OUR MISSION
Creating partnerships and building support for the benefit of students, staff, and faculty at Bakersfield College.
Our History
In 1975, a small group of people joined together to establish the BC Foundation. It was the brainchild of then BC President John Collins, and the purpose was to provide opportunities for the community to support Bakersfield College students…mostly through scholarships.
At the time, BC was celebrating “20 Years on the Hill,” having moved to the Panorama Drive site in 1956, leaving the shared campus of what is now called Bakersfield High School.
The Vietnam war was ending, and President Collins encouraged an environment where students could enjoy all aspects of college life, having been so preoccupied with the war and the economy and politics.
And…campus life was robust! The men’s and women’s dorms were lively, and movie nights on campus were overflowing thanks to screenings of Dirty Harry and Woodstock.
But it wasn’t all fun and games. President Collins was a proponent of lifelong learning, and he believed that BC should serve people of all ages. He advocated for a dual focus at Bakersfield College: 1. Workforce development and 2. Preparing those who planned to transfer to a 4-year institution.
He was quoted as saying, “This college belongs to the community,” and he is credited with leading the creation of the BC Foundation which is, indeed, a bridge between the college and the community.
He began by calling up a certain young, local attorney—a BC Alum–named Ken Byrum to draw up the legal documents. They brought in Jack Hernandez (Dean of Students at the time), Wiley Jones (economics and accounting instructor), and community members Jim Gutcher, Millie Ablin, and Larry Weill, among others. We are forever grateful to John Collins, Ken Byrum, and the entire group of forward-looking community and campus supporters who laid the groundwork for what is now the Bakersfield College Foundation.