And Others TITLE Diablo Valley College: the First Forty Years, 1949-1989
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DOCUMENT RESUME ED 322 968 JC 900 465 AUTHOR Mahan, Don; And Others TITLE Diablo Valley College: The First Forty Years, 1949-1989. INSTITUTION Diablo Valley Coll. Pleasant Hill, Calif. PUB DATE 90 NOTE 306p.; Photographs will not reproduce well. PUB TYPE Books (010) -- Historical Materials (060) EDRS PRICE MF01/PC13 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS Activism; *College Administration; College Environment; *College Planning; *College Role; *Community Colleges; Educational History; Educational Legislation; Educational Philosophy; Institutional Characteristics; Mission Statements; *Organizational Change; School Community Relationship; Staff Development; Transfer Programs; Two Year Colleges; *Two Year College Students; Vocational Education ABSTRACT An overview is provided of the 40-year history of Diablo Valley College (DVC), examining the educational ideals of the founders of the college and the changes in the goals of community college education in Central Contra Costa County, California. Part 1 sets the historical scene for the establishment of public two-year colleges nationally, in California, and in Contra Costa County. The early years of development of DVC are described with reference to the roles and contributions of students, classified staff members, faculty, and the first administrators. Part 2 focuses on particular changes and issues in the early 1960's and 1970's, such as the college's efforts to govern fairly and effectively, philosophical concerns such as student retention and open door policies, outreach programs, student and faculty action on social and political issues, and maintaining a campus culture. In part 3, some recent changes and issues are described including the effects of growing financial constraints, new student populations, responses to California state legislation with regard to community colleges such as Proposition 13, and changes in organization and leadership at the college. This final section also reviews new programs such as those for women and older students, closing with a discussion of professional renewal efforts. Included are photographs showing changes in the physical environment of the college and some of the notable college events, as well as appended tables of longitudinal data on total enrollments and enrollments by gender, student age, and course loads. Notes are provided at the clse of chapters. (JMC) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. co co Cn V thq DIABLO VALLEY COLLEGE The First Forty Years: 1999-1989 $=) C74 'The Heart of the College Is the Student..." bY Don Mahan, Ruth Sutter, Greg Tilles "PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE THIS U I. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCAT JN MATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTED BY Mc. of Educational Research and Improvement FOUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) M. Dolven This dOcument has been reproduced lis received from the perlOn or organization originating it )fe Minor changes have been made to Improve reproduction quality TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES Points of view or opinions stated in this dOCu- men! do not neCetearily represent official INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC)." OERI position or policy Pleasant Hill, California 1990 2 BEST COPY AVAILABLE Governing Board of the Contra Costa Community College District, 1990 William M. Corey Lloyd Farr William P. Moses Eugene H. Ross Benjamin Brooks III, Student Member Lee R. Winters, President Chancellor John I. Carhart Diablo Valley College President Phyllis L. Peterson Associated Students'President Andrew Winn Faculty Senate President Irene Menegas Diablo Valley College History Committee Stan Byrne, Chairman Betty Bortz Bruce Millar Jo Ann Nicol James Rawls Archivist Evelyn Garabedian TABLE OF CONTENTS Foreword Preface Part OneBeginnings Chapter One THIS COUNTY NEEDS A COLLEGE Backgrounds The Junior College Movement in Contra Costa County Under Way: The Contra Costa Junior College District Under Way: East Campus Chapter Two THE EARLY YEARS: FROM EAST CAMPUS TO DIABLO VALLEY COLLEGE Beginning to Build Developing an Educational Program Campus Work, Day-to-Day Students in the1950s Chapter Three THE EARLY YEARS: ISSUES Concerns of the Times Faculty Concerns The College and the District Part Two The Middle Years Chapter Four A STRUGGLE TO GOVERN FAIRLY AND EFFECTIVELY Culmination of the Conflict With the Superintendent A Question of Leadership Deciding Who Decides and How,1965-1975 Reorganizing DVC's Administrative Structure The Cluster College Experiment Formal Adoption of a Divisional Structure The Calendar,1965-1975 The Faculty Senate: Early Years Setting the Stage for Collective Bargaining v 4 =_A Chapter Five FULFILLING THE