El Camino College

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El Camino College
Established: 1947
Type: Public Community College
President: Thomas M. Fallo
Students: 23,928
Undergraduates: 21,079
Postgraduates: 1,821
Location: Torrance, CA, USA
Campus: Urban- 26 Acres
Colors: Blue and Gray
Nickname: Warriors
Website: www.elcamino.edu

El Camino College is a two-year public community college located in the city of Torrance in Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is commonly referred to as "El Co" or "ECC". It consists of 37 buildings spanning an area of roughly 26 acres (105,000 m²).

The El Camino Community College District was officially established as of July 1, 1947. Today the college serves nearly 25,000 students of a diverse background within the El Camino Community College District, including the cities of El Segundo, Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach, Redondo Beach, Torrance, Lawndale, Hawthorne, Lennox, Gardena and Inglewood. El Camino College offers nearly 2,500 different classes offered in some 850 different programs, including vocational, undergraduate, and honors courses, many available in online and televised formats for distance education.

El Camino is known for its large program in English as a Second Language (ESL) which emphasizes a strong academic approach to prepare students for college-level work in reading, writing, listening, and speaking. Students who have maintained continuous attendance may choose to graduate under the catalog requirements in effect at the time they graduate from El Camino College can either choose an Associate of Arts GE Degree or an Associate of Science GE Degree.

El Camino's forensics program has won awards on a national level for a number of years, often beating 4-year universities such as Notre Dame and UCLA.

In addition to traditional undergraduate education, El Camino offers a variety of faculty organized and campus cooperation study abroad programs. In recent years students have traveled to locations such as Vienna, Austria; Oxford, England; Sydney, Australia; Paris, France; and Shanghai, China. Students receive full class credit for classes taken abroad, as arranged with college administrators.

El Camino College is a popular choice for students to complete lower-division college requirements for often crowded universities. It is one of the leading transfer institutions in Southern California, offering transfer agreements with most four-year universities including UCLA, California State University, Long Beach, San Diego State University, Chapman University, and Pomona College.

El Camino College also offers over 80 acclaimed career programs, including Fashion, Journalism, Computer Information Systems, Fire and Emergency Technology, Automotive Systems, and Cosmetology.

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[edit] KECC radio station

The first time KECC was actually on the air experimentally was Career Day, April 27, 1994. This operation lasted only four hours, from 9 AM to 1 PM. On November 11, 1994, KECC signed on the air for the first time as a regularly scheduled carrier current broadcast station. At that time, the frequency used was 1620 kHz.

The station was soon involved in emergency operation when heavy rains flooded the campus in January 1995, during Registration. The campus police radio system had been submerged by the rising water and had shorted out. KECC being on higher ground was still operating and became a radio relay station, with the police phoning in problems and the broadcast staff relaying them.

In the fall of 2000 KECC changed frequency from 1200 kHz to 1500 kHz.

[edit] Murdock Stadium

Built in the 1950s the stadium seats around 12,127 on wood-backed bleacher seats. It is the home of ECC's Warriors American football and soccer teams. It has also hosted several soccer matches in the past. The stadium was originally named after the founding president of the college, Forrest G. Murdock

[edit] International Students

International students are required to show proof of English ability before being accepted into the school. Students can demonstrate their English ability either by taking the TOEFL test, or by completing an ESL program at a school with which El Camino College has a transfer agreement. This sort of agreement is also called "TOEFL Waiver".

[edit] El Camino College trivia

  • El Camino is Spanish for "The Road." The road refers to California's first road, El Camino Real, which means "The King's Road," or "The Royal Road."
  • The El Camino College symbol was inspired by the numerous markers along the famous road, which consisted of a single bell suspended on an upside down hook-shaped pole. If closely observed, the initials E.C.C. are visible vertically in the shape of the bell itself.
  • The school newspaper "The Union" was renamed from "The Warwhoop" as a result of pressure to be more politically correct and sensitive to Native Americans. The newspaper has won numerous awards.

[edit] El Camino College in the Media

El Camino College has been used as a filming location since at least the 1970s. Among recent movies shot in part at the College are:

[edit] Notable Alumni

  • Brian Wilson (attended, did not graduate)
  • Suge Knight (Rap impresario)
  • Lauren Sanchez (Real name "Wendy" Sanchez)
  • Denny Hocking Professional Baseball Player for the Minnesota Twins
  • John Featherstone
  • Chris Meehan
  • Lynette Fromme (didn't graduate)
  • George Foster (Major League outfielder)
  • Chet Baker (Did not graduate)
  • Frank Zappa (attended, did not graduate)
  • Fred Claire (General manager, Los Angeles Dodgers)
  • The Beach Boys
  • Nathan Salmon (Professor of Philosophy, University of California, Santa Barbara, attended)
  • Douglas Trumbull (Filmmaker and special effects expert for 2001: A Space Odyssey, Bladerunner and other films; recipient of a life-time achievement Oscar, attended)
  • Fred Dryer (Actor, producer and former football defensive end in the NFL)
  • Carol Neblett (Operatic soprano)
  • Tom Owens (Author of Bebop: The Music and Its Players, the standard work on Bebop, Professor of Music)

[edit] External links

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