San Francisco Chronicle (Sunday)
From health care to engineering, to auto tech, colleges expand in Vallejo
Students at Solano Community College’s auto tech program work on pulling a battery out of a Toyota Prius at the Vallejo school.
With the expansion of the California State University Maritime Academy, Touro University’s unique offerings in the health care industry and the growth and creation of new programs at Solano Community College, Vallejo isn’t just a college town, it’s a town experiencing a college boom.
Collectively, the three colleges have a student body of approximately 13,700 and are at the cutting edge of innovation in their respective fields of study. Throw in affordable housing, a prime location and great weather, and this college town has become a lure for students seeking the perfect place to obtain higher education.
SOLANO COMMUNITY COLLEGE
With a main campus located in Vallejo’s neighboring city of Fairfield, Solano Community College expanded in 2007 to include its Vallejo Center, a state-of-the-art facility for 3,000 students. The college now boasts two separate buildings in Vallejo, one that offers a growing Automotive Technology program, and another that includes an upper-division program offered by Sonoma State University, where students can earn a Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Studies.
“Our auto program has grown from 35 students to 243 in two years,” says Celia Esposito-Noy, superintendent/president of Solano Community College District since January 2016. “The decision to create Touro University on Mare Island offers graduate degrees in osteopathic medicine, pharmacy, physician assistant studies, nursing, public health and education.
this program was based on discussions with employers in the area and identifying what their needs were for skilled workers. We have a growing auto industry and we knew we needed to have a program that could meet the new needs and interest in auto technology.”
Esposito-Noy credits the college’s Board of Directors for recommending the new auto program, which attracts students from throughout the Bay Area and Sacramento regions.
In May, Solano Community College also unveiled its new Maker Space, also known as its Industry Technology course, complete with a training laboratory in which students learn how to use Computer Numerical Control (CNC) machines, 2D and 3D Computer-Assisted Drafting (CAD) printers, vacuum formers, laser and vinyl cutters, as well as basic hand and power tools. This program, too, was a direct result of market need.
“This program was developed
by the faculty, working with the industry to identify the growing needs in technology and advanced manufacturing,” Esposito-Noy said. “It was also a means to support entrepreneurship in Solano County and the region.”
The program is designed for students to collaborate and experiment with diverse technologies and raw materials and enables them to develop skills in fabrication, robotics, circuitry, woodworking, programming and networking.
According to second-year journalism student, Devante White, the college offers a convenient location, a nice environment and a diversity of professors — not to mention a variety of extracurricular activities.
CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY MARITIME ACADEMY
With sweeping views of the Carquinez Bridge and the Mare Island Strait, Cal Maritime has continued to grow, with six nautical-related undergraduate degrees and one graduate degree, and a location perfect for waterfront and shipboard training for cadets. On Aug. 24, the college marked 75 years of existence in Vallejo since relocating to the city from Tiburon.
“One way the university has changed is that when it began, students were coming here for either a career in engineering or for training to work on a ship,” said Bobby King, director of public affairs and communications. “These days, the educational offerings have broadened to include much of the transportation industry. There’s a business major, global studies, maritime affairs, which is more of policy. Then we also have other engineering degrees — facilities, mechanical. In the fall 2020, we will also be including an oceanography degree.”
In addition, the college now has a new women’s soccer team as part of its intercollegiate athletics for men and women included in the California Pacific Conference, as well as a new leadership development program.
“These programs are all part of the tradition of maritime academies,” King said. “They are about leadership and personal responsibility. Our new leadership training offers Left: Alex Lavarias, a student in Solano Community College’s auto tech program, works at a computer. Right: Ship operations students use a hose to spray down the deck of the Golden Bear training ship while cleaning it in preparation for homecoming weekend at California State University Maritime Academy in 2017.