Santa Monica College (SMC) is a

public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociology, sociological concept of the ''Öf ...

community college A community college is a type of undergraduate higher education institution, generally leading to an associate degree, certificate, or diploma. The term can have different meanings in different countries: many community colleges have an open enr ...

Santa Monica, California Santa Monica (; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast (California), South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 United Sta ...

. Founded as a

junior college A junior college is a type of post-secondary institution that offers vocational and academic training that is designed to prepare students for either skilled trades and technical occupations or support roles in professions such as engineering, a ...

in 1929, SMC enrolls over 30,000 students in more than 90 fields of study. The college initially served pre-college

high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

students, eventually expanding its enrollment to educate college-age and non-traditional students with the intention to transfer to a four-year university. The college has high transfer rates to four-year universities such as the

University of California The University of California (UC) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university, research university system in the U.S. state of California. Headquartered in Oakland, California, Oakland, the system is co ...

and

California State University The California State University (Cal State or CSU) is a Public university, public university system in California, and the List of largest universities and university networks by enrollment, largest public university system in the United States ...

campuses, being a leader among state community colleges in transfers to the former.

History

20th century

Santa Monica Junior College was established in September 1929 with seven faculty members and 153 students in classes held on the second floor of

Santa Monica High School Santa Monica High School, officially abbreviated to Samohi or SMHS, is a public high school in Santa Monica, California. Founded in 1891, it changed location several times in its early years before settling into its present campus at 601 Pico Bo ...

. Attended primarily by high school students, it was originally part of the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District. Despite the ensuing Wall Street Crash of 1929 and

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

, the school's enrollment increased to 355 in 1930 and 600 in 1931. In 1932, the college moved to the vacant brick Garfield Elementary School building on Michigan Avenue. The building was declared unsafe following the

1933 Long Beach earthquake The 1933 Long Beach earthquake took place on March 10 at south of downtown Los Angeles. The epicenter was offshore, southeast of Long Beach, California, on the Newport–Inglewood Fault. The earthquake had a magnitude estimated at 6.4 , and ...

and classes moved to tents and bungalows on the Garfield site, which students nicknamed Splinterville. In 1940, following a number of failed attempts to relocate to a larger property, the school purchased on Pico Boulevard for $10,197. In 1945, the junior college changed its name to Santa Monica City College. The Pico Boulevard and 17th Street campus opened on January 18, 1952, to 1,200 students. The college's first bond measure was passed in 1946 for the construction of Corsair Stadium, which began in 1946 and was completed in 1948. In 1969, the college secured its own governing board under the creation of the Santa Monica Junior College District. In 1970, the school changed its name from Santa Monica City College to Santa Monica College.

Financial crisis

Santa Monica College experienced a financial crisis in 1972 when the state of California changed the

age of majority The age of majority is the threshold of legal adulthood as recognized or declared in law. It is the moment when a person ceases to be considered a minor (law), minor, and assumes legal control over their person, actions, and decisions, thus te ...

from 21 to 18. Since the state paid $40 more per unit of attendance of minors than adults, the change cut SMC's budget in half. Additionally, state funding for community college students in California went to the student's home district and not the college's district. SMC had a contract with the City of Los Angeles to finance students from Los Angeles but since one-third of SMC students were from districts outside of Los Angeles the city would lose even more funding. As a result, Los Angeles planned to cancel its financial compensation contract with SMC. The college consequently sent termination letters to all faculty and staff, effective September 1972. The crisis was halted on March 8, 1972, when the

California State Senate The California State Senate is the upper house of the California State Legislature (the lower house being the California State Assembly). The state senate convenes, along with the state assembly, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento. ...

passed a bill temporarily exempting community colleges from the financial effects of the change in the age of adulthood. On March 21, 1972, the college renegotiated its contract with the City of Los Angeles and rehired its faculty and staff. In 1980, the college built a new library and transformed the previous library building into the Letters and Science Building.

21st century

In 2012 Santa Monica College received national attention due to a controversial plan to create a two-tier system of education in which more "popular" courses would be offered at higher costs. Protests at a board meeting immediately following the plan's proposal led to several students being pepper sprayed. A report on the event resulted in an officer's dismissal. The report also faulted several members of the protest for provoking officers. Some people exclaimed "We got pepper sprayed! We won" after the incident.

