DEDICATION OF CSUCI SET TODAY.

Byline: Holly Edwards Staff Writer

After nearly a decade of planning, California State University will dedicate its new Channel Islands campus today in a ceremony that will draw Gov. Gray Davis, dozens of state and local elected officials and hundreds of community leaders.

CSU's 23rd campus, located on the grounds of the former Camarillo State Hospital, will provide state-of-the-art programs in a historic setting and scenic natural environment when classes begin Aug. 26.

``Certainly being in a place three miles from the ocean and surrounded by beautiful architecture and natural beauty will give the students a sense of what the Greeks used to call the true and the beautiful,'' said Richard Rush, president of the new campus.

``And the faculty and staff will try diligently to give the students the most forward-looking, cross disciplinary education possible.''

Built in the 1930s, the stucco-and-tile Spanish revival buildings are surrounded by the Santa Monica Mountains, jagged rock formations and lush fields of strawberries, cilantro and onions.

Students say they feel as if they are at a resort - not a university.

Anaya Simmons, 21, of Oxnard has been enrolled in a California State University, Northridge, program in child development at the Channel Islands campus for several years, and said she can't wait to get to school every day.

CSUN has used the site for off-campus programs for several years. When the new campus opens, the CSUN programs will gradually be phased out and moved back to the Northridge campus, Rush said.

``I love it so much. It's so beautiful here,'' said Simmons, who will be a senior this year. ``It's not like going to school. It's like being on vacation.''

Rush said he plans to use proceeds from student housing revenues to eventually renovate all of the historic buildings on the 670-acre campus.

Academically, Rush said he will emphasize interdisciplinary programs that draw from several disciplines and incorporate the latest research.

For example, he said the college will offer a program called bioinformatics based up the human genome project and combining biology, chemistry, math and computer science.

There will also be an environmental science and resource management program incorporating science and business, and an art program mixing studio art, graphic art, sociology and ethics, Rush said.

``The solutions to problems in all fields are coming from experts brought together from different disciplines,'' Rush said. ``It's not enough to take one look at a problem. Our students have to be able to come up with answers from several different approaches.''

The college will also work to form partnerships with surrounding community groups by drawing students and faculty members from multiple backgrounds. College officials said they hope these outreach efforts will improve nearby communities, as well as teach students the value of teamwork.

``One of the things employers always say about college graduates is they can't work in a team,'' said Alex McNeill, vice president for academic affairs. ``We hope to send out graduates who have a sense of belonging to something larger than themselves, with a feeling of responsibility to the community.''

McNeill added that the college is called the Channel Island campus because college officials wanted a name every surrounding community could embrace.

College officials said they will also provide multiple student services in one central location so students have as much time as possible to focus on their work.

``On most campuses, services are scattered so students have to go from building to building to building,'' said W.M. Gregory Sawyer, vice president for student affairs. ``But we're going to have a one-stop shopping center where students can do everything, pay fees, register, and get parking permits.''

The college will also be a ``green campus'' that encourages students to take a commuter bus instead of drive their cars to school, and uses electric golf carts for campus transportation. Students who take the bus will receive discount bus passes for the semester.

In addition, an anaerobic digester project is in the works that will use green waste from a nearby landfill to generate methane gas, which will in turn generate electricity for the campus, said McNeill.

``This is an incredibly beautiful place, and the university is committed to having a minimal impact on the environment,'' he said.

Because of the area's scenic beauty and proximity to Los Angeles, the housing market is extremely competitive in the area, driving the average price of a new home out of most faculty members' budgets. The median price of a single-family house in Ventura County is now $360,390, according to the California Association of Realtors.

Sawyer, who is renting an apartment in Moorpark while he looks for a house to purchase, said the housing prices in the Camarillo area are much steeper that they were at his previous home in Florida.

``I had a very nice $200,000 house in Florida, and you can't even buy a mailbox here for that,'' he said.

College officials are responding to the problem by building 900 faculty housing units, ranging from apartments and condominiums to detached homes.

While just over 1,300 students are expected to enroll for the fall semester, college officials say 4,000 students are expected in the first graduating class, and 15,000 students are expected when the college reaches its maximum capacity in 2025.

Rush said the college will continue to grow annually, adding dormitories and new academic and athletic programs each year.

``Partly because people have waited so long for this campus, everyone has high expectations and expects us to emerge out of the ground and have everything in place all at once,'' Rush said. ``But this is an act of creation and it will take us time to evolve.''

IF YOU GO

The grand opening of California State University, Channel Islands, will begin at noon today on the central lawn of the new campus, located at One University Drive in Camarillo. For further information, call the college at 805-437-8400, or visit the college Web site at www.csuci.edu

CAPTION(S):

3 photos, box, map

Photo:

(1) Richard Rush, president of new California State University, Channel Islands, right, chats with student Anaya Simmons.

(2) Bookstore workers Daisy Infante, left, and Robert Serrato hang up T-shirts of the new Cal State university campus.

(3) The school's new banner hangs from a lamppost.

Michael Owen Baker/Staff Photographer

Box:

IF YOU GO (see text)

Map:

CSUCI campus

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