Cal State Channel Islands Ready for Big Day

The school’s burgundy banners were all properly hung, the stage microphones all set and the rows of white lawn chairs all arranged.

The only thing missing was the 1,500 guests, including keynote speaker Gov. Gray Davis.

But Thursday was simply the dress rehearsal for the grand opening ceremony for Cal State Channel Islands, Ventura County’s first four-year public university. The real ceremony is today.

For the past few weeks more than 150 workers have been sprucing up the campus and preparing for the big moment. At the center of all the frenzied preparations is Nancy Covarrubias Gill, 41, the school’s associate director of development.

Since January, Gill has been in charge of organizing the opening celebration and making sure everything runs smoothly.

It has been one of the biggest challenges in her career, she said.

Her biggest task Thursday, however, was leading a giddy group of about 50 faculty members, staff members and administrators in a dry run of today’s ceremony.

Gripping her walkie-talkie in one hand and her script in the other, Gill quickly ran the group through an abbreviated version of the event.

She made sure everyone in the procession sat in their assigned seat, that the microphones were properly adjusted for musicians and that everyone followed the script.

The practice session went fairly smoothly, though at times the boisterous crowd heckled speakers and generally gave the event the feel of a raucous wedding rehearsal.

Cal State Channel Islands economics professor Dennis Muraoka filled in for the governor. After being “introduced” by college President Richard Rush, Muraoka told the audience he had prepared some remarks.

“You’ve all done an outstanding job of getting this university started,” he said. “Therefore, even though I have not signed the budget, I am doubling all your salaries, and I am doubling all your vacation time.”

Laughing audience members began chanting, “Four more years! Four more years!”

Rush also received a share of heckling, and at one point joked that if the governor received a security detail, he wanted one too.

Today’s ceremony culminates a four-year effort to convert the former Camarillo State Hospital into the California State University system’s 23rd campus, ending Ventura County’s decades-long wait for a public university.

The new school will welcome its first class Aug. 26. So far, about 1,300 transfer students have enrolled for the first year.

By 2025, the university is expected to be operating at full capacity, serving up to 15,000 students, officials said.