CHANCELLOR’S C-DIRECT
February 15, 2017
Dear Colleagues:
Laney Infrastructure Update: Various Messages From Dr. Ikharo
As I mentioned in one of my messages, Laney’s infrastructure challenges are tremendous. I am using Dr. Sadiq Ikharo’s voice to share with you what we are doing in a variety of ways.
- As the rain continues to fall almost daily, I have been checking with Amy Marshall to assess the conditions of the classrooms and how the tarps, that were installed by the College engineers, are holding up to deter further leaks. The old, known leaks have been contained; however, new leaks have developed in the upper classrooms in B204, B205 and B207, which are mostly Chemistry and Biology Departments. Other leaks are in Building G (Math Lab) and Building A (Financial Aid). I dispatched Rich Egan, from WPT/Tremco, to take immediate action as soon as the weather allows. Fortunately, Mr. Egan was in Oakland this morning and came to do an assessment. The District has an established contract with WPT to respond to any roof leaks. Therefore, these new leaks will be fixed completely as soon as we have a dry spell.
- Thyssenkrupp Elevator Company is finishing up the submittal drawings for DSA (this is a design-build project). The submittal drawings include, but are not limited to layout, architectural, structural and electrical. In two weeks, the District will work with Thyssenkrupp and DSA to submit these construction drawings for approval. I have a meeting scheduled with the manager for DSA in Oakland to persuade him to expedite the reviews and back checks. Reviews normally take two months, but I will press DSA to finish in one month.
While DSA is reviewing the drawings, Thyssenkrupp will be fabricating the fixtures and the final quality control will be completed once the drawings are approved.
The first installation of the elevator cabs is currently scheduled for October 2017. The second elevator is currently scheduled for December/January 2018. I am expecting a call later today from Michael, who does the scheduling, to see how they can move the Tower elevator first installation up from October. I have also requested a Master Schedule from this vendor.
- In my discussion with Eugene Buick from Allana Buick & Bers, Inc., he assured me that their structural engineer will sign on their documentation as evidence of a life/safety situation. A draft of this report is expected any day now for District review before sending to the Chancellor and your team.
We continue to meet with a team of Laney and District facilities folks weekly to assess our infrastructure needs and provide updates. The results of these meetings will be communicated to Laney faculty and staff regularly, so they may know that their projects have not gone unnoticed and that we are listening to them. On February 22, from 11:30 am to 1:00 pm, Dr. Levy and I will host a Town hall meeting to share more information with the College community.
We are advocating that the library be included in this year’s capital projects. We have been working with the McCallum Group and the State Chancellor’s Office to see this through. Also, we are inviting State Senator Skinner and State Assembly members Thurmond and Bonta to visit Laney and perhaps use their good offices to help remedy the ongoing leak problems.
Accreditation News
Submitted by Dr. Annette Dambrosio
The long-awaited ACCJC External Evaluation Team Follow-Up Reports were received last week. Overall, the news was excellent, namely:
- College of Alameda was removed from “probation” (no additional sanctions issued!)
- Berkeley City College was removed from “warning” (no additional sanctions issued!)
- Merritt College was removed from “probation” and issued one “warning,” the lowest level of ACCJC’s sanctions. The Recommendation was to continue to “accelerate the identification and documentation of student learning outcomes” (SLOs) and a “Follow-Up Report” documenting progress will be due Oct. 1, 2017.
- Laney College was issued one “warning” Recommendation, a definite improvement from its earlier “warning” status of two Recommendations. Here the ongoing Recommendation is to continue to clearly define, document, communicate and evaluate” planning structures in support of student learning and achievement. Laney must submit a “Follow-Up Report” documenting progress on its Recommendation by Oct. 1, 2017.
As for the District, we have been cleared of ALL 8 District Recommendations! We were told, however, that we must continue to document progress regarding the implementation of our Staffing Plan (Rec. 5) and to continue to document progress on the Delineation of Functions for the College/District (Rec. 6). But, we already know what needs to be done and we have never stopped working to that end. Given our willingness to diligently continue our work, we are confident that we will continue to meet (and perhaps exceed) Standards set by ACCJC.
