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Saddleback College
Motto	"Your path to the top"
Established	1968
Type	Public, Community College
President	Tod Burnett
Staff	697
Students	22,998
Location	Mission Viejo, CA, USA 33°33′09″N 117°40′00″W / 33.5525°N 117.6666667°W / 33.5525; -117.6666667Coordinates: 33°33′09″N 117°40′00″W / 33.5525°N 117.6666667°W / 33.5525; -117.6666667
Campus	Suburban, 200 acres
Colors	Burgundy and White
Mascot	Gaucho
Affiliations	California Community College
Website	www.saddleback.edu

Saddleback College (informally referred to as Saddleback) is a community college in Mission Viejo, California. As a part of the California Community College system, Saddleback College awards associate's degrees and academic certificates in a total of over 75 fields. The college was established in 1968 and is the oldest and southern-most institution governed by the South Orange County Community College District.

[edit] Academics

Saddleback College offers a wide range of programs that prepare students to evaluate and appreciate physical, cultural, and social environments. The college has a highly reputable science department including programs in Nursing, Physics, Environmental Studies, and Chemistry. Saddleback College awards associate's degrees (A.A., A.S) and academic certificates (Occupational Skills Awards, Certificates of Achievement, and Certificates of Completion) in over 75 combined areas of study.

Saddleback College Classroom

[edit] Accreditation

Saddleback College is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) under the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges.

[edit] Campus and surroundings

Saddleback College Campus

Saddleback College is located in Mission Viejo, Orange County, California. The campus is situated just east of Interstate 5 around the major roads of Avery, Marguerite, and Crown Valley. Located several miles from the coast, the campus enjoys a mild, Mediterranean climate.

[edit] Transportation

Most students and professors commute by car. As a result, the college experiences substantial traffic congestion and inadequate parking availability the first few weeks of each semester. An on-campus bus terminal/transfer point for the Orange County Transportation Authority is located on the north end of campus.

[edit] Scheduling

Saddleback College offers many day and night classes. Since it is a commuter school, students can use Google Map to help schedule classes around to avoid traffic and rush hour on the freeways. This can be done by checking the traffic of the day and time based on past conditions.

[edit] Student life

Saddleback College Health Science Building

The campus is populated with many student clubs and organizations, however the Associated Student Government is the largest group and it funds over a million dollars in events and activities every year.^{[citation needed]} Other campus groups in the past (and present) have included Model United Nations, the Chicano Latino Studies Student Association, College Democrats, College Republicans, Class Action, Students for a Free Tibet, and the Anime Club.

[edit] Associated Student Government

The Saddleback College Student Government serves to provide students with representation and student activities. The organization is made up of three branches which are Student Senate, Events Cabinet, and Inter Club Council. Each component is as important as each other is, but all serve completely separate purposes.

The Student Senate, under the leadership of the Vice President of Senate, works to oversee the student government funds that are used each year to allocate to different programs at Saddleback College including student fine arts and athletics. The ASG budget fluctuates from year to year, but always seems to reach between 500,000 and 1,000,000. Also, each academic department is represented in the Student Senate as each senator meets with their respective dean for updated information on how that department is functioning. This branch also selects administrator and professor of the year. Within the Student Senate, there is a standing committee known as the Diversity Student Council originally started by the Director of Student Development, Audra DiPadova, in 2008-2009 school year. The committee focuses on campus diversity and cultural tolerance through different forms of programming.

The Events Cabinet (also known as E-Cab), under the leadership of the Vice President of E-Cab, serves to promote campus morale and organize events including Blood Drives and Homecoming among several other events. There are five secretaries working under the Vice President of E-Cab, which are the Secretary of Events Cabinet, Secretary of Publicity, Secretary of Events, Secretary of Commerce, and Secretary of State. This branch has sometimes been criticized within the student government as being the least professional branch due to its special event type programming lacking in substance. Yet, with the new leadership, the cabinet has vowed to become a more effective branch. Newly created, E-Cab has created Chairs that serve to cover a variety of tasks within ASG, this includes Meta Chair, Awareness Chair, Sustainability Chair, and Spirit Chair.

The Inter Club Council (also known as ICC), under the leadership of the Vice President of ICC), serves as a liaison to the campus organizations and the student government. All club representatives meet every two weeks with the ICC to update the clubs community on upcoming events and as a reward are given a specific amount of money to ensure increased student recruitment within the clubs. ICC puts on events such as Clubs Rush and works closely with the Events Cabinet and the Diversity Student Council. Though this branch has often been thought to be a more separate entity to the other two of the ASG.

[edit] Media

• The Lariat

Since opening in 1968, Saddleback College has had a student-run newspaper, the Lariat. It is distributed most Wednesdays of the regular school year. It is printed at the Anaheim, California facility of the The Orange County Register, where 5,000 copies are made. During the fall 2005 semester, the Lariat chose to change its masthead to include Saddleback's sister college in Irvine, Irvine Valley College, to appeal to a broader reader base and increase circulation. The change was met with opposition from members of Saddleback's administration as well as from the Associated Student Government, since Irvine Valley College did not contribute funds to the Lariat. Irvine Valley College now gives an allotted sum, and the masthead continues to include both colleges. The Lariat was a National Newspaper Pacemaker winner in 1994 under editor Robin Schnug and adviser J. Michael Reed, and a finalist in 1993, 1997 (editor Kevin Hessel, adviser Kathleen Dorantes), 2005 (editor Josh Krane, advisers Ted Martin and Kathleen Buckner) and 2006 (editor Alexandra Baird and advisers Martin and Buckner). The Lariat can be found online at lariatnews.com.

• KSBR Saddleback Radio

88.5 FM - Saddleback College - Jazz - Mission Viejo

• Saddleback College Television

Cox Communications Cable Television - Saddleback College - Channel 39 - Mission Viejo

[edit] Athletics

Saddleback College is home to 19 intercollegiate athletic teams that compete in some of the most competitive community college conferences in the nation.

Involvement in these intercollegiate athletic teams is open to any Saddleback College student enrolled in 12 or more units (certain restrictions apply.)

The athletic programs are supported in part by the Associated Student Body at Saddleback College. Revenue generated from attendance at athletic events helps support the entire student activities program.

[edit] Notable alumni

• Tran Quoc Binh, soldier killed in action in Iraq
• Colt Brennan, Washington Redskins quarterback
• Anthony Carter, Denver Nuggets point guard
• Mike Bullock, writer
• Nikki Catsouras, automobile crash victim
• Kaine Bennett Charleston, Australian film producer, film, and stage actor
• Deborah Driggs, Playboy Playmate of the Month for March 1990, once married to gymnast Mitch Gaylord
• Barbara Edwards, Playboy Playmate of the Month for September 1983 and Playboy Playmate of the Year for 1984
• Kevin Fagan, creator of Drabble comic strip
• Cade Gaspar, Major League Baseball pitcher
• Mark Grace, Major League Baseball First Base
• Brandon Hammond, actor
• Bill Kenney, former football player and politician
• Ben Maller, nationally syndicated sports radio personality and popular Internet sports columnist
• Stephone Paige, former NFL wide receiver
• Mike Piel, played for the University of Illinois, and in the NFL for the Los Angeles Rams from 1989 to 1992.
• Nick Punto, Major League Baseball infielder
• Bob Thornton, forward for the New York Knicks and current assistant coach for the Minnesota Timberwolves
• Tim Wallach, Major League Baseball third baseman
• Victor Webster, Canadian actor
• Gregory Widen, screenwriter and director

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Saddleback College
• South Orange County Community College District