The Peralta Community College District Board of Trustees will vote on a proposal Tuesday to rename the Fieldhouse building at Laney College in memory of the college’s former athletic director, John Beam.
If the board approves the recommendation during their next regular meeting on Dec. 9., the building that houses the college’s athletics department will be renamed as the “John Beam Fieldhouse.”
District Chancellor Tammeil Gilkerson authored the recommendation, which is attached to the agenda for the Dec. 9 board meeting.
Gilkerson’s proposal suggests the new name to recognize Beam’s “lifetime of service to student-athletes, academics, and community development” in accordance with AP 6620, the district’s “standard guidelines […] for naming buildings, sites and common areas” on properties managed by the Peralta Colleges.
Per the procedure, facilities may be named for individuals based on their “distinction” at Peralta.
“Coach Beam’s influence extended far beyond wins and trophies. He believed deeply in the potential of young people—especially those whose talents had been overlooked elsewhere,” Gilkerson wrote in her recommendation to the trustees.
“Naming the Fieldhouse in his honor is an appropriate and enduring acknowledgment of his exceptional service, leadership, and transformative impact on students and the community,” she wrote.
District trustees previously passed a resolution to approve no-bid “emergency” facilities upgrades to the Fieldhouse “to address critical safety and security needs and to avoid danger to health and damage to property” during a Nov. 24 special meeting.
Gilkerson described the Fieldhouse as “the central home of the college’s athletics program” in her proposal to rename the building.
“It serves as the daily hub for coaching, instruction, training, mentorship, and academic guidance—functions that reflect the core of John’s philosophy and legacy,” Gilkerson wrote.
The text of the recommendation states that it is backed by the college’s “Campus Naming Workgroup” as well as the college’s interim president, Becky Opsata.
Beam coached high school and junior college football in Oakland for nearly 45 years. He retired from coaching at Laney in 2024, but continued to serve as the college’s athletic director.
On Nov. 13, Beam was fatally shot at the Fieldhouse during the regular school day. He died the next morning at Highland Hospital, aged 66.
The main suspect in the police investigation following Beam’s death is a former Laney College student who, according to the San Francisco Chronicle, reportedly took a class with Beam in 2022.
Laney College will hold a “luminaria walk” from the Laney Bistro to the Eagles Stadium on Dec. 10 as a “tribute” to Beam’s legacy, according to Peralta’s district newsletter.
