Bakersfield College (BC) is a public community college in Bakersfield, California. BC serves about 27,800 students each semester or 31,000 annually, and offers associate degrees, certificate programs, and is one of fifteen California Community Colleges offering a baccalaureate degree. It is part of the Kern Community College District (KCCD), which is itself part of the California Community Colleges system.

History

Founded in 1913 as Bakersfield Junior College, the school was initially housed on the campus of Bakersfield High School (then Kern County Union High School). In 1947, the school dropped "Junior" from its name. In 1956, Bakersfield College moved to its current location "on the hill" in northeast Bakersfield on the "Panorama Bluffs" that overlook the prolific Kern River Oil Field.

Campus

The main campus is located on a 153 acre plot in Northeast Bakersfield, and it also operates three satellite campuses: the Weill Institute in downtown Bakersfield, shared by the Kern Community College District, the SouthWest Campus also located in Bakersfield, and the Delano Campus in Delano, approximately 35 mi north of Bakersfield.

Organization and administration

BC is part of the Kern Community College District (KCCD).

Academics

BC serves about 25,000 students each semester.

Student life

Newspaper

The Renegade Rip is the student newspaper of Bakersfield College. In publication since 1929, The Rip covers campus news as well as major events off campus. The Renegade Rip won Associated Collegiate Press National Pacesetter Awards in 2003 and 2008.

Performing arts

The Renegade Pep Band supports the college's athletic teams. Golden Empire Performing Arts is a non-profit 501(c)(3) account of the Bakersfield College Foundation that supports the Bakersfield College Drumline and the Golden Empire Drum and Bugle Corps.

Athletics

The college's athletic teams are known as the Renegades ('Gades). The team competes as a member of the California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA) in the Western State Conference (WSC) for all sports except football and wrestling, which compete in Southern California Football Association (SCFA) and Southern California Wrestling Association (SCWA). The college has an extensive athletics program with 20 varsity teams, including men's and women's basketball, men's and women's cross country, men's and women's golf, football, soccer, volleyball, wrestling, baseball, softball, men's and women's tennis, men's and women's track and field, and men's and women's swimming. Renegades football has a long tradition of success in Junior College-level competition, and plays out of the 20,000-seat, on-campus Memorial Stadium.

Notable people