On April 11, a printed sign reading “This is Dolores Huerta Plaza” was discovered above a plaque commemorating the former Cunningham Building on the northeast side of Delta College’s campus, one day after Dolores Huerta Day.
The origin of the sign is unknown. The Cunningham Building was demolished in 2014, but the commemorative plaque was placed back in the area in 2020, after the space had been dedicated in Huerta’s honor.
According to Acting Police Chief Tammie Murrell, no one from the college’s executive team appears to have authorized the placement or removal of the paper signage. Murrell said that while placing the sign could technically be considered vandalism, the act didn’t meet the threshold for enforcement.
“It would be very unusual circumstances for a piece of paper being applied or removed to be considered vandalism,” Murrell said via email.
Cunningham Building Demolished
The Cunningham Building was the first structure built on Delta College’s Pacific Avenue campus, dedicated in 1973 by Apollo 15 astronaut Lt. Col. Alfred Worden. It was named after former San Joaquin County Sheriff Thomas Cunningham and served as a center for science education, also housing the Clever Planetarium.
The building was demolished in 2014 to make way for a new $40 million math and science facility, according to Collegian archives. While an effort existed briefly to save the building, Delta College had its hand tied with how it received funding for the new math and science building, which was funded through 2004 Measure L funds combined with state matching funds.
“In order to receive those matching funds, Delta agreed to replace the existing Cunningham building,” noted an April 12, 2013 story in Collegian. Then public information officer Jim Vergara said that the “‘college [was] obligated to live up to its agreement with the state that allowed it to obtain the matching funds.’”
Dolores Huerta Plaza Constructed
The removal of Cunningham left a void between buildings that would eventually become a gathering and events space.
In 2019, Delta College formally named the area between the Shima and SCMA buildings as Dolores Huerta Plaza, following two years of faculty-led efforts and fundraising for a commemorative plaque.
Dolores Huerta is a nationally recognized labor leader and civil rights advocate. She attended Stockton College, the predecessor to Delta College, and co-founded the United Farm Workers with César Chávez. In 2012, Huerta received the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
“The crowd exchanged chants of Huerta’s famous phrase: ‘Si se puede’ or ‘Yes we can,’ ” noted Collegian reporting of the commemoration event on Sept. 19, 2019.
Reporting noted that the faculty-led fundraising secured more than $3,500 for the plaque. Leftover money was to be used for student scholarships.
Cunningham Plaque Re-Installed During Pandemic
In January 2021, the San Joaquin Delta College Board of Trustees approved a $3,800 expenditure for the construction of a pedestal for the Cunningham plaque. The item was included under the consent agenda and referred to the project as “Cunningham Center Plaque per Ted’s Description.” The plaque was installed by WPS Construction on Dec. 18, 2020. It is unclear who requested the project or who “Ted” refers to.
Dr. Sarah Seekatz, chair of the Cultural Awareness Program and a faculty member in the History Department, reviewed the plaque’s installation as part of her 2025 sabbatical research project. She found no evidence that the college’s Heritage Committee, which is responsible for reviewing changes to campus naming and memorials under Administrative Policy 6620, formally approved the plaque’s placement.
“It was strange to see it put up during the pandemic,” Seekatz said in an interview. “There was no Heritage Committee meeting about it, and that was alarming.”
She noted that while funding for the pedestal was approved by the board, the decision-making process behind the plaque’s placement remains unclear.
“The plaque was a simple way to respect our past at Delta College,” said Facilities Planning and Management Stacy Pinola via email. “The Cunningham building was the first building built on the site and the first building torn down in 2014.”
Pinola also mentioned that, if any decision to remove the plaque gets approved, it would be placed in archive room.
Ongoing Discussions About Campus Buildings Names
As part of her sabbatical research, Seekatz examined the college’s building names and their alignment with Delta’s mission statement.
“We have a mission statement that we are an anti-racist institution, and yet we have names on these buildings of people who took pride in their racism,” she said. “Budd is a great example of that. And we have to ask ourselves: Are the names of our buildings truly living up to our mission statement?”
Delta College has made changes to campus naming in recent years. In 2019, the West Forum was renamed to honor historian Dr. Dawn Mabalon, along with renaming the now Campesino Forum and Tony Finch Forum.
Under campus policy, any request to remove or relocate plaques must be submitted through the shared governance process, specifically through the Heritage Committee, according to Murrell.
