Mt. San Antonio College

Mt. San Antonio College
Type Community College
Established 1946
Students 57,319[1]
Address 1100 N. Grand Ave, Walnut, California, USA
Campus urban, 420 acres
President Dr. William (Bill) Scroggins
Nickname Mounties
Website www.mtsac.edu
Mt. San Antonio College Campus
Panorama of campus

Mt. San Antonio College (commonly called Mt. SAC) is a community college located in the Los Angeles suburb of Walnut, California, United States, 2.12 miles west of California State Polytechnic University, Pomona (Cal Poly Pomona). It is amongst the largest community colleges in California with 57,319 students.[1]

History

Mt. SAC was founded in 1946 as a part of the California Community Colleges system

Campus

Sitting on 420 acres,[2] it is one of the largest community colleges of California with some of its older buildings having served as part of a small military hospital complex up until World War II.

The school has new science classrooms and laboratory facilities; a music, dance, and theater building; multi-media/internet connected classrooms; a new baseball complex; a football field; a putting green; two soccer fields; and is home of the world-famous Mt. SAC Relays. It has an Olympic size swimming pool, tennis courts, and a working farm which includes horses, cattle, sheep, swine, and a canine facility that works with a greyhound rescue group to rehabilitate retired racing dogs each semester. The school also has a 15-acre (6.1 ha) Wildlife Sanctuary that supports a large variety of native species of birds, mammals, and insects. It consists of a lake, swamp, stream, pond, meadow, and forested area. It is one of the last "safe" places for nature to exist in Walnut due to overdevelopment and overpopulation.

The Randall Planetarium has been open since 1968. There are more projects in progress, the latest being a modern agricultural sciences complex, including working animal hospital, set to complete construction in Spring 2011. Construction has also recently begun on a new Design Technology building. More projects are also expected in the next few years as funds from a recently voter approved measure come in. Located on campus are several campus cafes and a "Common Grounds" area which serves a Carl's Jr. junior restaurant. The community college district covers Baldwin Park, Covina, Irwindale, West Covina, La Puente, Industry, Walnut, Diamond Bar, Pomona, San Dimas, and La Verne, and the unincorporated communities of Hacienda Heights and Rowland Heights.

Organization and administration

The current president of the college is Dr. William (Bill) Scroggins, who joined the college in July 2011.

Academic profile

Mt SAC Flying Team, Fall Training 2002

Mt. SAC boasts a nationally recognized aviation and aircraft maintenance program. The school has programs in partnership with four-year schools to which students can arrange to receive a bachelor's degree. Mt. SAC is one of 36 colleges in the United States to offer the College Training Initiative (CTI) program through the FAA. Due to this, the program attracts students from across the United States. This initiative trains students particularly to be air traffic controllers for the FAA. Through this program Mt SAC offers an Associate of Science degree in Aviation Science.

Besides air traffic control, Mt. SAC has the largest Associate of Science, Commercial Flight degree programs in California. It maintains a flight training association on and off campus at nearby Brackett Airport, with a hangar and facilities made possible through donations from Sophia Clarke (renowned for also providing generous gifts for the modern and stately, state-of-the-art Sophia B. Clarke theater and its adjacent equally photogenic edifices). Its flying team is ranked as the best among community colleges in the western United States from 1991 to 2006. In 2000, 2002, 2005, and 2013 the flying team ranked #1 among community colleges in the United States. Also in 2005, and in 1987, the school was the recipient of the Loening Trophy, recognizing the school as having the nation's Best Aviation Program. The Mt SAC Flying team is a member of National Intercollegiate Flying Association and Pacific Coast Intercollegiate Flying Association.

In addition to offer associate degrees, the Mt SAC aviation program also has an on-campus partnership with Southern Illinois University to offer a Bachelor of Science degree in Aviation Management.[3]

Student life

Associated Students is the student government organization at Mt. San Antonio College and serves as the official voice of the student body. Its budget, of more than $600,000, is generated by an optional "Student Activities" fee paid by students during the fall and spring semesters. Associated Students coordinates and sponsors several events for the student body. Events and sponsorships include the following; campus holiday celebration, celebrity speakers, women's history month activities, cultural celebrations, commencement rehearsal, awards & recognition ceremonies, weekend college tours, and the transfer achievement celebration. Associated Students officers include members of the Executive Board, Student Senate, and Student Court. The current adviser to the Associated Students is Andi Sims, Director of Student Life. The current A.S President is Aneca Nuyda, while the A.S Vice President is Richard Lim.

Public speaking

Mt. SAC has a national award-winning forensics team that is coached by Roxan Arntson, Danny Cantrell, and Roger Willis-Raymondo. The program has won numerous national and regional speech and debate tournaments, including the Phi Rho Pi national community college tournament, the American Forensics Association (AFA) national undergraduate tournament, as well as many Readers Theater championships.

