College of the Canyons and Santa Clarita Community College District

Motto	Start here. Go anywhere.
Type	Public community college
Established	1969
Parent institution	Santa Clarita Community College District
Chancellor	Dr. Dianne G. Van Hook
President	Dr. Dianne G. Van Hook
Academic staff	358 (as of 2016) [1]
Students	33,481 (as of 2019)[2]
Address	26455 Rockwell Canyon Road , Santa Clarita , California , 91355 , United States 34°24′16″N 118°34′05″W / 34.40444°N 118.56806°W / 34.40444; -118.56806
Campus	Suburban, 153.4 acres (62.1 ha)
Colors	Blue and Gold
Nickname	Cougars
Sporting affiliations	CCCAA – WSC, SCFA (football)
Website	www.canyons.edu
Location in Santa Clarita Show map of Santa Clarita College of the Canyons (the Los Angeles metropolitan area) Show map of the Los Angeles metropolitan area College of the Canyons (California) Show map of California

College of the Canyons (COC) is a public community college in Santa Clarita, California. It comprises the Santa Clarita Community College District. The college is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges and has campus locations in Valencia and Canyon Country.

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.

Campus

Santa Clarita Performing Arts Center, College of the Canyons

The college is located on 153.4 acres (62.1 ha) of rolling, tree-dotted hills in the neighborhood of Valencia in the city of Santa Clarita in northern Los Angeles County, California.

In 2007, the college opened its Canyon Country campus on a 70-acre (28 ha) site located at 17200 Sierra Highway, 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 accommodate planned permanent buildings as they are built. The campus has an outdoor venue, the Carl A. Rasmussen Amphitheater.

In 2021, the college opened a 55,000 square foot science and laboratory facility at the Canyon Country campus. The facility is called the Don Takeda Science Center after a retired biology professor.^[3]

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. 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 allowing 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, the Employee Training Institute, the Small Business Development Center and the i3 Advanced Technology Center.

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. Most recently, the team left the 2013 Phi Rho Pi National Tournament with five medals including, one gold, one silver and three bronze medals.

Filming location

• The Incredible Hulk – location used for the Culver Institute Laboratory^[9]
• 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^[10][11]
• Hamburger: The Motion Picture (1986) - used as Busterburger University^[12]
• The Girl Next Door (2004) – used as the site of the main characters' high school^[13]
• Bickford Shmeckler's Cool Ideas (2006) – used as the site of the college campus where many scenes take place^[14]
• NCIS – as "Waverly University"^[15]
• The Newsroom – used as the site of Will's speech on America's recent decline^[16]
• Weeds – used as the site of Doug's office, Shane's school, and the local community college^[17]
• The Office Season 6, Episode 25: "The Chump" - Used for setting of a high school baseball game.^[18]

Notable alumni

• Marquise Brown, American football player, Arizona Cardinals
• 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^[19]
• Christy Smith, former California State Assembly member (38th district)^[20]
• Suzette Martinez Valladares, Former California State Assembly member (38th district) 2020-2022

See also

References

External links

• Official website
• Official athletics webpage