Laney College

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Laney College

Motto	Dream. Flourish. Succeed.
Type	Publiccommunity college
Established	1953; 71 years ago(1953)
Parent institution	Peralta Community College DistrictandCalifornia Community Colleges
Chancellor	Jannett Jackson
President	Rudy Besikof[1]
Academic staff	400+
Students	16,543[2]
Location	Oakland , California , United States 37°47′47″N122°15′46″W / 37.79637°N 122.26280°W /37.79637; -122.26280
Campus	Urban: 60 acres (0.24 km²)
Colors	Forest Green and Silver
Nickname	Eagles
Mascot	Eddie the Eagle
Website	www.laney.edu

Laney Collegeis apubliccommunity collegeinOakland, California.^[3]Laney is the largest of the four colleges of thePeralta Community College Districtwhich serves northernAlameda County. Laney College is named after Joseph Clarence Laney.^[4]The college offers both certificates and credits forAssociate of Artsdegree, as well as prerequisites to transfer to four year universities. It is accredited by theAccrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges.

Laney College traces its history to the Central Trade School by the Oakland Board of the Education in 1927 and the Merritt School of Business (nowMerritt College) founded in 1929. The trade school was later renamed Joseph C. Laney Trade and Technical Institute. Oakland Junior College was founded in 1953 with Laney serving as the vocational training center and Merritt hosting the liberal arts and business programs. In 1958, the college was renamed Oakland City College. With the establishment of thePeralta Junior College Districtin 1964, Laney Institute, located on the current campus, and Merritt College became separate autonomous colleges in their present-day forms. The current campus was opened prior to the 1970-71 academic year.^[5]

Most of the college's academic and administrative buildings are clustered together in a complex in the northern corner of the campus. The buildings are arranged on a rigid grid, with two levels of concrete pathways providing circulation. The square in the center of the complex has been reserved for thequad. Surrounding the quad are thestudent center,theater,library, andgymnasium. On one corner is the triangular "Laney Tower", the main administration building; on the opposite is another triangular building housing alecture halland dance studio. Academic buildings form the outer ring of the complex. Each has a similar design, with outdoor courtyards in the centers of each square on a higher level, ringed by classrooms and offices; and more classrooms and vocational facilities on the lower level, all accessed from the perimeter of the building. However, none of the higher levels are on the same level as each other; they are connected by voluminous stairs and ramps. Most of the outer buildings occupy two or three squares on the grid. The entire complex shares a red brick and concrete theme, with sharp corners, square and triangular shapes, and little vegetation.

The newest academic building is the art center, which is adjacent to the main complex but has its own architectural style. The building opened in the 2006-2007 school year. It was designed by Beverly Prior Architects to be built from prefabricated material, because of the short time frame between the start of construction and planned opening.

The channel that connects Lake Merritt to theOakland Estuaryruns through the center of the campus. The southeastern half of the campus on the other side of the channel is mainly used for athletic and Peralta Community College District facilities. This section was also the former site of theWorld War II"Auditorium Housing Project" which housed war industry workers from around the United States, many of whom worked in theKaiser Shipyards. The housing was demolished sometime after the war, and in the early 1960s, a temporary football stadium calledFrank Youell Fieldwas constructed on the site for use by theOakland Raiders.

In 1960, studentLinda Vailwon theU.S. Tennis Associationnational intercollegiate women's tennis championships in both singles and doubles.^[6]

The Laney Eagles compete in the Bay 6 Football Conference, which is governed by theCalifornia Community College Athletic Association(CCCAA). They are led by head coach John Beam, who has won the CCCAA Coach of the Year award.

In the 2018 season, Laney won the CCCAA State Football Championship and was deemed the Mythical National Champion, due to the regional splits between the CCCAA, which governs all 68 California junior college football programs, and theNational Junior College Athletic Association, which governs junior college athletics across the rest of the United States, and covers 65 football programs.^[7]

In 2020, Laney Football was featured in season 5 of theNetflixsports seriesLast Chance U.^[8][9]

• Carole Ward Allen, professor, ethnic studies
• Phil Snow, football coach

• Ron Dellums, U.S. Congressman and mayor of Oakland
• Gil Kahele, Hawaii state legislator
• Frank Oz, puppeteer, director

• Teddy Abrams, orchestral conductor and composer
• C. J. Anderson, football player
• Seth Bogart, artist and musician
• Steve Howard, former MLB player
• Chuck Jacobs, football player
• Sterling Moore, football player
• Reggie Redding, football player
• James Robinson, U.S. track champion 800 meters
• Tony Sanchez, college football head coach
• George Wells, wrestler
• Tommy Wiseau, director, actor, producer, screenwriter
• Nahshon Wright, football player
• Rejzohn Wright, football player

• Bay Valley Conference
• Berkeley City College
• College of Alameda
• Merritt College
• KGPC-LP96.9 FM
• Oakland City University, a similarly named college in Indiana

• Official website