American River College (ARC) is a public

community college A community college is a type of educational institution. The term can have different meanings in different countries: many community colleges have an "open enrollment" for students who have graduated from high school (also known as senior s ...

in unincorporated

Sacramento, California ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento C ...

. It is part of the

California Community Colleges System The California Community Colleges is a postsecondary education system in the U.S. state of California.California Education CodSection 70900(added to the Education Code by Chapter 973 of the California Statutes of 1988Assembly Bill No. 1725 secti ...

History

The college was opened in 1955 as American River Junior College, on the site of the old Grant Technical College. It moved to its current location in 1958, occupying eight newly built office complexes and the original Cameron ranch house. In 1965 the college became a part of the

Los Rios Community College District The Los Rios Community College District is a special-purpose district providing administrative services and governance for the community colleges serving the greater Sacramento area and points east all the way to Lake Tahoe. The Los Rios Comm ...

and became American River College. Today, along with

Cosumnes River College Cosumnes River College is a public community college in Sacramento, California. It opened in 1970, taking its name from the Cosumnes River which flows just a few miles to the south. As of Spring 2017, enrollment was at 13,091 students at its mai ...

Folsom Lake College Folsom Lake College (FLC) is a Public community college in Folsom, California. It is part of California Community Colleges system and the Los Rios Community College District. Folsom Lake College serves the community with classes offered at its ...

and

Sacramento City College Sacramento City College (SCC) is a public community college in Sacramento, California. SCC is part of the Los Rios Community College District and had an enrollment of 25,307 in 2009. It is accredited by the Accrediting Commission for Community ...

, ARC is directed by a seven-member board of trustees elected by voters residing in the district. The climactic police showdown of the 1986

Emilio Estevez Emilio Estevez (; born May 12, 1962) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is the son of actor Martin Sheen and the older brother of Charlie Sheen. Emilio Estevez started his career as an actor and is known for being a member of the acting Br ...

and

Demi Moore Demi Gene Moore ( ; née Guynes; born November 11, 1962) is an American actress. After making her film debut in 1981, Moore appeared on the soap opera '' General Hospital'' (1982–1984) and subsequently gained recognition as a member of the Br ...

film ''

Wisdom Wisdom, sapience, or sagacity is the ability to contemplate and act using knowledge, experience, understanding, common sense and insight. Wisdom is associated with attributes such as unbiased judgment, compassion, experiential self-knowledg ...

'' was filmed on the American River campus, including in and around Beaver Stadium. During the period of 2004–2013, the college opened a variety of new facilities, including buildings for Health Education, Theater & Music,

Kinesiology Kinesiology () is the scientific study of human body movement. Kinesiology addresses physiological, anatomical, biomechanical, pathological, neuropsychological principles and mechanisms of movement. Applications of kinesiology to human heal ...

, and Life Science and Fine Arts. In addition, the college also expanded its bookstore and library and opened a new Student Center and parking garage. In 2014 the college opened the 19,000 square foot Evangelisti Culinary Arts Center, which houses the college's hospitality management program and student-run Oak Cafe restaurant and bakery. In 2021 the college opened the 57,000 square foot Diane Bryant STEM Innovation Center, which houses a variety of academic programs. In 2008 the student government supported California Proposition 8 which sought to restrict marriage to opposite-sex couples. In 2010 the Board of Trustees lost a lawsuit against the student government.

Campus

The college occupies a site on the old Cameron Ranch in northern Sacramento County.

Academics

The college enrolls about 35,000 full-time and part-time students, making it one of the largest community colleges in California. ARC has published its own literary journal since 1984, the '' American River Review'', which has won numerous national awards and recognitions, including the

National Pacemaker Award The National Pacemaker Awards are awards for excellence in American student journalism, given annually since 1927. The awards are generally considered to be the highest national honors in their field, and are unofficially known as the "Pulitzer ...

from the

Associated Collegiate Press The Associated Collegiate Press (ACP) is the largest and oldest national membership organization for college student media in the United States. The ACP is a division of the National Scholastic Press Association. It awards the newspaper, mag ...

and Gold Crowns from the

Columbia Scholastic Press Association The Columbia Scholastic Press Association (CSPA) is an international student press association, founded in 1925, whose goal is to unite student journalists and faculty advisers at schools and colleges through educational conferences, idea exchang ...

. It transfers more students to

UC Davis The University of California, Davis (UC Davis, UCD, or Davis) is a public land-grant research university near Davis, California. Named a Public Ivy, it is the northernmost of the ten campuses of the University of California system. The institu ...

and CSU Sacramento than any other community college. Nontransfer students may enroll for certification in technical/vocational programs, continuing education credit, or personal enrichment. The college also offers three different types of online learning: online, hybrid, and web-enhanced.

