Irvine : Saddleback North: New Name and a New Valley

After a short search that yielded suggestions such as Gumby College and El Torito College--Home of the Nachos, the Saddleback Community College District board has voted to rename Saddleback College’s north campus Irvine Valley Community College.

The new name will take effect July 1, said spokeswoman Susan Clark. The board, with one member absent, voted 5 to 3 Monday for the name, although there is no valley in the college’s vicinity.

“We made up a valley where there wasn’t one before,” she said, explaining that the district’s officials liked the sound of the name. “I’ve noticed that the switchboard operators have already begun answering the phones with the new name.”

Clark said officials of the new college were eager to pick a name because “we have a fall semester coming up and our catalogue and schedule are going to press. We’re literally going to call in the new name (to publishers).”

Two of the other names offered by students, teachers and administrators were Rancho Irvine College and Modjeska Community College. Modjeska had a nice ring, Clark said, but it presented technical difficulties. “There was a lot of trouble with the spelling, and we couldn’t fit it into a fight song.”

The Irvine campus has been a satellite of Saddleback College in Mission Viejo. Last month, the district board of trustees voted to make it a separate college.

The name change still has to be approved by the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges. That approval is expected to come May 31, Clark said.

With a new name in the bag, college officials now are looking for a logo. Students may enter their designs through the end of May, Clark said. Beginning this fall, a drive to pick school colors and a mascot will begin.