Page 14 - coc-40thanniversary
P. 14
earlier offer and purchased 153.4 acres of land bounded by Valencia
Boulevard on the north and Interstate 5 on the west. “Ultimately we
obtained the best site of all,” Mouck said, referring to the gently rolling
oak-studded hills along the east side of Interstate 5. Local pioneers had a
more ominous moniker for this parcel of land. They called it “Rattlesnake
Gulch.”
College of the Canyons moved out of the Hart High campus in July,
setting up a temporary admissions office in a garage on Pine Street until the
new campus was ready.
Just 10 months after voters passed the bond issue, temporary buildings
housing 99 classrooms were erected, although construction problems
delayed the opening by
two weeks. The college’s
first on-campus classes
began on Oct. 5, 1970 in
an assemblage of prefab-
The 1970s The view of the ricated buildings that
Before long, the college’s first commencement day arrived. Assembled temporary mod- faculty, staff and students
ular campus
in the Hart High cafeteria that June day in 1970 were Dennis Agajanian – the looking west. would alternately call the
first to be handed his diploma – Karen Bright, Karen Coe, Penny Curtis, The buildings “Instant Campus” or
were erected
John Dalby, Richard Dalmage, Loren Elmore, Stuart Harte, Rita Hendrixson, “Stalag 13,” the latter a
just south of the
Gregory Jenkins, Andrew Kress, Georgia Lucas, Emily Sifferman, Shirley present day reference to the stark
Stein, Robert Wilder and Wayne Williams. These 16 people hold the distinc- Cougar Stadium. The college’s first prison camp featured in the TV sitcom “Hogan’s Heroes.”
tion of being the very first graduates of College of the Canyons. Associated Once the village of modular buildings was in place, work commenced
Student Body was
“The first year of operation of any new college is never easy,” Rockwell headed by Paul on the adjacent football field and surrounding all-weather “Tartan track.”
remarked during the ceremony. “The challenges are numerous. All of you Driver (center). The massive concrete stadium and lights would come later, after the visi-
have met these challenges and, in doing so, have achieved an enviable place tors’ stands were built.
in the history of this college.” At the start of the second academic year, more than 1,200 people were
The Hart High campus filled an urgent need, but it was ill-suited to attending classes. It was a strong indicator of community need and the
accommodate a growing number of college students for very long. College growth yet to come.
hours were severely hampered because classes could begin only in the late The growing student body was now offered more than 225 courses
afternoon, after high school students had left for the day. Sure enough, before taught by an ever-growing faculty team. New instructors included Roger
the year was out, College of the Canyons would have a new home. Basham, anthropology; Marcia Boehm; Carl Buckel, management; Janice
In January of 1970, voters gave their resounding approval to a $4 mil- Burbank, nursing education; Dorothy Burtch; Doris Coy, business and eco-
lion construction-bond issue so that College of the Canyons could create a nomics; Barbara Hamm; Willard Kiesner; Roseann Krane; Chris
permanent campus. Soon thereafter, the district took Newhall Land up on its Mathison; Robert McNutt; Stanley Newcomb; Ken Palmer; Anton
12 13
