Type | Public community college |
---|---|
Established | 1949 |
Parent institution | Contra Costa Community College District |
Academic staff | 670 |
Students | 22,000 |
Location | , U.S. 37°58′17″N122°4′12″W / 37.97139°N 122.07000°W |
Campus | Suburban |
Colors | Green and white |
Nickname | Vikings |
Website | www |
Diablo Valley College (DVC) is a public community college with campuses in Pleasant Hill and San Ramon in Contra Costa County, California. [1] DVC is one of three public community colleges in the Contra Costa Community College District (along with Contra Costa College and Los Medanos College). It opened in 1949. DVC has more than 22,000 students and 300 full-time and 370 part-time instructors.
Diablo Valley College was founded in 1949 as East Contra Costa Junior College. The college enrolls over 22,000 students on two sites. [2]
In 2007, a six-year grade fixing scheme came to light with allegations that over 70 students used sex or cash as payment to student employees in the admissions and records office in exchange for over 400 grade changes. [3] [4] Many of these students had transferred to universities and in some cases may have already graduated. By November 2007, 49 students had been charged with misdemeanors or felonies over the incident, and at least one had accepted a no contest plea. [5] A spokesperson for the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges said that although the scandal was a negative factor it would be unlikely to lead to the school's loss of accreditation. [6]
In the first trial resulting from the grade changes, former student employee Erick Martinez was acquitted of all criminal charges on September 5, 2008. Jurors reached that decision after concluding that prosecutors failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that there was a definite link between Martinez and grade changes. [7] [8]
DVC is a "feeder" college to the University of California, Berkeley; California State University, East Bay; and St. Mary's College. It ranks among the top five transfer colleges in California. [9] In 2004, the top four transfer destinations were California State University, East Bay, San Francisco State University, University of California, Berkeley and University of California, Davis.
DVC also offers a variety of occupational specialties, including hotel/restaurant management, culinary arts, dental technology and real estate. It has an active speech and debating team.
DVC offers sports including men's and women's basketball, cross country, swimming and diving, tennis, water polo, baseball, football, lacrosse, track and field (men) and soccer, softball, and volleyball (women).
Willie McGee played baseball for DVC in 1977, and would later win a National League MVP award in 1985. [10] Pitcher Doug Davis also played in the majors from 1999 to 2011.
Demarshay Johnson, a former DVC basketball star who went on to play for the University of Nevada, was named California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA) first team All-State after the 2004–05 season. That season he led the CCCAA in blocks, averaging 5.2 per game, and was named Bay Valley Conference MVP.
The DVC Viking men's lacrosse program was the first junior college club in California, forming in 2008. In 2013, DVC won the California Junior College Lacrosse Association (CJCLA) championship. [11]
The Inquirer, the college's student-run newspaper, is produced on campus by the Journalism 126 class.
The newspaper was forced to produce its paper off-site at the Contra Costa Times newsroom when a bomb-threat on October 24, 2006, closed the campus and access to the newsroom was restricted. [12]
The Inquirer won General Excellence awards from the Journalism Association of Community Colleges (JACC) in 2006, 2010, 2011 and 2012. The newspaper also won a Pacesetter award from JACC in 1999.
The student union at DVC is named for Margaret Lesher, widow of Dean Lesher, founder of the Contra Costa Times and cofounder of the Margaret and Dean Lesher Foundation. [13]
In addition to the athletes named above, notable alumni of Diablo Valley include:
Contra Costa County is a county located in the U.S. state of California, in the East Bay of the San Francisco Bay Area. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 1,165,927. The county seat is Martinez. It occupies the northern portion of the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area and is primarily suburban. The county's name refers to its position on the other side of the bay from San Francisco. Contra Costa County is included in the San Francisco–Oakland–Berkeley, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Concord is the most populous city in Contra Costa County, California, United States. According to an estimate completed by the United States Census Bureau, the city had a population of 129,295 in 2019, making it the eighth largest city in the San Francisco Bay Area. Founded in 1869 as Todos Santos by don Salvio Pacheco II, a noted Californio ranchero, the name was later changed to Concord. The city is a major regional suburban East Bay center within the San Francisco Bay Area, and is 29 miles east of San Francisco.
The Town of Danville is located in the San Ramon Valley in Contra Costa County, California, United States. It is one of the incorporated municipalities in California that use "town" in their names instead of "city". The population was 43,582 at the 2020 census. Since 2018, for five years in a row, Danville was named "the safest town in California".
