San Diego Mesa College
| San Diego Mesa College | |
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| Motto | A key force in our community to educate our students to shape the future. |
| Established | 1964 |
| Type | Public community college |
| Endowment | $116.29 million |
| President | Pamela Luster |
| Academic staff | 795 |
| Admin. staff | 526 |
| Undergraduates | 39,710 |
| Location | San Diego, California, United States |
| Campus | Suburban, 104 acres (42 ha) |
| Colors | Navy Blue, White and Gold |
| Mascot | Olympians |
| Website | www.sdmesa.edu |
San Diego Mesa College is a public, two-year community college perched on a mesa in the Clairemont neighborhood of San Diego, California in the United States. It is the largest community college in the city of San Diego[1] and part of the San Diego Community College District along with San Diego City College, San Diego Miramar College and San Diego Continuing Education. The college is known informally as Mesa College or Mesa.
Mesa College is one of the 112 California Community Colleges and the 16th largest community college in the state.
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[edit] History
Community college education in San Diego began in 1914 when the Board of Education of the San Diego City Schools authorized post secondary classes for San Diego high school students. Classes opened with four faculty members serving 35 students.
San Diego Mesa College first opened in 1964. Initially offering education to 1,800 students, it has grown to become one of the largest community colleges in California.
Between 1965 and 1968 the college newspaper, The Olympian, was produced by the journalism students. During the academic year, 1967–68, the newspaper became The Daily Olympian, producing four 4-page issues each week and noted at that time as the only junior college daily newspaper in the nation. The journalism students in the same period produced four issues of a monthly magazine, The Dyonisian, drawing the name from the Greek heritage of the college.[clarification needed] At the beginning of the 1968 academic year, the paper returned to weekly publication. The Olympian won a First Class Honor Rating award from the Associated Collegiate Press for the issues published during the Spring 1970 semester. In the Spring of 1971, the paper changed its name to "The School Paper." The publication's name is "The Mesa Press."
In the mid-1990s, Mesa College began to construct on its campus the Learning Resource Center (LRC). This opened on April 20, 1998. It serves as the campus library (employing the Library of Congress Classification system) and offers study areas and computer labs. It was constructed at a cost of $20 million and has four stories occupying 107,000 square feet (9,900 m²). A bond measure passed[clarification needed] in 2002 and another in 2007 will allow construction of additional facilities on campus.
American film star Annette Bening, former St. Louis Rams head coach Mike Martz and Detroit Lions Assistant Director of College Scouting Lance Newmark attended San Diego Mesa College.
[edit] Administration
It is administered by the San Diego Community College District. Mesa is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges.
[edit] Academics
Mesa College is coeducational. It has a semester-based academic calendar and resides on a campus of 104 acres (42 ha). Enrollment as of August 2004 was 22,573 students. Courses are provided in general education, lower-division transfer programs, occupational and developmental education. It is particularly known for its strong music program. Mesa has transfer agreements in place with most University of California and California State University schools.
The college newspaper, The Mesa Press, is run by journalism students and covers Mesa-related news.
The Mesa College Foundation offers scholarships to Mesa students. It awarded over $120,000 in scholarships to Mesa students in 2004.[2]
[edit] Sports
Mesa College has baseball, racquetball, swimming, tennis, soccer and football sport facilities on campus.[clarification needed]
The Olympians, the football team, have competed in the Pacific Coast Athletic Conference (CCCAA) since 1982 in every sport except for football where they have competed under the American Mountain Conference in the Southern California Football Association since 2008.[3]
[edit] Campus
The campus is generally divided into an upper and lower level with the Learning Resource Center (LRC) overlooking the lower level. It sits adjacent to the Tecolote Canyon Natural Park.[4]
[edit] Parking
Student parking is available in both upper and lower parking lots and along campus streets. Small amounts of public parking are available surrounding the campus but most is designated as local resident parking by the city of San Diego.
On March 11, 2009, Mesa College opened a newly constructed parking structure on campus.
[edit] References
[edit] External links
Coordinates: 32°48′16″N 117°10′13″W / 32.80444°N 117.17028°W
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