California State University, Channel Islands

California State University Channel Islands

File:Csuci seal.jpg
Type	Public
Established	2002
Endowment	$6.2 million
President	Richard R. Rush
Vice-president	Joanne Coville Wm. Gregory Sawyer Julia Wilson
Provost	Dawn S. Neuman
Academic staff	205 (89 Full-Time)
Students	4,055
Undergraduates	3,800
Postgraduates	255
Location	Camarillo , California , United States
Campus	Rural, 833 acres
Colors	Red & Silver
Nickname	The Dolphins
Affiliations	California State University system
Mascot	Tsunami the Dolphin
Website	www.csuci.edu
File:CSU.PNG

California State University Channel Islands (CSUCI) is a four-year public university located in Camarillo, California, in Ventura County. CSUCI opened in 2002 as the 23rd campus in the California State University system, succeeding the Ventura County branch campus of CSU Northridge. The campus had formerly been the Camarillo State Mental Hospital and has been the setting for various movies and music videos. CSUCI is located midway between Santa Barbara and Los Angeles in Camarillo, California, just north of the Santa Monica Mountain range. The campus is situated in a thriving economic region that is home to major industrial and biotechnology firms, agricultural operations, as well as several non-profit agencies and organizations.

History

Main article: Camarillo State Mental Hospital

The first buildings of the campus were built in 1934 as part of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal. The campus and buildings previously housed the Camarillo State Mental Hospital. From 1936 to 1997 it was home to the patients of the hospital. Planning for the University began in 1965, when State Senator Robert J. Lagomarsino co-authored Senate Bill 288 calling for establishment of a four-year public college in Ventura County and Governor Pat Brown signed a bill authorizing a study for a state college for Ventura County. In 1974, Dr. Joyce Kennedy established the UC/CSU Ventura Learning Center. She went on to serve as director of the CSUN Ventura Campus for more than fifteen years. In 1996, J. Handel Evans began as Planning President charged with beginning development of a public, four-year university in the region. In September 1997, on the recommendation of the Chancellor and a community task force appointed by the Governor, the CSU Board of Trustees voted unanimously to accept the former Camarillo State Hospital site for the purpose of transforming it into the CSU’s 23rd campus. In July 1996, the CSU Board of Trustees formally adopted the name California State University Channels Islands for the new University. In September 1997, Governor Wilson signed into law S.B. 623 (Jack O’Connell) providing for the financing and support of the transition of the site for use as a university campus. Shortly thereafter, the state legislature and the CSU Board of Trustees, provided funds to begin the conversion of the facility from a state hospital into a college campus. In 1997, the hospital closed and the patients were moved around the state system. In August 1999, The Ventura Learning Center moved to the Camarillo site as CSUN-CI, a satellite facility for CSU Northridge.

When planning for the university, the school choose red and silver as their representative colors. The red is consistent with the tradition of the region, and the silver is for the dolphin, the University mascot. The land the University sits on was first inhabited by the Chumash, who asked CSU Channel Islands to consider making its mascot the dolphin, which is cherished by the tribe.

The CSU Board of Trustees appointed Richard R. Rush as President of California State University Channel Islands and he assumed his duties on June 18, 2001. Dr. Rush’s formal inauguration was held on April 19, 2002. During the course of establishing the initial structures of the University, Dr. Rush has overseen and been directly involved with the hiring of faculty and the university’s senior staff. In addition, he has directed the development of the university’s strategic, academic, and physical master plans. On August 16, 2002, CSUCI opened to upper division transfer students and in the fall of 2003, accepted its first freshman class. As of January 2006, the first named school of the campus was the Martin V. Smith School of Business and Economics. On May 17, 2007, CSUCI graduated its inaugural freshman class and received its initial accreditation for seven years, the maximum period allowed by the WASC. The campus is under continuing construction to accommodate the projected growth of the university; while currently there are about 3,500 registered students, projected enrollment for the year 2025 is 15,000 full-time students.

Campus

File:CSUCI Bell Tower.JPG

The Bell Tower houses a majority of campus classrooms.

