by Brian Howey
As March comes to an end, so too does a Peralta legacy.
Jeff Heyman, Peralta’s executive director of public information, communications, and media, announced his resignation March 16.
“Education has always been an important part of my life,” Heyman said in an interview with the Tower. “For nearly 19 years, I’ve taken very seriously the mission of the Peralta Colleges.”
His last day at the district is March 30. The Peralta veteran said he has accepted a new position as communications analyst with the City of Lafayette, Calif., where he will begin his new post April 6. “It seems like a lot of fun,” Heyman said about his new position. “Working in a suburban environment will be very interesting compared to an urban one.”
He said that, throughout his tenure, his staff has been “the absolute best” he could work with. “I am honored to have worked alongside such dedicated individuals for so many years,” he said in an email to Peralta staff.
Jim Stein, Peralta TV’s chief engineer, said the feeling was mutual. “He always liked to say ‘Go for it!’” Stein said. Peralta’s Public Information Department “wasn’t really a department before [Heyman],” Stein said, and working with him was “really fun.”
Heyman will end a more than 18-year stint at the district, during which time he’s worked under six chancellors. “He was a book of history,” Chancellor Jowel Laguerre said, referring to Heyman’s knowledge of district milestones over his long tenure, adding that he was a “very valuable” resource, and that the Peralta community “certainly will miss him.”
A San Francisco State University alum, Heyman is a first-generation college graduate and the son of immigrant parents. He began work at the district in September of 1999. By 2002, marketing strategies deployed by his department had resulted in a 25 percent enrollment increase at Peralta schools.
Heyman helped found KGPC, Peralta’s radio station, where he produced award-winning documentaries and investigative pieces. He negotiated funding for Peralta TV’s equipment and is credited with the availability of live-streaming Laney Eagles football games and Peralta Board of Trustees meetings.
A Peralta TV documentary about the Black Panther Party’s origins at Merritt College produced by Heyman received national attention when it was screened at the United Nations in New York.
As a teacher of Social Media for Journalists in Laney’s Journalism Department, Heyman taught students the essentials of media digestion and the value of journalistic integrity.
Heyman wrote a monthly column for Bay Area News Group publications called “College Notes,” about the state of the Peralta Colleges, and has published multiple letters to the editor in The New York Times.
When asked his feelings about leaving behind an almost two-decade long dynasty, Heyman quoted former Peralta chancellor Wise Allen: “’One thing you need to know is when it’s time to go.’”
But the departure, Heyman said, is bittersweet. “I will miss my Peralta family,” he said.
Brian Howey is co-editor in chief of the Laney Tower.