Barbara Jane Collins (born Schenck; April 29, 1929 - April 30, 2013) was an American writer, ecologist, geologist, botanist, and professor. She was the founder of the Barbara Collins Arboretum at the campus of California Lutheran University where she was a professor for 50 years. She was instrumental in the preservation of Wildwood Mesa and received a commendation from the Mayor of Thousand Oaks, California for her preservation efforts. At Cal Lutheran, she created a website which cataloged over 3,000 plant species and was the sole member of the Interdisciplinary Major Committee for thirty years. She was among the first faculty at both California Lutheran University (CLU) and California State University, Northridge (CSUN). Collins was also the first woman to earn a doctoral degree in geology from the University of Illinois.
Collins received the national Sears Roebuck Foundation Teaching Excellence and Campus Leadership Award in 1991. She was named Professor of the Year in 1996 and received the President's Award for Teaching Excellence in 2007. She later received an Honorary Alumna Award from Cal Lutheran's Alumni Association in 2008. Collins was inducted in Ventura County Educators' Hall of Fame in 2013. [1]
Born in Passaic, New Jersey on April 29, 1929, she grew up in Nutley, New Jersey. Collins earned a bachelor's degree from Bates College and a Master of Arts from Smith College. She was the first female to earn a doctorate in geology from University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, where she also completed her Master of Science and doctorate in botany after two years in Germany. [2]
She joined the faculty at San Fernando Valley State College, which later became California State University, Northridge, soon after it was founded in 1958. After three years of teaching botany at SFVSC, she became one of the first faculty members at California Lutheran College in 1963. [3] During her tenure at Cal Lutheran she brought her students along on scientific trips to Hawai'i, Fiji, New Zealand, Australia, and deserts and mountains of California. She also created an online directory for the university which included over 3,000 species. Collins also identified over a hundred plants for the university's arboretum, which is named in honor of Collins. [4] [5] [6]
In the mid-1980s, she helped with the preservation of Wildwood Mesa by discovering three endangered species in an area which was about to be developed: Conejo dudleya, Conejo buckwheat and Lyon's pentachaeta. [7] The city and the Conejo Recreation and Park District eventually gained control of 228 acres of the Wildwood Mesa, which was consolidated with the existing Wildwood Regional Park. [8] Collins received a commendation from the city mayor for her preservation efforts. [9]
Collins was married to the noted geologist Larry Collins until her death in 2013. Together they had five children. [9] [5]
Thousand Oaks is a city in the northwestern part of Greater Los Angeles, approximately 15 miles (24 km) from the city of Los Angeles and 40 miles (64 km) from Downtown. The second-largest city in Ventura County, California, it is named after the many oak trees present in the area.
California Lutheran University is a private university in Thousand Oaks, California. It was founded in 1959 and is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, but is nonsectarian. It opened in 1960 as California Lutheran College and was California's first four-year liberal arts college and the first four-year private college in Ventura County. It changed its name to California Lutheran University on January 1, 1986.
Newbury Park is a populated place and town in Ventura County, California, United States. Most of it lies within the western Thousand Oaks city limits, while unincorporated areas include Casa Conejo and Ventu Park. The town is located in Southern California around 8 miles from the Pacific Ocean and has a mild year-round climate, scenic mountains, and environmental preservation. About 28,000 residents of Thousand Oaks reside in Newbury Park.
The Gilbert Sports and Fitness Center is a 2,411 seat multi-purpose indoor arena on the campus of California Lutheran University, located in Thousand Oaks, Ventura County, California. It is 96,000 sq. ft.
Lorence Gene "Larry" Collins is an American petrologist, known for his opposition to creationist geological pseudo-science.
Wildwood Regional Park is a suburban regional park in the western Simi Hills and Conejo Valley, in Ventura County, California. It is located in western Thousand Oaks, northern Newbury Park, and southern Moorpark.
Arroyo Conejo is the longest creek in the Conejo Valley, sprawling over the cities of Thousand Oaks and Camarillo, and the communities of Newbury Park, Casa Conejo and Santa Rosa Valley. Arroyo Conejo is the primary drainage for the City of Thousand Oaks. Its watershed covers 57 square miles (150 km2) of which 43 square miles (110 km2) are in the Conejo Valley and 14 square miles (36 km2) in the Santa Rosa Valley.
Arroyo Conejo Open Space is a 302-acre (122 ha) open space reserve in the western Simi Hills in northern Newbury Park, Ventura County, California. Most of it is part of the 250-acre (100 ha) Arroyo Conejo Nature Preserve.
Mount Clef Ridge is a 1,076 ft volcanic mountain in Thousand Oaks, California. It is a volcanic outcrop that resulted from lava eruptions 30 million years ago. The ridge was formerly under ownership by the Janss Corporation, but was acquired by the Conejo Recreation and Park District (CRPD) in 1967. Trails here are available from Santa Rosa Valley, Newbury Park and Wildwood Regional Park. Although being a major feature of Wildwood, it occupies its own open-space area bordering Wildwood's northern boundaries. Mount Clef Ridge Open Space Area occupies 212 acres. From the ridge are great panoramic views of Santa Rosa Valley, Conejo Valley, Hill Canyon, as well as the Santa Susana-, Santa Monica- and Topatopa Mountains. The open-space area is home to plants such as coastal sage scrub, chaparral, Lyon's pentachaeta and Conejo dudleya. The fauna includes mountain lions, deer, coyotes, gray foxes, and more.
