Campus Gets a Name: Santiago Canyon

The Orange campus of Rancho Santiago College has a new name as it gets closer to becoming autonomous.

Trustees of the Rancho Santiago Community College District this week voted to call the school Santiago Canyon College.

The name was one of five finalists chosen from 180 suggestions submitted by students, faculty and administrators. Runners-up were: Canyon Hills College, Orange Hills College, Santiago Hills College and Silverado Canyon College.

Last May, trustees decided to turn the Orange campus, a satellite of Rancho Santiago College in Santa Ana, into a full-fledged college by the summer of 1998. Naming it is one step in that direction, district officials said.

“This is a truly historic day for our district and for the continuing growth of our new college,” said Dean Strenger, vice chancellor of the Orange campus. “This is not a split or a separation; rather, it is a creation of a new college.”

In addition, the district’s Rancho Santiago College soon will be renamed Santa Ana College.

The Orange campus, at 8045 E. Chapman Ave., began offering classes in 1985 to nearly 2,000 students. Enrollment there today tops 9,200. Facilities include three buildings totaling 30,000 square feet for classrooms, laboratories, a child development center, library, offices and 13 temporary units.