for 1,400 formerly incarcerated individuals being released into our community. These individuals have academic and training needs that range from early skills to college degrees. Having them work-ready is a challenge for the framers of the promise, and an opportunity for Peralta to not only show the County we are worthy of its investments, but also to live our mission and attend to the needs of a population that can be integrated, successfully, into our community. Lest we forget, Earl Taylor from Solano Community College, to whom we gave a standing ovation, went from low academic skills out of prison to graduating this coming May in mathematics at San Francisco State

University. That is the power of the community college, and the WDCE and our colleges are perfectly situated to help transition these able members of our society to a productive life, a life that can change their families’ trajectory and defy their historical path. We are excited to partner with Supervisor Chan to help train so many people at our Colleges and to help to ready them for opportunities in the East Bay. There is also an initiative on food as medicine that Supervisor Chan is initiating and a positive role for both Culinary and Nutrition programs at Merritt and Laney to play in it.

Bishop Robert Jackson

Bishop Jackson leads ACTS Full Gospel Church, which has 4,000 members in East Oakland and caters to the community in multiple ways. For example, ACT has a K-6 school, a program that caters to formerly incarcerated individuals, and other events, including pre-college activities. I went to visit the Bishop, as an introduction prior to our Super Sunday there on September 30 and Peralta was warmly received and welcomed for the visit. The Bishop proudly showed me his Associate of Arts Degree from Merritt College. He had a magnificent experience at the Peralta Colleges and is a great advocate of Peralta and community colleges. He has opened the door to us to market to the people of his church, because he believes that this is the right thing to do; he had been doing the marketing himself for a long time.

Cypress Mandela Training CenterOn the way from the ACTS Full Gospel and my visit with Bishop Jackson, I stopped by the Cypress Mandela Center, which partners with Laney College in construction. Three times a year, they enroll 60 students in a pre-apprenticeship program. These are often young people without a future. At the end of the training, they usually end up with a job at one of the various major employers in

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the East Bay, including PG&E, Comcast and others. I compared my life in Haiti with theirs and remarked on how we both can overcome life challenges to be what we want to be. One of the young people had traveled to Haiti (pictured) and shared that with me afterwards. I would encourage us all to pay a visit to this facility – it is a life-changing environment.

Heath Care Advocates Potential

Drs. Glenda Newell-Harris and Brenda Spriggs (both MDs) approached us to explore offering a program to train individuals in health advocacy. In early July, they started meeting with Dr. King from WDCE in order to move the project forward. It is also an initiative that Congresswoman Barbara Lee thought was necessary, along with the Affordable Care Act and her own experience caring for her mother. So, last week a formal Memorandum of Understanding was agreed upon in principle and will follow the approval process to offer to our community the opportunity to participate in the program. There will be plenty of opportunities for our faculty and staff who are interested in participating in this endeavor, to do so.

District Fall Open Forum

Several staff members from the District attended PCCD’s recent open forums to dialog and offer their points of view on a number of issues, including hiring of classified staff, technology and facilities. It was a very participatory program and gave me an opportunity to connect with the staff.

U.S. Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey

I would not do justice to Senator Booker if I tried to repeat to you what he shared with our College athletes, including most on the football team. This is a man who overcame a

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lot of obstacles and succeeded to a high level. Everyone left his presentation filled with excitement for the future and with love for our critics. As he stated, what others have against you is their problem; what you have against them is your problem. Try not to carry too much of their problem.

Laney Student Center Briefing

Peter Crabtree, Dean at Laney, shared with me some background on the Laney Student Center. I also received a briefing from the architect on Friday and asked for a meeting soon with the Laney Student Center stakeholders to explore ways we can move forward with the project. Too much time has passed and too many efforts have been made on the project without results. It is emblematic of so many challenges we face. The issue here is that professionals have been reluctant to move forward for fear of criticism. It is a paralysis that can hold us back from moving in a positive direction. My goal -- with the support of the students, faculty and staff at Laney -- is to put an end to this endless cycle of planning without action. Our Governing Board is holding us accountable for ensuring that these activities and projects move forward.

East Bay Consortium of Educational Institutions

Monica Montenegro, Executive Director of the Consortium, and Associate Director Boun Khamnouane recently visited with Dr. Ambriz-Galaviz and me. The Consortium endeavors to serve all the higher education institutions in the East Bay as well as the school districts. The organization holds college application and financial aid workshops throughout the year. They also hold an annual summer academy for mathematics at Merritt College, where 120 students from secondary schools participate. Additionally, they operate an alternative high school and are seeking partnerships with us for non-credit and late credit courses for students who end their high school requirements in the middle of the semester. We look forward to several partnerships with them, including:

A cash-for-college workshop in the spring at one of our institutions A summer mathematics academy at Merritt College Contact with WDCE for non-credit and scanning our schedule for late-

starting classes Financial Aid experts from Peralta to lead workshops for students in

Oakland high schools A connection with Assistant VC for Enrollment Management

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Japanese Baseball Players Visit to Laney College Submitted by Drew Gephart, International Services Manager

On September 19, 2016, a group of 7 high school and college baseball players from Japan visited Laney College to participate in a clinic with the Laney College Baseball Team. The players received a warm welcome from the Laney players and coaching staff. It was a rewarding opportunity for all who participated as cultures were crossed. It was special to see the Laney players taking pictures and making great connections with the Japanese players. We really have a great group of students at the Peralta Colleges! Here is a quote from the coach who brought the players from Japan: “Thank you very much for having us with very warm hospitality. All of our players said that they had a really great time there and your players were really nice to them. I cannot thank them enough.”

