Moorpark College

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Moorpark College
Moorpark College.png
MottoBridge to the Future
Type Public community college
Established1967;58 years ago (1967)
Parent institution
Ventura County Community College District
Endowment $99,410 (2011/2012) [1]
President Julius O. Sokenu
Academic staff
490
Administrative staff
159
Students13,756 [2]
Location,
U.S.

34°18′00″N118°50′06″W / 34.30000°N 118.83500°W / 34.30000; -118.83500
Campus150 acres (61 ha)
Colors    Black and Columbia blue
Nickname Raiders
Sporting affiliations
CCCAAWSC,
SCFA (football),
SCWA (wrestling)
Website www.moorparkcollege.edu
Moorpark College

Moorpark College is a public community college in Moorpark, California in the United States. It was established in 1967 with enrollment of 2,500 students, and enrolled 14,254 students in 2014. [3]

Contents

History

The board of the Ventura County Community College District established Moorpark College in 1967. In addition to the land already owned by the District, Moorpark College expanded into a 134-acre (54 ha) parcel of land on Moorpark's eastern boundary, donated by a local ranching family, the Strathearns. [4]

In 1965, the citizens of Ventura County passed a bond for 8 million dollars to build the first part of the college. Construction of the administration, science, technology, gymnasium, and Maintenance buildings, and the Library and Campus Center began in 1966.

Moorpark College officially opened on September 11, 1967. The college's first president, John Collins, welcomed almost 1,400 students and 50 faculty members.

Robert Lombardi became the college's second president in 1971. During his tenure, enrollment doubled, and the college added emphasis on preparing students to transfer to four-year schools. [4]

Ray Hearon is the longest-serving president, in office from 1974 to 1989. In 1980, the Moorpark College Foundation was formed to fund construction of an athletic stadium, amphitheater, and observatory. [5] The 6,000-seat stadium, completed in 1985, was named after Paul Griffin Jr., a major benefactor. In 1987, the Charles Temple Observatory, the only public observatory in Ventura County, and Carlsberg Amphitheater were dedicated at the college's 20th anniversary celebration.

Nearby Oxnard College solicited Moorpark's help in establishing a Camarillo Center, [6] located on California State University, Channel Islands's campus. [7]

Raider Walk, looking eastward Moorpark College Raider Walk.jpg
Raider Walk, looking eastward

In 2000, a high school for juniors and seniors opened on the college campus, The High School at Moorpark College (separate from Moorpark High School but part of the Moorpark Unified School District). The first class to graduate in 2001 numbered 25.

For the 2007 transferring cohort of eligible students (2,252), Moorpark College transferred 130 to a university in two years, 480 in three years, and 793 and four years. [8]

In 1973, the college started an Exotic Animal Training and Management program. In 2011, the college broke ground on a new center for the program to house over 200 animals on campus. [9] [10]

Bernard Luskin was appointed interim president of Moorpark College in September 2013. [11] [12] Luis Pablo Sanchez was appointed for a term beginning February 3, 2015. [13] [14] [15] After serving as interim president, Julius Sokenu was installed as president of the college on April 14, 2021. [16]

Athletics

Moorpark's athletic teams are nicknamed the Raiders. The college currently sponsors eight men's and eight women's varsity teams. The college competes as a member of the California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA) in the Western State Conference (WSC) for all sports except football and wrestling, which compete in the Southern California Football Association (SCFA) and Southern California Wrestling Association (SCWA). [17]

Notable people

Alumni

Faculty and staff

References

  1. "College foundations differ widely in how much they raise, what they spend » Ventura County Star". Archived from the original on January 17, 2013. Retrieved January 19, 2013.
  2. California, State of. "California Community Colleges Chancellor's Office – Data Mart". datamart.cccco.edu. Retrieved November 9, 2018.
  3. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on April 18, 2014. Retrieved April 18, 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  4. 1 2 "History – Moorpark College". Official site. 2007. Archived from the original on July 8, 2007. Retrieved May 17, 2007.
  5. Cowden Moore, Jean (January 12, 2013). "College foundations differ widely in how much they raise, what they spend". Ventura County Star .
  6. "Oxnard College History". Oxnard College, Official site. 2006. Archived from the original on April 12, 2007. Retrieved May 17, 2007.
  7. "Welcome to Camarillo Satellite". State of California, Official site. 2004. Archived from the original on February 7, 2007. Retrieved May 17, 2007.
  8. California, State of. "California Community Colleges Chancellor's Office – Data Mart". datamart.cccco.edu. Retrieved November 9, 2018.
  9. Willer-Allred, Michele (March 2, 2010). "Moorpark College breaks ground on new zoo facility". Ventura County Star .
  10. Willer-Allred, Michele (September 29, 2011). "New EATM complex at Moorpark College nearly finished". Ventura County Star . Retrieved July 3, 2016.
  11. "Dr. Luskin's Bio," Ventura County Community College District website. Retrieved 7 January 2017.
  12. "VCCCD Board of Trustees and Mayor Janice Parvin join Chancellor's surprise dedication," Tri County Sentry, 16 July 2016. Retrieved 7 January 2017.
  13. Bullock, Brian. "Hancock's Sanchez named president at Moorpark College," Santa Maria Times, 14 December 2014. Retrieved 7 January 2017.
  14. Garcia, Agustin. "Introducing our new president: Luis Pablo Sanchez," Student Voice, 22 January 2015. Retrieved 7 January 2017.
  15. Moore, Jean Cowden. "Moorpark College gets new president," Ventura County Star, 23 December 2014. Retrieved 7 January 2017.
  16. "Dr. Julius Sokenu Named Moorpark College President". Moorpark College. Retrieved December 23, 2022.
  17. "2019–20 CCCAA Directory" (PDF). California Community College Athletic Association. Retrieved April 15, 2020.
  18. "Department of Chemistry Faculty". Moorpark College. Archived from the original on March 8, 2010. Retrieved September 5, 2025.
  19. "Office of the President". Bunker Hill Community College. Retrieved September 5, 2025.
  20. Trude, Caitlin (September 8, 2016). "Career Education Center in Moorpark ready for students". The Acorn. Retrieved September 5, 2025.
  21. "Chronology". American Artist James Jarvaise. March 17, 2017. Retrieved September 5, 2025.
  22. "Class of 2022". Ventura County Educators' Hall of Fame. Retrieved September 5, 2025.
  23. "John Loprieno". Harper College. Archived from the original on January 4, 2014. Retrieved September 5, 2025.
  24. "Eric Marty - Football Coach". Grambling State University Athletics. Retrieved September 5, 2025.
  25. "Grizzlies hire Keith Smart and Adam Mazarei as Assistant Coaches | Memphis Grizzlies". www.nba.com. Retrieved September 5, 2025.
  26. HannaTalk (January 9, 2016). "Interview with Peggy O'Neal" . Retrieved October 10, 2017 via YouTube.
  27. "Ron Stillwell, former baseball coach and USC co-captain, dies at 76". Los Angeles Times. January 28, 2016. Retrieved September 5, 2025.