responsive
issue three
CommunityReport
Serving the Community
A large percentage of area High School seniors choose to
attend Sierra College after graduation:
Nevada Joint Union High School District
30%
Placer Union High School District
37%
Rocklin Unified School District
35%
Roseville Joint Union High School District
32%
Tahoe Truckee Unified School District
16%
Western Placer Unified School District
35%
Meet our new President
Last year, Sierra College celebrated its 75th anniversary and as we reflected on how far we
have come since the early 1900s, we took a step into a new future with the selection of our
sixth president, William H. Duncan IV.
Mr. Duncan, or Willy to all who have met him, was selected as the President of Sierra
College in July 2011 after an extensive search. Prior to his arrival at Sierra College, Willy
was the President of Taft College where over a course of 14 years he progressed rapidly
through a series of leadership positions. At the time of his appointment
as President of Taft College, Willy was the youngest president in the
California community college system. Born and raised in Bakersfield,
Willy received his BA in Business Administration and his MBA from
CSU-Bakersfield.
Willy and his wife, Melody, have two sons and a daughter, who is
a student at Whitney High School. They are excited to be living in
Rocklin and have thoroughly enjoyed exploring the surrounding area.
“Everywhere I go, I find examples of how Sierra has enriched lives and
helped local businesses thrive,” Willy
noted. “I am honored to be a part of
such a vibrant organization.”
Willy has been a Rotarian for 14 years
and he has enjoyed visiting the area
Rotary Clubs. He is also active in the
area Chambers of Commerce and is
Willy Duncan
currently serving on the board of LEED
meeting with
Assemblywoman
(Linking Education and Economic
Beth Gaines
Development) and Valley Vision.
responsive
We respond to students, to employers, to you
our history
1936
Voters agree to reestablish
the college in Auburn. The
college is again named
Placer Junior College.
1930
before 1930: 1882 Sierra Normal College is established in Auburn.
1903 Placer High School District purchases the Normal College.
1914 College classes are offered at the newly named Placer Junior College.
1920 Placer Junior College is abandoned due to enrollment loss caused by World War I.
1941
World War II.
Enrollment dropped
significantly when
Americans of
Japanese ancestry
were forced into internment
camps. By 1943 student
population dropped to 53.
1940
1936
The entire operating
budget of Placer Junior
College in its first year
was $8,000. Current
budget is $75,000,000.
1939
282 students are
enrolled. World
War II begins.
President/
Superintendents:
1936-1941
Dr. John Napier
1961
Rocklin campus opens. The
district had more square miles,
3,200, than students.
1950
1946
467 students were
enrolled—half
were veterans.
1949
856 students were
enrolled in 1949 and
the Placer College
facility was bursting at
the seams.
1942–1948
Harold Chastain
1950
Placer College won the State
Championship in Men’s Basketball.
In 1954 Placer College was
renamed Sierra College. The
college athletes gained a new
nickname, “Wolverines.”
1948–1971
Harold Weaver
1960
1970
1960s
The student population
increased by 45% in 1962
alone. A 32% increase
happened the next year.
And a 40% boost the next.
By the turn of the 1970s, more than
4,000 students were enrolled.
1971–1974
William Winstead
Dream. Learn. Do.
1970s
From 1970 to 1980,
enrollment jumped from
4,000 to nearly 10,000.
1981–1997
Sierra College received national
recognition as the Summer
training camp of the San
Francisco 49ers of the National
Football League.
1980
1980s
The first discovery of
dinosaur bones in
Northern California
was accomplished
by a Sierra College
instructor, Dick Hilton.
1975–1993
Gerald Angove
2002
Standing Guard project
chronicled the internment of
Japanese-Americans during
World War II.
1996
The 105-acre Nevada
County Campus was
opened.
1990
1986
50th
anniversary
1975
Marion Akers
1990s
The student population
from 1990 to the year 2000
swelled from about 14,000
to nearly 18,000.
2000
1990s
Sierra College
scientific experiments
rode on the space
shuttle Endeavor.
1999
Sierra won the State
Championship in
Women’s Basketball.
1993–2005
Kevin Ramirez
2011
75th
anniversary
2010
2000–2005
Additional centers
were opened in
the Tahoe/Truckee
area and Roseville.
Bonds were passed
to fund additional construction
in Truckee and on the Nevada
County Campus.
2005–2006
Dr. Morgan Lynn
2006–2011
Dr. Leo Chavez
2011–
William H.
Duncan, IV
enrichment
enrichment
Cultivating the community
Natural History Museum
The Natural History Museum was created when Sewell Hall, the college’s
first science building, was constructed in 1960. It was the brainchild of
Sierra College Zoology professor Ray Underhill who felt school children
and community members would benefit from viewing artifacts of nature.
In 1964, the museum received two major donations, a collection of
mounted specimens from Dr. Nathan Dubin’s big game hunts in Africa
and a Polar Bear mount from the Koshel Family. Since that time, the
museum collection has continued to grow in size and importance.
In the 1960s, through a state-funded community outreach effort, museum staff engaged the local elementary
schools presenting to students and the teachers and and
providing instructional kits for their classrooms. These
were accompanied by guided tours of the museum and
hands-on activities.
The museum expanded its outreach efforts by offering
field trips to the Pacific coast or the Sierra Nevada, Saturday “Family Days” as well as monthly multi-media
and planetarium programs. Over the course of a year,
the museum hosted an estimated 27,000 visitors.
With the passage of Proposition 13 in 1978, the
Community Services Tax was eliminated and the
outreach efforts ceased. But the Museum was preserved
through the dedication of volunteers and Sierra
College staff. Each year new specimens are acquired;
the museum now holds displays of a Gomphothere,
Sierra Community College
District
Board of Trustees
E. Howard Rudd
Dave Ferrari
Scott Leslie
Bill Halldin
Cari Dawson Bartley
Nancy B. Palmer
Aaron Klein
President
William Duncan
For comments or questions
regarding this report:
[email protected]
printed on recycled paper
www.sierracollege.edu
Rocklin. Roseville. Grass Valley. Truckee. TV. Online.
an Irish elk, elephant, a rhino and
a grey whale to name just a few.
The Arboretum was expanded to
include a cactus and desert rock
garden, representative of the three
desert ecosystems in the west.
The Museum continues to be
an integral component in the
education of Sierra College students through
the use of specimens in lectures, museum tours,
educational displays, and field trips. It provides
current college students with an experience unlike
any other community college in California.
In the 2011 assessment of the museum, the
American Association of Museums noted, “The
geology and paleontology exhibits are noteworthy. Many are of regional and in some instances,
national significance.” The committee added, “The students,
faculty and staff of Sierra College, the community of Rocklin
and the people of California
should be proud of the Natural
History Museum.”
Visit the museum website
www.sierracollege.edu/museum
Mission Statement
Sierra College provides a challenging and supportive learning
environment for students having diverse goals, abilities, and needs
interested in transfer, career and technical training, and life long
learning. The College’s programs and services encourage students to
identify and to expand their potential. Sierra College students will
develop the knowledge, skills and abilities to become engaged and
contributing members of the community.