2013 shooting

On June 7, 2013, a

killing spree A spree killer is someone who commits a criminal act that involves two or more murders in a short time, often in multiple locations. There are different opinions about what durations of time a killing spree may take place in. The United States ...

occurred in Santa Monica that left a total of five people dead, including the gunman, and injured five others. The incident started several miles off-campus before the gunman traveled to SMC and entered the college's library, where he was later fatally shot by police. School officials put the campus on

lockdown A lockdown () is a restriction policy for people, community or a country to stay where they are, usually due to specific risks that could possibly harm the people if they move and interact freely. The term is used for a prison protocol that us ...

Los Angeles Police Department The City of Los Angeles Police Department, commonly referred to as Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), is the primary law enforcement agency of Los Angeles, California, United States. With 8,832 officers and 3,000 civilian staff, it is the th ...

officers, including

SWAT A SWAT (''Special Weapons and Tactics'') team is a generic term for a police tactical unit within the United States, though the term has also been used by other nations. SWAT units are generally trained, equipped, and deployed to res ...

, cleared the campus. Local law enforcement stated that they did not view the incident as a "

school shooting A school shooting is an Gun violence, armed attack at an educational institution, such as a primary school, secondary school, high school or university, involving the use of a firearm. Many school shootings are also categorized as mass shooti ...

" because the incident started off-campus.

2024 shooting

On October 14, 2024, a shooting occurred at the Santa Monica College Center for Media and Design, where a custodial operations manager, Felicia Hudson, was critically injured. The incident took place just before 10:00 p.m., leading to her immediate hospitalization. She succumbed to her injuries and died two days later, on October 16. The shooting has been classified as a case of workplace violence, with the suspect identified as Davon Durell Dean, also an SMC employee. After an extensive manhunt, Dean was found deceased in his vehicle in Hawthorne, having died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. The college closed all campuses for the remainder of the week to prioritize safety and support for the community. Classes resumed and the campus reopened again on Monday, October 21.

Organization and governance

Santa Monica College is the only college of the Santa Monica Community College District, a constituent community college district of the

California Community Colleges System The California Community Colleges is a postsecondary education University system, 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 ...

(CCCS). The district is governed by its seven-member board of trustees and its officers including the Superintendent/President. The district territory includes Santa Monica and Malibu. The trustees are elected at-large from registered voters within the district for four years. A student trustee also participates in board meetings as a non-voting member and is elected by the students for one year. The board appoints and supervises the superintendent/president and sets district policy. The Superintendent of the Santa Monica Community College District/President of Santa Monica College has delegated authority to set rules and regulations for the district and Santa Monica College. The superintendent/president is accountable to the board, and all other officers are accountable to the superintendent/president. The board of trustees includes a student trustee in accordance with board policy BP 2015. The student trustee is elected and removed in accordance with the constitution and by-laws of the Associated Students of Santa Monica College.

Campus

SMC's main campus is located at 1900 Pico Boulevard and is the college's largest location. The college operates six satellite campuses across Santa Monica and Malibu: * Bundy Campus, 3171 S. Bundy Dr. * SMC Performing Arts Center & Music Academy, Santa Monica Boulevard at 11th Street * Center for Media and Design, 1660 Stewart St. * Emeritus College, 1227 Second St. * Airport Campus, 2800 Airport Ave * Malibu Campus, 23555 Civic Center Way (Malibu)

Academics

Santa Monica College is

accredited Accreditation is the independent, third-party evaluation of a conformity assessment body (such as certification body, inspection body or laboratory) against recognised standards, conveying formal demonstration of its impartiality and competence to ...

by the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC). It offers a variety of occupational certificate programs, including accounting, fashion design, office information systems, and the Academy of Entertainment Technology (which offers certificates in interactive media and animation). The college also offers logistics and supply chain programs at AAS and certificate level. The Santa Monica College Arts Mentor Program provides certain students in the fine and applied arts with graduate-level training by professionals in their specialized fields.

Athletics

Santa Monica College fields 18 sports, eight men's teams and competes as a member of the

California Community College Athletic Association The California Community College Athletic Association (3C2A; formerly CCCAA) is a sports association of community colleges in the U.S. state of California. It oversees 108 athletic programs throughout the state. The organization was formed in ...

(CCCAA) in the Western State Conference (WSC) for all sports except football, which competes in Southern California Football Association (SCFA). The mascot for SMC is Pico the Corsair. Pico the Corsair derives his name from Pico Boulevard, one of the four main streets which form the exterior perimeter of the campus. He sails on the ship the Lady Sixteen with his pet Pearl the Parrot while carrying his Sword of Silberkraus. The Lady Sixteen and Pearl are named after 16th street and Pearl Street respectively. SMC fields both men's and women's teams in

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

, cross country,

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, such as saltwater or freshwater environments, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Swimmers achieve locomotion by coordinating limb and body movements to achieve hydrody ...

track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

, and

water polo Water polo is a competitive sport, competitive team sport played in water between two teams of seven players each. The game consists of four quarters in which the teams attempt to score goals by throwing the water polo ball, ball into the oppo ...