The campus is located about two miles south of the city of Camarillo. The campus is bordered by farms along one side and mountains on the other. Gaining official possession of the land in 1998 and then occupancy in 1999, California State University began classes on the 634-acre existing campus-style facility, primarily one to two-story buildings organized around three primary quads. In 2007, the campus acquired an additional 153 acres. Many of the buildings are in the Mission Revival and Spanish Colonial Revival architectural styles, athough there are a few "modern" buildings. The campus is split into two primary sections: North Quad and South Quad. Quite a few of the buildings in the North Quad are still uninhabited and unsafe due to age. CSUCI Campus Map Recently, The Biggest Loser held a marathon along the southern road to campus, which caused traffic and disruption.

North Quad

The North Quad buildings are widely undeveloped, but have a few usable classrooms. Currently, only four halls are occupied full-time in this quad. Solano and Manzanita Halls are relatively new additions to the campus, adding classrooms for the nursing program and other various classes. Placer Hall is home to the University Public Safety and Parking Services and is located next to the Business School. It dispenses permits to visitors. The last occupied hall is University Hall, where the President's Office is located along with various other administrative departments. Because the North Quad is relatively empty, it is a popular destination for ghost hunting by students and locals. The middle of the quad has a large and unique stage that is utilized for numerous school functions. In 2009, it was used for the Student Programming Board's annual picnic, as well as the President's dinner.

The annual Student picnic bands that performed:

• 2009: John West and Cute is What We Aim For
• 2010: Ray Fresco and Sum 41

Martin V. Smith Center for Integrative Decision-Making

Martin V. ("Bud") Smith donated eight million dollars to finance the construction of California State University Channel Islands. The first school on campus was named in his honor. Additionally, his name marks The Martin V. Smith School of Business and Economics, the Martin V. Smith Professorship in Land Use Studies, and the Martin V. Smith Center for Integrative Decision Making. The 4,148 square building was opened in the Spring of 2009. It features a large lecture hall and adjoining classrooms.

South Quad

Most of the campus' redeveloped buildings are located within the South Quad area. The Bell Tower houses most of the campus classrooms and professor offices. The Bell Tower can be seen from most areas on campus, because of it height and centrality. The Islands Café, the dining services area, is located on campus near the South Quad, off University Drive. Currently, the company Sodexo, runs the cafe but, in the next few years, the school will use a school-wide card for students in housing, to buy food from everywhere on campus, including the Student Union and the Town Center behind the Library.

Student Union

In 2006, Channel Islands students passed a referendum to fund the design, construction and operation of the new Student Union. The 23,000 square foot Student Union includes a large programmable area for student events and live entertainment; a dining center with a coffee shop, pizzeria, sandwich deli and salad bar; lounges for informal gatherings; a game room, pool tables and computer gaming systems; and ASI offices for Student Government, Student Programming Board, The Nautical Yearbook, and the Channel Islands View (CI View) student newspaper. The Student Union also includes a courtyard for outdoor events and gatherings for the entire campus community.

John Spoor Broome Library

The John Spoor Broome Library was designed by architect Lord Norman Foster and named after the first major donor to campus, John "Jack" Spoor Broome, an Oxnard rancher and philanthropist. The library opened on April 4th, 2008. It is one of the few buildings on the campus that does not represent the Spanish mission style. This 137,00 square foot complex, which is twelve times large than the previous library, is home to 75,000 books, 180,000 electronic books, and 32,000 images of art. It also complements the campus sustainability plan by using recyclable carpeting, natural lighting and combining the new structure with the existing buildings surrounding it. Students claim that the old mental hospital's morgue is located under the library.

In the summer of 2002, former Congressman Robert J. Lagomarsino and his wife, Norma, established the Robert J. and Norma M. Lagomarsino Department of Archives and Special Collections, which is housed within the library. Lagomarsino, a native of Ventura County, served as mayor of Ojai in 1958, as a state senator from 1961-1974, and later, as a United States congressman from 1974 to 1992.