Student life

The campus has its own newspaper, the ''American River Current'', and its own English as a Second Language newsletter, ''The Parrot''.

Sport

The college athletics teams are nicknamed the Beavers.

Notable people

* Lloyd Connelly – California Superior Court judge and former California State Assembly member * Ward Connerly – Former UC Regent and political activist * Wally Herger – Member,

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

(California, 2nd Congressional District) * Ewa Klamt – German politician and

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for

Lower Saxony Lower Saxony (german: Niedersachsen ; nds, Neddersassen; stq, Läichsaksen) is a German state (') in northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with , and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 ...

* Adrian Lamo – Former grey-hat computer hacker, key figure in

WikiLeaks WikiLeaks () is an international non-profit organisation that published news leaks and classified media provided by anonymous sources. Julian Assange, an Australian Internet activist, is generally described as its founder and director and ...

case, journalist * Joan Lunden – TV host/personality *

Brian Posehn Brian Edmund Posehn (; born July 6, 1966) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, voice actor, musician, and writer. After numerous appearances as a television guest star, Posehn acquired his first major recurring role in HBO's ''Mr. Show with ...

– Comedian, co-star of The Sarah Silverman Program * Anthony Padilla and Ian Hecox – Creators of

Smosh Smosh is an American YouTube sketch comedy- improv collective founded by Anthony Padilla and Ian Hecox. In 2002, Padilla created a website named "smosh.com" for making Flash animations, and he was later joined by Hecox. They began to post vid ...

. * Anthony Swofford – Author of '' Jarhead'' *

Richard Trenton Chase Richard Trenton Chase (May 23, 1950 – December 26, 1980) was an American serial killer, cannibal, and necrophile who killed six people in the span of a month in 1977 and 1978 in Sacramento, California. He was nicknamed The Vampire of Sac ...

– Serial killer

Notable sportspeople

* Steve Andrade –

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or dr ...

for the

Durham Bulls The Durham Bulls are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays. They are located in Durham, North Carolina, and play their home games at Durham Bulls Athletic Park, which opened ...

, an AAA

Tampa Bay Devil Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since its inception, the team's home ve ...

affiliate * Dusty Baker – former Major League Baseball player and former manager of the

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Yo ...

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is locate ...

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

and

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C.. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. From 2005 to 2007, the team played in RFK Stadiu ...

Dallas Braden Dallas Lee Braden (born August 13, 1983) is an American former professional baseball player and television sports commentator. He played in Major League Baseball as a left-handed pitcher from to as a member of the Oakland Athletics and, wh ...

– former left-handed pitcher for the

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The t ...

Jarrett Bush Jarrett, Jarratt, Jarrott or Jarret may refer to: People * Jarrett (name), a page for people with the name "Jarrett" Places United States * Jarratt, Virginia * Jarrett, West Virginia * Jarrettsville, Maryland France * Jarret, Hautes-Pyrénées ...

–

defensive back In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...

for the

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Tony Eason Charles Carroll "Tony" Eason IV (born October 8, 1959) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for eight seasons, primarily with the New England Patriots. Taken 15th overall by the Patriots in t ...

– eight-year NFL

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for the

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and

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. Started in

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Robert Hight Robert Hight (born August 20, 1969) is an NHRA drag racer and president of John Force Racing, and driver of the Auto Club of Southern California Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Car. He is a three-time NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series Funny Car ...

– National Hot Rod Association Funny Car champion (2009). Father-in-law is 15-time NHRA Funny Car champion John Force. *

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–

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the ( home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the cat ...

for the

* Mike Lincoln –

for the

Don Lofgran Donald James Lofgran (November 18, 1928 – June 17, 1976) was an American basketball player who was a consensus All-American in 1950 while at the University of San Francisco. He also played professionally in the National Basketball Associati ...

– four-year forward for 4 different NBA teams *

Jim Loscutoff James Loscutoff Jr. (February 4, 1930 – December 1, 2015) was a professional basketball player for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA). A forward, Loscutoff played on seven Celtics championship teams between 1956 an ...

– nine-year forward for the

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, where he played on 7 championship teams * Debbie Meyer – three-time

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ist swimmer at the

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* Bob Oliver – former Major League Baseball player * Manny Parra –

for the

* John Vukovich – former

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (A ...

player and former manager of the

and

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

* Gerald Willhite – seven-year NFL

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback to rush the ball, to line up as a receiver to catch the ball, and block. Th ...

for the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquar ...

* Devontae Booker - NFL running back

References

External links

* {{Coord, 38.64946, -121.34623, format=dms, display=title, type:edu_region:US-CA California Community Colleges Educational institutions established in 1955 Schools accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges Universities and colleges in Sacramento County, California 1955 establishments in California Articles containing video clips