Posts Tagged Board of Trustees

Peralta CCD Appoints Dr. Carla Walter as Interim Chancellor

3 October 2020

Oakland, CA — On Tuesday, September 29, 2020, at their regular governance meeting, the Peralta Community College District (PCCD) Board of Trustees appointed Dr. Carla Stalling Walter to serve as the District’s Interim Chancellor effective October 1, 2020 and continuing through February 2021 or until a permanent chancellor is hired. The Board approved the contract including an annualized salary of $314,943. Interim Chancellor Walter previously served as the District’s Vice Chancellor of Finance and Administration and started serving as Acting Chancellor for the District this past July. She brings more than 20 years of successful experience in financial administration and in higher education, including leadership posts at Chabot-Las Positas Community College District and State Center Community College District.

“We are impressed by the calm professionalism Dr. Walter brings to her work,” said Board of Trustees President Julina Bonilla. “She also brings a fresh perspective to our District with over 20 years’ experience in higher education and municipal finance leadership. She has served in diverse roles—as professor, director, dean, chief operating officer, chief financial officer, and chief executive officer—and in diverse organizations–in community colleges, public and private universities, and municipal finance. In addition, Dr. Walter is an accomplished author, speaker, and advocate for the role of the arts in community and personal improvement.”

The District has made substantial progress in addressing concerns about high risk of insolvency raised June 2019 by the Fiscal Crisis Management & Assistance Team (FCMAT). At a California Community Colleges Board of Governors meeting in May 2020, the state–assigned fiscal monitor confirmed that PCCD is now well within a low risk rating on the FCMAT assessment. In addition to improving its FCMAT score, the District recently refinanced an ambitious bond program to save taxpayers nearly five million dollars, earned a higher credit rating from Moody’s, and secured millions in grant funding to provide services for students.

“I’m very honored to serve the Peralta Colleges and the District,” said Dr. Carla Walter. “I’m thrilled to continue working with the Board and the community to maintain the best possible educational opportunities and support services for students. I want to thank all Peralta employees for their hard work this year. Thanks to the efforts of truly dedicated faculty, professional staff and administrators, we’ve made tremendous progress in addressing and resolving concerns raised about our finances while also moving our classes online to keep students and employees as safe as possible during the pandemic.”

“Dr. Carla Walter’s background in both education and finance is critical to the District’s path forward in improving our fiscal health,” said Board of Trustees President Julina Bonilla. “Serving as Acting Chancellor, the appointment of Dr. Walter as Interim Chancellor allows the District to maintain a seamless transition in CEO leadership as the Board initiates the permanent Chancellor search.”

Dr. Jennifer Shanoski, President of the Peralta Federation of Teachers, said, “I’m really excited that the Board chose to select a Chancellor who has expertise in finance which we all know needs attention and support, and who has shown us a great ability to work together to try to solve problems collaboratively and collectively, and to do so in a really calm helpful manner. I think we all need a little more calmness in our days so I’m grateful for that. Congratulations!”

The Board will continue its search for a permanent Chancellor and looks forward to working with the entire District community to select the best candidates for the role.

More About Dr. Walter

Dr. Walter also served as a tenured associate professor in business at Missouri Southern State University, coming to the field after being Chief Operating Officer in the public finance industry. As a leader in public finance, she partnered with public agency executives in California to issue and administer over $30 billion in bonds. Both her BA in economics and her PhD in Dance History and Theory were earned from the University of California, Riverside.  She earned her MBA from the California State University, San Bernardino. Dr. Walter is proud to be a graduate from Riverside Community College, where she earned an Associate in Science. Dr. Walter is a native of Los Angeles, now living in Hayward.

Filed under: Announcements, Board of Trustees, Peralta News. Tagged: Board of Trustees, Carla Walter, chancellor, Julina Bonilla

District Seeks Additional Volunteers for Citizens’ Oversight Committees

25 October 2019

The Peralta Community College District (PCCD) is seeking district residents to serve on its Measure G Citizens’ Bond Oversight Committee and the Measure E Citizens’ Parcel Tax Oversight Committee.

During the election of Nov. 2018, Northern Alameda County voters overwhelmingly approved Measure G, the District’s $800 million bond proposal to facilitate improvements to facilities and new construction. Voters also approved Measure E, extending the current $48 per parcel tax to supplement funding for core academic programs at the Peralta Colleges, which include Berkeley City College, College of Alameda, and Laney and Merritt colleges in Oakland.

The District is indebted to the community for its support and grateful for continued confidence and trust in our mission to provide accessible, high-quality higher education, career training and work force development.

The Peralta Community College District is committed to responsible stewardship of all bond and parcel tax funds. Measures G and E adhere to all accountability standards governing the management of these programs. Two separate Citizens’ Oversight Committees, comprised of members of the community, will provide bond and parcel tax oversight, reviewing all expenditures to ensure alignment with the ballot text.

