By Jennifer K. Morita

June 28, 2024

Sacramento State and Sierra College presidents signed an agreement forming a “momentous partnership” to develop a satellite campus in Placer County that will be a shared learning space and create seamless pathways to higher education.

“We are building a ‘communiversity’ model here of concurrent enrollment that will be a game changer for educational attainment in this region,” Sac State President Luke Wood said, referring to Sacramento State Placer. “Ultimately our goal isn’t to just enroll students, but it’s to graduate students with the ability to create better lives for themselves and their families.”

Wood and Sierra College Superintendent/President Willy Duncan signed the presidential agreement and letter of intent during a special ceremony June 28 at the Harper Alumni Center at Sac State.

“The concept that a community college and a CSU campus can work together in this way I think is a model that is going to be looked at as a way people are going to access education in the future,” Duncan said.

“The best investment a community can make in its economic and civic future is an investment in higher education.”

“We are building a ‘communiversity’ model here of concurrent enrollment that will be a game changer for educational attainment in this region. Ultimately our goal isn’t to just enroll students, but it’s to graduate students with the ability to create better lives for themselves and their families.” -- Sac State President Luke Wood.

In January, the CSU Board of Trustees unanimously approved plans for Sacramento State Placer on 301 acres donated by philanthropist and businessman Eli Broad’s Placer Ranch, Inc. The campus will be part of Taylor Builders’ 2,213-acre master-planned community called Placer One along Highway 65 near Roseville and Rocklin.

Under its master plan, the campus will be developed in four phases,  serving 12,000 full-time equivalent students.

The initial phase includes construction of a forensic science lab. The Placer County Board of Supervisors in February unanimously approved an agreement and funding with the University for design of the lab.

The campus will serve as a co-location site for Sac State and Sierra College with dual admission, concurrent enrollment, shared financial aid, combined counseling and other support services.

Sierra College will provide funding through Measure E bond money for construction of the first phase. Sierra College’s early investment reserves space for up to 5,000 students on the Placer site.

Classroom space where students from both schools can take University courses has been identified at Sierra College for a pilot concurrent enrollment and dual admissions program scheduled to start in spring 2025.

The first buildings are expected to open by 2028. Vajra Watson, Sacramento State Placer interim senior associate vice president, led 60 faculty and staff experts from both schools through workshops to develop interdisciplinary academic pathways that looked at the future of learning, internship opportunities and workforce development. 

“I take seriously the intellectual stewardship of this role,” Watson said. “How do we plan and build the future of higher education? How do we become more interdisciplinary in our approach to learning and more connected to internship opportunities for our students?”

“The work of these particular experts laid our academic foundation and has fortified the future of Sac State Placer.”

The teams identified academic pathways for the campus, including:

• College of Advanced Hospitality
• College of Wellness and Longevity
• College of Sustainability
• College of Forensic Science and Technology 

Placer County is the second-fastest growing county in California, spurring the need for more higher education opportunities as well as a forensic lab to process and analyze evidence in criminal investigations, said Phil Hess, a Sac State Criminal Justice lecturer.

Placer is served by the Department of Justice labs. A backlog of cases, however, often results in yearlong delays, said Hess, who is also a criminalist with the Sacramento County District Attorney’s Laboratory of Forensic Services.

“The (Placer) district attorney would like to speed up that process and not delay justice for the victims and the people in the community he serves there,” Hess said.

The two-story, 30,000-square-foot facility will be a working crime lab as well as educational space, where students can learn from working professionals. In addition to training and internship opportunities, students will help research and test new technology and methodologies.

Hess attended Weber State University in Utah, where there was a working crime lab on campus.

“The people who taught the classes were people who were doing the job,” Hess said. “They were on the cutting edge of what’s happening in the real world. We were able to get hands-on experience doing the work with instruments and equipment being utilized on the job.

“When it comes time to look for a job, it makes you very marketable because you have as close as you can get to real world experience.”

Academic pathway committee members strove to create programs that were interdisciplinary and hands-on.

“This is a really exciting opportunity for our students and for our campus to think about different ways of approaching curriculum,” said Jamie Kneitel, a Biological Sciences professor who served on a Sac State Placer working committee for what became the College of Sustainability.

He said the site’s proximity to vernal pools, wetlands and a solid waste landfill makes it an ideal place for students to study natural habits as well as recycling, composting and sustainable ways to dispose waste.

“We’re lucky here at Sac State to have the American River right next to our campus,” Kneitel said. “Having a similar situation up at Placer is a great way to train our students and connect them to the land that is around us, so they can better understand the natural history of our region and of California.”

Faculty could collaborate with government agencies and industry partners to create training and internship opportunities that will better prepare students, Kneitel said.

“It’s a two-way street,” he said. “We’re not only training and educating our students, but we’re also asking how we can better serve our region and our community.

“We have many problems related to climate change and energy and water conservation. Having these partnerships and coming from an interdisciplinary, creative perspective can contribute to finding solutions.”

The College of Advanced Hospitality could incorporate technology, artificial intelligence, and wellness along with the potential for real world training at a state-of-the-art hotel run by students.

“It will be a very flexible program for anyone who is either a professional in the field and wants to grow, or a new college student with zero experience,” Hospitality Professor Abhijeet Shirsat said.

Shirsat, who said the college may also encompass certificate programs for casino management, hospitality and tourism, said the timing and location for the Placer campus couldn’t be better.

“We are doing this right when we are at the edge of where education is transforming,” he said. “Opening this campus now will give us a competitive edge over all the other educational institutions in California and indeed the entire country.”

“We’re lucky here at Sac State to have the American River right next to our campus. Having a similar situation up at Placer is a great way to train our students and connect them to the land that is around us, so they can better understand the natural history of our region and of California.” -- Sac State Biological Sciences Professor Jamie Kneitel

Gerontology professor Donna Jensen said her committee looked at creating a “blue zone” campus, modeled after regions in the world with high longevity and quality of life.

One of the key features would be a sensory garden where people with dementia and cognitive issues could enjoy with family and caretakers.

“It could have raised beds where people could grow food, and it would be a physical space for people to exercise, do tai chi or have Indigenous ceremonies,” Jensen said. “We know that by 2030, 20% of our population will be over the age of 60. It’s higher in Placer County because there are more retired folks living there.”

In addition, Jensen said the College of Wellness and Longevity would look at how to enhance physical and mental health in the workplace.

“Our interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary vision for Placer represents 301 acres of sustainability, environmental stewardship and a steadfast commitment to educational equity,” Wood said.

Watson said she wants to “leave education better than we inherited it. The Placer Campus represents our collective legacies.”