- College of the Redwoods should not be confused with the similarly named College of the Sequoias in the San Joaquin Valley city of Visalia, California.
College of the Redwoods (CR) is a public two-year community college with its main campus of approximately 270 acres (1.1Â km2) located on the southernmost edge of Eureka in Humboldt County, California. The campus resides in close proximity to the Humboldt Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Table Bluff, the southern portion of Humboldt Bay, as well as national forest. The campus's architecture utilizes American Craftsman styling, and has wooden support beams in each structure. Redwoods Community College District serves four counties and has two branch campuses, as well as three additional sites. On-campus housing is available at the main campus.
Curriculum specialties
College of the Redwoods is one of 112 colleges in the California Community College system. The college offers a variety of transfer, vocational, and community-based classes, including its Fine Woodworking Program started by master woodworker James Krenov, a Police Academy, Nursing and Dental Programs, Truck Driving School, Computer Information Sciences, Computer-Aided Drafting, and Digital Media Departments, Yurok language and the new Hospitality, Restaurant and Culinary Arts Program (added in 2006). The college is named after the Coast Redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) trees native to the region.
Satellite campuses
CR has two satellite branch campuses: CR Del Norte in Crescent City, Del Norte County; and CR Mendocino Coast in Fort Bragg, Mendocino County. CR also has other off-campus sites, including the Bianchi Farm in Shively, the Klamath-Trinity Instructional Site on the Hoopa Valley Tribe reservation, and the Southern Humboldt Instructional Site in Garberville in Southern Humboldt County which is currently being renovated. The Arcata Instructional Site, the McKinleyville Instructional Site, and the Eureka Downtown Instructional Site were closed in the summer of 2012, though Community Education re-located to a new Eureka Downtown Site.
History
The original Redwoods Community College District was formed in 1964 by a vote of the people of Humboldt County. Founding President Dr. Eugene J. Portugal and his wife Dottie Portugal shaped the look of the campus. In 1975, residents of the coastal portion of Mendocino County voted to join the District, and in 1978 Del Norte County similarly joined. The college serves these areas, as well as a portion of Trinity County.
In 2012, CR's regional accreditor Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC), one of three commissions under Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC), placed the college on "Show Cause" status, warning the college that its accreditation might be withdrawn. The college remained accredited during the period of the Show Cause order, though reaffirmation was delayed. In February 2013, the ACCJC upgraded the college to "Probation" status, with a deadline of October 15, 2013 to submit a follow-up report showing evidence of the college's work in response to the ACCJC's recommendations.
In a letter to CR dated Feb. 7th 2014, the ACCJC stated that College of the Redwoods had fully addressed a number their concerns; including:
- Continuing the institutionalized use of student achievement and student learning data to inform decision-making and develop long-term plans.
- Assessing annually its data and performance in employment equity and diversity.
- Completing two cycles of needs assessment, implementing a comprehensive professional development program.
- Documenting a funding base, financial resources, and plans for financial development adequate to support student learning programs, to improve institutional effectiveness, and to assure financial stability.
College of the Redwoods was notified by the ACCJC that it had been removed from probation, and all sanctions, and that its accreditation had been reaffirmed.
Administration
The college is part of the Redwoods Community College District, itself part of the California Community Colleges System. The district is governed by the elected nine-member Board of Trustees.
Finances
Beginning with the passage of Proposition 13 by California in 1978, College of the Redwoods and most public institutions in the state have suffered declining revenue, and this has continued following the Dot-Com Bust. All of this occurs while simultaneously suffering increasing costs due to inflation, population growth, and increasingly unfunded state and federal mandates. In 2006, voters passed Bond Measure Q/B (Ballot Measure Q in Humboldt, northwest Mendocino and western Trinity counties; Ballot Measure B in Del Norte County) to allow issuance of $40,320,000 in bond funding to upgrade and renovate facilities at the main campus in Eureka and the branch campuses in Crescent City and Fort Bragg. Measure Q Bond Funds were also used to acquire the Garberville Site in Southern Humboldt County.
Notable alumni
- Dan Andersen, professional guitarist and composer
- Eric Ferguson (class of 1993) recording engineer
- Dave Harper, (class of 1986), former NFL player
- Bryan Malessa (class of 1993), novelist
- Michael Moore, saxophonist and clarinetist, member of the Instant Composers Pool
- John James Nazarian (born 1952), celebrity private investigator
- Michael Vatcher, professional percussionist in Amsterdam, Netherlands
- Randy Niemann, (class of 1975), Major League pitcher and member of the 1986 World Champion New York Mets
Points of interest
- Humboldt Botanical Garden
References
External links
- Official College of the Redwoods website.
