MiraCosta College

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MiraCosta College

Type	Public
Established	1934
President	Richard Robertson, Superintendent/President (Interim)
Students	16,084
Location	1 Barnard Drive, Oceanside, California 92056 USA
Campus	Suburban; 121 acres (49 ha)
Athletics	Men's and women's basketball, men's and women's soccer
Mascot	Spartans
Website	www.MiraCosta.edu

MiraCosta College is a public California community college serving coastal North San Diego County. The main campus is located in Oceanside, California, United States, at 1 Barnard Drive. The San Elijo campus is located in Cardiff-by-the-Sea. The Community Learning Center in also located in Oceanside, on Mission Avenue.

History

MiraCosta was founded in 1934. Classes began in a wing at Oceanside High School. Originally, MiraCosta was known as Oceanside-Carlsbad Junior College. There were 122 students enrolled and 20 faculty members. It was the second community college to be established in San Diego County. Only 16 courses were initially offered and they counted as credit toward advanced standing at the University of California.

By 1959, enrollment in Oceanside-Carlsbad Junior College had grown to 500 full-time students in classrooms on 30 acres (12 ha) adjacent to Oceanside High School. In 1960, voters approved a separate community college district and a bond issue to provide funding for a new college campus.

In 1964, the college relocated to its present 121-acre (49 ha) hilltop location and was renamed MiraCosta College. The name MiraCosta (Spanish for "behold the coast") refers to the panoramic ocean and coastal mountain views from the campus. The property was purchased for $575,000 and was part of a parcel owned by renowned ice skater Sonja Henie. A neighborhood in Oceanside named Henie Hills is to the west of the campus.

The district once again expanded in 1976 to include all of the North County coastal communities from Camp Pendleton to Del Mar. By 1978, enrollment was more than 7,000 students. A satellite campus opened in Del Mar in a vacant elementary school. This campus served students who lived in the southern portion of the district. In the first semester, 1,034 credit students enrolled. Soon after, MiraCosta purchased a scenic 48-acre (19 ha) parcel near the San Elijo Lagoon in Cardiff-by-the-Sea. The San Elijo Campus opened in 1988 to 2,500 credit students.

In the 2000s, MiraCosta's three campuses continue to change and grow. The college has completed several large construction projects that put it on the map for its technological and arts offerings, and enrollment has reached a new high.

In 2000, the Adult Learning Center relocated to its current permanent CLC location on Mission Avenue in Oceanside and was renamed the Community Learning Center. Over the years the center has expanded its adult education offerings to include parenting classes, workshops for older adults, and programs for those who are physically and mentally challenged. The Cisco Academy, which offers training in computer networking, is also housed at the center. The college's Small Business Development Center is right next door.

In 2002, MiraCosta opened the doors to its new Child Development Center on the Oceanside Campus, which provides both academic instruction to students and child care services to student, staff and community families. The curriculum is specifically designed to encourage early childhood learning.

Also on the Oceanside Campus, years of planning and work culminated with the opening of the $13- million, 48,000-square-foot (4,500 m²) library and information hub in 2003. The two-story library is nearly three times the size of the building it replaced and is home to an extensive collection of books and journals, more than 400 computers, the Tutoring Center, Math Learning Center, Writing Center, Teaching Innovation Center, a television studio, teleconferencing center and other high-tech academic facilities.

In November 2005, MiraCosta, in partnership with Genentech and other local biotech firms opened the biotech facility, an impressive 3,500-square-foot (330 m²), state-of-the-art building designated as a Center of Excellence in bioprocessing by the U.S. Department of Labor. Across the street from the biotechnology facility, a remodeled Horticulture Complex was dedicated in August, 2007. This state-of-the-art, 15,250- square-foot building houses a greenhouse, laboratories and classrooms specifically designed to give students a “hands on” learning experience in the art and science of cultivating plants.

In the past nine years, MiraCosta has also invested in the arts, and now boasts a beautifully remodeled theatre and a new creative arts building. In the beginning of 2007, MiraCosta’s newly remodeled theatre hosted its first show. The theatre, a contemporary space designed specifically for college actors by San Diego's Old Globe architect Gene Weston, seats 243 and features a more accessible and welcoming entrance, new seats and paint, a new curtain, an expanded lobby and box office, and remodeled restrooms.

