The History of Orange Coast College

Orange Coast College hosts its first summer school session.

The OCC Sailing Club defeats UC Berkeley.

OCC offered its first health occupation program - Nursing. Nursing would be offered at OCC until the 1969-70 academic year when it was transferred to the newly formed Golden West College.

“The Barnacle” expresses campus opinion of a probable war with the Soviet Union within ten years.

Construction begins on a 14,000-square-foot Student Center

A fire destroys the original Santa Ana Army Air Base chapel adopted by OCC.

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OCC leases land adjacent to the Lido Channel to serve as a base for the College’s crew program.

OCC’s iconic nautical flag pole is installed on campus.

Construction on the College’s theater — designed by renowned architect Richard Neutra — is completed.

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OCC’s football stadium opens.

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OCC began an “X-Ray” technician program and was the first junior college to offer this training in the nation. In June 1956 OCC graduated its first class; this is the longest continuing health occupation training program at the college.

More Neutra-designed structures on campus are completed, including the Science Building and Planetarium.

Students vote to change the school’s colors from maroon and grey, to scarlet, black and white.

OCC’s campus now consists of 13 new structures, including an agriculture building and library.

The College is forced to begin charging admittance to drama performances after more than 5,000 people turn out for the presentation of “Finian’s Rainbow” with a seating availability of only 1,200.

Total enrollment grows to 7,645 students; the number of full-time instructors has grown to 97.

The Forum is built, making it the first large lecture hall classroom on campus.

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Orange Coast Junior College District’s Board of Trustees vote to become a multi-campus district.

Ground is broken on a new $900,000 gym.

The new gymnasium is officially dedicated and named for OCC President Dr. Basil H. Peterson.

OCC wins a victory at the Junior Rose Bowl, 21-0.

Dr. Peterson retires as president and district superintendent, and Dr. Norman E. Watson is selected as OCC’s second president for a short time, before taking the newly created position of district chancellor.

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Dr. Robert B. Moore becomes OCC's third president.

"Tumbleweeds to Roses," a history of Orange Coast College is published.

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Diane Keaton (nee Hall) performs as a student in OCC's production of "Bye Bye Birdie."

The Coast Community College District officially becomes a multi-campus district with the opening of Golden West College in Huntington Beach.

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Bob Dylan cancels a concert on campus due to a motorcycle accident.

Dr. Henry Kissinger, politician and secretary of state in the Nixon Administration, speaks at OCC.

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OCC’s Sailing Center in Newport Beach erects a prefab steel building to house the College’s rowing program.

Orange Coast College’s marching band ends its run.

A new four-story library is built (the building is now known as Watson Hall)

OCC’s Recycling Center is built following a visit from environmental advocate Ralph Nader.

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The Sailing Center adds a bulkhead, docks, and single cement building to its oceanfront facilities in Newport Beach.

Campus radio begins broadcasting.

The Associated Students of Orange Coast College vote to establish a health fee to help provide health services to every student.

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The District acquires a license to operate the PBS television station KOCE-TV, enabling televised course offerings.

OCC’s Children’s Center opens with fanfare and clowns.

OCC’s student newspaper “The Barnacle” reports that “streaking” is becoming a common practice on campus.

The Coast football team wins the Avocado Bowl for their second national crown.

Bob Hope performs on campus.

OCC’s competitive surf team is formed, and captures the state surfing championship in its first year.

OCC’s Student Health Center opens its doors, the largest community college health center in California at the time.

Orange Coast College student population becomes the largest in the country, at 28,887.

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The Men’s Basketball team wins the State Championship, and the College’s Speech team wins their first national title by a record-breaking 45 points.

OCC’s hosts an art exhibit titled “Ansel Adams: A Survey.” The opening is attended by Adams.

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The College’s public sailing program begins.

Food service students win 33 awards at the 16th annual Culinary Art Show.

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Pirates defeat Harvard and Yale JV eights for the first time at the San Diego Crew Classic.

Dr. Robert B. Moore retires as president. Dr. Bernard Luskin, the founding president of Coastline Community College, becomes OCC’s fourth president.

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The College’s 65-foot sloop, the “Alaska Eagle,” is donated, and becomes the Sailing Center’s flagship vessel.

