Chapter 2: Early Local Attempts

Chapter 2: Early Local Attempts Early County Junior College Efforts Local historian Philip Holmes in an article titled, “Ohlone College Comes to Washington Township” (Argus, 2/9/92) cites several pre-World War II efforts to bring a junior college to the area: Washington Township citizens agitated to secure a junior college in South Alameda County in 1929. It was decided that the area could not support the necessary bond. The movement was revived in 1931 for a college in Eden, Murray, Pleasanton and Washington Township. William for it offered $100,000 to start a junior college in Niles. There were also several attempts in the 1950s to site a state college in Fremont or Newark. Of course that did not happen, as Hayward was eventually chosen as the location of the state college. While Washington Township was responding to local post-war growth and incorporating into more consolidated cities, the state of California was also reacting to the dramatic post-war economic and population growth. One area that received a great deal of legislative attention was higher education. In 1955, responding to the influx of GIs, and in anticipation of the growing baby boom, the state legislature funded the previously described "Liaison Committee" to update the 1948 Strayer Report. The study and resulting report was named the “A Restudy of the Needs of California in Higher Education,” and was commonly known as “The Restudy.” (Winter, p. 26) “The Restudy” looked at the whole system of higher education including the junior colleges, state colleges, and the University of California campuses in light of new developments. Many recommendations were made, which would ultimately (after even more studies) lead to the landmark Donohue Bill passed in 1960 establishing the Master Plan for Higher Education. (Winter, p. 29) One of the findings of the Restudy indicated the area of Alameda County south of Oakland would benefit from the formation of a junior college district. Two local planning efforts were undertaken in response to this finding and are described below, though neither would result in the formation of a district at that time. (Staniford, p. 4) The 20th anniversary of Chabot College in 1981 prompted Edward Staniford, a history professor at the college, to write a wonderful book entitled, Chabot College: