Type | Public community college |
---|---|
Established | 1949 |
Parent institution | Contra Costa Community College District |
Academic staff | 670 |
Students | 22,000 |
Location | , U.S. 37°58′17″N122°4′12″W / 37.97139°N 122.07000°W |
Campus | Suburban |
Colors | Green and white |
Nickname | Vikings |
Website | www |
Diablo Valley College (DVC) is a public community college with campuses in Pleasant Hill and San Ramon in Contra Costa County, California. [1] DVC is one of three public community colleges in the Contra Costa Community College District (along with Contra Costa College and Los Medanos College). It opened in 1949. DVC has more than 22,000 students and 300 full-time and 370 part-time instructors.
Diablo Valley College was founded in 1949 as East Contra Costa Junior College. The college enrolls over 22,000 students on two sites. [2]
In 2007, a six-year grade fixing scheme came to light with allegations that over 70 students used sex or cash as payment to student employees in the admissions and records office in exchange for over 400 grade changes. [3] [4] Many of these students had transferred to universities and in some cases may have already graduated. By November 2007, 49 students had been charged with misdemeanors or felonies over the incident, and at least one had accepted a no contest plea. [5] A spokesperson for the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges said that although the scandal was a negative factor it would be unlikely to lead to the school's loss of accreditation. [6]
In the first trial resulting from the grade changes, former student employee Erick Martinez was acquitted of all criminal charges on September 5, 2008. Jurors reached that decision after concluding that prosecutors failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that there was a definite link between Martinez and grade changes. [7] [8]
DVC is a "feeder" college to the University of California, Berkeley; California State University, East Bay; and St. Mary's College. It ranks among the top five transfer colleges in California. [9] In 2004, the top four transfer destinations were California State University, East Bay, San Francisco State University, University of California, Berkeley and University of California, Davis.
DVC also offers a variety of occupational specialties, including hotel/restaurant management, culinary arts, dental technology and real estate. It has an active speech and debating team.
DVC offers sports including men's and women's basketball, cross country, swimming and diving, tennis, water polo, baseball, football, lacrosse, track and field (men) and soccer, softball, and volleyball (women).
Willie McGee played baseball for DVC in 1977, and would later win a National League MVP award in 1985. [10] Pitcher Doug Davis also played in the majors from 1999 to 2011.
Demarshay Johnson, a former DVC basketball star who went on to play for the University of Nevada, was named California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA) first team All-State after the 2004–05 season. That season he led the CCCAA in blocks, averaging 5.2 per game, and was named Bay Valley Conference MVP.
The DVC Viking men's lacrosse program was the first junior college club in California, forming in 2008. In 2013, DVC won the California Junior College Lacrosse Association (CJCLA) championship. [11]
The Inquirer, the college's student-run newspaper, is produced on campus by the Journalism 126 class.
The newspaper was forced to produce its paper off-site at the Contra Costa Times newsroom when a bomb-threat on October 24, 2006, closed the campus and access to the newsroom was restricted. [12]
The Inquirer won General Excellence awards from the Journalism Association of Community Colleges (JACC) in 2006, 2010, 2011 and 2012. The newspaper also won a Pacesetter award from JACC in 1999.
The student union at DVC is named for Margaret Lesher, widow of Dean Lesher, founder of the Contra Costa Times and cofounder of the Margaret and Dean Lesher Foundation. [13]
In addition to the athletes named above, notable alumni of Diablo Valley include:
Contra Costa County is a county located in the U.S. state of California, in the East Bay of the San Francisco Bay Area. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 1,165,927. The county seat is Martinez. It occupies the northern portion of the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area and is primarily suburban. The county's name refers to its position on the other side of the bay from San Francisco. Contra Costa County is included in the San Francisco–Oakland–Berkeley, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Alamo is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Contra Costa County, California, in the United States. It is a suburb located in the San Francisco Bay Area's East Bay region, approximately 28 miles (45 km) east of San Francisco. Alamo is equidistant from the city of Walnut Creek and the incorporated town of Danville. As of the 2020 census, the population was 15,314.