The College holds its inaugural Alumni Hall of Fame event.

Dr. Luskin retires as president.

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Denzel Washington visits campus for a celebrity basketball game.

Dr. Donald R. Bronsard becomes OCC’s fifth president.

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Jazz trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie performs on campus.

OCC’s Foundation is established with Doug Bennett as the Executive Director.

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Dick Tucker steps down as head football coach after 24 years.

A new campus safety office opens in front of the Moore Theatre.

A 10-year plan is adopted to begin replacing the first permanent buildings on campus, from the 40s and 50s.

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The College begins its Visiting Scholars program.

Dr. Bronsard retires as president, and David A. Grant becomes OCC’s sixth president.

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Bill Gates visits campus to give a talk titled “The Future of Computing” at the Moore Theatre.

OCC Crew beats Cambridge University

OCC’s Farm, which originated with the birth of the College, is closed.

OCC’s Robert B. Moore Theatre is renovated with enhanced acoustics, added air conditioning, and improved seating.

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Then-Governor Bill Clinton visits OCC President Dave Grant.

Newly remodeled Associated Student Center and Cafeteria is opened.

The new Plastination Laboratory opens.

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A new Technology Center opens; it is the most advanced facility of its type on any community college campus in the nation.

David Grant retires as president.

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OCC honors WWII veterans with the dedication of two bronze plaques installed at the base of the campus flagpole.

Margaret A. Gratton becomes OCC’s seventh president, the first women to ever serve in the post.

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The College’s colors are changed from scarlet, black and white to orange and blue for its 50th anniversary.

A campus-wide wiring project is completed, making all classrooms and faculty offices internet accessible.

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The donation of a motor yacht named “Wide Waters” launches OCC’s large powerboat instruction program.

OCC’s Harry and Grace Steele Children’s Center is dedicated.

OCC Middle College High School graduates its first class of 33 students.

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The College hosts its first Science Night, which invites youngsters from neighboring schools to a night of displays and demonstrations by OCC science faculty and students.

OCC’s Sailing Center adds a 3,200-square-foot nautical library, and changes its name to the School of Sailing and Seamanship.

A day of remembrance consisting of students and staff is held on campus following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

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The College’s “Alaska Eagle” yacht voyages to Antarctica.

Margaret A. Gratton retires as president, and Gene J. Farrell becomes OCC’s eighth president.

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The College’s Art Center opens, and Gertrude R. Doyle pledges $1 million to construct the Frank M. Doyle Arts Pavilion.

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A small island off the coast of British Columbia named “Rabbit Island” is donated to OCC.

OCC’s Emeritus Institute is formed.

OCC’s soccer and football fields are renovated with synthetic Field Turf surfaces using Measure C funds.

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The first Orange County Children’s Book Festival held on campus draws 10,000 people.

Gene Farrell retires as president and Robert V. Dees becomes OCC’s ninth president.

A Starbucks opens on campus.

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Norman E. Watson Hall, the Fran Albers Maintenance and Operations Center and the Giles T. Brown Forum are named and dedicated.

OCC’s Fitness Complex opens.

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Kareem Abdul Jabar visits OCC after co-writing a book with English professor Raymond Obstfeld titled “On the Shoulder of Giants.”

A new Library is opened on the southwest side of campus.

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The College breaks ground on a new Allied Health, Biology and Consumer Science building.

Bob Dees retires as president.

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OCC’s Sailing Center is renovated with improvements including wheelchair accessibility, a women’s locker room, and seismic safety upgrades.

Dennis Harkins becomes the 10th president of Orange Coast College.

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OCC welcomes 80 veterans and their guests for the 34th annual reunion of airmen who were assigned to the Santa Ana Army Air Base.

OCC sends a record 2,274 students to CSU/UC campuses and takes the top spot among California’s 110 community colleges in the number of students transferring to the state’s public four-year universities.

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The College’s new ABC Complex opens just in time for the spring semester.

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The Barto family donates a $2 million 92-foot yacht to OCC’s Sailing Center, named the Nordic Star. It is the largest boat ever donated to OCC.

Local voters pass Measure M, a $698 million bond to be distributed among the Coast Community College District’s three campuses in order to improve facilities.

