College of the Canyons
College of the Canyons (COC) is a public community college operated by the Santa Clarita Community College District in Santa Clarita, California. The college is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges and has campus locations in Valencia and Canyon Country.
Motto | Start here. Go anywhere. |
---|---|
Type | Public, Community College |
Established | 1969 |
Chancellor | Dr. Dianne G. Van Hook |
President | Dr. Dianne G. Van Hook |
Academic staff | 358 (as of 2016) [1] |
Students | 17,148 (as of 2016)[2] |
Location | , , United States 34°24′16″N 118°34′05″W |
Campus | Suburban—153.4 acres (62.1 ha) |
Colors | Blue and Gold |
Athletics | CCCAA – WSC, SCFA (football) |
Nickname | Cougars |
Affiliations | Santa Clarita Community College District |
Website | www.canyons.edu |
Location in Santa Clarita College of the Canyons (the Los Angeles metropolitan area) College of the Canyons (California) |
History
Local voters approved the formation of the college in 1967. It officially opened in 1969, operating in temporary quarters on the campus of William S. Hart High School in Newhall. In 1970, the college purchased a permanent campus site along the east side of Interstate 5, south of Valencia Boulevard and north of McBean Parkway. The college relocated to a collection of modular buildings on the site in 1970 as permanent facilities were being built. Over the years, educational facilities have been built to ensure that they blend with the natural attributes of the location, creating a relaxed and comfortable physical environment.
Campus
The college is located on 153.4 acres (62.1 ha) of rolling, tree-dotted hills in the Valencia section within the incorporated city of Santa Clarita in northern Los Angeles County, California.
Recent additions to the campus include a 926-seat performing arts center, built in partnership with the city of Santa Clarita, that offers academic, community and professional productions. The facility, which also holds a smaller experimental theater, opened in late 2004. A new Music/Dance Building opened adjacent to the performing arts center in 2005. As of early 2006, construction was under way on a new High-Tech Classroom Building (34,000 square feet) and a major expansion of the Laboratory Building.
In 2007, the college opened its Canyon Country campus on a 70-acre (28 ha) site located at 17200 Sierra Hwy., Santa Clarita, CA 91351. The campus had an enrollment of 3,845 in the fall of 2009. Its first permanent building, the Applied Technology Education Center, was scheduled to open in 2011 to provide education and training in a variety of high-demand "green" technology fields. The campus is composed primarily of modular buildings that are situated to best accommodate planned permanent buildings as they are built in the years to come. The campus has an outdoor venue, the Carl A. Rasmussen Amphitheater, that has hosted a variety of campus and community events such as the popular Star Party.
Academics
With 191 full-time faculty members (as of fall 2009), the college offers Associate of Arts and Associate of Science degrees in 69 academic programs, as well as credentials in 82 certificate programs. Programs include Audio/Radio Production, Biotechnology, Child Development, Dance, Film/Video Production, Fire Control Technology, Industrial Manufacturing, Music, Nursing, Paralegal Studies, Television Production, Theatre Arts and Video Game Animation. Recent additions to the curricula include programs in insurance, web development, ESL, hotel-restaurant entrepreneurship, human services-gerontology and medical laboratory technician.
The college also is a participant in several innovative partnerships that have redefined the traditional role of community colleges. Academy of the Canyons, a middle college high school operated by the William S. Hart Union High School District, opened on the College of the Canyons campus in 2002. The concept allows promising high school students to attend high school and college concurrently. The college also oversees the University Center, a collection of public and private universities that offer advanced degree programs on the college's campus, eliminating the need for residents to commute long distances to earn their degrees. Also operating at the college are the Center for Applied Competitive Technologies and the Employee Training Institute, both of which have helped local businesses become more efficient and train employees in the latest emerging fields. The Small Business Development Center and the i3 Advanced Technology Center, hosted by the college, leverages college resources and provides addition support and seminars to assist entrepreneurs and small business owners.
Student life
Since 1994, the COC Speech Team has been recognized nationally at six consecutive Phi Rho Pi National Tournaments for all three major areas of speech competition. Headed by Professor Michael Leach, the team has advanced in its success over the years. Most recently, the team left the 2013 Phi Rho Pi National Tournament with five medals including, one gold, one silver and three bronze medals.
Athletics
The college athletics teams are nicknamed the Cougars and competes as a member of the California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA) in the Western State Conference (WSC) for all sports except football, which competes in Southern California Football Association (SCFA).[3] The college currently fields eight men’s and nine women’s varsity teams; including baseball, men's and women's basketball, men's and women's cross country, football, men's and women's golf, men's and women's soccer, softball, men's and women's swimming, women's tennis, men's and women's track and field, and women's volleyball.
