Graduation Day Arrives for Local CSU Supporters

They came from all walks of life and awoke an hour before dawn to ready themselves for what many felt would be a watershed moment for Ventura County.

Of the more than 50 local business owners, government officials and residents who climbed aboard a bus Wednesday for the two-hour ride to Long Beach to watch what they hoped would be the board of trustees adding Cal State Channel Islands to its fold, some were nervous, others anxious and a few were giddy with excitement.

“This is the fulfillment of a dream for a lot of people in Ventura County,” said Joyce Kennedy, former director of Cal State Northridge’s Ventura Campus. “Some of us are nervous, but there’s a lot of us who feel the apple cart can’t be upset now. . . . We’ve come too far.”

Although enrollment projections need to be met and financing secured, the county’s first public four-year institution of higher learning officially became a reality with the 24-member board’s unanimous vote.

Final approval came after a series of approvals: the first to accept the newest environmental impact review, the second to accept the property and the third to ratify the EIR and property transfer.

Some had labeled the board’s vote little more than a formality because community members had met extensively with the board of trustees and Cal State officials over the past year and felt they could count on their support.

A well-articulated challenge to the EIR, however, could have set back plans for months.

But the votes passed with little discussion, and with the crack of a gavel wielded by Campus Planning Committee Chairman Ali Razi, the university officially moved from the drawing board to its new site at the old Camarillo State Hospital.

“I call this the first day in a new era for Ventura County,” said Supervisor Frank Schillo, who attended the meeting on behalf of the Board of Supervisors. “It’s an era that marks the beginning of the county’s new maturity.”

Schillo’s sentiment mirrored that of others, who, after 30 years of near triumphs and momentous defeats, felt their county was finally getting the attention and recognition it deserved.

“This is not only a monumental day for Ventura County but a historic day for the state,” said state Sen. Jack O’Connell, a Democrat who represents parts of western Ventura County. “It’s a remarkable opportunity that we’ve seized.”

But for people such as Mohammed Hasan of Ventura, the board’s approval had a more personal meaning.

As the owner of a local civil and environmental engineering firm and the father of two, Hasan said he plans to use the university not only as a business resource, but also a place to find qualified employees.

And more importantly, it’s a place he can send his children to college at an affordable cost.

“They’re still very young, but it’s nice to know that there is a place they can go to school where they’ll be near home,” Hasan said. “That’s probably the biggest reason that I am here.”

Judy Jones of Camarillo, who could rightly be called the university’s first cheerleader, sported a specially made Cal State Channel Islands shirt as a display of her support.

And with the vote behind her, she joined other Ventura County supporters outside for long embraces, shared sighs of relief and even a group photograph where they chanted “Hip hip hooray.”

“It’s a wonderful relief to have this part behind us,” she said. “It’s been such a long time in coming and the county deserves this.”

But Jones, who has pushed for years to see the university open, also understood that passing this latest hurdle wasn’t the end. There is still a long way to go before the university’s scheduled opening next August.

“It’s kind of like giving birth,” she said. “That’s hard, but it’s also when the real work begins.”

CONVERSION OKd: Cal State trustees agree to conversion of shuttered Camarillo hospital into a four-year university. A1