Dr. Dianne Van Hook, the pioneering Chancellor who led College of the Canyons (COC) for 36 years, has filed a wrongful termination lawsuit against the Santa Clarita Community College District. During her nearly four-decade tenure, Dr. Van Hook transformed COC into a nationally recognized institution of higher learning, hiring over 1000 exceptional employees, establishing hallmark programs such as the Academy ...

College of the Canyons (COC) has been named a 2025 Pathway Champion for excelling in Black Transfer-Level Math Success by The Campaign for College Opportunity. The college is one of three California community colleges that supported the highest percentage of Black students to complete a transfer-level math course within one year of their initial enrollment during the academic year 2023-24. ...

The College of the Canyons Society of Physics and Engineering Students (SPES) successfully launched a high-altitude balloon carrying a scientific payload that members designed, built, and tested over several months. Launched in September, the balloon’s payload included a custom bio-aerosol sampler developed by club members to collect microorganisms in the stratosphere — a region of Earth’s atmosphere where life is ...

On Saturday, Nov. 1, the College of the Canyons Paralegal Studies Department marked its 20th anniversary with a special celebration held at the University Center. The event drew more than 70 attendees, which included program alumni, faculty members, and members of the paralegal advisory board. “We are proud to celebrate two decades of our paralegal program and the incredible accomplishments ...

The College of the Canyons (COC) Occupational Therapy Assistant (OTA) program has been granted Candidate for Accreditation status by the Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education (ACOTE), which allows the program to move forward with enrolling its first 28-student cohort. Expected to launch in fall 2026, the college’s OTA program will prepare students to become skilled healthcare professionals who work ...

College of the Canyons professor Dr. Eddie Becton will deliver the scholarly presentation “The Soul of a Nation: A History of Black Music Informing Democracy” on Thursday, Nov. 13 at the Santa Clarita Performing Arts Center (PAC). Becton’s presentation will offer a historical examination of Black music in America, exploring how artists have used their songs to define and challenge ...

The first cohort of the College of the Canyons Clinical Lab Scientist (CLS) program graduated on Oct. 24 at a special ceremony held at the college’s University Center. Launched in fall 2024, the CLS program is approved by the California Department of Public Health/Laboratory Field Services (CDPH/LFS) and prepares students for careers in clinical laboratories, industry and biotechnology. After completing ...

College of the Canyons hosted a spirited debate on Proposition 50 Tuesday afternoon drawing a mix of students, faculty and community members to hear competing views on the most closely watched measures on California’s November ballot. The event, organized by the Institute on Ethics, Law and Public Policy along with the Political Science Club and other campus organizations, featured two ...

College of the Canyons will host its Fall 2025 Star Party on Friday, Oct. 24, featuring a keynote presentation by Dr. Athina Peidou, a geodesist and GRACE-FO Project Staff Scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Peidou will present “Monitoring the Global Water Cycle with GRACE-FO Missions,” sharing insights from NASA’s mission that tracks the movement of water across the planet, ...

College of the Canyons has been selected to join the 2025-2026 class of National Park Trust College Ambassadors, standing out as the only community college among a prestigious group of universities nationwide. Other participating schools include Harvard University, Georgetown University, University of Florida, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and 13 additional institutions. The College Ambassador Program equips students ...