Norwegian Colony was a Norwegian community in Thousand Oaks, California, in the 1890s and early 20th century. They were among the first pioneers to settle in the Conejo Valley, and was perhaps the most successful colony in Ventura County at the time. The group of Norwegians had emigrated from Norway due to lack of land and widespread starvation, and had first settled in Santa Barbara in 1885. After being told about the cheap land in the Conejo Valley, they relocated to what became the Norwegian Colony in 1890-91. The colony consisted of five families: the Olsen, Andersen (Anderson), Pedersen (Pederson), Nilsen and Hansen families.
Robert F. Shoup is a retired American football coach and former player. He was the head coach at California Lutheran University from 1962 to 1989, compiling a career coaching record of 185–87–6. Shoup led Cal Lutheran to the NAIA Division II Football Championship in 1971. 186 of his players would later become coaches. He also helped to bring the Dallas Cowboys NFL team to the university. He was able to spend time around the team's players and coaches, including Tom Landry, and was able to pick up techniques for his team. Landry and Shoup also put together two major events each summer: a coaching clinic that drew as many as 500 people and a charity function known as the Christian Businessmen's Club Day. He was also the head coach for the college's golf program for ten years, 1976-1986.
Conejo Recreation and Park District (CRPD) is the park management agency for most of the parks in the Conejo Valley, California. Established in 1962, CRPD later established Conejo Open Space Conservation Agency (COSCA) in 1977 through a joint effort with the City of Thousand Oaks. COSCA administers over 15,000 acres of open space and 140 miles of trails, while CRPD administers over 50 community parks. In 2019, CRPD's annual operating budget was $20 million, of which about 70% comes from property taxes.
Pederson House and Water Tower is located at the campus of California Lutheran University (CLU) in Thousand Oaks, California, the former home of the Norwegian Colony. It was built by members of the Colony that settled here in 1890. The structure is designated Ventura County Historic Landmark No. 45 and Thousand Oaks Historical Landmark No. 3. It is a typical turn-of-the-century farmhouse constructed in 1913-14 for Lars and Karn Pederson, Norwegian immigrants and members of the Norwegian Colony, who had first settled in Conejo Valley in 1890. The house was erected at the present location of Ahmanson Science Center, but was later relocated 500 feet (150 m) to its current location at the corner of Regent Avenue and Faculty Street. When its original location was determined to become a science building, the university was quoted $125,000 in moving costs, and therefore planned to demolish the house. However, CLU alumni were able to raise the amount in one day and were successful in saving the house.
The Cal Lutheran Kingsmen and Regals are the athletic teams that represent California Lutheran University, located in Thousand Oaks, California, in intercollegiate sports as a member of the Division III level of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), primarily competing in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) since the 1991–92 academic year. The Kingsmen and Regals previously competed in the Golden State Athletic Conference (GSAC) of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) 1986–87 to 1988–89; and as an NAIA Independent from 1989–90 to 1990–91.
Mark Alexander Mathews was the third President of California Lutheran College (CLC), from 1972-1980. Mathews helped to strengthen the college’s finances as it doubled its annual budget, increased enrollment, added several facilities and expanded its graduate programs during his tenure. The Greater Conejo Valley Chamber of Commerce named him “Man of the Year” in 1985 in recognition of his service to community organizations such as Habitat for Humanity, Hospice of the Conejo and the Conejo Future Foundation. He received Cal Lutheran’s Honorary Alumni Award in 1992.
Chris Kimball is a former president and chief executive officer at California Lutheran University from April 2008 to August 2020. Before his tenure at CLU, he served as Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs at CLU from 2006 to 2008. Previously, he had served as Dean of the Faculty and Provost at Augsburg College in Minneapolis, Minnesota. An alumnus of McGill University in Canada, Kimball received his doctorate from the University of Chicago. Kimball constructed and taught a baseball class at Augsburg College, and has also taught the course "U.S. History Through Baseball" while President of Cal Lutheran.
Elmer Hollis Ramsey was the founder and conductor of Conejo Symphony Orchestra, which was a precursor to the New West Symphony. He also established the Conejo Pops Orchestra. Ramsey was a professor at California Lutheran University from 1965 to 1992. He was the co-founder of the local Oakleaf Music Festival and instrumental in the development of the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza.
Sam Kane, a former educator in the Conejo Valley Unified School District, is a Ventura County Educators’ Hall of Fame inductee. He has been honored by the California Legislature, California State Assembly, Johns Hopkins University, and Amgen. He is known for his teaching and counseling innovations, anti-bullying programs, and development of school bees and bowls.