Inventing a University

Imagine, for a moment, all of Ventura County’s natural resources, institutions, businesses, passions and problems not merely as taken-for-granted facts of life but as potential teaching tools.

That’s what Robert Peyton is up to as he creates a curriculum for the new Cal State University Channel Islands--soon to take root at the former Camarillo State Hospital.

“I’m a sucker for interesting programs,” says Peyton, a 19-year veteran of the UC and Cal State systems who is senior academic planner for the new school. “This region is a microcosm of California.”

As currently envisioned, an independent CSUCI will grow from the existing branch campus of Cal State Northridge--already the state’s largest extension operation with 1,400 students. To mesh with the unique assets and needs of Ventura County, Peyton is exploring programs like these:

* A complete agriculture program, both to train young farmers and provide continuing education to the county’s 2,200 working farmers. He is talking with the deans of similar programs at CSU Pomona and CSU San Luis Obispo and may draw on connections to the UC system as well.

* A master’s program in social work, possibly with an emphasis on bilingual / bicultural needs, which are increasing across the nation.

* An environmental sciences program, using the Channel Islands and Mugu Lagoon as living laboratories.

* A nursing program geared to the growing field of geriatric care, supported by an elder-care facility near the campus.

* An innovative teacher training program, using an on-campus magnet school in the Pleasant Valley Elementary School District to give future teachers experience in the classroom starting in their freshman year.

* Partnerships with such major local employers as Amgen, GTE and the Navy to swap instruction and expertise for internships and real-world experience. As an example, animation specialists from the Point Mugu Navy base might teach courses in computer animation with an eye toward preparing students for jobs in Hollywood.

* A program that would allow Navy personnel who begin taking courses while stationed here to continue their studies long-distance after they are transferred--earning a CSUCI degree from anywhere in the world.

“I think we’re inventing a university for the next millennium,” says CSUCI President J. Handel Evans.

The Cal State system, adds Peyton, is “dedicated to graduating truly educated people with critical-thinking skills who can develop careers in a rapidly changing, diverse society.”

Such a creative approach to Ventura County’s needs and assets suggests that exciting days are ahead for CSUCI.