2025 Dean’s List: Class is in Session
Every year, the Campaign for College Opportunity honors the leaders who are transforming higher education into a true engine of equity and opportunity for California’s students and families. We invite you to join us and former Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg on January 13, 2026, at the historic Crest Theatre in Sacramento as we celebrate Dean’s List: Class in Session.
Dean’s List: Class in Session Awards Reception
JANUARY 13, 2026 | 4:30 – 5:30 P.M.
The 2025 legislative cycle honorees include Assemblymember Patrick Ahrens (D-26), Senator Sasha Renée Pérez (D-25), Senator Monique Limón (D-21), Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi (D-66), and Nichole Muñoz Murillo Chief Deputy Legislative Secretary, Office of Governor Gavin Newsom, alongside two outstanding education champions: Professor Rose-Margaret Ekeng-Itua of Ohlone College and Jenn Galinato, Senior FIERCE Fellow at Ed Trust-West and Alumni of the Campaign for College Opportunity’s Student Leadership Institute.
These leaders have been instrumental in shaping policies that strengthen equitable access, affordability, and student success across California’s colleges and universities.
Class in Session: A Screening of ‘The Class’
JANUARY 13, 2026 | 5:30 – 7:30 P.M.
Immediately following the awards celebration, please stay for a special screening of The Class, a six-part documentary series following six high school students from Antioch, California, and the advisor who helped guide their college dreams. The evening will include a conversation with:
- EMILY HUIZAR, Cast Member; Deer Valley High School Graduate and Student at the University of California, San Francisco
- NICHOLE MUÑOZ MURILLO, Chief Deputy Legislative Secretary, Office of Governor Gavin Newsom
- JAYE FENDERSON, Director, Producer, and Writer, Three Frame Media
- CAMERON ‘MR. CAM’ SCHMIDT-TEMPLE, Cast Member; Project Policy Analyst at the UC Berkeley Center for Educational Partnerships
The film follows six students’ journey from the East Bay community of Antioch, California, towards their futures in higher education amid the turmoil of a pandemic year. With exceptional passion and determination, their college adviser “Mr. Cam” empowers the seniors at Deer Valley High School to overcome the challenges they face while ceaselessly fighting for their dreams of a college degree.
From Tony- and Grammy-winning Executive Producer Daveed Diggs (Blindspotting, Snowpiercer, Hamilton), Executive Producer Nicole Hurd (President, Lafayette College), and award-winning filmmakers Jaye and Adam Fenderson (First Generation, Unlikely), this dramatic six-part series, filmed over the course of the 2020-2021 school year, captures an unprecedented moment in time and the universal stories of hope, resolve, strength and success found in the most unexpected places.
Together, these two moments, offering recognition and reflection, highlight the Campaign for College Opportunity’s commitment to transforming student access and success in California higher education through bold policy reform, strategic partnerships, targeted investments, and rigorous research over two decades. The Campaign has opened doors for hundreds of thousands of historically underserved, first-generation, low-income, and undocumented students, and continues to shape California higher education into a vehicle of lifetime opportunity for our students today.
Highlights and key takeaways will be shared following the event.
Class is in session, and we hope to see you in January ready to learn, celebrate, and lead for justice and opportunity for all Californians through higher education.
Thank You to Our Supporters
The Campaign for College Opportunity is proud to recognize the Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Fund for their generous lead sponsorship of Dean’s List: Class in Session and their partnership in advancing educational equity and opportunity across California. Their leadership sets the standard for what meaningful philanthropy can achieve.
Our supporters power our efforts to expand access, close racial equity gaps, and ensure every student has the chance to learn, contribute, and thrive. Together, we are investing in the future of our communities and the dreams of thousands of Californians. To sponsor, donate, or learn more, contact Raquel Gonzalez, Director of Development, at raquel@collegecampaign.org.