Santa Monica College Celebrates the Opening of its Malibu Campus

Santa Monica College to Hold Open House April 22, Celebrating the Opening of its First-Ever Malibu Campus

Years in the Planning, Three-Acre Campus on Civic Center Way Serves Hundreds of Students, Also Houses LA County Sheriff’s Substation & Community Spaces

 SANTA MONICA, CA—Santa Monica College (SMC) will celebrate the opening of its first-ever Malibu Campus—which began serving students on Feb 13, 2023, the first day of SMC’s spring 2023 semester—with an open house to be held 12:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, April 22. The event, which is open to the public, will be held at SMC Malibu Campus, 23555 Civic Center Way, located next to the Malibu Library. Ample parking is available on site, and along Civic Center Way.

The open house will include live class demonstrations, campus tours, with Malibu High School and Malibu Community Library (part of the Los Angeles Public Library system) participating to provide information tables for attendees and activities for children, and more.

The three-acre campus, SMC’s first in Malibu, includes a two-story educational building with a dedicated art studio and a classroom for science; a multipurpose physical activity space which will double as an emergency operations center, should the need arise; a 100-seat lecture hall with raked seating; a computer lab; and  two general education classrooms. Designed by QDG Architecture with numerous sustainability features, the campus fulfills the city’s “dark skies” standards. A one-story wing of the campus will house a Los Angeles County Sheriff’s substation, marking the first time since the early 1990s that Malibu has had a police substation within city limits.

“I am delighted to announce the inaugural opening of SMC’s new Malibu Campus that is already serving over 400 students, enrolled in a wide range of classes: for-credit, short-term skill-building noncredit, Emeritus, and community education classes,” said SMC Superintendent/President Dr. Kathryn E. Jeffery. “I enthusiastically invite the public to help celebrate this historic unveiling. My sincere appreciation to the voters who approved the 2004 Measure S and the 2016 Measure V bond measures!”

Jeffery went on to note that it took “tremendous teamwork to make SMC Malibu a reality.” “The County of Los Angeles, the City of Malibu, and the leaders who served on the Malibu Public Facilities Authority throughout the years—thank you all for participating in the creation of a campus that will stand here for years to come as a representation of Santa Monica College’s commitment to bringing affordable, world-class education to Malibu.”

“The new Santa Monica College campus offers opportunities for Malibu students to begin their college education and for adults to take a wide range of non-credit and community courses right here in Malibu,” said Malibu Mayor Bruce Silverstein. “The campus also brings public safety enhancements to Malibu with the EOC and Sheriff’s Substation, as well as community meeting and event facilities that will enrich our community.”

“Since the first moment the Malibu Campus opened its doors to students and community members, we have heard nothing but pure exuberance about this campus and what it means for the community,” said SMC Associate Dean for Malibu, Alice Meyering. “It’s a project 20 years in the making and it’s finally here and open to the public! Students are enjoying a world-class learning experience in this innovative building, at an unbeatable location. We see happy people coming through our doors daily, ready to engage no matter what disciplines they are enrolled in.”

SMC also contributed $2.5 million for the acquisition of Legacy Park, which serves as a storage site for storm water, and an additional $2.5 million towards facilities for the treatment of wastewater. The 15-acre Legacy Park—which opened in October 2010 immediately to the south of the campus site—is considered one of the most innovative urban runoff and storm water projects in California, and has won numerous awards.

The college’s history of providing educational offerings in Malibu—which, along with the city of Santa Monica, lie within the single-college district’s “boundaries”—extend as far back as the 1970s and early 1980s when the college offered a full program of about 70 general education classes. In the recent past, SMC offered classes at the Malibu Senior Center in City Hall as part of the college’s Emeritus Program, and evening credit classes at Webster Elementary School.

For more information on the April 22 open house or the campus in general, email Meyering_Alice@smc.edu or visit smc.edu/malibu.

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