Bakersfield College

Bakersfield College
TypePublic community college
Established1913
Parent institution
Kern Community College District
ChancellorSteven Bloomberg[1]
PresidentJerry Fliger[2]
Students27,800[3]
Location
Bakersfield
,
California
,
United States

35°24′35.03″N 118°58′24.04″W / 35.4097306°N 118.9733444°W / 35.4097306; -118.9733444
CampusSuburban, 153 acres (62 ha)
ColorsRed and White
NicknameRenegades
Sporting affiliations
CCCAA – WSC,
SCFA (football),
SCWA (wrestling)
MascotKnight
Websitebakersfieldcollege.edu

Bakersfield College (BC) is a public community college in Bakersfield, California. BC serves about 27,800 students each semester or 31,000 annually, and offers associate degrees, certificate programs, and is one of fifteen California Community Colleges offering a baccalaureate degree. It is part of the Kern Community College District (KCCD), which is itself part of the California Community Colleges system.

History

Founded in 1913 as Bakersfield Junior College, the school was initially housed on the campus of Bakersfield High School (then Kern County Union High School). In 1947, the school dropped "Junior" from its name.[4] In 1956, Bakersfield College moved to its current location "on the hill" in northeast Bakersfield on the "Panorama Bluffs" that overlook the prolific Kern River oil field.[5][6]

Campus

The former administration building (currently the welcome center) and main entrance

The main campus is located on a 153-acre (62 ha) plot in Northeast Bakersfield, and it also operates three satellite campuses: the Weill Institute in downtown Bakersfield, shared by the Kern Community College District, the SouthWest Campus also located in Bakersfield, and the Delano Campus in Delano, approximately 35 miles (56 km) north of Bakersfield.

Organization and administration

BC is part of the Kern Community College District (KCCD).

Academics

BC serves about 25,000 students each semester.[7]

Student life

Fall Demographics of student body
Ethnic Breakdown 2022
Hispanic and Latino American 72%
African American 5%
Asian American 5%
American Indian 0%
White 15%
Multiethnic Americans 3%
International students 0%
Unknown 0%
Female 56%
Male 42%
Unknown 2%

Newspaper

The Renegade Rip is the student-run newspaper within the journalism department at BC. Published biweekly, The Rip currently has a circulation of approximately 4,000. An online edition is also available. The Rip is a regular contender and recipient of JACC (Journalism Association of Community Colleges) awards at both the state and regional levels and in 2003-2004 won the Associated Collegiate Press National Pacemaker Award. They are a member of the Journalism Association of Community Colleges and compete in the Southern California region.

Rip reporters and photographers cover the campus. The students cover topics ranging from crime on campus, to student profiles, sports and local entertainment. The tradition of The Renegade Rip has always been to chase news stories and focus on what affects the student body at BC and the community of Bakersfield as a whole.

Performing arts

The Renegade Pep Band supports the college's athletic teams.

Golden Empire Performing Arts is a non-profit 501(c)(3) account of the Bakersfield College Foundation that supports the Bakersfield College Drumline and the Golden Empire Drum and Bugle Corps.[8]

Athletics

Main article: Bakersfield Renegades

The college's athletic teams are known as the Renegades ('Gades). The team competes as a member of the California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA) in the Western State Conference (WSC) for all sports except football and wrestling, which compete in Southern California Football Association (SCFA) and Southern California Wrestling Association (SCWA).[9] The college has an extensive athletics program with 20 varsity teams, including men's and women's basketball, men's and women's cross country, men's and women's golf, football, soccer, volleyball, wrestling, baseball, softball, men's and women's tennis, men's and women's track and field, and men's and women's swimming.

Renegades football has a long tradition of success in Junior College-level competition, and plays out of the 20,000-seat, on-campus Memorial Stadium.[10]

Notable people

For a more comprehensive list, see Category:Bakersfield College alumni.

References

  1. ^ "KCCD board taps educator with Kern ties to be next chancellor". Feb 2024.
  2. ^ "Bakersfield College's newest president selected after exhaustive national search". Feb 2024.
  3. ^ "California Community College Chancellors Office". CA.gov.
  4. ^ "Acquisitions" (PDF), The Bakersfield College Archives Newsletter, vol. 16, no. 1, Bakersfield College, p. 9, Spring 2017[dead link]
  5. ^ Hooper, Ken (July 28, 2013). "History: Growing up and headed for college". The Bakersfield Californian. Retrieved November 21, 2018.
  6. ^ Claffy, Emily (July 26, 2013). "Bakersfield College Centennial: 100 years of higher education". The Bakersfield Californian. Retrieved November 21, 2018.
  7. ^ "California Community Colleges Chancellor's Office - Data Mart". datamart.cccco.edu. Retrieved 2023-02-17.
  8. ^ "Golden Empire Performing Arts". Golden Empire Performing Arts. Retrieved 2017-09-28.
  9. ^ "2019-20 CCCAA Directory" (PDF). California Community College Athletic Association. Retrieved 15 April 2020.
  10. ^ Bakersfield Memorial Stadium Archived 2012-04-24 at the Wayback Machine. Bakersfield Magazine. October 2010. Accessed: 11-01-2011.
  11. ^ "Kevin McCarthy Bioguide". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.

[1]

  1. ^ Goodwin, Greg (May 2007). "Archives Acquires Bill Thomas Papers: The William M. Thomas Special Collection" (PDF).{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)