Edited by: George R. Boggs, Lawrence A. Galizio
Foreword by: Constance M. Carroll, Jack Scott
Publication Date: October 22, 2021
Pages: 272
This is the first comprehensive and contemporary history of the largest and most diverse public system of higher education in the United States. Serving over 2 million students annually—approximately one-quarter of the nation's community college undergraduates—California's 116 community colleges play an indispensable role in career and transfer education in North America and have maintained an outsized influence on the evolution of postsecondary education nationally. A College for All Californians chronicles the sector's emergence from K–12 institutions, its evolving mission and growth following World War II and the G.I. Bill For Education, the expansion of its ever-broadening mission, and its essential role in the 1960 Master Plan for Higher Education. Chapters cover California's junior and community colleges’ development, mission, governance, faculty, finances, athletics, student support services, and more. It also examines the successes and ongoing political, financial, and educational challenges confronting this uniquely American educational experiment.
Book Features:
George R. Boggs is superintendent and president emeritus at Palomar College, and president and CEO emeritus of the American Association of Community Colleges. Lawrence A. Galizio is president and CEO of the Community College League of California.
“A College for All Californians is engagingly written and thorough. It provides an excellent background and context for understanding the community colleges of California—past, present, and future. It is a must-read for community college practitioners and others who have an interest in these important institutions.”
—From the Foreword by Constance M. Carroll, former chancellor of San Diego Community Colleges, and Jack Scott, former chancellor of California Community Colleges
“One cannot talk about the impact of community colleges without talking about the California Community Colleges. A College for All Californians: A History of the California Community Colleges captures the evolution of one of the most consequential systems of higher education in the country. This book serves as a reminder of the importance of serving the top 100% of students in a community.”
—Eloy O. Oakley, chancellor, California Community Colleges
“This is a wonderful and long overdue chronicle of perhaps the greatest community college story in America. It is the history of America’s largest system of higher education, the California Community Colleges, and the pioneers that brought it from an ideal to reality. The authors trace the innovation that took root and not only grew to a system that today serves more than two million students in California, but also encouraged the development of similar systems and colleges across America and ultimately the globe. Congratulations to the many authors on memorializing a great system of community colleges serving an unmeasurable number of Californians.”
—Brice W. Harris, chancellor emeritus, California Community Colleges
“This book outlines the history and trajectory of the California Community Colleges, providing valuable insight on the programs and services that allow students to succeed in community colleges and beyond. George Boggs and Larry Galizio have written a primer that will allow practitioners to advance their knowledge base, and that provides critical information for government officials, business leaders, and social researchers to effectively support and partner with community colleges to build workforce pipelines and set policies that benefit citizens and communities.”
—Walter G. Bumphus, president and chief executive officer, American Association of Community Colleges
“Today, America’s 1000+ community colleges offer the most diverse student body in history a set of viable pathways to a sustainable future for themselves and their families. This formidable book shows how the California Community Colleges have led the way, enabling robust routes to the middle class and beyond for millions upon millions of students. Building on the history, evidence, and lessons learned from California’s community colleges, this book gives us vibrant new insights and directions to increase student opportunity and success in the 21st century.”
—Martha Kanter, former U.S. Undersecretary of Education
“Historians, practitioners, and students of higher education will find this textbook engaging and insightful in telling the origin story of this remarkably agile and resilient institution known as the California Community Colleges. Through varied and well-researched narratives, the mission, purpose, and vision of the most egalitarian system of higher education in the world is told in rich detail to underscore the promise and power of education as the greatest predictor of economic and social mobility.”
—Francisco C. Rodriguez, chancellor, Los Angeles Community College District
“Community colleges are perhaps the most critical yet misunderstood institution in American education. As one of the world’s largest systems, the story of the California Community Colleges is particularly important to our collective understanding of when and how higher education provides meaningful opportunities. Every scholar and policymaker who cares about advancing inclusive and equitable economies, and indeed American democracy, should read this book.”
—Sara Goldrick-Rab, president and founder, Hope Center for College, Community, and Justice
“It’s about time we have a publication dedicated to the most extensive community college system in the world. This rich and untold history of the California Community Colleges will benefit historians, scholars, and current and emerging higher education leaders. I commend the authors for their commitment to telling our story.”
