• June 10, 1955 – Residents of Bellflower, Downey, Norwalk, La Mirada, Artesia, Bloomfield and Carmenita Elementary school districts vote to establish the Excelsior Junior College District, which would later become Cerritos College
•  September 17, 1955 - $6-million construction bond passes by a 4-1 vote
•  First Board of Trustees (1955)  
  • Dale L.D. Donnell (President)
  • Arthur Kulzer (Secretary)
  • R. Utterback
  • A.E. Sommer
  • Carl Tague
• September 11, 1956 – First classes offered to 197 students in rented classrooms at Excelsior High School
• March 25, 1958 – Field House is the first campus building completed
• June 12, 1958 – First commencement ceremony. Thirteen graduates received Associate in Arts degrees.
• October 1958 – $8-million construction bond to complete campus buildings

By the end of the decade, Cerritos College boasted eight buildings: Field House (March 1958), Liberal Arts, and Technology and Electronics (September 1959), Business Education, Lecture Hall, Science, and a Locker Room (October 1959). 

• 1961 – The gymnasium was completed
• 1965 – Enrollment hit 10,000
• 1966 – The Board of Trustees approves the purchase of the “South 40,” enlarging the campus to 135 acres

The Ralph F. Burnight Theatre, Student Center, Library and Metal Trade Shops were also developed in the 1960s. By the end of the decade, enrollment reached more than 11,000

• 1971 – Cerritos Junior College District changed to Cerritos Community College District.  Enrollment reached 15,000 students
•  Tuition was free to California residents and $30 per unit or $450 maximum for out-of-state residents
•  Vietnam Veterans made up 21% of the student population on campus during the fall of 1972
• 1979 – The Cerritos College Foundation was established

• October 19, 1989 – Cerritos.edu was activated. Cerritos College is the first California community college to connect to the Internet
• December 7, 1981 – 40 years after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Cerritos College dedicates the U.S.S. Pelias Bell from the U.S.S. Pelias that survived the attack. The monument is a permanent fixture in the Administrative Quad
• 1984 – California community colleges introduce enrollment fees: $5 per unit, $50 for 12 units and $100 for annual, full-time students

• 1992 – Library expansion enlarges the facility from 22,000 square feet to more than 40,000
• 1994 – New library renamed the Wilford Michael Library and Learning Resource Center
• 1995 – Student Center and Food Court remodeled
• 1996 – Student Health Services facility opens
• 1999 – ASCC underwrites the development of Falcon Square (formally called “The Quad”)
• 1999 – Award-winning Teacher TRAC program was developed in partnership with California State University, Long Beach

• March 2, 2004 – Residents pass a $210-million Measure CC bond measure to modernize the campus
• May 17, 2006 – Science building opens as the college’s first completed bond project
• 2007 – $3.5-million football field renovation
• 2007 – Falcon football celebrates 50 Years
• October 21, 2009 – New Aquatics Center opens

• May 21, 2010 – Auto Partners Building opens
• November 16, 2010 – Veterans Resource Center opens, and later moves to the Student Center Complex in 2014
• October 5, 2011 – Physical Science & Technology Building opens
• March 2, 2012 – Facilities and Purchasing Complex opens
• April 12, 2012 – Inaugural Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony
• November 6, 2012 – Residents approve a $350-million Measure G bond to continue campus renovations 
• March 8, 2013 – Falcon Gymnasium opens
• July 16, 2014 – Liberal Arts/DSP&S building opens
• February 4, 2015 – Child Development Center opens
• September 17, 2015 – Cerritos College celebrates 60 years
• October 7, 2015 – Newly renovated Culinary Arts facility opens
• February 15, 2017 – Fine Arts and Math/CIS Buildings opens
• August 30, 2017 – Cerritos College La Mirada opens at the Norwalk/La Mirada Adult School
• September 22, 2017 – the college hosts its first Economic Development Summit
• November 2017 – Cerritos Complete among the top 10 finalists for the 2018 Bellwether Award
• November 2017 – The Science Building retro-commissioning project wins the Energy and Sustainability Award
• April 2018 – Twenty-six Career Technical Education programs earn the California Community College’s Strong Workforce Stars recognition
• October 2018 – Cerritos Complete wins the 2018 Examples of Excelencia recognition
• April 2019 – the Health & Wellness Complex opens as the campus's first green-certified building
• June 2019 – Teacher TRAC receives more than $1 million in gifts to prepare future educators
• September 2019 – The college hosts its first NASA on Campus event as part of the NCAS
• October 2019 – Late-alumnus John B. Smith, Jr. leaves $2.3 million estate gift for woodworking scholarships as the largest financial gift in the college’s history

• June 11, 2020 - Cerritos College opens The Village, California’s first Community College housing project to tackle student homelessness
• September 10, 2020 – Cerritos College virtually celebrates 65th anniversary
• November 2020 – The college honored as a 2020 Equity Champion for awarding transfer degrees to Black students
• April 2021 - Cerritos College receives historic $1 million commitment for endowed Jain scholar
• March 2022 – Falcon’s Nest opens to help meet students’ basic needs
• June 2022 – The college ranks 11th among the nation’s best community colleges by College Consensus
• July 2022 – The Performing Arts Center at Cerritos College opens its doors
• November 2022 – The Equity Center opens to promote a safe and inclusive campus for all
• December 2022 - Voters approve the college’s $425 million General Obligation Bond Measure
• December 2023 – The Village selected as a national finalist for the 2024 Bellwether Awards 
• October 2024 – The college earns Seal of Excelencia certification for its work toward Latinx student success
• October 2024 – The college receives $3 million HSI Title V grant to increase Hispanic student success-
• August 2025 – Cerritos College launches its first bachelor’s degree program in dental hygiene