Tuesday, June 18, 2013

Making History: the First Years of Saddleback College

Saddleback College's original faculty (from Making History)
     A couple of weeks ago, I posted about the inadequacy and incompleteness of the district’s “history” page (see The District's Undeveloped History Page). That drew a comment alerting us to a Saddleback College faculty’s recent efforts at some kind of history of her college. That was welcome news! (For the first dozen or so years of their existence, the district and Saddleback College were essentially the same entity.)
     At last night’s board meeting, someone noted this project, evidently a sabbatical leave activity by the estimable Ana Maria Cobos, Librarian. He may have referred to a website that presents information about her project, but I didn’t catch the name (nor have I found the website).
     Here’s what I have found.
     Evidently, back in 2001, Lynn Wells and Julia Brady-Jenner produced something entitled “Making History: the First Years of Saddleback College.” (See also SC Fall 2001 In-Service.) It sounds pretty intriguing, but I’ve been unable to track it down. (Anybody have it or know where it can be found?)
     I also came upon Ana Maria Cobos’ spring semester 2013 Sabbatical project (proposal) (actually, a revision of the proposal). Her goal was “to compile and publish a second edition of Making History, the oral history of Saddleback’s founding faculty that was published in 2001.” It would be entitled, “Making History, Volume 2.”
     Essentially, Cobos’ project was to contact Saddleback College faculty hired between 1968 and 1979 and to ask them to “submit narratives about their experiences during their tenure at Saddleback College.” A committee would then select from those narratives to create a book, complete with graphics and pictures.
     I noticed the following item in Saddleback College’s In-Service handbook for Fall 2013:
Wednesday, August 14, 2013
Saddleback College History Website; Sabbatical Report
     The Saddleback College History website will be presented. The website will include resources about the college history including Making History, a volume with reminiscings from the founding faculty, video oral histories from the founding faculty, new documents submitted by faculty hired between 1969 and 1979 plus oral interviews, and new historical documents and images discovered through the project.
     The Saddleback History website will continue to document the college's history. In the future, when faculty and staff retire, they will receive an invitation to be interviewed or to submit materials for the college history website.
     Presented by Ana Maria Cobos, Online Ed. & Learn. Res.
     SADDLEBACK COLLEGE SOUTH? A side note: I also found the following pages from “The Accreditation Self Study Report of Saddleback College,” pages 5-8. (Click on graphics to enlarge them.) I can find no attribution. See especially the history section, “Period IV.” It asserts the following:
The name of the Main Campus was changed to Saddleback College South, and a new President was appointed. The designation of the north Campus was changed to Saddleback College North.
     Saddleback College was once known as "Saddleback College South"? I did not know that!



UPDATE:

AMC sent me the following:
     Thanks for including info about my sabbatical project in Dissent. The original work, Making History: The First Years of Saddleback College can be found in the Saddleback College Library catalog, http://sirsi.socccd.edu/uhtbin/cgisirsi.exe/?ps=dfbDl6yMTh/SADDLEBACK/78170018/9 My sabbatical project was originally proposed as a print book but became a web site (you can view the "under construction" web site, https://www.saddleback.edu/college-history). The web site will include access to the complete Making History, the oral history interviews that were the basis for MH, plus new materials. The new materials will include written responses from college faculty hired 1969-1979 and new interviews from same. The web site will continue to grow as new materials are created/found. The SC history web site will also connect to the SC archive (to be developed), a digital resource with relevant materials we now have in the library's special collections. I hope this is helpful. Thanks again.
     See HERE for full "Making History" (2001 version) pdf, broken down into sections.

Parking lot in days of yore
SEE follow-up post

7 comments:

I fear no fish said...

I moved to San Juan Capistrano in 1979 and registered for my first Saddleback class in 1980. (My student ID is 14xxxx.) At the time, one had to live within the District boundaries or have some kind of special permission to take classes.

I was working in Irvine so I went to North Campus to register. No online registration in those days! One of the office workers challenged whether my San Juan Capistrano address was actually within the District boundaries. "I live nearly across the street from the Main Campus," I told her. She was unpersuaded, but another staff member assured her that SJC was, in fact, part of the District.

Roy Bauer said...

Thanks, IFNF. Keep 'em coming.

Anonymous said...

This is very cool! We should do something like this for IVC.

Anonymous said...

This link is broken:

sirsi.socccd.cc.ca.us

I think this would be a good project for IVC - especially as we still have some founding faculty around - and others still close by...

Anonymous said...

I'd like to volunteer to write the IVC chapter on rogue deans please, pretty please. It would focus primarily on Poindexter (do you know where he is now?) and Gensler, with some cameos to fill it out.

Roy Bauer said...

I agree. It would be very cool to do as Saddleback is doing.

Anonymous said...

Good lord; incredibly fun reading!

Roy's obituary in LA Times and Register: "we were lucky to have you while we did"

  This ran in the Sunday December 24, 2023 edition of the Los Angeles Times and the Orange County Register : July 14, 1955 - November 20, 2...