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Facility, Named for College Chancellor Dr. Dianne Van Hook, Set to Open This Fall

In the spring of 2007, College of the Canyons officials were joined by a collection of the Santa Clarita Valley’s civic leaders, community members and college supporters on a plot of dirt-covered land overlooking the 154-acre Valencia campus.

“Our goal was to create an educational center based on partnerships,” Chancellor Dr. Dianne G. Van Hook said on that bright spring morning. “Today is a symbol of what persistence, dedication and never giving up can achieve.”

Moments later, Van Hook joined the college’s Board of Trustees to plunge a set of ceremonial shovels into the earth to officially break ground on construction of the college’s University Center.

Scheduled to open this fall, the 110,000-square-foot high-technology Dr. Dianne G. Van Hook University Center now stands on that same patch of land, perched above the I-5 freeway, positioned to command a spectacular view of the valley’s majestic mountains and blue-sky horizon – and designed to welcome all those with a desire to succeed.

Cited as a soloution to the lack of upper-division, graduate school and continuing education programs in the area, the University Center was created to increase student access to advanced degrees by forging partnerships with surrounding four-year colleges and universities, which then make their academic programs available to students on the College of the Canyons Campus.

The concept has already proven itself. An interim University Center has operated on the college campus since 2002, serving thousands of students who otherwise would not have had the time to commute to distant university campuses to pursue their educational goals.

“The University Center is a godsend to those of us who have full-time careers and busy family lives,: said Cathy Ritz, a recent University Center graduate who earned a master’s degree in educational administration and serves as chief operating officer for the COC Foundation. “The University Center allowed me to complete my educational goals right here at College of the Canyons, without the stress of having to leave the Santa Clarita Valley.”

With construction of the University Center nearly complete, college officials expect to begin offering classes in the new facility during the summer session before hosting a grand-opening celebration in August.

“This new state-of-the-art facility will enable us to dramatically expand the number of programs and degree options offered at the college while significantly increasing access to higher education right here in the Santa Clarita Valley,” said Barry Gribbons, assistant superintendent/vice president of institutional development, technology and online services.

Having already established partnerships with University of La Verne, Chapman University, UCLA Extension, National University, California State University (CSU) Bakersfield and CSU Northridge, the college will have the space to begin attracting more partners – and more degree programs.

In fact, California Lutheran University, CSU Long Beach, CSU Fresno and CSU Los Angeles have already expressed interest in offering their programs at the University Center.

New programs already set to be offered in the permanent center include a bachelor’s degree in nursing through National University, a bachelor’s degree in economics with an emphasis in marketing through CSU Bakersfield, and the Ryan Designated Subjects Adult Education Teaching Credential through UCLA Extension.

Other proposed additions to the lineup are a master’s degree in psychology with an emphasis in marriage and family therapy (MFT) from Chapman University and a bachelor’s degree in small business and entrepreneurial management from California Lutheran University.

In all, the University Center will house up to 10 partner institutions and offer more than 50 bachelors, masters and doctoral degrees and credential programs.

The Board of Trustees named the new center after Van Hook because of her “tireless commitment to enhancing access to education, her belief in the power of dreaming big and never giving up, and her premise that we, as individuals and institutions, become what we give ourselves the power to be.” The University Center concept was Van Hook’s brainchild, an idea she nurtured and propelled to fruition.

Also slated to move into the new building are Academy of the Canyons, the Early College High School, the COC Foundation, Professional Development, the Institute of Teaching & Learning, Community & Continuing Education, and the Economic Development Division, which encompasses the Small Business Development Center, Employee Training Institute and i3 Advanced Technology Incubator.

“Part of the University Center’s original design was to bring together and serve as a hub for an interactive network of businesses needing training and students needing education where the college’s faculty, staff and educational partners work together to create a place where innovation can thrive,” Van Hook said.

For more information, call (661) 362-5474 or email universitycenter@canyons.edu. A complete list of program and degree options is available at www.canyons.edu.

University Center Nears Completion