Fall 2016 Study Abroad Fair at BCCSubmitted by Drew Gephart, International Services Manager

On September 21, for the third consecutive year, the Office of International Education held the Study Abroad Fair at one of the four Peralta Community Colleges, Berkeley City College. Between 9am to 3pm, streams of students flowing through the Atrium among whom more than 100 students

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checked out at the booths registering their email addresses expressing interest to studying abroad. Many professed ignorance about the existence of such opportunity to studying abroad and were enlightened to learn that Peralta colleges have six Study Abroad Programs offered for Summer 2017. Onboard with the Office of International Education at the fair was a team of fourteen vendors with whom we believe that together as team our primary goal, not only to build awareness but also to increase the number and diversity of students to study abroad and ensure quality and remove barriers to participation, would be reinforced and proliferated.

Study Abroad is one of the initiatives embarked by the Office of International Education of Peralta Community College District back in 2014 in partnership with the Institute of International Education (IIE) who believes that studying abroad is an essential component of a college degree. The mission of Peralta Study Abroad is to facilitate and advocate the vision of IIE in enabling today’s students from all backgrounds in all sectors to gain access to international experiences that will better prepare them to become a global citizen after graduation. Peralta Community College District recognizes that education of the 21st century is an increasingly complex web of connections and interdependencies. Therefore, the ability and skills to interact with people of different culture and socioeconomic background from other countries is a key prerequisite to college students in today’s globalized world. Initiatives such as studying abroad provides a paradigm shift to instill in college students how to nurtures personal respect, respect for others and, more skilled in interacting in an increasingly diversified communities locally, nationally and internationally.

Since our first launch in October 2014, together with our increasing vendor participation we have grown our student and faculty database and increase our Study Abroad programs from initial four to the current six. The Office of International Education continues to strive to build a coalition to reach hundreds of thousands of college students who have not been able to access study abroad or have chosen not to take part in part due to affordability.

Laney PTK

The fall induction ceremony was an excellent demonstration of the dedication of the chapter

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advisor, Brandi Howard, supported by former advisor Angela Cherry. Sixty new members of Phi Theta Kappa, the strongest honor society in the community colleges, were accepted at Laney this year out of 900 potential members. Added to the diversity of the members, is a healthy participation of young men, including some members of our football team and the Team’s captain. They pledged to be a strong chapter and to travel to the International Conference in April. I have the impression we will hear much more about this chapter in the months ahead.

Foundation Scholarship Event

The Peralta Colleges Foundation held its annual fundraising reception event last Thursday. A good group of faculty, staff, administrators, Foundation Board Directors and the community attended the event. The highlight of the night was the students’ testimonies. Students from Merritt and Laney spoke of their life-changing experiences and had a lot of praise for the faculty and staff.

Black Panther Fiftieth Anniversary Party

Several students from the Peralta Colleges, along with some faculty, staff and administrators attended the Black Panther Party on Saturday night. It was a very moving and positive event, highlighting the challenges of today that resemble the ones of yesterday. I

want to thank the College presidents for supporting their Colleges’ participation. In addition, several Fiftieth Anniversary events took place at Laney and activities are scheduled this week at Merritt College providing great insight into the bold activities of

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the Black Panthers. These activities are open to the public and all employees and students.

JowelJowel C. Laguerre, Ph.D.

Chancellor

In recognition of the Black Panthers’ Fiftieth Anniversary, we share the Party’s 10-point program that may still be found relevant today:

1. WE WANT FREEDOM. WE WANT POWER TO DETERMINE THE DESTINY OF OUR BLACK AND OPPRESSED COMMUNITIES.

2. WE WANT FULL EMPLOYMENT FOR OUR PEOPLE.

3. WE WANT AN END TO THE ROBBERY BY THE CAPITALISTS OF OUR BLACK AND OPPRESSED COMMUNITIES.

4. WE WANT DECENT HOUSING, FIT FOR THE SHELTER OF HUMAN BEINGS.

5. WE WANT DECENT EDUCATION FOR OUR PEOPLE THAT EXPOSES THE TRUE NATURE OF THIS DECADENT AMERICAN SOCIETY. WE WANT EDUCATION THAT TEACHES US OUR

TRUE HISTORY AND OUR ROLE IN THE PRESENT-DAY SOCIETY.

6. WE WANT COMPLETELY FREE HEALTH CARE FOR ALL BLACK AND OPPRESSED PEOPLE.

7. WE WANT AN IMMEDIATE END TO POLICE BRUTALITY AND MURDER OF BLACK PEOPLE, OTHER PEOPLE OF COLOR, ALL OPPRESSED PEOPLE INSIDE THE UNITED

STATES.

8. WE WANT AN IMMEDIATE END TO ALL WARS OF AGGRESSION.

9. WE WANT FREEDOM FOR ALL BLACK AND OPPRESSED PEOPLE NOW HELD IN U. S. FEDERAL, STATE, COUNTY, CITY AND MILITARY PRISONS AND JAILS. WE WANT TRIALS

BY A JURY OF PEERS FOR ALL PERSONS CHARGED WITH SO-CALLED CRIMES UNDER THE LAWS OF THIS COUNTRY.

10. WE WANT LAND, BREAD, HOUSING, EDUCATION, CLOTHING, JUSTICE, PEACE AND PEOPLE’S COMMUNITY CONTROL OF MODERN TECHNOLOGY.

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Source: Black Panther Party

You might also enjoy Peralta TV’s award-winning documentary on the founding of the Black Panther Party, “Merritt College: Home of the Black Panthers,” narrated by

Congresswoman Barbara Lee. You can watch it right here: http://bit.ly/PanthersDoc.

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