University Glen

The University Glen Community contains six hundred and fifty-eight apartments, townhomes and single family residences available for rental or purchase. The Town Center is a multi-use building with apartments on the two upper floors and thirty thousand square feet of retail space on the first floor. Current tenants of the Town Center include the Bookstore, Tortillas Grill and Cantina, Sammy’s Market with Subway and Juice-it-Up, and the University Glen Corporation offices.

Academics

CSUCI offers undergraduate majors in twenty-two areas of study: Applied physics, Art, Biology, Business, Chemistry, Chicano Studies, Communication, Computer Science, Early Childhood Studies, Economics, English, Environmental Science and Resource Management, History, Information Technology, Liberal Studies, Mathematics, Nursing, Performing Arts, Political Science, Psychology, Sociology, and Spanish.

Teaching credentials for the university are as follows Administrative Services, Education Specialist Mild/Moderate Level I and II, Multiple-Subject and Single-Subject—Mathematics, Science, English and History/Social studies. The early childhood development continues to grow along with the liberal studies major. Graduate degree programs offered through Extended Education include: MBA, MS Biotechnology and Bioinformatics, MS Biotechnology/MBA Dual Degree, MS Mathematics, MS Computer Science, and MA Education.

The school offers small class sizes and experienced teachers in their fields to provide the most complete learning. With the small size and faculty it has been compared to a private university education. The study abroad program at CSUCI is the same cost as tuition, with some limitations on the schools the students may choose to attend.

The school also has various Academic Centers and Institutes . Four out of its five centers are mission specific centers and has two institutes, the Alzheimer's Institute and the Small Business Institute. All centers and institutes must support the CSUCI mission. Mission specific centers are developed with the primary purpose of enabling the CSUCI faculty to support the mission of the university. Centers cut across disciplines and have co-curricular implications. Institutes and other centers are created with the intent to provide a necessary service, program, or disciplinary or interdisciplinary focus for the university and/or community.

Demographics of student body

	%
African American	2.5%
Asian American	6.9%
White American	54.2%
Hispanic American	25.3%
Native American	1.0%
Ethnicity unreported/unknown	10.2%

Statistics

• Average high school GPA of CSUCI first-time freshmen: 3.17
• Average ACT Score: 21
• Average SAT Score: 1003
• Average class size: 20.1 students

Student demographics

~Female: 63% ~Male: 37%

Student Life

Throughout the year students can enjoy participation in intramural sports, health and fitness activities, join various student organizations, utilize our waterfront programs (sailing, rowing and kayaking), participate in outdoor adventures, honor societies, leadership retreats and workshops, multicultural programs, sports clubs, block parties, career and graduate fairs.

Housing

University Hall

There are two villages that make up student housing. They are both named after two of the Channel Islands: Santa Cruz and Anacapa Islands. Opened in the Fall of 2007, Santa Cruz village is home to freshmen students and those students that have less than thirty units completed. Most suites are two bedroom, housing four students with two in each bedroom. Most single occupancy rooms are reserved for the Resident Assistants or "RAs," which are students employed by Housing and Residential Education. Santa Cruz has various amenities including a game room, art room, several television rooms, a dance studio and study rooms. Santa Cruz village at capactiy is home to 460 residents. Anacapa Village houses transfer students and students with more than thirty units completed. Each student has their own bedroom, and also shares a living room and kitchen with three other students.

Athletics

Arroyo Hall, which is the general student gym on campus, is located between the Bell Tower and Anacapa Village. It has Basketball and Volleyball courts and various gym equipment. The hold different intramural team tournament for students and also host all sport teams activities. Channel Islands has various intramural teams and club teams.

• Lacrosse - CSUCI Men's Lacrosse
• Volleyball The Volleyball team practices in Arroyo Hall.
• Sailing The sailing team practices in Channel Islands harbor in Ventura, California. The compete against teams around California and have had some success.

Currently there are no teams from the school on the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) level. However, the school hired athletic director Carl E. Reed II in 2009 in hopes of someday having sports teams that play at a higher level.

External links

• Official website