Open recruitment for the two new oversight committees took place earlier this year. That recruitment period resulted in the Board of Trustees selecting the first cohort of members to each committee at their September 22, 2019 meeting. But additional members are needed for each committee so the Trustees voted to re-open the application period.

Pursuant to state law and the Bond Measures Oversight Committee Bylaws, the Bond Committee shall have at least seven members. The members of the Committee need to include one member who represents each of five categories as well as two at-large members. As of today, October 25, 2019, we have 7 total members (the minimum required) but are missing representation from one of the five categories: a Community College Supporter (Advisory Council or Foundation). So we need one (1) more member for this committee filling that Community College Supporter role.

The Parcel Tax Measures Oversight Committee Bylaws indicate that the Committee is to consist of at least seven members. The Trustees appointed five (5) members at their September 22 meeting so we need two (2) more members for this committee. These are all at large memberships with no specific representation required.

If you know of any individuals that might be interested in serving on either committee, please encourage them to apply. The application for the Bond Measures Oversight Committee is available here. The application for the Parcel Tax Measures Oversight Committee is available here. To apply, please fill out the application and email to Ms. Brenda Martinez, Assistant to the Chancellor and Board Clerk, at bmartinez@peralta.edu.

Candidates appointed to the independent, volunteer oversight committees review and report to the public on the District’s bond and parcel tax expenditures, respectively. Applicants must reside in the District’s service area, which includes the cities of Alameda, Albany, Berkeley, Emeryville, Oakland and Piedmont. Applicants may not be an employee, contractor, consultant or vendor of the District. Deadline for application submission is December 1, 2019.

Additional information and applications to serve on a committee may be found online at: https://web.peralta.edu/bond-reports/

With the passage of the bond issue, the District will address several priorities over the next five-to-seven years. Many new facilities will be built or refurbished, including a new library at Laney College and a new child development center at Merritt College.

About the Peralta Community College District

Founded in 1964, the Peralta Community College District (PCCD) is a collaborative community of colleges comprised of Berkeley City College, College of Alameda, and Laney and Merritt colleges in Oakland, Calif. The Peralta Colleges provide a dynamic multicultural learning environment offering accessible, high-quality educational programs and services, including two-year degrees, certificates and university transfer programs, to more than 30,000 students. PCCD is home to award-winning Peralta TV (Comcast ch. 27/28, AT&T ch. 99) and public radio KGPC 96.9 FM. To learn more about The Peralta Colleges, visit www.peralta.edu

Filed under: Peralta News, Press Release. Tagged: Board of Trustees, Citizens’ Oversight Committee, Measure E Parcel Tax, Measure G Bond

Communication from Board President Bonilla to all Peralta Employees

15 May 2019

Filed under: Announcements, Board of Trustees, Peralta News. Tagged: Board of Trustees, Chancellor Search, Chancellor Search Committee

Report to our Community from Peralta Colleges Board of Trustees

9 February 2018

Report to our Community

from Peralta Colleges Board of Trustees

Meredith Brown, Board President, Area 2

Dr. William “Bill” Riley, Board Vice-President, Area 5

Bill Withrow, Area 1 – Linda Handy, Area 3 – Nicky Gonzalez Yuen, Area 4

Karen Weinstein, PhD, Area 6 – Julina Bonilla, Area 7

Chancellor Jowel C. Laguerre, PhD

Accreditation

Congratulations to the faculty, staff and students of Laney College and Merritt College for earning the reaffirmation of accreditation from the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC). College of Alameda and Berkeley City College earned that status last year. Much work was done to document that we meet ACCJC Standards. Our Steering Committees and Committee Chairs at all of our Colleges have our deepest gratitude for restoring the honor of being “sanction free.”

Board Retreat

One of the recommendations of the ACCJC is for the Chancellor and Trustees to work together to support student success. If you recall, the District had Eight Recommendations from the 2015 ACCJC Self Study. Recommendation Seven required that the Governing Board and the Chancellor work together “to assure the quality, integrity, and effectiveness of the student learning programs and services and the financial stability of the institution.” Since that time, we have conscientiously strived to engage in a positive working relationship and to live up to our charge. We continue to take ACCJC’s Recommendations seriously as we continue to review our work and to make improvements.

Chancellor Laguerre also informed the Board that he has refocused his goals to help us attain greater success for our students. Board members accepted his proposal. Chancellor Laguerre indicated that concerted efforts will be made to help improve the District Administration Center’s service to the Colleges and the public that interacts with us as vendors, suppliers, grantors and benefactors. Attention to these efforts– coupled with the fact that we live in an area that is becoming less and less affordable to live with ease– requires us to think strategically about how best to help those at the lowest levels of compensation do better financially. We are committed to demonstrably support greater student success at Peralta and to ensure that our efforts are visible.