—Keith Curry, president and chief executive officer, Compton College
“This book covers the remarkable richness of the California Community Colleges, the largest system of education in the world which is also the most extraordinary engine for socioeconomic mobility, societal change, community and economic development, and racial justice.”
—Sunita Cooke, superintendent and president, MiraCosta College
“A College for All Californians: A History of the California Community Colleges represents a significant and thoughtful contribution to understanding and appreciating the expansive role played by our nation’s community colleges. Boggs and Galizio and their colleagues chart the history, growth, and impact of California’s community colleges, the largest single state system of colleges, serving over 2 million students through 116 institutions. California has served as an important bellwether during the birth, growth, and maturity of our uniquely American institutions, and the California Master Plan remains a powerful example of how community colleges can be integrated and elevated to achieve social and economic priorities.”
—J. Noah Brown, president and chief executive officer, Association of Community College Trustees
“The League for Innovation takes pride in being founded in 1968 by B. Lamar Johnson and a dozen U.S. community and technical college presidents, half of whom were CEOs in California Community Colleges. A College for All Californians: A History of the California Community Colleges serves as a reminder of the journey and continuing evolution of this education sector’s mission as what Opportunity America calls, ‘The Indispensable Institution.’”
—Rufus Glasper, president and chief executive officer, League for Innovation; chancellor emeritus, Maricopa Community Colleges
“Dedicated to those who created ‘the most accessible, democratic, and responsive sector of higher education and career and workforce development in the world,’ this is the history we have been waiting for. And we can navigate that history under the guidance of two of the most gifted leaders who helped create this history from the trenches to the mountain tops: George Boggs and Larry Galizio. Here is the California Dream encapsulated, a dream that took root in every state in the Union and is still evolving around the world.”
—Terry O'Banion, senior professor of practice, Kansas State University; president emeritus, League for Innovation in the Community Colleges
“A College for All Californians: A History of the California Community Colleges is a must-read for all who lead or teach in America’s community colleges. While this book is an excellent story of the history in California and the eventual emergence of public two-year colleges, it is also a story that will resonate with all of whom attend or work in these colleges, because each state has followed similar patterns of establishment, growth, and development.”
—John E. Roueche, executive director, John E. Roueche Center for Community College Leadership, Kansas State University; Sid Richardson Regents Chair, emeritus, and director, Community College Leadership Program, The University of Texas at Austin
“For many years the California Community Colleges have been on the forefront of innovation in student success. A College for All Californians: A History of the California Community Colleges gives us the first comprehensive picture of the system from governance to operations. In addition, we are introduced to the exemplary faculty, staff, CEOs and trustees that played a role in the evolution of one of the most highly regarding two-year systems in the country. This book is a must-read for anyone interested in the inner workings of the community college sector.”
—Angel M. Royal, chief of staff, American Association of Community Colleges
Contents
Foreword ix
Constance M. Carroll and Jack Scott
Preface xi
George R. Boggs and Lawrence A. Galizio
Acknowledgments xv
1. Beginnings 1
George R. Boggs
2. California Community College Governance 16
Lawrence A. Galizio
3. Mission Evolution 30
George R. Boggs
4. Quality Assurance 47
George R. Boggs
5. Faculty 63
David W. Morse
6. A History of Student Support Services in California Community Colleges 84
Leslie M. Salas
7. California Community College Finance History 113
Joe Newmyer
8. Noncredit Education 138
Carlos O. Turner Cortez, Michelle Fischthal, and Jessica Luedtke
9. Associations and Interest Groups 157
Lawrence A. Galizio, Jonathan Lightman, and David W. Morse
10. History of California Community College Athletics 185
Mark Robinson
11. Emerging Issues 202
George R. Boggs and Lawrence A. Galizio
Epilogue: A Year of Significant Challenge 216
Lawrence A. Galizio
Appendix A: Distinguished Alumni 227
Appendix B: Notable Athletes and Coaches Participating in California Community College Athletics 237
About the Contributors 239
Index 241
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