Copper Mountain College in Joshua Tree has provided students of the Morongo Basin with higher education since 1984, but it was only through the dedication of a small group of people that the campus came to exist at all. In the first part of a two-part story, Reporter Andrew Dieleman tells us the remarkable story of the Friends of Copper Mountain College and how their hard work and dedication turned the dream of a local community college into a reality…
The Morongo Basin became part of the Desert Community College District in 1966 and by 1967, 200 students were enrolled in classes held at the former Blessed Sacrament School in Twentynine Palms. The hope of a physical college campus began in 1970 when the district purchased a 120-acre site from the Morongo Unified School District for $80,000. Through 1980, the district explored options for raising the funds to build the campus. Enter the Friends of Copper Mountain College, a fund-raising organization founded by residents Ada Hatch and Kay Vilott. The College of the Desert Board of Trustees made an initial donation of $343,000 to seed the fundraiser but tasked the Friends with raising the remaining funds. Through 1983, the Friends sold $850,000 worth of Certificates of Participation. An additional $150,000 donation came from local Rotary Clubs and an additional $50,000 donation from local Soroptimist International Clubs. In all, the Friends managed to raise more than $1 million towards construction costs. The Friends were nominated by Congressman Jerry Lewis for President Ronald Regan’s first National Presidents Action Award for their efforts and were presented with the award during the opening ceremony of the campus in 1984.
Part 2 of this story will cover the expansion of the Copper Mountain College campus and programs from 1984 to present day.
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