For Immediate Release: July 12, 2005
Media Contact: Kristen Habbestad, Public Affairs; (562) 860-2451, ext. 2287, khabbestad@cerritos.edu
Norwalk, CA – July 12, 2005 – Born of diligence, dedication and extraordinary vision, the Cerritos Community College District transcended its humble beginnings and has become an emblem of educational strength and stability for the communities it serves.
Before the creation of the college, the area now known as California had belonged to New Spain, the name given to the Spanish colonial territory in North America from 1525 to 1821. Land grants were provided to Spanish settlers in the late 1700s, and Jose Manuel Nieto, a Spanish rancher, received title to 145,000 acres in the San Gabriel Valley. This valuable land was known as the Rancho los Coyotes and bordered another land grant known as Rancho los Cerritos. Thousands of acres of Rancho los Coyotes were eventually divided and sold by smaller parcels. Nearby, and over the same hundred-plus years, Rancho los Cerritos gave way to the moniker ‘Dairy Valley’ because of the tremendous amount of dairy cattle farms that occupied the area.
Both Cerritos and Norwalk, as well as the cities surrounding them—Lakewood, Bellflower, La Mirada, Artesia and others—were influenced by the pre-war industrial boom of the late 1930s and the construction of local freeways. Cerritos dairy farms gave way to housing tracts and soon transformed the area into an affluent bedroom community—and one of the most ethnically diverse cities in the nation. The community, however, lacked a local institution of higher learning for its high school graduates.
Dr. Ralph Burnight, superintendent of the Excelsior High School District for 27 years before the college was born, recognized the need for the extension of postgraduate educational opportunities to the district’s high school graduates. Burnight would later serve as the college’s first president and superintendent. He began promoting the establishment of a college as early as 1953, but the state board of education remained doubtful that the district could attract a minimum enrollment of 400 students.
Meanwhile, others shared Burnight’s vision. The board of trustees for the Excelsior High School District also recognized the importance of a two-year college in the community and called upon the electorate to approve plans for such an institution within the district’s boundaries.
On June 10, 1955, the Cerritos Junior College District was formed by a four-to-one vote from citizens of the Bellflower, Norwalk, Artesia, Carmenita and Bloomfield Elementary districts. Then, on September 27, 1955, an election calling for a $6 million bond issue with which to construct the college passed with a similar four-to-one vote. At the end of the year, district officials announced plans to build a campus on the site of the John Sousa Dairy on the southeast corner of Alondra Boulevard and Studebaker Road.
The next step of acquiring the land that would house the new college was fraught with legal battles between the college and the dairy owners. The existing dairy owners resisted building a school site next to their dairy farms for fear of declined milk production. The ongoing feud, referred to as the “Cows vs. Kids War,” was replete with heated school board meetings and court battles that provided ample fodder for the local press.
Ultimately, a Superior Court judge ruled that the college had a right to obtain grounds for its facilities and the college proceeded to purchase a series of parcels and secured proper zoning for the westerly portion of the site, which amounted to 40 of 95 acres. 
Naming the college was another challenging task. The then-board of trustees considered different names and the community became involved in contests to name the new campus. Some of the names considered were “Nixon College,” “Tri-City and Norbelia (an abbreviated combination of Norwalk-Bellflower-Artesia). Other popular contenders included “Los Coyotes” and “Los Cerritos,” after the two original ranchos that had occupied the area. After months of discussion, the name “Cerritos,” or, “little hills,” was adopted in March 1956.
The college opened its doors to an enrollment of 197 students on September 11, 1956, holding evening classes in rented rooms at Excelsior High School, about one-half mile east of the proposed Cerritos campus site. It was a transitory campus site, but students were eager to learn and the community anxiously anticipated the construction of the permanent campus.
It was not until December 5, 1956 - almost three months after the college began offering classes at Excelsior High School - that title to the proposed college site was acquired. On July 22, 1957, the city of Dairy Valley re-zoned the westerly portion of the site so that construction could proceed. Area dairy owners eventually sold their land to residential and commercial developers and moved to Chino and other dairy hubs. 
By 1957, the college district (including the cities of Bellflower, Artesia, Norwalk, Dairy Valley, La Mirada and a portion of Lakewood) grew exponentially. The district’s population had mushroomed from 96,240 in 1950 to 243,840 in 1957, the same year that the college boasted an enrollment of 1,339 students.
Most classes were still being held at Artesia High School during the 1957-58 academic year. College staff, which began with one full-time administrator, two part-time administrators and several part-time instructors, expanded to include 25 full-time instructors and a number of staff members working on an hourly basis. Earl L. Klapstein, a former professional football player with the Pittsburg Steelers, was hired as the college’s new chairman of the Physical Education department, athletic director and football. In the fall of 1957, he led the Falcon football team to represent the West as a “Cinderella team” in the Little Rose Bowl game in Pasadena. Although losing this noteworthy game at the Rose Bowl, the college earned a reputation among community college sports enthusiasts.
On January 14, 1958, the board of trustees changed the name of the college from Cerritos Junior College to Cerritos College, and in May 1958, the board approved wage hikes guaranteeing full-time faculty members a minimum monthly wage of $480. It was during the 1958-59 academic year that college registration hit a new peak. More than 2,200 students attended the college. New class sections were during the evening hours at the Artesia High School campus. Many additional subjects were added to the college curriculum and more instructors were hired. The year also marked the college’s first homecoming week in December.
On October 21, 1958, voters from the cities within the college district approved a second bond issue amounting to $8 million by a four-to-one margin. The funds were ear-marked for the completion of the 95-acre campus and the purchase of necessary instructional equipment.
During the 1959-60 academic year, enrollment was expected to surpass 4,000, nearly doubling the enrollment of the prior year. Eight buildings had been completed on campus, and funds were allotted for the remaining facilities in order to accommodate a larger student body. The completed buildings included: the Field House, (March 1958); the Liberal Arts Building, the Technology and Electronics Buildings (September 1959), the Business Education Building, the Lecture Hall, the Science Building, and the Shower and Locker Rooms (October 1959).
Excitement was also mounting among students and staff who looked forward to the opening of the Student Center in January 1960. The building, anticipated as one of the most modern junior college buildings in its ranks, would accommodate a dining room with seating room for 266 on the floor and an additional 108 at the stage’s end. The structure would also house a 150-seat coffee shop, a snack bar and an eye-catching lounge with an ultra-modern fireplace.
By the decade’s end, the initial vision inspired by Burnight and the district’s board of trustees - to nurture the minds of the community through an institution dedicated to excellence in higher education - had become a glorious and triumphant reality. The college had become a symbol of opportunity and its students and staff served as pioneers who helped shape and steer the college toward the future.
Cerritos College’s 50th anniversary celebration officially begins August 1, 2005 with the Cerritos College Foundation’s 20th Annual Golf Classic. Once the fall semester begins, a special convocation involving several generations of faculty and staff will be held in September. A fund-raising gala is planned for October with proceeds benefiting Cerritos College students who may be presented later with 50th Anniversary Scholarships created in honor of the milestone.
Cerritos College celebrates the 2005-06 school year as its 50th anniversary in serving as a comprehensive community college for southeastern Los Angeles County communities including Artesia, Bellflower, Cerritos, Downey, Hawaiian Gardens, Lakewood, La Mirada and Norwalk. The college offers degrees and certificates in more than 180 areas of study in nine divisions. Annually, more than 1,200 students successfully complete their course of studies, and enrollment currently surpasses 22,000 students. Visit Cerritos College online at www.cerritos.edu, and view a celebratory site honoring the college’s 50 years of tradition, honor and values at www.cerritos.edu/50.
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