Alumni Reminisce on 75th Birthday of Ventura College

The county’s oldest institution of higher learning held a birthday bash Wednesday to celebrate its 75-year history of educating generations of local residents.

Ventura College students, faculty and staff munched on slices of a nine-tiered cake--which was, appropriately, 75-feet square--while alumni, such as Ventura Mayor Sandy Smith and college President Larry Calderon, reminisced about their days on campus.

“It’s nice to see the place looking as beautiful as ever,” Smith, a 1970 graduate, told the crowd gathered in the school cafeteria.

Calderon, who attended the college in the late 1960s, said that at the time he was a student he had not selected a major. But by sampling the range of courses offered, he ultimately settled on pursuing a career in education.

“The chance I had to explore the different disciplines is the single biggest asset I look back at when I think of where I want to take the college,” said Calderon, 49. “I want to keep access open for others who, like I was, are right out of high school and don’t know what they want to do.”

The college began in 1925 as part of the Ventura High School District, providing what amounted to voluntary 13th and 14th grades. The junior college, as it was known then, was housed in what is now Cabrillo Middle School on Santa Clara Street.

It became a separate two-year institution when a college district formed in 1952, and it moved to its current 112-acre campus on Telegraph Road in 1955.

That was the same year Tom O’Neill started his teaching career at the college. As the longest-serving faculty member, the 76-year-old microbiology teacher was designated master of ceremonies for Wednesday’s birthday party.

O’Neill, who plans to retire at the end of this school year, said he is proud to have participated in California’s community college system because of the affordable, quality education it provides.

“That has kept my juices flowing for 45 years,” he said.

He witnessed and sometimes participated in some of the big changes on the campus, including the formation of the Academic Senate, whose faculty members guide the school’s curriculum development.

O’Neill also recalled the student unrest in the 1960s that was common on college campuses across the country.

Gary Johnson, currently dean of the social science department and a history instructor at the college since 1965, said the civil rights movement coupled with an influx of new faculty members produced big changes to the college’s curricula during that decade.

Johnson said the campus was one of the first community colleges in the state to offer courses in Native American, Chicano, African American and women’s studies.

“There is no question that we were way ahead of the curve in terms of what other community colleges were teaching,” he said.

Ventura College was also one of the first, in 1972, to open a child-care center for its students, Johnson said.

One constant on the campus since 1955 has been its lush landscaping, said maintenance supervisor Bob Reeves, who credits one particular groundskeeper, Pete Fukisawa, for lovingly grooming the college grounds for its first 25 years.

Originally planned as an arboretum, today the campus boasts more than 700 trees, 400 of which are palms.

The palms came courtesy of college district Trustee John Tallman, who personally grew most of them from seed and chose their locations on campus.

“It’s the best collection of palms in the Western U.S., if not the entire U.S.,” said Tallman, who served as the college’s aquatic coach for a dozen years. He started his planting initiative in 1973 after tiring of leaves and other debris from trees that used to surround the campus swimming pool.

Calderon, president of the college since 1995, promises big changes to the school’s architectural landscape in coming years. A new library and learning resource center are scheduled to open in 2003, and a stadium and a new sports complex are in the early planning stages.

“In 25 years, you won’t recognize Ventura College by its physical plant,” Calderon said.

He said he looks forward to the expected 2002 opening of Cal State Channel Islands in Camarillo, which he expects will bring a surge of enrollment at his campus as more local residents are prompted to attend college.

Jason Holley, enjoying a slice of birthday cake Wednesday, said the opening of the state university would be his only opportunity to earn a four-year degree, because he cannot afford to go away to school. In the meantime, the 19-year-old Buena High graduate plans to continue attending Ventura College.

“It’s cool,” he said.