Grove Street to the hills of East Oakland in 1971. Merritt was renamed North Peralta Community College but was commonly known as Grove Street College. In 1975, a judge ordered the physical plant closed for seismic issues. The Grove Street campus was used as the primary filming location for the 1987 film, "The Principal." This site, now rehabilitated and serving as the north campus of the Children's Hospital and Research Center Oakland, was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1992. Campus Drive The present campus was opened in 1971. Funding came primarily as a result of a 1965 bond issue which also established a new downtown Oakland ("Civic Center") campus building for Laney College and the founding of the College of Alameda. Occupational programs Merritt College's occupational programs include nursing and health professions, community social services/substance abuse counseling, environmental management and technology, cybersecurity, computer information systems, landscape horticulture and environmental management, paralegal studies, real estate and restoration technology. A one-year Microscopy Certificate is also offered. Notable alumni Oakland City College, Merritt campus Richard Aoki, Black Panther Party official and civil rights activist Saundra Brown Armstrong, district judge Chauncey Bailey, journalist Wendell Hayes, National Football League player Elbert Howard, Black Panther Party co-founder Judy Juanita, poet, novelist and playwright MacArthur Lane, National Football League player Ted Lange, actor Joe Morgan, Major League Baseball player Gerald Nachman, journalist Huey P. Newton, Black Panther Party co-founder Patricia Rodriguez, artist Pharoah Sanders, jazz musician Bobby Seale, Black Panther Party co-founder Ron Silliman, poet Marvin X, poet and playwright René Yañez, artist and community activist Merritt College John Bailey, actor Glenn Burke, Major League Baseball player Percy Robert Miller (Master P), rapper, record producer, actor See also Berkeley City College Laney College College of Alameda References External links Official website. Education in Oakland, California California Community Colleges Universities and colleges in Alameda County, California Schools accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges Educational institutions established in 1954 1954 establishments in California Modernist architecture in California