History of Shasta College

In 1950, the centennial year of California, when gas cost 20 cents a gallon and houses were about $7,000, Shasta College opened its first campus on Eureka Way in Redding. With a faculty of 26 and a day enrollment of 256 students, it marked the beginning of a journey that would profoundly shape the North State community.

History and Growth

Fast forward to 2024, and Shasta College is a radically different institution. Today, the college serves Shasta, Tehama, and Trinity Counties, including parts of Lassen, Modoc, and Humboldt Counties—an area spanning more than 10,000 square miles, or to put that in context, an area larger than the State of Massachusetts. Besides the main Redding Campus, the college now boasts campuses in Red Bluff, Weaverville, Burney, and two centers in downtown Redding, serving over 12,500 students in the 2022-23 academic year.

Notable Visitors and Alumni

Throughout its history, Shasta College has welcomed several well-known personalities. Ansel Adams, Jesse Owens, and the Harlem Globetrotters, U.S. Presidents Harry S. Truman, who spoke at the college’s Thompson Field in 1950, and Bill Clinton, who spoke at the main Redding campus in 2016 while campaigning for his wife, Hillary, have all graced its campuses. Authors, a U.S. Poet Laureate, and past University of California President Janet Napolitano have also shared their insights with students and faculty.

Talk to any instructor or staff member, and they will all echo the same measure of pride in the success of all their students. The college is proud of its notable alumni, including athletes Jason Sehorn, Ken Shamrock, Ricky Ray, and Easton Waterman. In the arts, opera singers Sydney Mancasola and Rafael Helbig-Kostka add their voices to the triumphant chorus. Public service and professional fields are represented by Superior Court Judge Tamara Wood, CalFire Chief Joe Tyler, accountant David “D.H.” Scott, Q97 radio host Jennifer Jones, Dr. Luke Page, and CNEO Kelley Baas with Dignity Health. These are just a few of the many students who have emerged from the college and have achieved professional and personal success in their endeavors.

Academic Achievements

Those first classes in 1950 included many you might expect, such as business, law, and optometry, and others such as clerk typist, vocational homemaking, and secretarial science, which have long since been replaced. Today, the college offers 119 programs, 89 degrees, and 47 certificates in a wide variety of fields such as logging, computer information systems, heavy equipment operations, life and physical sciences, theatre, and many more. In addition to the associate degrees and certificates the college confers each year, in the spring of 2018, Shasta College awarded its first bachelor’s degree in health information management. Shasta College is proud that for the entirety of its 75-year history, it has continuously supported the medical community through its Vocational Nursing program.

Innovative Programs and Community Impact

In the last decade, the college has continued to adapt to meet the changing needs of students and the challenges faced by rural communities. Many of the college’s new programs have been recognized at the state and national levels for their innovative and successful approaches. Programs like dual and concurrent enrollment which help high school students build skills and get a jumpstart on their higher education degree, all with no tuition fees. North State Together, a non-profit arm of the college is building partnerships across northern California to address the unique challenges faced in rural settings through data-focused research and partnership alliances. The Shasta College Attainment and Innovation Lab for Equity, or SCAILE for short, has focused on innovative programs such as ACE/BOLD, which enables working adults to reenter college with 8-week compressed classes in a cohort model with support and guidance. Another SCAILE project, Degrees When Due, recognizes the degree attainment of past students and connects them with resources to complete unfinished degrees and certificates. Another SCAILE program, Credit for Prior Learning seeks to have college-level skills and knowledge gained outside of the traditional classroom setting for groups like veterans or volunteers counted as college credit.

Campus Development

With the increase in enrollment and ever-expanding programs and technologies, the college’s footprint has continued to grow and adapt throughout the years. The 1950 Eureka Way campus was home for 12 years. Still, by 1963, an enrollment of 1,300 necessitated the relocation and construction of new college facilities. The current location at Old Oregon Trail opened in the fall of 1968 to nearly 5,000 students on 337 acres with 39 buildings.

The Intermountain, Trinity, and Tehama Campuses were established between 2004 and 2009. In the fall of 2005, a state-of-the-art Early Childhood Education childcare center and instructional facility opened on the Redding Campus. In 2007, the Health Sciences and University Center opened in the heart of downtown Redding, which houses the college’s Dental Hygiene, Physical Therapy Assistant, and Nursing Programs.

In November 2016, the passage of Measure H, a $139 million general obligation bond, enabled significant advancements at Shasta College. These include the construction of an ultra-modern state-of-the-art Computer Information Systems (CIS) instructional center, a Public Safety Training Center for Fire Academy and interagency training, a new Veterans Support and Success Center, completion of the Industrial Technology/Machining center, an Athletic Field House, a new Student Services building at the Tehama Campus, and the Community Leadership Center (CLC) in downtown Redding. Measure H also funded an additional solar array on the Redding campus, which, together with an existing solar array, will meet 80% of the college’s energy needs. Additionally, major technology infrastructure upgrades have been implemented, and the college is remodeling its Library, which is set to reopen in Spring 2025.

Looking to the Future

When asked about the role the college has played in the last 75 years and what the future may hold, newly appointed Superintendent/President Frank Nigro was pensive and shared this thought, “I feel privileged and honored to lead such an incredible institution, especially when you consider all that has been accomplished over the past 75 years. And I am humbled by the continued support we have had from the community, as evidenced by bond measures such as the 2016 Measure H bond that is transforming our campus before our very eyes.  Thank you, community!! Shasta College has committed to a fundamental shift in recent years.  We have shifted from making our students college ready to making ourselves student ready, because we want students to get to their goals as quickly and cost effectively as they desire.  Shasta College is perfectly poised to continue serving the North State communities and to educate our workforce in the skills needed for the careers of the future. Our new and newly remodeled buildings, along with infrastructure improvements, reflect the innovative ideas, inclusive culture, and passion for excellence exhibited every day by our faculty, staff, and students. I appreciate the opportunity to play a small role in the future of this wonderful place we call Shasta College. Go Knights!”

Celebratory Events

To celebrate 75 years of serving the north state, the college has put up window displays at the downtown HSUC campus, the theatre and student center stage on the main Redding Campus, and at the Tehama campus. Limited-edition merchandise, including t-shirts, stickers, hats, coasters, and more will also commemorate the milestone. The anniversary celebration kicks off in August as the faculty prepares for the start of the fall semester. Several activities will launch on campus during the first three weeks, such as “Welcome Week” and “Spirit Week,” leading to the year’s first football game on September 7. The year’s festivities will culminate in May 2025 with the 75th commencement exercises!  

A Bright Future

Shasta College has always had an unwavering focus and passion for positively impacting the lives of its students, businesses, and communities through innovative, forward-thinking programs and services. The strong civic and business partnerships many of the college staff are involved with have helped to shape the north state and contributed to the growth and prosperity of the region.  

Nestled at the foot of the northern mountains, Shasta College has, for 75 years, grown and flourished in its northern counties as a center of progress and learning.  The college is excited to continue fulfilling the hope expressed in its motto, which Judge Richard B. Eaton chose at its founding, “Lux Montium,” which means “Light of the Mountains.”