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OCC is listed as one of “103 Great Colleges to Work For” in the fifth annual survey conducted by The Chronicle of Higher Education, due in large part to the employee health and wellness programs coordinated by the District Wellness Committee.

OCC completes a nearly $5 million renovation, which includes a new recital hall with seating for 77, stage lighting, and state-of-the-art acoustics. The upgrade also includes 8 new Steinway grand pianos.

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OCC unveils a large painted logo in front of the Student Center.

After 30-plus years, OCC bids farewell to its flagship, the Alaska Eagle. During her time at coast, the 65-foot sloop carried some 3,000 students for nearly 300,000 miles at sea to such destinations as Alaska, Hawaii, Australia, Antarctica, and South America.

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The Orange Coast College Machine Technology Program installs a 3D Concept Laser Printer valued at $325,000, a gift from an anonymous donor who wants to encourage training for good paying jobs in manufacturing.

OCC opens its Mathematics, Business and Computing Center in the fall. The 90,000-square-foot interdisciplinary complex includes 10 computer labs, three lecture halls and 30 faculty offices.

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For the first time since 2009, the Victory Bell returns to Costa Mesa as the Orange Coast College football team nabs a win over rival Golden West in the “West-Coast Showdown.”

OCC breaks ground on a new Planetarium; with a 40-foot domed ceiling, immersion theatre, Foucault Pendulum, and Science on a Sphere NOAA display globe, the facility will be the first of its kind in Orange County, and will serve as a vital science center for generations of K-14 students.

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Orange Coast College ranked number two among 50 colleges around the country assessed by valuecolleges.com based on educational return on investment. The College also ranked 12th among 381 two-year institutions in the United States for producing the highest-paid graduates in a payscale.com College Salary Report.

OCC opens its new Recycling Center, with the hopes that it will be the first building in the world to receive LEED, SITES, and TRUE Zero Waste designations.

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The College's horticulture program invites members of the public to view a rare corpse flower bloom. The stinky inflorescence has the potential to grow more than 10 feet tall, and emits a smell that some have likened to rotting flesh.

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Orange Coast College paid homage to deceased coach, administrator and faculty member Jane Hilgendorf by dedicating the College's gym floor in her name.

OCC kicked off the New Year with the grand opening of its Pirates' Cove food pantry.

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As the Spring 2018 semester got underway, the College launched a new and improved mobile app to help students, faculty and staff stay more connected on campus.

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Orange Coast College's Fashion department unveils its first on-campus pop-up retail shop, located in a shipping container and aptly named "The Box."

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OCC's Speech and Debate team does what no other community college has ever done: win four national championships in a row.

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Orange Coast College receives a California Community College Maker Implementation grant of $340,000, enabling the College to build an inclusive makerspace community, provide internships, embed making into its curriculum, and prepare students with STEAM skills.

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The Orange Coast College Foundation receives the largest donation in its 32-year history — a gift of $1.8 million from the estate of late philosophy professor David Johnston to establish the M.F. & Marvel Monia Johnston Scholarship Fund.

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OCC launches a College Promise program called "Pirates Promise" that offers all students free tuition for one year.

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Orange Coast College kicks off its 70th anniversary celebrations with a re-dedication of the school's football stadium facilities.

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After nine years leading OCC, President Dennis Harkins announces he will be retiring. President Harkins was OCC's 10th and third-longest-serving, president, and oversaw the passage of Measure M and subsequent construction projects, such as the Math, Business and Computing Center.

OCC’s Vice President of Instruction Kevin Ballinger is named interim president. Ballinger takes the helm at a critical time for OCC and leads the College through its accreditation process, the implementation of a new statewide math and English placement model, and helps frame OCC's Guided Pathway Project.

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Orange Coast College renames the OCC Track and Field Complex after longtime coach, administrator and Pirate Hall of Famer Jim McIlwain, who coached the Pirates’ cross country teams for 10 seasons and track and field for 12.

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OCC officially opens the doors to its long-awaited Planetarium, with a grand opening ceremony that brings out hundreds of employees, donors, local officials, project collaborators and community partners.

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For the second year in a row and third time in four years, the Orange Coast College women's swim team captures the state crown at the 2019 California Community College Athletic Association State Swimming and Diving Championships.