Filed under: Announcements, Board of Trustees. Tagged: Accreditation, Board of Trustees, board retreat

Peralta Colleges Stand with DACA Students

6 September 2017

After the election of President Donald Trump, the District Board of Trustees took a very active stance supporting our Undocumented Students and all students who had reasons to be concerned about any potential unjust actions of the Trump administration. Today, we are saddened that the administration has taken the position to end, within six months, the protection provided by DACA.

Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) is a program that represents the decency of America. DACA protects children who were brought to this country and who have grown up as Americans in all the sense of the word. Often called “dreamers,” these children have been integrated into the culture of our schools and have embraced our values: America is their country. DACA students have demonstrated their commitment to be productive citizens and to keep our country strong and great. Some have served in our military, some have earned degrees, and many have filled jobs that in our country that has strengthened our economy. We recognize the many accomplishments of DACA students and acknowledge their role in our democracy and their contributions to our society: they are lawyers, physicians, teachers—they are productive members of our communities.

At Peralta, we have hundreds of students who fit the DACA category, and they are among the best citizens we have. The Trump administration’s abrupt decision to end DACA is unwise and appeals to a political base that has proven out of step with the majority of America. For this reason, we need to do everything we can to provide the immediate support needed for our students. In fact, community colleges throughout the State of California are stepping up to be supportive of all DACA students.

The Peralta Community College District is committed to supporting DACA students in the best way we can and are committed to the following actions:

We will schedule legal workshops at the Colleges as soon as possible so that DACA students can learn about their rights and seek legal protection.
We will advocate through Congress and the White House to develop a permanent, fair, humane, and smart solution to making every “dreamer” a documented and respected citizen of the United States.
We will encourage our local legislators and community leaders to join us in lending their public support to this effort.
We will assure that all PCCD students– and especially the DACA students– know they are not alone in these troubling times.
Most importantly, our students need to know that their Faculty, the Staff, the Board of Trustees, the Chancellor and the College Presidents are watching out for them and that everyone in the United States is protected by the U.S. Constitution. The rights of DACA students are not exceptions to these protections.
As part of our commitment, we want all to know that the District:
Will not allow federal immigration officials on campus absent legal authority;
Will not act on behalf of federal agencies to enforce immigration laws or aid in deportation;
Will not share student records containing confidential information without written consent, a court order or other legal mandate, and,
Will not allow College police to participate in any voluntary program of immigration enforcement.

PCCD remains deeply committed to all of our students and will do everything we can to ensure their success and safety. Currently, we are witnessing a troubling period in our history and we will do everything in our power to win back the values and ideals that make our country the beacon of hope and opportunity for the entire world.

Finally, we aim to beat the deadline to end DACA that has been thrust upon us. There are presently two bills before Congress (one of which is bi-partisan), which would preserve DACA; therefore, Congress is not starting from scratch and hope is not lost: 1.) the Bridge Act was introduced by Republican Senator Lindsey Graham on December 9, 2016, and co-sponsored by Senators Feinstein, Durbin, Murkowski, Flake and Schumer. 2.) the American Hope Act was introduced by Representative Gutierrez on July 28, 2017, and has 116 Democratic co-sponsors. The legislative process could result in a successful bi-partisan effort supporting the Bridge Act, which is currently before the Judiciary Committee, or the American Hope Act. We are not giving up hope to continue to support DACA!

Sincerely,

Julina Bonilla, Board President, Peralta Community College District

Jowel Laguerre, Chancellor, Peralta Community College District

Rowena Tomaneng, President, Berkeley City College

Timothy Karas, President, College of Alameda

Tammeil Gilkerson, President, Laney College

Marie-Elaine Burns, President, Merritt College

Filed under: Academic Excellence, Berkeley City College, Board of Trustees, College of Alameda, Laney College, Merritt College. Tagged: Board of Trustees, DACA, Dreamers

New Student Trustees Sworn-In

11 June 2014

Two new student trustees were sworn-in last night at the Peralta Community College District Board of Trustees meeting. Board President Abel Guillén, center, administered the oath of office to Jeramy Rolley, left, who has been active in the College of Alameda (COA) community, and Carl Oliver, right, who has been active at Laney College. Both co-trustees represent all students from the four Peralta Colleges. Their terms end 5/31/2015.

Filed under: Announcements, Board of Trustees, College of Alameda, Laney College, Peralta News. Tagged: Abel Guillén, Board of Trustees, Carl Oliver, Jeramy Rolley, Meeting, Peralta Board of Trustees, student trustees

Peralta Colleges

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