The Town of Danville is located in the San Ramon Valley in Contra Costa County, California. It is one of the incorporated municipalities in California that use "town" in their names instead of "city". The population was 43,582 at the 2020 census. Since 2018, for five years in a row, Danville was named "the safest town in California".
Moraga is a town in Contra Costa County, California, in the San Francisco Bay Area. The town is named in honor of Joaquín Moraga, member of the famed Californio family. As of 2020, Moraga had a total population of 16,870 people. Moraga is the home of Saint Mary's College of California.
Walnut Creek is a city in Contra Costa County, California, United States, located in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, about 16 miles east of the city of Oakland. Walnut Creek has a total population of 70,127 per the 2020 census, is located at the junction of the highways from Sacramento and San Jose (I-680) and San Francisco/Oakland (SR-24), and is accessible by BART. The city shares its borders with Clayton, Lafayette, Alamo, Pleasant Hill, and Concord.
Contra Costa College is a public community college in San Pablo, California. It is the west campus of the Contra Costa Community College District. It is part of the California community colleges system, one of the three college systems in California.
West Valley College is a public community college in Saratoga, California. It is part of the California Community College system.
Fresno City College is a public community college in Fresno, California. It is part of the State Center Community College District within the California Community Colleges system. Fresno City College operates on a semester schedule and offers associate degrees and certificates.
City College of San Francisco is a public community college in San Francisco, California, United States. Founded as a junior college in 1935, the college plays an important local role, annually enrolling as many as one in nine San Francisco residents. CCSF is accredited by the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC).
The East Bay Times is a daily broadsheet newspaper based in Walnut Creek, California, United States, owned by the Bay Area News Group (BANG), a subsidiary of Media News Group, that serves Contra Costa and Alameda counties, in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. It was founded as the Contra Costa Times, and took its current name in 2016 when it was merged with other sister papers in the East Bay. Its oldest merged title is the Oakland Tribune founded in 1874.
Allan Hancock College is a public community college in Santa Maria, California.
Dean Stanley Lesher was an American newspaper publisher, founder of the Contra Costa Times and the Contra Costa Newspapers chain. He was also a well-known philanthropist in the San Francisco Bay Area.
The Contra Costa Community College District is a community college district that encompasses three community colleges in Contra Costa County, California - Contra Costa College, Diablo Valley College and Los Medanos College. The headquarters is in the George R. Gordon Education Center in Martinez, California.
Mount Diablo High School is a public high school located in Concord, California, United States. It is the oldest school in the Mount Diablo Unified School District, founded in April 1901. The school currently serves western Concord, the unincorporated communities of Bay Point and Clyde and a portion of Pittsburg.
Pinole Valley High School is a high school in Pinole, California, United States, in Contra Costa County. First opened in 1967, the school is part of the West Contra Costa Unified School District. Pinole Valley High serves grades 9–12, and has approximately 1,200 students from Pinole, northwest Richmond and the unincorporated communities of Bayview, Montalvin Manor and Tara Hills. The school is noted for its girls' basketball team. Coach Dan O'Shea was named "Coach of the Year" in May 2006 by the Oakland Tribune.
Dougherty Valley High School is a public high school located in the Windemere development of San Ramon, California, United States. The valley name comes from James Witt Dougherty, a 19th-century landowner and local politician.
Northgate High School (NHS) is a public high school located in the suburban Northgate neighborhood of Walnut Creek, California, United States. The most recent of five high schools in the Mount Diablo Unified School District, the school was built in 1974, and is home to approximately 1,500 students from Walnut Creek and Concord, California, grades 9–12. Its name derives from its location at the north entrance of Mount Diablo State Park.
KVHS is a non-profit high school radio station playing an active rock music format. It is licensed to the Mt. Diablo Unified School District and broadcasts from the campus of Clayton Valley Charter High School, Concord, California. The signal reaches the counties of Contra Costa, Solano, Napa, San Joaquin, West Sacramento and Yolo, and KVHS primarily serves the Diablo Valley area.
The California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA) is a sports association of community colleges in the U.S. state of California. It oversees 108 athletic programs throughout the state. The organization was formed in 1929 as the California Junior College Federation to unify programs in Northern and Southern California.