Berkeley City College’s student art exhibition showcases artwork made by Art and Art History students. For the second semester in a row, the student showcase was directed by the BCC Student Arts Guild, an all-student collective. They were instrumental in advertising the open-call, collecting and sorting the artwork, creating spreadsheets to keep things organized, printing labels, and hanging the artwork in a very thoughtful and professional manner. The Student Arts Guild is overseen by arts faculty Lisa Cralle and Jennie Braman. Students in a leadership capacity within the Arts Guild include: Jamie, Juno, Toni, Oberon, Alix, and Luca. This semester’s theme was “Metamorphisis” and opened on Thursday, May 2. The art will be displayed through the end of the semester. Thanks to ASBCC for reimbursing us for food and drinks for the reception. You can see more by following the Art Department’s Instagram @berkeleycitycollege_art
Current Events
50th Anniversary Block Party & BCC West Groundbreaking Ceremony
On Tuesday, April 23, Berkeley City College honored its past with a beautiful, vibrant block party, complete with good food, dancing, and even horseback riding! Berkeley City College programs and resources were on full display as we tabled with intention, bringing greater awareness to the tremendous value that we offer our community. It was also a great opportunity for BCC to highlight its presence in the heart of Berkeley in a big way and to solidify our commitment to the City. We then looked to our future with a groundbreaking ceremony for the new Berkeley City College West Campus scheduled to open in 2026. We look forward to expanding our presence in downtown Berkeley and continuing our legacy of providing low cost, high quality education to all who seek it. Big thanks to all of our partners who joined us: XL Construction, Ratcliff Architects, Kitchell Corporation, BuildPeralta, Berkeley Rotary Club, BART, Downtown Berkeley, Visit Berkeley, Berkeley Chamber of Commerce, League of Women Voters, Berkeley Symphony, DJ Pulpo, and Tacos Sinaloa.
Berkeley City College Class of 2024 Celebrates Ambition at Commencement
On Wednesday, May 22, Berkeley City College celebrated the
Class of 2024 at its Commencement Ceremony at Zellerbach
Hall on UC Berkeley’s Campus. Berkeley City College conferred
1,109 awards including AA’s, AS’s, AD-T, and Certificates of
Achievement, Competency, Completion, and Proficiency to 612
graduates. Through hard work and great support from faculty,
classified professionals, and administration, BCC’s number of
graduates increased by 13% from the previous year with
544 graduates. The diversity of the Class of 2024 graduates
includes 30% Latinx, 20% White, 19% Asian, 19% Black/African
American, 9% Two or More, 3% Unknown, and .5% Pacific
Islander students.
“Berkeley City College’s 2024 Graduation was immensely
inspiring! To see so many of our graduates and their families
glowing with pride and joy was a heartwarming reminder
of how profoundly meaningful our work is,” said President
Richardson. “This year the theme our graduates chose was
ambition. I am so proud that our students have used their
ambition to advance themselves and our community as we
continue our pursuit of academic excellence and social justice.”
This year’s theme was AMBITION, selected by the ASBCC.
Thank you to all the speakers, especially Valedictorian Derek
Carver and Salutatorian Jennifer Fong, who offered inspiring
words of their journey through adversity and perseverance to
achieve their academic goals. This year’s President’s Medallion
and Chancellor’s Trophy Winner is Student Trustee Natasha
Masand, and the Inspiration Award winner was Oluwatunmise
Akanle. Big thanks to Berkeley City College’s Commencement
Committee, chaired by John Nguyen, and members Michael
Alvillar, Luis Chavez, Amy Lee, Gail Pendleton, Vanessa
Phillip, Thomas Rizza, Stacey Shears, Jasmine Sumandal,
and Susan Truong
New Berkeley City College Building Will Rise Downtown
From recent Berkeleyside article, April 10, 2024:
Berkeley City College will break ground on a new building this month in the college’s first major expansion in 20 years that will double the footprint of the campus.
The new 60,000-square-foot, six-story building, which will be built downtown on Milvia Street near Center Street, will have 15 new classrooms, a library, a student wellness center, as well as staff and faculty offices.