So, yes, all of you who helped on Accreditation should be proud of your hard work. ALL four Colleges have Midterm Reports due in March 2018 (this is standard procedure and not a penalty), and the College Leads and I are collaborating on the work needed to complete this task. Central to our work is ensuring that Accreditation Standards are simply built-into our own standards, so that the “work” of writing ACCJC Reports becomes second nature.
We are especially interested in evaluating what we are doing. In the case of the District, for example, we are critically evaluating the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) Guidelines, and are planning to integrate a Sustainability component. Sustainability planning, led by Director Charles Neal, is already in the works, and on Friday, I attended the first Sustainability meeting at Laney College, and I would urge all of you to get involved. DREAM TO BE GREEN! Director Neal will be making a presentation to PBC on February 24, so your representatives should inform you of the innovations that will benefit all. The District is also working to continue to critique the PBIM process, implement the Staffing Plan, among other pertinent projects.
All in all, the ACCJC Reports were about as good as we could have hoped for! But let us not rest on our laurels…Let’s think ahead.
As always, I invite anyone to contact me at with questions, huzzahs, or criticisms pertaining to Accreditation. You can also visit the PCCD Accreditation Website at http://web.peralta.edu/accreditation/
ACE Campaign Report
Submitted by Dr. Mary Denise Jackson
On December 1, 2016, the Peralta A.C.E. steering committee (“Achieving
Communication Excellence”) sent out a survey to Peralta District employees, which
did not include employees at the four colleges, to obtain their opinions about
communication in the Peralta workplace. 100 employees responded to the survey,
which was done by e-mail link to Survey Monkey.
Findings
• Professional Optimism dropped significantly from the time employees came to Peralta to the present.
• Respondents were split as to whether Peralta valued their skills.
• Almost 50% of respondents wanted more clarification as to what their job duties consisted of.
• 61% of the respondents saw their position as a career.
• Employees felt more positive about interactions within their own
department than with District employees overall.
• Employees felt more positive about interactions with immediate co-workers
than with supervisors and higher-level managers.
• Respondents agreed that Peralta should emphasize customer service and
were interested in improving their skills in this area through various types of
training.
On December 7, 2016, The A.C.E. Campaign was officially launched. There were
several objectives for this event: to bring district employees together, to enlighten
district employees about the campaign’s overall purpose, to recruit volunteers to
serve on the campaign and to conduct focus groups that would provide more clarity
on employees answers to the Peralta communications survey that was disseminated
on December 1, 2016.
After finding out the opinions of Peralta District employees, the overall mission of
the Achieving Communication Excellence (A.C.E.) Campaign is to:
• provide Peralta District employees with the opportunity to create a positive
and respectful work environment
• help establish policies and procedures that hold all employees accountable
• engage in training that leads to more efficient service
• participate in events that can enhance relationships with their coworkers.
In order to address many of the findings, the A.C.E. Campaign has taken the “leading
from the middle” approach. The initial steering committee consists of Chancellor
Jowel Laguerre, Yashica Crawford, Mary Denise Jackson, Chioma Ndubuisi,
Alexander Hernandez, and Pratiksha Thakor. During the A.C.E. Campaign launch,
volunteers were recruited and led to the following employees joining the team:
Michael Orkin, Jonathan Olkowski, Petural Sheton, Rebecca Locoque, Ofelia
Mendoza, Carmen Fairley, Jeff Heyman, Andrea Stokes, Mischelle Loeza, Nancy
Cayton, Richard Thoele, Liliana Rojas, Karen Engel, and Jennifer Seibert.
Because this is a campaign and not an “overnight” fix, the campaign will continue to
be open to volunteers to join in order to make the A.C.E. Campaign slogan,
“improving from the inside out”, a reality.
Through on-going meetings, the A.C.E. Campaign members will plan professional
development workshops based on the survey and focus group results as well as plan
events and various activities to help improve the communication climate.
An Ice Cream Social took place on February 10th and future events will include an
open house, field trip to the various colleges and communication training sessions.
The district is serving as the pilot. Then, the campaign will spread to Merritt
College, Laney College, Berkeley City College and College of Alameda in the near
future.
If you would like to join the A.C.E. campaign or have questions or suggestions, please
send an e-mail to .