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A team of six OCC students are the only community college students to qualify to compete in the first-ever ESPN Collegiate Esports Championships in Houston, going up against hundreds of colleges and universities from across the United States.

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The Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC) reaffirms Orange Coast College's accreditation for seven years. In addition to the reaffirmation of accreditation, the Commission also commends OCC for its collaborative planning processes, commitment to professional development and for fostering an environment of innovation.

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The Orange Coast College Recycling Center takes sustainability initiatives to a new level by becoming the first facility in the world to achieve LEED Gold certification, Sustainable SITES Initiative (SITES) v2 certification in California, and TRUE Zero Waste certification.

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Following a national search, Angélica Suarez, Ph.D. is selected to serve as the 11th president of Orange Coast College. She is the second woman and the first Latina to take the helm at OCC.

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Orange Coast College's Pirates' Promise Program ups its free tuition assistance, offering a second year of support for returning students in addition to first-year students.

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Two resident desert tortoises at the Orange Coast College Harry and Grace Steele Children's Center become parents, with six hatchlings emerging from one of the Center’s sandboxes.

OCC suffers an enormous loss, with the passing of Head Baseball Coach of 27 years, John Altobelli, who perished alongside his wife and daughter in a helicopter crash.

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The unprecedented global health pandemic caused by the spread of COVID-19, a strain of Coronavirus, Orange Coast College makes the difficult decision to temporarily move all of its classes to an online format, in order to protect the health and safety of its students and employees.

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In response to a shortage of ventilators caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, OCC loans Saddleback Memorial three of its newest ventilators typically used for instruction. Later, the College receives word that California Governor Gavin Newsom is requesting all available ventilators be donated to a central state repository and then-Vice President of Instruction Kevin Ballinger personally delivers OCC’s 13 remaining machines to the repository at Santa Monica City College.

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As the COVID-19 pandemic continued into late 2020, leaving many local families struggling to make ends meet, the OCC Food Recovery Kitchen packaged more than 30,000 meals using more than 200,000 lbs of donated food to be distributed to families in need, as well as Costa Mesa homeless shelters and assisted living facilities.

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The Harbour at OCC officially opens, with nearly 400 student residents moving in. The opening of The Harbour makes Orange Coast College the first community college in Southern California to offer on-campus housing for students.

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In an effort to create a healthy campus environment for all who visit, Orange Coast College announces that it is transitioning to a 100 percent smoke- and tobacco-free campus. The decision comes after many months of discussion and planning by a Smoke/Tobacco-Free Task Force made up of representatives from all of the College’s constituency groups.

Orange Coast College’s Symphony Orchestra debuted its first-ever virtual concert via Facebook Live. Led by Symphony Director Maxim Kuzin, the 18-member orchestra presented a pre-recorded performance of Beethoven’s “Allegretto” movement from the 7th Symphony.

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The Coast Community College District Board of Trustees approves a new name for Orange Coast College’s Newport Beach facilities: the Orange Coast College Waterfront Campus. Previously named the Intercollegiate Rowing and Sailing Base, the new name reflects a recent expansion of the facility, including a $22 million maritime training center connected to the harbor-side facility by a skyway bridge over Pacific Coast Highway.

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The Campaign for College Opportunity names Orange Coast College a 2021 “Equity Champion for Excellence in Transfer” for Latinx students. OCC is recognized at the research and policy organization’s annual “Champions of Higher education for Excellence in Transfer” virtual celebration.

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Orange Coast College dedicates its new College Center building with a ribbon cutting ceremony and reception. At 119,000 square feet, the College Center is the largest building on campus and is considered the College’s flagship facility.

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Orange Coast College officially opens the doors of its brand-new Professional Mariner Training Center, a $22 million project funded through Measure M that expands the College’s Waterfront Campus in Newport Beach. The center – connected to OCC’s sailing and crew hub by a skyway bridge across Pacific Coast Highway – serves as the home for the Professional Mariner program, which prepares students for careers in the boating and maritime industry.

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Orange Coast College’s School of Photography receives a $450,000 grant from the William, Jeff and Jennifer Gross Family Foundation. The donation is used to establish the Jeff Gross Photography Endowment which will help fund the purchase and repair of photography equipment for students, as well as pay for advanced photography students to serve as tutors for their entry-level peers.

