The History of Mission College

The concept of a college in the North Fernando Valley germinated in 1960 when the Los Angeles Community College District determined there was need for a community college in the North Valley.
Land was first acquired for a campus in Northridge; however, due to financial difficulties in the late sixties, the district sold the land. Inasmuch, the need for a college in the North Valley did not end. In 1973, the Board of Trustees established the North Valley Task Force. After a yearlong study, the Task Force recommended establishing a community college for the communities of Mission Hills, Pacoima, San Fernando, and Sylmar.

On April 3, 1974 the Board of Trustees approved the Task Force's recommendations, and on February 3, 1975 Los Angles Mission College opened its doors to a student body of 1,228 students. On May 22 of that same year, the Trustees appointed Dr. Herbert Ravetech as the first President of Los Angeles Mission College. During the first semester of operation, classes were held in diversely located, leased facilities consisting of nine classrooms and 10,000 square feet of space for all on-campus activities.

Fourteen outreach locations were established in the surrounding communities. In the summer of 1975 Los Angeles Mission College graduated its first student, Danny Frank Mastro. In the fall of 1975, temporary facilities were expanded to 15 classrooms and 24,000 to accommodate the expected enrollment of 2,000 students.

In the late seventies and early eighties, the District began searching for land for a permanent home for the college. In 1982, the Los Angeles Community College District bought 22 acres of land in Sylmar from the Los Angeles School District and the LACCD set aside $2 million dollars for development of the Mission campus. Once again, due to financial and political difficulties, new campus development was put on hold.

In 1987, in a surprise move, California Governor Deukmejian added $8.5 million to the state budget for Mission College after being shown the upswing in enrollment at Mission. In 19 , construction began on the corner of Hubbard and Eldridge Streets in Sylmar for Mission's first permanent campus, and in 1991, the current Mission College opened its doors. In 1992, Proposition 153, a $900 million state higher education bond measure, allowed financing for a new state-of-the-art library and Learning Resource Center, which opened in the fall of 1997. The Mission College Learning Resource Center boasts one of the most technology advanced buildings in the district with 350 Internet connected computers.

In November of 1999, Mission will begin construction on a high-tech, classroom building. In 2000, Mission College, with an expected enrollment of over 7,000 students, will celebrate 25 years of serving a diverse student population from the North Fernando Valley. As Mission College looks to the future the current faculty, with the same commitment to excellence initiated by those who began teaching in the humble storefront beginnings, are dedicated to using tools such as computers and the Internet to prepare Mission's students for the next century and beyond.

Compiled and Edited by Peter M. Marcoux