| Mt. San Antonio College | |
|---|---|
| Established | 1946 |
| Type | Public Community College |
| Location | Walnut, California, USA |
| President | Dr. William T. Scroggins |
| Website | www.mtsac.edu |
Mt. San Antonio College (commonly called Mt. SAC) is a community college located in the Los Angeles suburb of Walnut, California, 2.12 miles west of California State Polytechnic University, Pomona (Cal Poly Pomona).
Mt. SAC was founded in 1946 as a part of the now 112 member California Community Colleges system. It is part of the 110 largest community colleges of California with some of its older buildings having served as part of a small military hospital complex up until WWII. It is the largest single-campus district with 40,525 credit students (2008–09), with a total unduplicated enrollment of 38,728 (2008–09 Student Enrollment). The current president of the college is Dr. William T. Scroggins, who joined the college in July 2011.
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The school has new state-of-the-art 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 over-development and over-population. Tours are given mainly to grade school children but are available to the public (minimum 15 people) if you contact the school and ask when Wildlife Sanctuary tours are available (the number is 1-909-594-5611, extension #4794). Also of interest is the school planetarium. 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 a campus cafe and a "Common Grounds" area which serves Yummy House Taiwanese food and a Carl's Jr. restaurant. Mt. SAC also 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 degree.
Mt. San Antonio College promotes diversity among its students. The campus exhibits a population with ethnically diverse backgrounds.
In 2006, Mt. SAC began to accept online applications as opposed to the paper applications.
Mt. SAC has an accomplished aviation department.[1] 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 2005, 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 Bachelors of Science degree in Aviation Management.[2]
Mt. SAC has a national award-winning forensics team that is coached by Jeffrey Archibald, Shae MH, and Danny Cantrell. 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 2011 Phi Rho Pi tournament and won first place Individual Events Sweepstakes, first place Overall Sweepstakes, as well as the Sylvia Mariner Perpetual Sweepstakes Award for earning accumulative points - an honor Mt. SAC last won 12 beforehand in 1999. Coach John Vitullo also won the prestigious Distinguished Service Award, which is the highest honor awarded to a college speech coach.
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.
Mt. SAC supports athletics however emphasizes academics. Mt. SAC has a strong community college football program, as well as Soccer, swimming, basketball, volleyball, tennis, wrestling, water polo, track and cross country. In the 2001 season John Lawrence coached the men's varsity tennis team to the school's first conference crown,the team finished #5 in Southern California during that season. In 2007 the Men's Cross Country team finished 3rd in state. The men's track and field team won an amazing 6 State Championships in a row from 1997 until 2002. In addition to the state titles the men's team have won 12 straight Conference titles. Both the state title winning streak and the conference title winning streaks are state records. Their football team finished the 2009 season as unanimous National and State Champions and finished with a #1 ranking in the nation. The Mens Soccer team has captured the State Championship Title 3 years in a row from 2009–2011, and the National title in 2009 and 2011. In 2011 the team finished an undefeated season with a record of 22-0-3.
This event is held annually in April over a 3 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.
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.[3] 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 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). It is also designed for speed and wraps right around the spectator area for a quick and exciting finish.
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 Dr. Maryann Tolano-Leveque, Director of Student Life.
Among people who attended Mt. San Antonio College are: