College of the Redwoods
Encyclopedia
- College of the Redwoods should not be confused with the similarly named College of the SequoiasCollege of the SequoiasCollege of the Sequoias is a public two-year community college located in Visalia in Tulare County, in California's San Joaquin Valley. The current enrollment of COS is 13,000 students, and the college offers a variety of transfer, vocational, and community-based classes, including the fire/police...
in the San Joaquin ValleySan Joaquin ValleyThe San Joaquin Valley is the area of the Central Valley of California that lies south of the Sacramento – San Joaquin River Delta in Stockton...
city of Visalia, CaliforniaVisalia, CaliforniaVisalia is a Central California city situated in the heart of California’s agricultural San Joaquin Valley, approximately southeast of San Francisco and north of Los Angeles...
.
College of the Redwoods (CR) is a public two-year community college
Community college
A community college is a type of educational institution. The term can have different meanings in different countries.-Australia:Community colleges carry on the tradition of adult education, which was established in Australia around mid 19th century when evening classes were held to help adults...
whose main campus, comprising 270 acres (1.1 km²), is located on the southernmost edge of Eureka
Eureka, California
Eureka is the principal city and the county seat of Humboldt County, California, United States. Its population was 27,191 at the 2010 census, up from 26,128 at the 2000 census....
in Humboldt County
Humboldt County, California
Humboldt County is a county in the U.S. state of California, located on the far North Coast 200 miles north of San Francisco. According to 2010 Census Data, the county’s population was 134,623...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. This sprawling site is spacious and distinctive in its modernistic use of massive, exposed wooden support beams in each structure. Situated on a naturally occurring shelf on the southwest side of Humboldt Hill, it has a commanding view of ranch land, Humboldt Bay Wildlife Refuge, and the southern portion of Humboldt Bay. Many students are drawn to its natural setting, nestled into a coastal forest. Current enrollment in the Spring of 2009 is 6,774 students (at all sites in the extensive district). This large Community College district provides education opportunities for students in four counties and has two large satellite campuses as well as smaller sites.
Curriculum specialties
The college offers a variety of transfer, vocational, and community-based classes, including its Fine Woodworking Program started by master woodworker James KrenovJames Krenov
thumb|A Krenov-style wooden smoothing plane.James Krenov was a woodworker and studio furnituremaker.- Biography :...
, a Police Academy, Nursing and Dental Programs, Truck Driving School, ever-evolving Computer Information Sciences, Computer-Aided Drafting, and Digital Media Departments, and the new, (added in 2006), Hospitality, Restaurant and Culinary Arts Program. The college is named after the Coast Redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) trees native to the region.
Satellite campuses
CR has two satellite campuses: CR Del Norte in Crescent CityCrescent City, California
Crescent City is the county seat and only incorporated city in Del Norte County, California. Named for the crescent-shaped stretch of sandy beach south of the city, Crescent City had a total population of 7,643 in the 2010 census, up from 4,006 in the 2000 census...
, Del Norte County
Del Norte County, California
Del Norte County is a county located at the far northwest corner of the U.S. state of California on the Pacific adjacent to the Oregon border. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 28,610. The county seat is Crescent City, the county's only incorporated city. Del Norte is the abbreviated...
; and CR Mendocino Coast in Fort Bragg
Fort Bragg, California
Fort Bragg is a city located in coastal Mendocino County, California along State Route 1, the major north-south highway along the Pacific Coast. Fort Bragg is located west of Willits, at an elevation of 85 feet...
, Mendocino County
Mendocino County, California
Mendocino County is a county located on the north coast of the U.S. state of California, north of the greater San Francisco Bay Area and west of the Central Valley. As of the 2010 census, the population was 87,841, up from 86,265 at the 2000 census...
. CR also has other off-campus sites, including the Arcata Instructional Site, the Eureka Downtown Instructional Site, the Bianchi Farm and the Klamath-Trinity Instructional Site on the Hoopa Valley Tribe
Hupa
Hupa, also spelled Hoopa, are a Native American tribe in northwestern California. Their autonym is Natinixwe, also spelled Natinookwa, meaning "People of the Place Where the Trails Return." The majority of the tribe is enrolled in the federally recognized Hoopa Valley Tribe; however, some Hupa are...
reservation.
History
The original Redwoods Community College District was formed in 1964 by a vote of the people of Humboldt County. In 1975, residents of the coastal portion of Mendocino County voted to join the District, and in 1978 Del Norte County similarly joined. The college serves these areas, as well as a portion of Trinity CountyTrinity County, California
Trinity County is a large, rugged and mountainous, heavily forested county located in the northwestern portion of the U.S. state of California, along the Trinity River and within the Salmon/Klamath Mountains. It covers an area of over two million acres , and as of the 2010 census its population...
.
Finances
Beginning with the passage of Proposition 13 by California in 1978, College of the Redwoods and most public institutions in the state have suffered declining revenue, and this has continued following the Dot-Com Bust. All of this occurs while simultaneously suffering increasing costs due to inflationInflation
In economics, inflation is a rise in the general level of prices of goods and services in an economy over a period of time.When the general price level rises, each unit of currency buys fewer goods and services. Consequently, inflation also reflects an erosion in the purchasing power of money – a...
, population growth
Population growth
Population growth is the change in a population over time, and can be quantified as the change in the number of individuals of any species in a population using "per unit time" for measurement....
, and increasingly unfunded state and federal mandates.
In 2006, Humboldt County voters passed Measure Q to supply $40,000,000 funding to upgrade and renovate facilities at the main campus.
