Cal State What? : Trustees Grapple Over a Name for the New Ventura County Campus

While many in the county still question whether there will ever be a four-year public university in Ventura County, others are moving forward to the next step: giving it a name. Or at least they’re trying.

Whether for reasons of aesthetics, pride or political correctness, the Ventura County campus of Cal State University, to be built on 260 acres west of Camarillo and northeast of Oxnard, remains nameless.

Yes, it’s been 10 years since the university first tried to buy land in the county, so it’s not a new question.

And yes, the funding source to build the campus is nowhere in sight, so it’s probably not a pressing question.

But there are still a handful of contenders for the name, each with its own advantages--and baggage. The two most popular suggestions are Cal State Ventura and Cal State Channel Islands, authorities say. But also in the running are Cal State Ventura County, Cal State Camarillo and Cal State Oxnard.

A few others have been thrown out for consideration, including Cal State San Buenaventura and even Cal State Las Posas, but those in the know say those seem unlikely candidates.

Although Cal State University officials say they still hope to hold the first classes on campus by the turn of the century, a $1-million request for funds to plan the new campus was recently whittled down to less than $200,000.

But they say they’re going forward, and they hope for construction funding from a ballot initiative under consideration by the state Assembly.

Meanwhile, the name question will come down to a vote in the next few months by the Cal State Board of Trustees, which will choose a name based on recommendations from the California State system chancellor and the Ventura County community, said Trustee Anthony Viti.

“People are going to be hired and their paychecks have to have some name on them,” he said. “But these things are always difficult.”

When the system’s newest university, Cal State Monterey Bay, was being built on the former Ford Ord Army base, the first name chosen was Cal State Ford Ord, he said.

“But its initials would have been Cal State UFO, and people were worried about that,” Viti said.

A similar concern has surfaced over initials if the system’s 23rd campus were to be named Cal State University Camarillo.

“It spells C-SUC,” said Camarillo Assistant City Manager Larry Davis.

Camarillo Councilman David Smith called the acronym “not satisfactory.” He also pointed out that “people would call it Camarillo State.”

That reference to the area’s state hospital would be unseemly for a university, supporters say.

Sixteen of Cal State University’s 22 campuses are named for the city in which they are located, although seven of those cities share the same name with the county. So why not Cal State Oxnard, after the other nearby city?

For starters, even the city itself has tried to find a prettier name than the one hung on it by the two Oxnard brothers.

Nevertheless, Ed Robings, director of the Ventura County Museum of History and Art and an unabashed Oxnard booster, says Cal State University Oxnard is a fine name.

“It would be logical to have it named for the city it is in or near,” said Robings, former president of Oxnard College. “And I already have the T-shirt,” he said, referring to one he bought from a street vendor with the words “University of Oxnard” across the front.

A much more appealing name would be Cal State Channel Islands, said Joyce M. Kennedy, director of Cal State Northridge’s Ventura campus.

“The Channel Islands are a natural treasure,” she said. “It instantly tells you it’s a beautiful place. The name alone will attract students.”

Among the most obvious of choices seems Cal State University, Ventura, for the county in which it would be located.

It worked for other universities named for their counties: Humboldt State University is in Arcata, Sonoma State is in Rohnert Park, and Cal State Stanislaus is in Turlock. So Cal State Ventura doesn’t have to be in the city of Ventura, only the county.

But, as many in the debate point out, it was the city of Ventura that rejected the university when Cal State wanted to build on Taylor Ranch in 1990. That rejection set the campus back years, and many say the city does not deserve the honor of having a university carry its name, even if it is intended to be that of the county.

“There is no room for us in Ventura,” said Kennedy, who has worked with the university center in Ventura for 21 years.

Ventura City Councilman James Monahan, one of the minority of council members who supported the university when it wanted to build in Ventura, said the campus should be called Cal State Taylor Ranch. “That would throw everybody,” he said only half in jest.

He also likes Cal State San Buenaventura, the proper name for the city of Ventura.

Why not Cal State Ventura County then? In fact, that’s the way Trustee Viti is leaning.

“Channel Islands is the most politically correct choice, so far, but it doesn’t do much for me, frankly,” Viti said. “The university won’t be located on any of the islands. And Ventura County has always been the region the university is intended to serve.”

But none of the campuses named for their counties have the word “county” in the name, pointed out David Leveille, Cal State’s director of planning for the new campus.

“When people from other parts of the state say they are going to Ventura, they are thinking of the region and not just the city.”

In fact, Cal State Ventura was the top vote-getter in an informal poll Leveille took when he spoke recently to about 350 Ventura Community College students.

“CSU Ventura got about 60% of the audience,” said Leveille, who plans to establish offices in the county next month. “Cal State Channel Islands got about 40% and San Buenaventura got a few hands. And for Camarillo and Oxnard, a lot of laughter.”

Cal State Las Posas, suggested by Camarillo’s Davis for the campus location near the Las Posas Valley, wasn’t even in the discussion.

The debate continues. But Kennedy, who has worked toward a four-year public campus in Ventura County for 21 years, said regardless of the final name, the main thing is to get it done.

“I’m just glad we’re not calling it Cal State In Limbo any more,” she said. “Let’s just pick something so we don’t have to keep calling it the new university.”

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FYI

If you would like to state your preference for a name for the new Cal State University, call David Leveille at 310-985-2872, or write him at California State University, 400 Golden Shore, Long Beach, CA 90802-4275.