The men's golf team has won nine state championships 1991 and 8 since 2000 (2000, 2002, 2006, 2008, 2013, 2015,2017 and 2019) women's golf won the state championship in fall of 2001,2007 and back to back championships in 2018 and 2019. This is the third time that the women's and men's team have won back to back state championships in the same academic year (Fall 2001, Spring 2002, Fall 2007, Spring 2008 and in Fall 2018 and Spring 2019) The men's football team won the national championship in 2004. The men's ice hockey club won the ACHA Division III National Title in 2011. The men's baseball team has also won three state championships 1981, 1983 and 1986.
As of 2017, COC has won 179 conference titles, 31 state titles, and 1 national title. Of the conference titles, baseball holds 23, men's basketball holds 8, women's basketball holds 15, men's cross country holds 4, football holds 11, men's golf holds 23, women's golf holds 8, women's soccer holds 10, softball holds 14, men's swim holds 8 individual titles, women's swim holds 1 individual title, women's dive holds 2, men's track and field holds 2 team titles and 27 individual titles, women's track and field holds 1 team title and 17 individual titles, and women's volleyball holds 5.[4] The 31 state titles are held by 7 teams: baseball (3), men's track and field (7), women's track and field (2), men's golf (10), woman's golf (4), football (1), and men's cross country (4).[5] The one national championship was won by COC football in 2004.[6]
Filming location
- The Amazing Race: All-Stars (aired February 23, 2014 on CBS) – the football field was used for the opening segment where the UCLA's "The Solid Gold Sound" marching band performed the show's theme song[7][8]
- Disney Channel Games
- Hamburger: The Motion Picture (1986) - used as Busterburger University[9]
- The Girl Next Door (2004) – used as the site of the main characters' high school[10]
- NCIS – as "Waverly University"[11]
- The Newsroom – used as the site of Will's speech on America's recent decline[12]
- Weeds – used as the site of Doug's office, Shane's school, and the local community college[13]
- Dark Skies (2013)
- Recovery Road - used as Maddie Graham's high school (Parsons-Bell)
- Knight Rider (1984). Campus and football stadium used in an episode titled "Knights of the Fast Lane". The stadium was called Taylor Stadium, home of the California Cougars football team. The mascot of College of the Canyons is the Cougars.
- NCIS: Los Angeles season 8, episode 8 ("Parallel Resistors").
Notable alumni
- Samantha Bailey, actress. The Young and the Restless (ex- Summer Newman) [14]
- Marquise Brown, American football player, Baltimore Ravens
- Steven Dehler, model, actor and dancer
- Matt Moore, American football player, Oregon State, Miami Dolphins, Carolina Panthers
- Ivan Dorschner, Pinoy Big Brother: Teen Clash 2010 5th Big Placer, model and actor
- Adam Kovic, internet personality (Machinima, Funhaus)
- Kevin McHale, (Artie Adams from Glee), Actor, singer, dancer, voice actor
- Aaron Mitchell, former American football player, Dallas Cowboys
- Domata Peko, former American football player, Cincinnati Bengals and Denver Broncos
- Jason Pierre-Paul, American football player, New York Giants
- Isaac Sopoaga, former American football player, San Francisco 49ers (2004–2012)
- Brian Vranesh, professional golfer who has played on the PGA Tour and Web.com Tour [15]
- Christy Smith, California State Assembly member (California's 38th State Assembly district)[16]
References
- "College of the Canyons Profile (2018-19) | Valencia, CA".
- "College of the Canyons Profile (2018-19) | Valencia, CA".
- "2019-20 CCCAA Directory" (PDF). California Community College Athletic Association. Retrieved 15 April 2020.
- "College of the Canyons Conference Championships - College of the Canyons". canyons.prestosports.com. Retrieved 2017-10-26.
- "College of the Canyons State Championships - College of the Canyons". canyons.prestosports.com. Retrieved 2017-10-26.
- "College of the Canyons". canyons.prestosports.com. Retrieved 2017-10-26.
- Rebecca Kendall, UCLA Bruin Marching Band sets musical pace for globe-spanning race Archived 2014-02-28 at the Wayback Machine, UCLA Today, February 18, 2014
- "Back in the Saddle" Season 24 Premiere, CBS, February 2014
- "Hamburger: The Motion Picture (1986)". IMDb.
- "The Girl Next Door (2004)". IMDb.
- "NCIS Filming Location Information". awardspace.com. Archived from the original on 2012-03-02. Retrieved 2011-07-11.
- The Newsroom - Jeff Daniels Answers "Why Is America The Greatest Country?". YouTube. 6 November 2014.
- "Weeds". filming.90210locations.info.
- "Samantha Bailey". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 2020-05-28.
- "Brian Vranesh". PGATour. Archived from the original on 2012-10-26. Retrieved December 3, 2012.
- "Christy Smith elected as 38th District's next Assemblywoman". The Santa Clarita Valley Proclaimer. November 16, 2018.