Board to Vote on Santa Ana College Name Change--to Rancho Santiago

What for 70 years has been Santa Ana College soon may become Rancho Santiago Community College.

The governing board of the college will vote on the proposed new name when it meets Tuesday, according to Shirley Ralston, president of the board. “It’s been discussed, and we just haven’t had strong reaction,” she said Wednesday.

Student government president David Troublefield said Wednesday, however, that opposition to the change among students is building.

“I’ve found that students overwhelmingly oppose it. Our Student Senate voted 11 to 1 on Monday against it. I’m asking the chancellor to have the board delay a vote on it.” Troublefield said that if the name issue is not delayed, he go to the board meeting and speak against the change.

New Name Reflects Area

College officials said the idea was proposed because the community college covers a larger area than just Santa Ana.

“The main reason . . . is the opening of our Orange Canyon campus (in Orange) next fall,” said Donna Hatchett, the college’s public information officer. “We felt a name change would show that our college includes several more cities than Santa Ana.”

Robert Jensen, president of the college, acknowledged in an interview that proposing a name change “especially after 70 years, is a serious and delicate situation.” But he said community leaders with whom he has spoken understand the reason for having a name that reflects the entire college district.

Santa Ana College is governed by the board of trustees of Rancho Santiago Community College District. The district includes Orange, Villa Park, Anaheim Hills and part of Garden Grove, as well as Santa Ana. Scores of students also come to the college from many other parts of Orange County.

Third Campus Opening

Ralston pointed out that the college already had a second campus--in Garden Grove. “The Orange campus will be our third,” she said. “And we will still be keeping (the initials) SAC, because we will have the Santa Ana Campus (of Rancho Santiago Community College). For the people in Orange, we’re just going to call that the Orange Campus now, instead of Orange Canyon.”

Hatchett, who suggested the name change, said Saddleback College, nearby, has a similar situation, in that the district covers several communities and has two campuses. Saddleback College South is in Mission Viejo, and Saddleback College North is in Irvine. Both are governed by the Saddleback Community College District.

“Most of the new community colleges were not named after a specific community,” Hatchett said. “For instance, Orange Coast College, in Costa Mesa, and Golden West College, in Huntington Beach, aren’t named after cities.”

Santa Ana Identity

Vernon Evans, immediate past president of the Rancho Santiago Community College District, said the name change would still allow the city of Santa Ana to be prominently identified, as “the Santa Ana Campus.”

Evans added, “I don’t have any strong feeling, pro or con. I think most people in Santa Ana will still call it ‘Santa Ana College.’ I’ve talked to some people in the community, and they could understand the reason for thinking of a name change.

“A few former athletes who think of it as Santa Ana College only didn’t like the idea, but the majority I talked to said they understood why we’re thinking of a new name.”