Ringing In the New, and Old, at College

With the unfurling of a banner Tuesday, Santiago Canyon College was born.

The event marked the new college’s independence after 12 years as the satellite campus of Rancho Santiago College.

A banner raised to celebrate the event carried the new school’s name, logo, mascot and colors. “The critical issue is identity,” said Dean Strenger, president of the school.

Santiago Canyon, on the eastern edge of Orange, is the newest community college in the nation. It has its own budget and operations, including class offerings.

The campus initially will serve 9,200 students, most of whom live in Orange, Anaheim Hills and Villa Park. Enrollment is projected to increase as nearby neighborhoods grow.

While students and administrators celebrated the new college in Orange by waving pictures of its mascot, the red-tailed hawk, and balloons in the school colors of gold, black and royal blue, another party was held in Santa Ana.

Celebrators there said farewell to Rancho Santiago College, which on Tuesday was officially renamed Santa Ana College. “SAC is back,” said Edward Hernandez, the college’s president, sporting a Santa Ana College cap.

The school was founded in 1915 as Santa Ana College. Seventy years later, trustees decided to open the Orange satellite campus and changed the name of the school to Rancho Santiago.

The Santa Ana and Orange colleges are both in the Rancho Santiago Community College District.