San Ramon is a city in Contra Costa County, California, United States, located within the San Ramon Valley, and 34 miles (55 km) east of San Francisco. San Ramon's population was 84,605 per the 2020 census, making it the 4th largest city in Contra Costa County, behind Richmond, Concord and Antioch.
Walnut Creek is a city in Contra Costa County, California, United States, located in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, about 16 miles east of the city of Oakland. Walnut Creek has a total population of 70,127 per the 2020 census, is located at the junction of the highways from Sacramento and San Jose (I-680) and San Francisco/Oakland (SR-24), and is accessible by BART. The city shares its borders with Clayton, Lafayette, Alamo, Pleasant Hill, and Concord.
Contra Costa College is a public community college in San Pablo, California. It is the west campus of the Contra Costa Community College District. It is part of the California community colleges system, one of the three college systems in California.
Los Medanos College (LMC) is a public community college in Pittsburg, California. Established in 1974, LMC has an extension in Brentwood and is part of the Contra Costa Community College District.
The East Bay is the eastern region of the San Francisco Bay Area and includes cities along the eastern shores of the San Francisco Bay and San Pablo Bay. The region has grown to include inland communities in Alameda and Contra Costa counties. With a population of roughly 2.5 million in 2010, it is the most populous subregion in the Bay Area.
Laney College is a public community college in Oakland, California. Laney is the largest of the four colleges of the Peralta Community College District which serves northern Alameda County. Laney College is named after Joseph Clarence Laney. The college offers both certificates and credits for Associate of Arts degree, as well as prerequisites to transfer to four year universities. It is accredited by the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges.
The East Bay Times is a daily broadsheet newspaper based in Walnut Creek, California, United States, owned by the Bay Area News Group (BANG), a subsidiary of Media News Group, that serves Contra Costa and Alameda counties, in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. It was founded as the Contra Costa Times, and took its current name in 2016 when it was merged with other sister papers in the East Bay. Its oldest merged title is the Oakland Tribune founded in 1874.
Allan Hancock College is a public community college in Santa Maria, California.
Ventura College is a public community college in Ventura, California. Established in 1925, the college has a 112-acre (45 ha) campus with an enrollment of 13,763 students. It is part of the Ventura County Community College District.
Dean Stanley Lesher was an American newspaper publisher, founder of the Contra Costa Times and the Contra Costa Newspapers chain. He was also a well-known philanthropist in the San Francisco Bay Area.
The Contra Costa Community College District is a community college district that encompasses three community colleges in Contra Costa County, California - Contra Costa College, Diablo Valley College and Los Medanos College. The headquarters is in the George R. Gordon Education Center in Martinez, California.
Mount Diablo High School is a public high school located in Concord, California, United States. It is the oldest school in the Mount Diablo Unified School District, founded in April 1901. The school currently serves western Concord, the unincorporated communities of Bay Point and Clyde and a portion of Pittsburg.
Pinole Valley High School is a high school in Pinole, California, United States, in Contra Costa County. First opened in 1967, the school is part of the West Contra Costa Unified School District. Pinole Valley High serves grades 9–12, and has approximately 1,200 students from Pinole, northwest Richmond and the unincorporated communities of Bayview, Montalvin Manor and Tara Hills. The school is noted for its girls' basketball team. Coach Dan O'Shea was named "Coach of the Year" in May 2006 by the Oakland Tribune.
Dougherty Valley High School is a public high school located in the Windemere development of San Ramon, California, United States. The valley name comes from James Witt Dougherty, a 19th-century landowner and local politician.
Northgate High School (NHS) is a public high school located in the suburban Northgate neighborhood of Walnut Creek, California, United States. The most recent of five high schools in the Mount Diablo Unified School District, the school was built in 1974, and is home to approximately 1,500 students from Walnut Creek and Concord, California, grades 9–12. Its name derives from its location at the north entrance of Mount Diablo State Park.
KVHS is a non-profit high school radio station playing an active rock music format. It is licensed to the Mt. Diablo Unified School District and broadcasts from the campus of Clayton Valley Charter High School, Concord, California. The signal reaches the counties of Contra Costa, Solano, Napa, San Joaquin, West Sacramento and Yolo, and KVHS primarily serves the Diablo Valley area.
The California Community College Athletic Association is a sports association of community colleges in the U.S. state of California. It oversees 108 athletic programs throughout the state. The organization was formed in 1929 as the California Junior College Federation to unify programs in Northern and Southern California.