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The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) selects Orange Coast College’s Recovery Kitchen as a recipient of its 2021 Food Recovery Challenge National Award for Education and Outreach.

Shortly after the second anniversary of the death of Orange Coast College's longtime baseball coach, the College renames its baseball field "John Altobelli Park." A dedication ceremony is held that includes a "First Pitch" by members of the Altobelli family to kick off OCC's baseball matchup against Irvine Valley College.

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Orange Coast College is named a 2022 "Champion for Excelling in Equitable Course Placement in Black Math Enrollment" by the Campaign for College Opportunity in recognition of supporting 100 percent of black students to enroll directly into transfer-level math coursework. The College is recognized at the organization’s inaugural award installation ceremony, attended by California Lieutenant Governor Eleni Kounalakis and Assemblymember Jacqui Irwin.

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Orange Coast College dedicates a new Student Union with a ribbon-cutting ceremony, followed by an open house and lunch reception. At just over 40,000 square feet, OCC’s Student Union gives all students at the College a place to gather, study, and connect, and serves as a home base for the Associated Students of Orange Coast College, as well as the College’s Veterans Affairs, Scholarships and Outreach programs.

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Orange Coast College alumni Alexandra Coultrup joins a crew of six at the Mars Desert Research Station in Utah for a two-week simulation of a mission to the Red Planet.

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Orange Coast College dedicates its recently completed Kinesiology and Athletics complex. The 88,000-square-foot facility features a 65-meter competition pool, a 25-meter adaptive pool with special equipment, concrete bleachers with capacity for 450, and a state-of-the-art shade structure, making OCC's aquatics pavilion an ideal space for swim meets and water polo matches.

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Orange Coast College biology major and U.S. Army reservist Trinh “Isabelle” Phan is among the 100 high-achieving community college students selected to receive the prestigious Cooke Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship in 2022. The highly competitive national scholarship provides transfer students with up to $55,000 a year to complete their bachelor's degrees.

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Orange Coast College dedicates its recently constructed Literature and Languages/Social Behavioral Sciences (LLSS) building. In addition to housing the division offices for both the Literature and Languages and Social and Behavioral Science divisions, the LLSS building also houses classrooms, laboratory space, and a state-of-the-art newsroom for OCC’s award-winning student-run newspaper "The Coast Report."

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Orange Coast College’s architecture department won the grand prize and an honorable mention for two entries in the 2022 Design Village competition at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo. The annual competition invites student competitors from California universities and community colleges to design and build “shelters” which they inhabit throughout the entirety of a weekend.

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Orange Coast College partners with the Orange County Transportation Authority to provide students with free unlimited bus transportation on OCTA's 53 fixed bus routes.

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Orange Coast College designates more than $1.8 million in federal COVID-19 Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF) allocations to pay off and forgive outstanding debt that OCC students accumulated during the COVID-19 pandemic, from Spring 2020 through Spring 2022.

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Orange Coast College partners with Kaiser Permanente and Abound Food Care for a volunteer event aimed at addressing food insecurity in the community. Kaiser Permanente staff and their families visited OCC’s Recovery Kitchen to make and package ready-to-eat meals using recovered food.

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Orange Coast College's Planetarium introduces a new monthly lecture series that is open to the public, featuring guests discussing popular topics in astronomy and space science. The Skylark series debuts with a lecture by UCLA astronomer Dr. Abhimat Gautam, discussing a Nobel-Prize-winning project he took part in that identified a supermassive black hole in the center of the Milky Way.

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Orange Coast College begins construction on a telescope farm that will be located adjacent to the OCC Planetarium. The project, funded by a $1 million grant from an anonymous donor, will include eight telescopes that can be used by students and the public for nighttime viewing of the stars and solar observation.

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Orange Coast College partners with Mentor Collective to offer students a career mentor to help them set and achieve goals, make connections, and prepare for their future career. OCC’s mentoring program is a free service offered to students, who will be matched with their mentors based on career interests, goals, needs and preferences.

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Orange Coast College renames its recently opened mariner training center in Newport Beach, dubbing it the W. Bradley Avery Professional Mariner Training Center. The naming honors the longtime (now retired) director of marine programs, who currently served as a council member for the City of Newport Beach and recently completed a term as mayor.