. SMC fields men's teams in

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

, and women's

beach volleyball Beach volleyball is a team sport played by two teams of two to four players each on a sand court divided by a net. Similar to indoor volleyball, the objective of the game is to send the ball over the net and to ground it on the opponent's side o ...

softball Softball is a Variations of baseball, variation of baseball, the difference being that it is played with a larger ball, on a smaller field, and with only underhand pitches (where the ball is released while the hand is primarily below the ball) ...

, and

tennis Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...

teams. Santa Monica College football played undefeated seasons in 1958, 1966, 1980, and 2015. Santa Monica College won the Junior Rose Bowl, the unofficial National Championship, in 1958 against Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College on December 13, 1958. Santa Monica College Football is the defending two-time conference champion, for the years 2011 and 2012. Corsair Field (4,850) built in 1948, is home to football and track and field. The field was the starting point for both the men's and women's

marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of kilometres ( 26 mi 385 yd), usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There ...

events for the

1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and commonly known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the ...

held in neighboring

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. Corsair Pavilion (1,600) is home to men's and women's basketball and volleyball teams, as well as the Hollywood Fame of the

American Basketball Association The American Basketball Association (ABA) was a major professional basketball league that operated for nine seasons from 1967 to 1976. The upstart ABA operated in direct competition with the more established National Basketball Association thr ...

The Santa Monica College men's volleyball team won the national intercollegiate volleyball championship each year from 1961 to 1966, except for 1965, when it lost the title to UCLA.

Student life

In the fall of 2015, there were 33,964 students enrolled at SMC. Of these students: * 37.4% were full-time. * 62.6% were part-time. * 52.8% were women. * 47.2% were men. The average age was 24.1 years. * 19 and younger: 30.7% * 20 to 24: 41.2% * 25 to 29: 12.8% * 30 to 39: 8.7% * 40 to 49: 3.5% * 50 and older: 3.1% Santa Monica College is the home of

KCRW KCRW (89.9 FM broadcasting, FM) is an NPR member station broadcasting from the campus of Santa Monica College in Santa Monica, California, where the station is licensed. KCRW airs original news and music programming in addition to programming ...

(89.9 FM), a

public radio Public broadcasting (or public service broadcasting) is radio, television, and other electronic media outlets whose primary mission is public service with a commitment to avoiding political and commercial influence. Public broadcasters receive ...

station, broadcasting throughout the Los Angeles and Orange County area with an estimated 450,000 listeners. The station is the broadcast home of ''

Morning Becomes Eclectic ''Morning Becomes Eclectic'' (MBE) is an American three-hour adult album alternative radio program first aired in 1977 and broadcast live every weekday from KCRW in Santa Monica, California. The show's name is a play on the Eugene O'Neill t ...

''. As part of its hands-on media curriculum, the college produces its own weekly, student-run newspaper (both in print, and online) called '' The Corsair''. The newspaper began as ''The SaMoJaC'' and was published every two weeks before being renamed ''The Corsair'' in 1945. As part of the college's academic curriculum, publication of ''The Corsair'' also provides experience as a hands-on training vehicle for Southern California

journalism Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the "news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree of accuracy. The word, a noun, applies to the journ ...

students.

SMC students have established a student body association named Associated Students of Santa Monica College (AS). The association is required by law to "encourage students to participate in the governance of the college". SMC's Associated Students is a member of the Student Senate for California Community Colleges, a statewide community college student advocacy organization. The statewide Student Senate is authorized by law "to advocate before the Legislature and other state and local governmental entities".Section 76060.5
of the California Education Code. Retrieved 2018-5-10. SMC students who pay the $19.50 Associated Students fee at registration have unlimited access to the Big Blue Bus lines across Santa Monica and its adjacent neighborhoods, including a line on Lincoln Boulevard that accesses

Los Angeles International Airport Los Angeles International Airport is the primary international airport serving Los Angeles and its Greater Los Angeles, surrounding metropolitan area, in the U.S. state of California. LAX is located in the Westchester, Los Angeles, Westcheste ...

(LAX).

Notable alumni

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References

External links

Official website
{{authority control Venues of the 1984 Summer Olympics Buildings and structures in Santa Monica, California California Community Colleges Universities and colleges established in 1929 Olympic athletics venues Schools accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges Universities and colleges in Los Angeles County, California Organizations based in Santa Monica, California 1929 establishments in California Two-year colleges in the United States