Most recently the team captured the national title at the 2014 and 2013 Phi Rho Pi tournament and won first place Individual Events Sweepstakes, fourth place debate sweepstakes, and first place Overall Sweepstakes. In 2011 the team won the Sylvia Mariner Perpetual Sweepstakes Award for earning accumulative points – an honor Mt. SAC last won 12 years beforehand in 1999, and Coach John Vitullo won the prestigious Distinguished Service Award, which is the highest honor awarded to a college speech coach.

Chamber singers

Mt. SAC's choral music department includes the award-winning Chamber Singers. Notable achievements include the ACDA convention several years running and "Choir of the World" in 2007 at the famed Eisteddfod International Music Competition in Wales. The mixed group also won three gold medals for their performances in the Youth Choir, Mixed Choir, and Folk Song Choir in addition to their world title, making them the choir with the most gold medals won at any of the 61 Eisteddfod competitions.

Athletics

Hilmer Lodge Stadium

The Mt. San Antonio College (Mt. SAC) Athletics Program is one of the most dominant community college athletics programs in the nation. The "Mounties" have captured a total of 64 California Community College Athletics Association (CCCAA) State Championships, with 37 titles coming since 2000. Mt. SAC currently fields 20 intercollegiate sports including: Baseball (M), Basketball (M & W), Cross Country (M & W), Football (M), Golf (W), Soccer (M & W), Softball (W), Swimming (M & W), Tennis (M & W), Track and Field (M & W), Volleyball (W), Water Polo (M & W), and Wrestling (M). Mt. SAC competes in the very strong South Coast Conference in most sports, with Golf (Orange Empire), Wrestling (So Cal Wrestling Alliance) and Football (National Division Central Conference) hosted in other conferences.

In 2015, Mt. SAC Athletics captured the 2014–2015 Learfield Sports Director's Cup, which is awarded to the nation's top overall athletics programs at the NCAA (I, II, III), NAIA and Community College Levels. The Mounties have also captured 5 National Association of Two-Year College Administrators of Athletics (NATYCAA) Cup Championships, which is awarded to the West United States Top Overall Community College Athletics Program. Since its inception in 2004, Mt. SAC has also captured 5 second-place trophies and finished in fourth place and sixth place.

The Mt. SAC Track and Field/Cross Country Programs led all Mt. SAC Programs with a combined total of 30 CCCAA Championships (Men's Track 10, Women's Track 11, Men's Cross Country 1, Women's Cross Country 8). The past ten years Women's Basketball has led all sports with five state championships and 4 additional top 4 state championship finishes. Along with Women's Basketball:

The Mt. SAC Athletics Department Administration consists of Dean/Athletics Director Joseph Jennum III, Associate Dean/Associate Athletics Director Debbie Cavion and Assistant Athletics Director Marc Ruh.

Mt. SAC Relays

Olympic Flame and wall of honor at Hilmer Lodge Stadium
Main article: Mt. SAC Relays

This event is held annually in April over a three-day period and attracts around 15,000 athletes from more than 150 colleges and universities and 150 high schools throughout the U.S. and abroad. Dubbed "Where the world's best athletes compete," the Mt. SAC Relays has showcased many great Olympians throughout its history since the first event in 1959. The Relays are hosted in the college's stadium, Hilmer Lodge Stadium (13,500 seating) which is named after Mt. SAC's first Track and Field / Cross Country Coach.

High School runners complete the third and final hill on the Mt. SAC course in 2010

Cross Country Invitational

Since the first event in 1948, the Mt. SAC Cross Country Invitational has grown to be the largest event of its kind in the world.[4] It is often rich in running tradition as generations within families may have run it in the past. Mt. SAC is considered one of the most challenging Cross Country courses in the nation. The runners start on a long (former) airstrip and run over three hills. The Valley Loop is a flat loop in the beginning of the race where runners usually overtake others. The first mile, due to the flat and hard surface is extremely quick. This mile is immediately followed by the switchbacks up the side of the first hill. These consist of four tight-knit hairpin turns. The switchbacks are very technical as the runners are often closely packed entering this area, and the hill itself is both steep and loose packed. Arguably the most challenging is the infamous "poop out" hill, which is the steepest hill on the course (as well as one of the shortest). The final climb runners must conquer before a steep descent to the flat finish area is Reservoir Hill; which is a steady uphill. The end of the race loops back to the beginning (on the airstrip), passing behind where the runners for the next race are staged. It is also designed for speed and wraps right around the spectator area for a quick and exciting finish at the gate entering Hilmer Lodge Stadium.

Notable alumni

Among people who attended Mt. San Antonio College are:

References

  1. 1 2 "California Community Colleges Chancellor's Office - Data Mart". Datamart.cccco.edu. Retrieved 2013-06-19.
  2. ↑ "About Mt. San Antonio College". Mtsac.edu. Retrieved 2013-06-19.
  3. ↑ Southern Illinois University on-campus partnership
  4. ↑ "About The Mt. SAC Cross Country Invitational". Events.mtsac.edu. Retrieved 2013-06-19.
  5. ↑ Mt. SAC Relays Hall of Fame
  6. ↑

Coordinates: 34°02′50″N 117°50′43″W / 34.04715°N 117.84528°W / 34.04715; -117.84528

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