Educator Housing
The City of Oakland has been working with OUSD to explore the possibility of facilitating housing for teachers. The County of Alameda has joined this exploratory project. State Assembly member Thurmond’s office has been drafting legislation to support this cause. Because of my work with Oakland Thrives, I was invited to join in this conversation, but I noticed right away that Peralta’s educators were not included in the deliberations with the City and County and, most regrettable, community colleges are were not included in the legislative proposal. I am seeking ways to ensure we are involved in this crucial matter of housing for teachers.
Visit of Chinese Partners
We enjoyed visits from the U.S.-China Educational Development Foundation last week. The Foundation is working with us to do initial legwork in China targeting not only individual students, but also colleges and universities that are interested in offering joint degrees with Peralta. As these institutions and programs are identified, we will engage our faculty in the discussions of the feasibility of these joint ventures.
Invitation from Mayor Schaaf
/You're Invited!
Oakland Promise Friends, Supporters, and Community Members,
Remember that magical January day at Oakland High where over 500 students, families, educators, leaders, college presidents, and community members came out to witness the launch of the Oakland Promise? As we near the one year mark, I want to personally invite you to...
The First Annual
Oakland Promise Community Report
Inspire, Inform, and Engage
February 15th, from 4:00-6:30pm at MLK Elementary
This event will be a time for the community to come together to reflect on our first year, share our vision moving forward, create a space to offer feedback, showcase the outstanding education organizations in the community, and celebrate all the inspiring work being done to improve educational outcomes for students across Oakland.
You can find more information about the event, as well as RSVP here. Please reach out with any questions.
We hope to see you there!
With Oakland love,
Libby Schaaf
Laney Student Honored in Alameda County Women’s Hall of Fame
Alicia Caballero-Christenson, the Ethnic Studies Department Chair and Mexican/Latin American Studies Instructor at Laney College, sent this exciting news:
Our very own student Hel Say is being honored as one of Alameda County Women's Hall of Fame Recipients! Hel Say completed my Women of Color course last semester and serves as a lead coach for the Soccer Without Borders program at Oakland International High! Hel Say is a refugee from Burma and has connected her passion for soccer and coaching with refugee girls from all over the world, including the Democratic Republic of Congo and El Salvador! She is a fierce leader who reflects the beauty that soccer and refugees bring to this diverse country!
Here is a link to the Article:
And here is a link to a video of Hel Say and Soccer Without Borders:
Congratulations Hel Say!
A Correction
In last week’s C-DIRECT there was an item about Merritt’s Nursing Program being awarded the Number One ranking in the state. Due to an editing error, the story included information that was not meant for publication. The correctly edited version is now on my webpage. I sincerely apologize for the mistake.
Jowel
Jowel C. Laguerre, Ph.D.
Chancellor
In celebration of African-American History Month: Another taste of “Still I Rise.”
Still I Rise
Maya Angelou, 1928 - 2014
You may write me down in history
With your bitter, twisted lies,
You may trod me in the very dirt
But still, like dust, I’ll rise.
Does my sassiness upset you?
Why are you beset with gloom?
‘Cause I walk like I’ve got oil wells
Pumping in my living room.
Just like moons and like suns,
With the certainty of tides,
Just like hopes springing high,
Still I’ll rise.
Did you want to see me broken?
Bowed head and lowered eyes?
Shoulders falling down like teardrops,
Weakened by my soulful cries?
Does my haughtiness offend you?
Don’t you take it awful hard
‘Cause I laugh like I’ve got gold mines
Diggin’ in my own backyard.
You may shoot me with your words,
You may cut me with your eyes,
You may kill me with your hatefulness,
But still, like air, I’ll rise.
Does my sexiness upset you?
Does it come as a surprise
That I dance like I’ve got diamonds
At the meeting of my thighs?
Out of the huts of history’s shame
I rise
Up from a past that’s rooted in pain
I rise
I’m a black ocean, leaping and wide,
Welling and swelling I bear in the tide.
Leaving behind nights of terror and fear
I rise
Into a daybreak that’s wondrously clear
I rise
Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave,
I am the dream and the hope of the slave.
I rise
I rise
I rise.
1