Moorpark College

Moorpark College

Motto	Bridge to the Future
Type	Publiccommunity college
Established	1967; 57 years ago(1967)
Parent institution	Ventura County Community College District
Endowment	$99,410 (2011/2012)[1]
President	Julius O. Sokenu
Academic staff	490
Administrative staff	159
Students	13,756[2]
Location	Moorpark, California , U.S. 34°18′00″N118°50′06″W / 34.30000°N 118.83500°W /34.30000; -118.83500
Campus	150 acres (61 ha)
Colors	Black andColumbia blue
Nickname	Raiders
Sporting affiliations	CCCAA–WSC, SCFA (football), SCWA (wrestling)
Website	www.moorparkcollege.edu

Moorpark Collegeis apubliccommunity collegeinMoorpark, California. It was established in 1967 with enrollment of 2,500 students and enrolled 14,254 students in 2014.^[3]

The board of theVentura County Community College Districtestablished Moorpark College in 1967. In addition to the land already owned by the District, Moorpark College expanded into a 134-acre (54 ha) parcel of land on Moorpark's eastern boundary, donated by a local ranching family, the Strathearns.^[4]

In 1965, the citizens ofVentura Countypassed a bond for 8 million dollars to build the first part of the college. Construction of the administration, science, technology, gymnasium, and Maintenance buildings, and the Library and Campus Center began in 1966.

Moorpark College officially opened on September 11, 1967. The college's first president, John Collins, welcomed almost 1,400 students and 50 faculty members.

Robert Lombardi became the college's second president in 1971. During his tenure, enrollment doubled and the college added emphasis on preparing students to transfer to four-year schools.^[4]

Ray Hearon is the longest-serving president, in office from 1974 to 1989. In 1980, the Moorpark College Foundation was formed to fund construction of an athletic stadium, amphitheater, and observatory.^[5]The 6,000-seat stadium, completed in 1985, was named after Paul Griffin Jr., a major benefactor. In 1987, the Charles Temple Observatory, the only publicobservatoryin Ventura County, and Carlsberg Amphitheater were dedicated at the college's 20th anniversary celebration.

NearbyOxnard Collegesolicited Moorpark's help in establishing a Camarillo Center,^[6]located onCalifornia State University, Channel Islands's campus.^[7]

In 2000, a high school for juniors and seniors opened on the college campus,The High School at Moorpark College(separate from Moorpark High School but part of the Moorpark Unified School District). The first class to graduate in 2001 numbered 25.

In 2004 and 2005, various bond projects were completed, such as a parking lot renovation and all-weather track.

For the 2007 transferring cohort of eligible students (2,252), Moorpark College transferred 130 to a universities in two years, 480 in three years, and 793 and four years.^[8]

In 1973, the college started an Exotic Animal Training and Management program. In 2011, the college broke ground on a new center for the program to house over 200 animals on campus.^[9][10]

Bernard Luskin was appointed interim president of Moorpark College in September 2013.^[11][12]Luis Pablo Sanchez, was appointed for a term beginning February 3, 2015.^[13][14][15]After serving as interim president, Julius Sokenu was installed as president of the college on April 14, 2021.^[16]

Moorpark's athletic teams are nicknamed the Raiders. The college currently sponsors eight men's and eight women's varsity teams. The college competes as a member of theCalifornia Community College Athletic Association(CCCAA) in theWestern State Conference(WSC) for all sports except football and wrestling, which competes in Southern California Football Association (SCFA) and Southern California Wrestling Association (SCWA).^[17]

• Jamal Anderson– professional football player^[18]
• Christine van Basten-Boddin–Mayor of Beek
• Chris Beal(did not graduate) –CIFState Champion wrestler; professionalMixed Martial Artist^[19]
• April Bowlby(did not graduate) – actor^[20]
• Brandon Boyd(did not graduate) – musician inIncubus
• Colbie Caillat(did not graduate) – pop singer/songwriter^[21]
• Jason Dolley– actor and musician^[22]
• Aron Eisenberg- actor and photographer^[23]
• Nicole Johnson– Miss California 2010,Michael Phelps's wife^[24]
• Jack Jones-American footballplayer for theLas Vegas Raidersof theNational Football League
• Alex Hoffman-Ellis– professional football player
• Gabe Kapler– professional baseball player and manager^[25]
• Dave Laut– Olympic shot-putter^[26]
• Ken Lutz– professional football player^[27]
• Troy Lyndon- entrepreneur, game developer and business coach^[28]
• Matt Mahurin– illustrator and photographer^[29]
• Isaiah Mustafa– professional football player and actor^[30]
• Jose Pasillas(did not graduate) – musician inIncubus^[31]
• Julie Scardina– Sea World Busch Gardens Animal Ambassador^[32]
• Steve Wapnick- professional baseball player
• Dan Winters– photographer^[33]
• Sam Asghari- model and actor, husband ofBritney Spears

• Gene Berg, Chemistry

• Official website