Erin Foltz
Staff Writer
The University of La Verne commemorated the grand opening of the Irvine location of its Orange County Regional Campus last Friday with a ribbon cutting ceremony and an open house.
Program participants included University of La Verne President Steven Morgan, members of the Irvine City Council and Chamber of Commerce and other university administrators, faculty members and students.
“The event was a mixture of a ribbon-cutting ceremony, plaque presentation and mixer,” Alison Rodriguez-Balles, associate director of admissions at the Orange County Campus said.
La Verne’s first Orange County regional campus opened in 1981 in Santa Ana. The new Irvine campus opened its doors for instruction and students in September.
The building features three classrooms, a computer lab, a seminar room and administrative offices.
Students at the Irvine campus can earn bachelor’s degrees in a variety of different majors as well as some master’s degrees.
Placement of a University of La Verne campus in Irvine was well-needed according to faculty members serving at the Orange County campus.
The University of La Verne now has 7 regional campuses offering degree programs for adults around the Southern California area.
“This area has a lot of people interested in earning degrees and this is a location that many people will be drawn to due to the large amount of companies and corporations in the city,” said Judie Simonson, administrative assistant at the Orange County campus.
Homa Shabahang, vice president of enrollment management and professor of economics and master of ceremonies for the event agreed.
“We have had a campus in Orange County in the city of Garden Grove for many years. We believe that Irvine, which is a hub of business and corporate activity in Orange County, is a better location,” Shabahang said.
She said that many students were commuting from Garden Grove to Irvine, so locating the campus in Irvine is more convenient for the student body and corporate partners.
“Plus this new campus is beautiful, modern, and very well equipped,” Shabahang said.
“It will serve the faculty and students much better,” Shabahang added.
Erin Foltz can be reached at erin.foltz@laverne.edu.
