ALSO IN THIS ISSUE
Styling a New Career
Cosmetology supported Elva Salinas as she studied to become an English literature professor

In His Element
Mesa College chemistry professor loves being in the classroom, opening students’ eyes to the wonders of science.

College for Kids
City College’s child development program would have to double to in size to meet current demand.

Parking 101
The first lesson for Mesa College students is the art of finding a parking space.

Lighten Up
Marilyn Biggica shares her low-fat, low-salt, low-sugar recipes for health with students in community cooking classes.

Go With the Flow
Dorothy Simpson has adapted to the waves of innovation in business communication technologies.

News Beat
Veteran journalist guides Mesa College student reporters to create an award-winning campus newspaper.

Close Encounters
Despite cramped locker rooms, no interview areas or parking spaces, the College Police Department continues to keep campuses safe.

Chancellor's Page
The children of baby boomers flood classrooms beyond capacity and state funding.

Development News
Washington Mutual donates $35,000 for future teachers project; EDS equips classroom for computer training.

Factoids
Miscellaneous tidbits of news

Newsmakers Accomplishments of faculty and staff…

Thirty-four years ago the people of Mira Mesa were promised a new college campus. Now their children are still waiting for that to happen.
The Waiting Game

“Ground was broken yesterday for Miramar College, the first public safety college in the state,” reads the yellowed San Diego Union newspaper clipping dated June 27, 1968. It goes on to quote Charles Patrick, then assistant superintendent for San Diego’s community colleges, who said, “A continued building program over the next few years will result in a comprehensive college offering a variety of complete two-year programs in arts and sciences, vocational, technical and business fields.” An enrollment capacity of 400 day and 600 evening students was planned for opening semester.

A decade later, on a 120-acre campus with only two permanent buildings (for police/fire and aviation maintenance), Miramar’s first president, George Yee, enthusiastically released a new comprehensive facilities master plan. He announced that the San Diego Community College District was launching a 10-year, $55-million building plan to create a built out, comprehensive Miramar College. Bob Henderson, the college’s business manager at the time, was by Yee’s side the day he announced the exciting building project.

It’s been more than 30 years since the original Miramar College ground breaking and, while the college is nationally recognized for its centers of excellence in vocational programs, including public safety and advanced transportation, administrators are still waiting for the completion of facilities that will result in that comprehensive college that Patrick, Yee and many other administrators envisioned. Bob Henderson is still waiting, too.

“You know, since 1969, until now, there has not been one single permanent facility built at Miramar College dedicated to the arts, sciences or humanities,” says Henderson, who is now dean of arts and humanities.

“Every time we’d get close to identifying building funds, state budget deficits or something else would get in the way,” he says. “We were really close to buying USIU’s entire property across the freeway once. That would have answered our dilemma with a ready-made campus, but our district’s offer was not accepted. Every year, we’d wait to see if this was ‘the year,’ but the challenges and postpone-ments only continued. Inflation. Political priorities.”

Lack of facilities hasn’t stopped community growth and student demand. Today, located in one of the fastest-growing areas of San Diego, along the I-15 corridor, Miramar College enrolls more than 12,000 students each semester and hundreds –– sometimes thousands — more trying to enroll, but closed out of already-full classes. Fact is, if the latest facilities master plan was ever realized, the campus could serve 30,000 students each semester, a reflection of the incredible need in this part of the SDCCD’s service area.

No areas of instruction are harder hit than the sciences. The Miramar College campus has only two science labs. Even with classes scheduled continually from 7:30 a.m. to 10 p.m., daily and Saturdays, hundreds of hopeful students plead for “add slips” at the beginning of each semester.

Despite the lack of facilities, Henderson and other dedicated administrators and faculty try to find ways to meet industry and student needs. With an advisory group of area biotechnology industry professionals, Miramar created the first entry-level biotech certificate program in San Diego County, but with a lack of college science facilities, the program is offered at neighboring Scripps Ranch High School, which has seven high-tech labs.

Taking science instruction online is another attempt to respond to the high demand. Professor Gin Gee stepped onboard the online train first and has offered Introduction to Biology classes for several semesters. Introduction to Chemistry will be offered online in the spring.

Miramar’s science faculty are renowned leaders in their fields, published authors and highly sought-after speakers. Their students are routinely selected for participation in prestigious university science programs and transfer smoothly to respective four-year colleges of choice. Relentless in their optimism, these Miramar professors are waiting for the day the science technology facility they’ve put on paper will be realized: the high-tech building of their dreams that will fill more than 40,000 square feet with sufficient labs and general purpose classrooms, outfitted with the latest in technology –– a facility that would allow the college to offer the kind of science program required of a comprehensive community college.

They’re waiting.

Bob Henderson is waiting.

The community is waiting.

The students can’t wait.