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45 Years of Excellence and Innovation The History of College of the Canyons | 1969-2014

Asked why he would even consider leaving such a plush coastal chology; George Guernsey, technology; Mildred Guernsey, mathematics; Ann
clime for a dusty semi-desert outpost, Rockwell replied: “A college Heidt, art and English; Donald Heidt, English; Donald Hellrigel, foreign lan-
president has very few opportunities to create an entirely new col- guage; Elfi Hummel, foreign language and drama; Leonard Herendeen, police
lege, and I’m still young enough to do it – and I want very much to science; Iris Ingham, art; Jack Israel, physical education; Edward Jacoby, phys-
do it.” The trustees liked his answer, as well as the fact he’d earlier ical education; Jan Keller, librarian; Thomas Lawrence Jr., physics; Clifford
overseen the construction of Cerritos Community College. Layton, business and mathematics; Betty Lid, English; J.J. O’Brien, police sci-
Accompanying Rockwell from Santa Barbara was his loyal vice ence; George Pederson, police science; Lynora Saunders, physical education;
president, Gary Mouck, who would stay on at College of the Lee Smelser, physical education; Dale Smith, sociology and anthropology;
Canyons long after his mentor retired. “College of the Canyons is Gretchen Thomson, history; Gary
what it is today because Bob Rockwell was the right man at the right Valentine, chemistry and biology;
place at the right time,” Mouck said. “There is simply no question Frances Wakefield, counseling, and
about that. He brought invaluable experience and an innate leader- Stanley Weikert, business.
ship quality to the project.” The composition of the original
The Newhall Land & Farming Co., from whom the land that Board of Trustees elected in 1967
would become College of the Canyons was later purchased, present- changed, as John Hackney replaced
ed the fledgling college with a $140,000 gift. A chief executive of the Sheila Dyer in 1969.
company said the principal reason for the gift was “because Dr. The challenges facing the
Rockwell was there.” young district were formidable.
Rockwell, Mouck and the trustees soon began the crucial task of Gary Mouck, who worked College of the Even with the key people in place, the college still existed in concept only.
with Rockwell at Santa Canyons opened in a
finding the people who would give life and character to the new col- There was nothing yet tangible and very little money. By May 1969 the col-
Barbara City College, fol- bungalow at Hart
lege. First to be built was an administrative staff, composed of lowed his mentor to College High School on Sept. lege’s first catalog was ready to go – minus an important detail. “There was no
of the Canyons to oversee the 22, 1969. Hours were
Charles Rheinschmidt, assistant superintendent-student personnel; cover because the college didn’t have a name,” Mouck recalled years later. That
day-to-day operations. limited because
Carl McConnell, dean of admissions and records, and Joleen Block, classes could start issue would soon be resolved.
director of library services. only in mid-after- Mouck was in his office one day in early 1969, examining topographic
noon, after high
Rockwell often boasted that he had personally “hand-picked” school students had maps of the Santa Clarita Valley, when he noticed the large number of canyons.
the college’s instructors. But they first had to get past Mouck, who left the campus. “I counted over 50. So I yelled out, ‘How about College of the Canyons?’ ”
interviewed every one of them. During the months leading up to There already was a College of the Desert and a College of the Redwoods, so
opening day in the fall of 1969, he and fellow administrators turned College of the Canyons made sense, he reasoned. On May 15, 1969, the Board
their attention to hiring the first faculty. They sifted through the of Trustees agreed. “College of the Canyons” won out over several other sug-
resumes of some 4,000 applicants. Thirty-one would be chosen. gestions that included Santa Clarita College and Valencia College.
Recruited were William Baker, communications; James Boykin, The rationale behind the selection of the cougar as official mascot was far
biological sciences; Louis Brown, police science; Steven Cerra, his- less complicated. “I came up with ’cougar’ because I like cougars,” Mouck said
tory; Theodore Collier, political science and history; Robert Downs, matter-of-factly.
music; Alice Freeman (Betty Spilker), English; Kurt Freeman, psy- Attention soon turned to the reason Mouck was examining topographic

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