Grossmont College is a public

community college A community college is a type of educational institution. The term can have different meanings in different countries: many community colleges have an "open enrollment" for students who have graduated from high school (also known as senior s ...

El Cajon, California El Cajon ( , ; Spanish: El Cajón, meaning "the box") is a city in San Diego County, California, United States, east of downtown San Diego. The city takes its name from Rancho El Cajón, which was in turn named for the box-like shape of the v ...

. Its name originated with the silent film actor and producer William J. Gross, who was enticed by

Ed Fletcher "Colonel" Ed Fletcher (December 31, 1872 – October 15, 1955) was a real estate developer and U.S. Republican and Democratic politician from San Diego, California. Fletcher was born 1872 in Littleton, Massachusetts, son of Charles Kimbal ...

to invest the purchase of land, part of which was called Grossmont. The campus sits in the

Fletcher Hills The Fletcher Hills are a low mountain range in the Peninsular Ranges, in southwestern San Diego County, California. The name Fletcher Hills also refers to a neighborhood near San Diego, California which lies primarily in the city of El Cajon and ...

community of El Cajon and is bordered by the cities of San Diego and Santee. Grossmont College along with Cuyamaca College make up what is the Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District. Grossmont is part of the

California Community College System The California Community Colleges is a postsecondary education system in the U.S. state of California.California Education CodSection 70900(added to the Education Code by Chapter 973 of the California Statutes of 1988Assembly Bill No. 1725 secti ...

. Grossmont College is also home to

Grossmont Middle College High School Grossmont Middle College High School (GMCHS) is a high school in San Diego County, California. Founded in 2001, GMCHS is located on the Grossmont College Grossmont College is a public community college in El Cajon, California. Its name orig ...

, where selected high school students can receive both high school and college credit for taking courses on campus. The newspaper for Grossmont College is ''The Summit.'' Its radio station is Griffin Radio.

Facilities

The facilities of Grossmont College are situated across 135 acres. At its inception, the campus was planned to accommodate an enrollment of 2,500 daytime students. The first incarnation of the completed campus was expected to hold 4,800 students. On October 18, 1965, a bond for $3.5 million was approved by area voters. This made it possible to complete the college's initial master plan. By September 25, 1967, the new facilities were completed. Since that time, student enrollment increased dramatically and created the need for new and remodeled campus facilities. In recent years, the college has undergone major improvements of its facilities including:

Academics

Grossmont College offers more than 150 degree and certificate programs. Each year, about 1,500 students earn Associate in Arts degrees,

Associate in Science An associate degree is an undergraduate degree awarded after a course of post-secondary study lasting two to three years. It is a level of qualification above a high school diploma, GED, or matriculation, and below a bachelor's degree. The f ...

degrees, and/or advanced/basic certificates. In addition, the students are offered general education and transfer programs.

Athletics

Grossmont College offers several men's and women's intercollegiate sports:

Notable alumni

* Sergio Bailey II - NFL and XFL football player * Lester Bangs - Music journalist * Doug Benson - Comedian * Brad Daluiso - American football player * Quintin Berry - MLB Player, Boston Red Sox * Rachel Bilson - American actress * Chad DeGrenier - American football player and coach * Stephanie Nicole Garcia-Colace - Professional wrestler, actress, known as Nikki Bella * Mark Goffeney (1969-2021) - Armless guitar player, child celebrity, disability advocate * Arthur Hobbs - Defensive back for the

Hamilton Tiger-Cats The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are a professional Canadian football team based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. They are currently members of the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The Tiger-Cats play their home games at Tim Hortons Fie ...

Barry Jantz Barry Jantz (born September 8, 1959) is a retired CEO of the Grossmont Healthcare District, a former member of the La Mesa City Council within San Diego County, California, and a Community Affairs consultant. After being selected by the San Die ...

- Former La Mesa City Councilman/CEO of Grossmont Healthcare District * Brian Jones (born 1968) - politician serving in the

California State Senate The California State Senate is the upper house of the California State Legislature, the lower house being the California State Assembly. The State Senate convenes, along with the State Assembly, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento. D ...

David Leisure David Russell Leisure (born November 16, 1950) is an American actor. He played Charley Dietz in the sitcom ''Empty Nest'' from 1988 to 1995 and fictional automotive "pitch man" Joe Isuzu in a series of North American television commercials for ...

- Actor * Kevin McCadam - NFL defensive back, Atlanta Falcons *

Dan Melville Daniel Lee Melville (born March 4, 1956) is a former American football punter who played one season with the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL). He first enrolled at Grossmont College before transferring to the University o ...

- American football player * Dat Phan - Vietnamese American stand-up comedian * Joe Roth - College football quarterback * Sean O'Sullivan - MLB Player,

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...

Cathy Scott Cathleen "Cathy" Scott (born c. 1950) is a '' Los Angeles Times'' bestselling American true crime writer and investigative journalist who penned the biographies and true crime books ''The Killing of Tupac Shakur'' and ''The Murder of Biggie Smal ...

- True crime author and journalist * Bernard Seigal - Musician,

Beat Farmers Beat, beats or beating may refer to: Common uses * Patrol, or beat, a group of personnel assigned to monitor a specific area ** Beat (police), the territory that a police officer patrols ** Gay beat, an area frequented by gay men * Battery (c ...

' original member, music journalist, editor college newspaper ''The Summit'' *

Scott Sherman Scott Sherman is a U.S. writer and podcaster. His first novel, ''First You Fall'', won the 2009 Lambda Literary Award for Best Gay Mystery. His writing has also appeared in many periodicals. His podcasts include The Gay Parenting Show, Digita ...

- former

San Diego City Council The San Diego City Council is the legislative branch of government for the city of San Diego, California. The city council was first established in San Diego in 1850. The council uses a strong mayor system with a separately elected mayor who act ...

member * Brian Sipe - NFL quarterback, Cleveland Browns *

Akili Smith Kabisa Akili Maradufu Smith (born August 21, 1975) is a former American football quarterback. He was drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals in the first round (3rd overall) of the 1999 NFL Draft, the third quarterback in the first three choices, beh ...

- NFL quarterback, Cincinnati Bengals *

Casey Tiumalu Casey James Tiumalu (born June 19, 1961) is an American former professional American football, football player who was a running back for the Los Angeles Rams in the National Football League (NFL). He played one season for the Rams in 1987 Lo ...

- NFL running back, Los Angeles Rams * Todd Watkins - NFL wide receiver

References

External links

*
Griffin Radio
{{authority control California Community Colleges Education in El Cajon, California Universities and colleges in San Diego County, California Schools accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges 1961 establishments in California Educational institutions established in 1961 Two-year colleges in the United States