Did you know that the initial course and program offerings in 1948 were in support of the local Petroleum industry? The two images below are from OCC's College catalogs. One is from the 1948 catalog showing oil drilling operations in Huntington Beach, and the other is the cover of the 1970 college catalog.
The oil industry played a vital role in the development of Orange County. The first successful wells were drilled locally in the 1890s along the county's northern edge. Oil fields were soon developed in La Habra, Brea Canyon, and Olinda. Significant strikes in Placentia (1919) and Huntington Beach (1920) started an oil boom that swept the county. By 1956 Orange County produced $50M of oil.
OCC's program in 1948 was a two-year 60-unit curriculum that included courses in engineering, geology, and technical and business aspects of the oil industry. By 1970 there were two certificates. One certificate focused on the industry's business aspects, and the other was on technical skills. As local oil exploration declined in the region, this successful program also declined in enrollment, finally leading to the closing of petroleum in 1972.
As you know, the College seal for OCC has oil drilling rigs. You may need to know that OCC had its oil drilling platform on campus. Students have been trained on this platform since 1950 and successfully drilled over 2,200 feet under campus. For the record, OCC never hit oil! The Barnacle story from May 1969 (below) shows a photo of OCC's drilling platform.
For comments and suggestions: kballinger.r@retiree.cccd.edu