History of the South Orange County
Community College District

The South Orange County Community College District (formerly known as Saddleback Community College District) was formed by an overwhelming vote of the electorate on February 14, 1967. On that date residents of south Orange County approved by more than a two-to-one margin the formation of the fourth junior college district in the county and the 67th in the state.

On April 9, 1968, voters reaffirmed support of the new district by approving a $9.5 million bond proposal to fund the acquisition of land and construction of a permanent campus. In September of 1968, Saddleback College opened for its first fall quarter welcoming 827 full-time and 709 part-time students at an interim site, the present day location of Mission Hospital Regional Medical Center.

On the occasion of Saddleback's third anniversary, February 14, 1970, the district and the college had relocated to a permanent site at 28000 Marguerite Parkway. The 200-acre parcel purchased from the Mission Viejo Company had been part of Rancho Mission Viejo, commonly known at the time as the O'Neill Ranch.

By the early 1970s, several major construction projects were under way at Saddleback College. Within a four-year period, the fledging college dedicated the James B. Utt Memorial Library, the Science/Math Building, the Physical Education/Athletics Complex, and the Fine Arts Complex and Theatre.

In January of 1979, Saddleback branched to the north with the opening of a satellite campus in Irvine in order to better serve the rapidly growing northern portion of the district. The land for the new campus was purchased from the Irvine Company.

After six years, North Campus achieved independent status and was renamed Irvine Valley College. In less than 20 years, the South Orange County Community College District---originally a single-campus district---had expanded to a multi-college district with two independently accredited institutions, Saddleback College in Mission Viejo and Irvine Valley College in Irvine.

Recognizing the need of its citizens for additional higher education opportunities, in 1989 the South Orange County Community College District Board of Trustees entered into a partnership with California State University, Fullerton, to provide upper division and graduate level courses for south county residents. In the fall of 1989, California State University, Fullerton-Mission Viejo Campus located at Saddleback's lower campus opened to 400 students.

To give the District a more independent identity, the Board of Trustees changed the name of the District from Saddleback to South Orange County Community College District effective July 1, 1997.

The South Orange County Community College District, under the leadership of Chancellor Raghu P. Mathur, enrolled close to 38,000 students in the Fall 2005 and Spring 2006 semesters. The South Orange County Community College District provides educational and cultural opportunities for the more than 650,000 residents who reside within the 382-square-mile area of south Orange County. The South Orange County Community College District encompasses 48 percent of Orange County, including the cities and communities of: