The college was founded in 1955. It was named after Rancho Los Cerritos, a local ranch in the 19th century. In turn the college was part of the inspiration for the renaming of the neighboring city of Dairy Valley to Cerritos. The district covers Artesia, Bellflower, Cerritos, Downey, Norwalk, La Mirada, and Hawaiian Gardens.
Originally, classrooms were rented in the now defunct Excelsior High School in September 1956.[6] On July 24, 1957, the Cerritos Junior College District won the case against Dairy Valley (now Cerritos) to use the undeveloped land as an educational site.[6] In September 1959, the college moved from Excelsior High School to the current site.[6]
Organization and administration
The founder was Ralph Burnight of Redlands, a resident of Bellflower and superintendent of the Excelsior School District. The current college president is Jose Fierro.
Campus modernization
On February 15, 2017, the school opened two new buildings: a new Math and Computer Information Sciences building, and a Fine Arts complex. Together, the new facilities cost over $55 million and were funded by Measure G bond dollars.[7]
Housing
On June 11, 2020, Cerritos became the first California community college to have housing for students without a place to live or with uncertain housing.[8]