One of the latest additions to the Oceanside Campus is the Creative Arts Building, which measures 21,600- square-feet and boasts an outdoor studio overlooking a spectacular view of Oceanside all the way to the ocean. This state-of-the-art building replaces the music building and one art building constructed in the ‘60s and houses sec student centerthe college’s art and music programs—with classroom studios for painting, drawing, and printmaking and recording studios, piano labs, and rehearsal space. Currently under construction is a classroom building for art history and new genre art and a 400-seat concert hall. In 2010, MiraCosta opened a state-of-the-art Concert Hall, the college’s largest performance venue, which was designed specifically for vocal and instrumental performances. The 400-seat, 12,000 sq ft (1,100 m²) building not only provides students first-hand experience in a professional performance setting, but also provides the community with a beautiful venue in which to enjoy MiraCosta’s top-notch music performances.

On the San Elijo Campus, students are enjoying the new student center, which opened during the 2008 spring semester. The new center houses the college bookstore, a cafeteria with indoor/outdoor and rooftop dining, health services, student activities, and meeting and multi-use conference rooms.

MiraCosta also saw some changes in leadership during the current decade. In 2004, Tim Dong retired after serving 10 years and Victoria Muñoz Richart took over as superintendent/president. Dr. Richart served just under three years, and after her departure in June 2007, MiraCosta had two interim superintendent/presidents, John Hendrickson and Susan Cota. In March, 2009, MiraCosta welcomed new superintendent/president Francisco Rodriguez.

Despite recent controversy concerning a former college president Victoria Muñoz Richart, misconduct by an instructor Alleen Texiera and discord within its board of trustees which led to the college being placed on warning by its accrediting agency, MiraCosta College has emerged victorious in the last year, and with a few newly seated trustees and a renewed spirit of collegiality, the warning was lifted and MiraCosta's accreditation reaffirmed.

As the campus grew during the 2000s, so did student enrollment. Student enrollment reached an all-time high in spring semester 2010, with 14,000 credit students enrolled and another 8,000 noncredit students.

Academic programs

MiraCosta College offers associate degrees equivalent to the first two years of a bachelor's degree (2+2 program). With an associate degree, students can transfer to a 4-year university or begin work. MiraCosta also offers over 50 different certificates for students interested in short-term training in a specific career area. Certificates can be completed in one or two years.

Partial list of associate's degrees and certificate programs offered at MiraCosta:

• Administration of Justice
• Art
• Automotive Technology
• Behavioral Sciences
• Biological Sciences and Biotechnology
• Business Administration
• Chemistry
• Child Development
• Communication Studies
• Computer Studies
• Counseling/Career Studies
• Dance
• History
• Horticulture, Architecture and Applied Technologies
• International Languages
• Kinesiology, Health and Nutrition
• Letters
• Library
• Mathematics
• Media Arts and Technologies
• Music
• Performing Arts
• Philosophy
• Physical Sciences
• Registered Nursing and LVN
• Social Science
• Theatre and Film

Athletics

MiraCosta College's men's/women's basketball and soccer teams compete in the Pacific Coast Conference. MiraCosta also has a surf team that competes in the college division of the National Scholastic Surfing Association (NSSA). The school colors are blue, green and white, and the college’s team name is the Spartans. Intramural sports are also offered to the campus community.

Campus life and resources

Student Resources: Library and Information Hubs at both the Oceanside and San Elijo campuses; more than 1,000 networked computers for student use; Wellness Center at the Oceanside Campus; free tutoring in nearly every subject; more than 1,500 students participate in Service Learning projects related to class curricula; Honors Scholars Program and active national honor society.

College activities: Periodic “College Hour” events during the noon hour featuring many cultural events and performing arts featuring guest artists as well as student work.

More than 30 student clubs meet regularly and contribute to campus life.

MiraCosta hosts a number of arts, music, theatre, dance, film and cultural events throughout the year. Check out upcoming events at www.miracosta.edu/events.

Notable alumni

• Adam Brody, actor on the Television series, The OC
• Kevin Towers, general manager of the Arizona Diamondbacks

External links

• MiraCosta Website
• MiraCosta College Library