COLLEGE PHILOSOPHY General Education, 1960-75 Technical-Vocational Education During the Middle Years The Open Door DVC's Non-tracking Policy Keeping the Student at the Center Student Evaluation of Instruction Tutoring and the Learning Center Who Should Pay? A College for ALL the People The Pittsburg Academic Achievement Program The Communicator The College Readiness Programs Ethnic Studies Chapter Six AN ERA OF ACTIVISM AND INDIVIDUALISM, 1965-75 Protesting the War in Vietnam A New Consciousness Individual Freedom, "Relevance," and "Doing Your Own Thing" Women's Programs: The Beginnings Chapter Seven MAINTAINING A CAMPUS CULTURE Contending with Growth Communication on Campus Interpersonal Relations: Seeking Equity A Search for Commonality Hill vs. Flatland The Classified Staff: Colleagues or Employees? The Arts at DVC The Campus Environment Part Three The Recent Years Chapter Eight AN ERA OF FINANCIAL CONSTRAINTS Proposition 13 Crisis Aftermath of Proposition 13 Tuition Battle Part-time Instructors at DVC Financial Recovery vi 5 Chapter Nine ADJUSTING TO NEW PRESSURES A New College President Matriculation AB 1725 Affirmative Action Chapter Ten NEW DIVERSITIES Fulfillment of the Women's Programs Programs for Older Adults The Ombudsperson The Center for Higher Education The London Program DVC as a Transfer Institution Chapter Eleven INSTITUTIONAL CHANGE AND PROFESSIONAL RENEWAL Collective Bargaining: Faculty Collective Bargaining: Classified Staff Flexible Calendar Staff Development A New Generation of Faculty vii FORENORD From its unassuming beginning forty years ago, Diablo Valley Col- lege has blossomed into a nationally recognized community college with a respected instructional program. A state leader intransferring students to the University of California and other four-year institutions, DVC also offers excellent occupational programs. Success didn't just happen. It took the right combination of commit- ment, dedication and effort to build an institution as effective as this one. This, the first history of Diablo Valley College, will describe the events, the people, and the ideas that contributed to the college we know today. The community we serve has expenenced unparalleled growth. New students arrive in greater numbers each year. Many new faculty and staff members have joined us recently, and there will be more in the next decade. All of these people are part of our future. They will write the next volume in our history. The exciting account contained here will help oriem them to the values and perspectives that have shaped DVC thus far. Written histories of community colleges are rare. We think ours will contribute to the cause of all who recognize their importance. Forty years ago DVC was more hope than promise, more vision than reality. Much has been accomplished. This is a story we are proud to tell. Phyllis L. Peterson President, Diablo Valley College XIII/ix PREFA CE "Ai growing community expands its instructional program to meet its needs." This was the way two of the first Contra Costa County com- munity college administrators foresaw the growth of Diablo Valley Col- lege in an article published in the journal Educational Leadership in 1951. In this book we review the outcomes of their forecast. We look at the educational ideals of the founders of the college and at changes in the goals of community college education in Central Contra Costa County over the past 40 years. At the heart of our interest in this college are its students. As the founders said, in an early statement of college philosophy, "We conceive the heart of the college to be the student." The students then and now and the college then and now must be considered in the context of social and economic change in the metropoli- tan Bay Area and increasingly rapid changes in Central Contra Costa County. Not only the local and regional changes but also changes in the state and in the nation are part of our perspective. In the course of our study we have identified several themes that we think have contributed to DVC's uniqueness as a college: (1) an unwillingness to adopt procedures, standards, or values simply because they exist in common practice (2) a commitment to democratic principles in all aspects of campus life (3) responsiveness to social and demographic change (4) resistancenot always successfulto fragmentation and diffendation in the curriculum and in relationships within the institution (5) a feeling that DVC is a special place whic'h inspires loyalty Part One sets the historical scene for the establishment of public two-year collegesnationally, in California, and in Contra Costa County. The early years of development of Diablo Valley College are described with reference to the roles and contributions of students, classified staff members, faculty, and the first administrators. Part Two focuses on par- ticular changes and issues, including highly controversial ones,