Foothill College

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Foothill College
Foothill College entrance.jpg
Motto Upgrade. Advance.
Established January 15, 1957
Type Community college
President Dr. Judy Miner
Academic staff 347
Students 13,630 [2012][1]
Location Los Altos Hills, California, United States
37°21′41″N 122°07′44″W / 37.3613°N 122.1289°W / 37.3613; -122.1289Coordinates: 37°21′41″N 122°07′44″W / 37.3613°N 122.1289°W / 37.3613; -122.1289
Campus Suburban, 122 acres (49 ha)
Mascot Owls
Affiliations De Anza College
Website www.foothill.edu
Example of Foothill's campus architecture

Foothill College is a community college located in Los Altos Hills, California and is part of the Foothill-De Anza Community College District. It was founded on January 15, 1957 by Founding Superintendent and President Dr. Calvin C. Flint. The college offers 79 Associate degree programs and 107 certificate programs. It is named one of California's "best community colleges."[2]

Contents

History [edit]

In July 1956, Henry M. Gunn, superintendent of the Palo Alto School District, called a meeting of local school superintendents that led to the creation of Foothill College.[3] Calvin Flint, then President of Monterey Peninsula College was hired as the first District Superintendent and President; he started work on March 1, 1958.[4]

Candidates for the new college's name, besides Foothill, were Peninsula, Junipero Serra, Mid-Peninsula, Earl Warren, Herbert Hoover, North Santa Clara, Altos, Valley, Skyline, Highland, and Intercity.[5] At first the name was Foothill Junior College, but because Flint insisted that his new college would be "not junior to anyone", the Board dropped the "Junior" in September 1958.[4]

Foothill held its first classes in the old Highway School campus on El Camino Real in Mountain View on September 15, 1958.[5] It was accredited by March of the next year and was the first school in the state to ever reach full accreditation in less than six months.[5] The owl mascot originated from a concrete owl that was a decoration on the Highway School's bell tower; it was later moved to the new campus.[6]

Foothill's unique neo-Japanese architecture is well-known among architects;[7] the campus was designed by architect Ernest Kump and landscape architect Hideo Sasaki.[8]

Traditionally, Foothill serves the communities of Los Altos Hills, Los Altos, Mountain View and Palo Alto; together these communities form the northwest corner of Silicon Valley. The college sits next to Interstate 280, at the interchange with El Monte Road.

In 2002, a second campus was opened on the site of the former Cubberly High School at 4000 Middlefield Road in Palo Alto. The Middlefield Campus is leased from the Palo Alto school district, and currently serves approximately 1,000 students.

In 2003, the college began the most dramatic construction project ever attempted since its founding, to accommodate the fact that a campus designed for 3,500 is now serving nearly 14,000. It is renovating nearly all buildings, tearing up and rebuilding its potholed parking lots, demolishing several unsafe buildings (including the campus center), and constructing several replacement buildings. Two of the new buildings feature sod roofs (part of the lower campus complex).

Accreditation [edit]

Foothill College is accredited by the Accrediting Commission for Community & Junior Colleges of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges. This organization is recognized by the Council on Higher Education Accreditation and the U.S. Department of Education. Foothill is also accredited by the American Veterinary Medical Association, American Dental Association Commission on Dental Accreditation, American Medical Association Council on Medical Education, and Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs.

Organization [edit]

Presidents [edit]

  • Dr. Calvin C. Flint (1957–1973)[9]
  • Dr. Hubert H. Semans (1967–1973)
  • Dr. James S. Fitzgerald (1973–1982)
  • Dr. Thomas H. Clements (1982–1994)
  • Dr. Bernadine Chuck Fong (1994–2006)
  • Dr. Penny Patz (interim President) (2006–2007)
  • Dr. Judy Miner (2007–Present)

Divisions [edit]

  • Biological & Health Sciences
  • Business & Social Sciences (BSS)
  • Counseling & Student Services
  • Fine Arts & Communication
  • Instructional Services & Libraries
  • Language Arts
  • Kinesiology & Athletics
  • Physical Sciences, Mathematics & Engineering (PSME)

Administration [edit]

The community college district's headquarters are located in one corner of the Foothill campus. The district also administers De Anza College in nearby Cupertino.

Athletics [edit]

Foothill is a member of the Coast Conference of the California Community College Commission on Athletics and NorCal Football Conference. The school mascot is an owl.

Intercollegiate Teams [edit]

Famous alumni [edit]

Student government [edit]

Foothill's student government is known as the Associated Students of Foothill College (ASFC). Student government provides its student body the opportunity to self-govern and participate with faculty, staff and administration.

Noteworthy Accomplishments [edit]

  • Completed a $120-million campus enhancement and facilities expansion funded by the community through the 1999 Measure E Bond Initiative. With the district passage of Measure C in 2006, Foothill College will use $168 million for additional capital projects as well as to ensure the college stays current with technology and equipment.

Controversy [edit]

The campus serves a large number of international students who are attempting to earn associate's degrees as the basis for transferring into prestigious American universities; according to a Community College Week survey in 2001, Foothill had the 12th highest population of international students out of all community colleges in the United States.[10]

The school was harshly criticized in 2002 by the Wall Street Journal for its aggressive recruitment of such students (who are a lucrative revenue source because they must pay the higher tuition required of all out-of-state students).[11]

On 10 December 2001, Foothill College abruptly canceled its men basketball season after completing just six games.[12] Questions arose over how housing and tuition for six foreign players were being paid by Tariq Abdul-Wahad, then with the NBA's Denver Nuggets and alumni of San Jose State University.

References [edit]

  1. ^ http://datamart.cccco.edu/Students/Enrollment_Status.aspx
  2. ^ http://voices.yahoo.com/californias-best-community-colleges-7704426.html?cat=4
  3. ^ Roberta Couch, Tom Jamison, Doug Stine, Susan Johnston, Rene Lynch, and Judy Sisk, Foothill College: 25 Years (Los Altos Hills: Foothill College, 1981), 10.
  4. ^ a b Couch, 10.
  5. ^ a b c Couch, 11.
  6. ^ Couch, 130.
  7. ^ Downey, Kirstin. "A Discerning Look At The Valley: Architects Assess Our Area's Aesthetics." San Jose Mercury News, 29 May 1986, sec. E, p. 1.
  8. ^ Raver, Anne. "Hideo Sasaki, 80, Influential Landscape Architect, Dies." New York Times, 25 September 2000, sec. Arts, p. 9.
  9. ^ http://www.latc.com/1998/03/09/community/communit2.html
  10. ^ Lane, Kristin. "World-Class Export." Community College Week, 20 August 2001, 6.
  11. ^ Bartindale, Becky. "Foothill Denies Report Of Inaccuracy: College Accused Of Exaggerating Transfer Stats." San Jose Mercury News, 3 April 2002, sec. B, p. 6.
  12. ^ http://articles.sfgate.com/2001-12-11/sports/17629771_1_death-penalty-tuition-due-process

External links [edit]

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