Chapter Summaries

Chapter Summaries Chapter 1: The Stage is Set When it comes to public higher education and junior college education in particular, California led the way in the 20th century, for the nation and the world. This chapter explores the development of the unique junior college concept in California, beginning with the first-in-the nation junior college enabling legislation in 1907 up through the passage and implementation of the visionary Master Plan for Higher Education in 1960 through 1964. The significant changes in the East Bay during World War II are discussed. This includes the substantial post-war economic and population growth in the once rural system of communities of Washington Township. An examination of how these forces led to the incorporation of the cities of Fremont, Newark and Union City in the mid to late 1950s is presented.

Chapter 2: Early Local Attempts The idea for a local junior college district in Fremont and Newark emerged from the dynamic post-war period. Early attempts to form a junior college district for Washington Township before school “unifications” are described. The creation of the South County Junior College District in the Hayward area is reviewed; how it further prompted the notion of a similar district for Fremont and Newark; and how it provided a road map for those efforts. The incorporations of the various towns in Washington Township into the cities of Fremont and Newark in the mid-1950s, and Union City in 1959 are covered. The formation of these cities was important to the political evolution leading to the local junior college district.

Chapter 3: The Local Effort Gets Traction, Then Success The “unification” of the numerous small school districts in the area under the Fremont Unified and Newark Unified School Districts in January 1964 is described.

The created of these centralized school systems closely aligned to the newly incorporated cities. The administrators and Board members of the two school districts provided strong leadership for the formation of a local junior college district. This chapter looks at the work of these local leaders, and leadership at the state level by Assemblyman Carlos Bee and Governor Pat Brown, to make a junior college possible in Fremont and Newark. The campaign culminating in voter approval of the District on December 7, 1965 is described.

Chapter 4: Establishing the Board and the District The newly elected Fremont-Newark Junior College District Board of Trustees got right to work to establish the District and begin the essential implementation activities. At first the Trustees hoped to start classes in the fall of 1966, but after becoming aware of all the needed to be done, they tempered the goal and set the target for the fall of 1967. This chapter focuses on the important six-month period of planning, including educational philosophy and policy development, from January to June 1966. Also described are the important processes of hiring a Superintendent/President and Vice President.

Chapter 5: Getting Ready Once the Superintendent/President and Vice President were hired, the implementation work picked up considerably. This chapter will cover the activities leading to the start of classes in September of 1967. Included are the development of the first and second year budgets; hiring administrators, staff and faculty; establishing locations for the first year of classes; creating the initial curriculum and programs; and development of an athletics program. The April 1967 Board election is also described. Running through this period was an intensive search for a permanent campus site and attempts to raise the funds necessary for construction. This complex process will be covered separately in Chapter 8.

Chapter 6: What’s In a Name?

As with most junior college districts, the Fremont-Newark Junior College District sought to find a unique name for the District’s college. This chapter chronicles the process of moving from 52 name suggestions form the public to the final choice of Ohlone College in July 1967. The failed attempt in June 1968 to change the name to Robert F. Kennedy College (in response to the assassination of Senator Kennedy that month) is described. Further changes to the name of the District, over the years, are also covered. Also covered are naming of the athletic teams as the Saints and the student newspaper as the Saints Herald, and the change of each to the Renegades and the Monitor respectively in the second year. The names of Ohlone, Renegades and Monitor have endured to the current time.

Chapter 7: First Year of Classes, 1967-68 This chapter will review of the opening of the college in September 1967 and the activities and events during the first year of classes. Some of the topics included are enrollment, student government, student newspaper, student clubs, athletics, drama and music performances, art exhibits and student publications. The spring of 1968 was a particularly tense time in the country with increased protests against the Vietnam War, and a one-day “student strike” against the war was conducted.

This time period also included the assassination of Martin Luther King and resulting riots in major cities, and the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy.

Chapter 8: The Long Journey to Find and Fund a Campus Site (Summary) The identification of a site for a permanent campus and developing funding for the construction was a complicated process taking place at the same time as the general implementation work in the previous section. Because of the complexities involved, this process is explored separately for the sake of more clarity. This process is marked by a failed bond attempt in November 1966, followed by an exploration of the year-and-a-half-long process to select a site for the permanent campus and the successful passage of the bond measure in June 1968.

Further, two chapters are devoted to describing this process. Chapter 8 will be a summary version for those not interested in all the minute details involved.

Chapter 9 will provide the full detail of the issues and activities of process.

Chapter 9: The Long Journey to Find and Fund a Campus Site (Full Detail) This chapter provides the full details on the process to find and fund the permanent campus as described above. It is packed with details on Board meetings, special committee meeting, and newspaper articles (mostly from the Argus).