BCC 50th Anniversary Block Party & Groundbreaking

Join us as we honor our past and look to our future! Berkeley City College is celebrating 50 years of transforming lives – from our humble beginnings as the Peralta College for Non-Traditional Study, to Vista College, to Berkeley City College – we have been committed to providing quality, affordable higher education for our community. It’s time to celebrate! We are hosting a block party in front of our campus at 2050 Center Street. Connect with Berkeley City College faculty, staff, and administrators to learn about resources, programs, and services we provide for our students. DJ Pulpo will be providing entertainment, as well as food from Tacos Sinaloa!

Where: Center Street (between Milvia St. and Shattuck Ave)
When: Tuesday, April 23 11:00am – 2:00pm

After the party, stick around! You are invited to join the groundbreaking ceremony for the Berkeley City College 2118 Milvia Street Project Groundbreaking Ceremony. This new project is part of Peralta Community College District’s Bond Program, funded by voter approved Measure G bond dollars. Hear from Berkeley Mayor Arreguín, Berkeley City College President Denise Richardson, and other members of the Peralta Community College District administration. We look forward to celebrating with you!

When: Tuesday, April 23 2:00pm – 4:00pm

BCC Commencement May 22nd, 2024

BCC commencement ceremony is scheduled for Wednesday, May 22nd, 2024 at 11am. We are incredibly proud of your hard work and excited to celebrate this milestone with you, your friends, and family.

Here are the important details for your reference:

Date and Time: Wednesday, May 22nd, 2024 at 11am
Venue: Zellerbach Hall at UC Berkeley
Parking: Please see attached map for parking information. Please arrive as early as you can so you can find parking.
Dress Code: Please wear your regalia.
Note: The last day to order gowns will be April 26th, 2024. To avoid any delays in receiving your gowns, students should place their order on the Jostens website after selecting BCC as their school. You may pick them up at the BCC Bookstore. Click here is the link to order.

Reserve your graduation tickets for your guests here!

All graduates must arrive by 9:45am to sign in at the check-in desk and line up.

Additionally, here are some points to remember:

Zellerbach Auditorium doors will open for guests at 10:00am.
The academic processional will begin promptly at 10:45am.
If you have any questions or have ADA accommodation, please contact johnnguyen@peralta.edu

Other Graduations:
La RAICES Peralta Latinx Graduation
Lavender Graduation

New Berkeley City College Building Will Rise Downtown

Construction on the new 6-story building will break ground later this month and will double the footprint of the campus.

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.

Since 2006, BCC has been limited to a five-story building with a glass facade on Center Street. As it expanded, the city college began renting a nearby building to accommodate its new programs, like a resource center for undocumented students.

“The West campus will open up a bright new chapter in Berkeley City College’s future,” said BCC President Denise Richardson.

The new building will include two art studios, a communications classroom and lab and an anthropology classroom. Its classrooms will be equipped with technology for hybrid learning, so students will be able to attend classes in person or online.

“We recognized a long time ago that in order to expand BCC, we need more space,” said Mark Johnson, a spokesperson for the Peralta Community College District.

It will also include a learning resource center, where students can get support from peers and staff on coursework, and a wellness center for free mental health services. It will also be home to programs that support first-generation college students and students from underrepresented backgrounds in higher education.

“One of the most important design considerations was creating more spaces for students to study and find community,” Richardson said.

The $101 million expansion is paid for by Measure G, an $800 million facilities bond for the Peralta Community College District approved by 75% of voters in 2018.

Other projects funded by the bond measure include a child development center at Merritt College, a building for auto and diesel technology at the College of Alameda and an upgrade of the theater at Laney College.

The expansion comes at a time of depressed student enrollment in community colleges nationwide. At Berkeley City College, student enrollment dropped during the pandemic, though not as steeply as at other colleges. Since 2021, enrollment at BCC has ticked upward, at about 5% per year.

“The hope is that we can attract more students and with newer facilities, we should be able to,” Johnson said.

Before 2006, Berkeley City College had no centralized campus, with classrooms spread throughout Berkeley and Oakland.

The project will break ground April 23, and students will be able to enter the building by December 2025.