Pasadena City College

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Pasadena City College
Student Success, Our Top Priority
Location
Pasadena, California
United States
Coordinates 34°9′N 118°7′W / 34.150°N 118.117°W / 34.150; -118.117Coordinates: 34°9′N 118°7′W / 34.150°N 118.117°W / 34.150; -118.117
Information
Type Public Community College
Established 1924[1]
School district Pasadena Area Community College District
President Mark Rocha
Number of students 26,833 (As of 2012)[2]
Campus type Buildings
Mascot Lancer
Newspaper PCC Courier
Website Official website

Pasadena City College (PCC) is a community college located in Pasadena, California. The school is part of California's 112 community colleges, which have a total enrollment of 2.6 million students, the largest higher education system in the world.[3] Over one million individuals have taken classes at PCC in its over 75 years.[4] The rate of students who transfer to four-year universities is ranked second after Santa Monica Community College.

Grand entrance to Pasadena City College

School history[edit]

Pasadena City College was founded in 1924 as Pasadena Junior College. In 1954, Pasadena Junior College merged with another junior college, John Muir College, to become Pasadena City College. In 1966, voters approved the creation of the Pasadena Area Junior College District. The name was subsequently changed to the Pasadena Area Community College District.[citation needed] Pasadena City College is accredited by the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges an institutional accrediting body recognized by the Commission on Recognition of Postsecondary Accreditation and the U.S. Department of Education.[5]

The school is governed by a nine-member board of trustees. Seven members are elected (each of whom represents a geographical section of the Pasadena Area Community College District); one is a student trustee who is elected by the student body; and one is the sitting college president, who is also the district superintendent. As of 2010, the president/superintendent is Dr. Mark Rocha, former West Los Angeles College president. Rocha assumed the role of president/superintendent on July 1, 2010, when he was chosen to replace Dr. Lisa Sugimoto.[citation needed]

Previous presidents/superintendents include Jack Scott (1987–1995), who served as state senator from 1996 to 2008. As of 2009, Scott is Chancellor of the California Community College system; Dr. James Kossler, 1995–2007; Dr. Paulette Perfumo, who held the position from August 2007 until her abrupt resignation in 2009; and Dr. Lisa Sugimoto, who served as acting president through the end of the 2009-2010 academic year.[citation needed]

The Shatford Library is a direct descendent of the original Pasadena High School library that originally occupied the campus. The $16.5-million Shatford Library opened in 1994, and holds 133,024 volumes in the general book collection, over 300 periodical subscriptions (plus over two thousand titles in electronic databases) 7,338 audio cassettes, 1,019 paperbacks, 661 CDs and software, 404 volumes in the Special Services collection, and 1,186 videocassettes.[6] Walter T. Shatford II, is the attorney for whom the library was named in recognition of his four decades of service on the school's board and his generous donations. He was also very active in the Civil Rights Movement.[7]

Pasadena City College Clocktower

In 2003, voters approved a bond measure for about $150 million that improved campus facilities. A significant portion of these funds were earmarked for the construction of a new building to house the college's art and music departments. The Alumni Commons, the Aquatic Center, the Boone Sculpture Garden, and the Galloway Plaza have all replaced what were once campus parking lots. A new fourth floor parking structure (Lot 5) and a new bus parking area were completed in 2005.

In 2007, many services at the school had to relocate pending demolition of their previous facilities. These included the college bookstore, Student Affairs, Associated Students, the student business services, the campus police and the offices of the school newspaper The Courier. A groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of the new Industrial and Technology building, Campus Center and Bookstore took place in October 2007. The Campus Center and Bookstore opened in August 2009. The school is one of the few community colleges with its own observatory and seismograph.[4]

Demographics[edit]

The school attracts students from throughout Southern California, enrolling a large percentage of student from outside the bounds of the Pasadena Area Community College District, which was established in 1966. The district includes the cities of Pasadena, South Pasadena, Altadena, San Marino, Temple City, La Canada Flintridge, Arcadia, El Sereno, Sierra Madre, and portions of Rosemead and El Monte.[4]

As of 2012, there are approximately 26,000 students enrolled in the school. The demographics of the students are: 42.5 percent Hispanic, 23.2 percent Asian or Pacific Islander, 16.5 percent Caucasian, 5.4 percent African American, and 0.4 percent American Indian. 51.2 percent of the students are female, while 48.3 percent are male.[3] According to the Public Policy Institute of California,[citation needed] the school's transfer rate was the second highest in California, with 1,816 students transferred during the 2005–2006 academic year, second only to Santa Monica Community College's 2,234 students.[4]

The staff members of the International Student Office assist international students in the application process and support their transition during their time at the school.[8] Before registration, international students are required to pass the English as a Second Language (ESL) and Math placement examinations before being accepted into the school. They are also required to attend counseling to plan for classes.[8] Assistance is available to become familiar with campus resources, i.e., Counseling Office, Library, Learning Assistance Center (LAC), the ESL Center, and Computing Services. It is recommended that all students meet with a counselor to develop a Student Educational Plan (SEP) (L104).[8]

As of 2013, there are 264 full-time professors and 903 part-time professors. They are represented by the Academic Senate and the Faculty Association.

Academic programs[edit]

Mathematics[edit]

The math department has won the AMATYC community college mathematics competition numerous times.[citation needed]

Ethnic studies[edit]

Pasadena City College has a long history of teaching Ethnic studies at the community college level. These include courses in Asian American studies, Chicano studies, African American studies, and American Indian studies.[4]

Languages[edit]

Pasadena City College offers courses in the following languages: American Sign Language (ASL), Arabic (Standard), Armenian (Western), Chinese (Mandarin), French, German, Italian, Japanese, Latin, Portuguese (Brazilian), Russian, Spanish and English as a Second Language (ESL).

Music[edit]

The music department provides the Pasadena City College Herald Trumpets and the honor band for the Rose Parade. It is also the host of the annual Bandfest, held annually at year's end by the Pasadena Tournament of Roses in the Robinson Stadium.[4] At one time, its applied music staff included John Dearman of the L.A. Guitar Quartet.

Health care[edit]

Pasadena City College is responding to a need in the community and employers in the health care industry by offering a course for anesthetic technicians. In partnership with Kaiser Permanente, the school's anesthesia technician program is recognized by the American Society of Anesthesia Technologists and Technicians. The course is the first such program in the state of California.[citation needed]

Pasadena City College was the first community college in Southern California to offer an approved program for speech-language pathology assistants.[9][full citation needed]

Product Design[edit]

The Product Design Department at Pasadena City College is a premier community college program and is one of only two product design programs in the California Community College System.[citation needed] The curriculum prepares students with a portfolio to enter the industrial design profession as an entry-level designer. The courses develop a broad range of required skills including an understanding of the creative process with emphasis on function, environmental and social concerns, and the art form.[4] Students enroll from around the world to prepare portfolios, many for applications to four-year colleges.[citation needed] The program is the number one transfer program to Art Center College of Design and many other prestigious industrial design programs nationwide.[10][non-primary source needed]

Visual Arts[edit]

The Visual Arts Division has a celebrated annual artist-in-residence program, a sculpture garden, an active gallery program featuring professional artists, and a high transfer rate to specialized art and design schools, including the nearby Art Center College of Design.[citation needed]

Television and Radio[edit]

The Television and Radio Department offers courses in television and radio. There are certificate programs in TV production, TV operations, TV post-production, radio production, broadcast journalism and others. PCC graduates often transfer to four-year schools such as USC, UCLA and CSUN, while others have gone on to obtain employment at NBC, Fox, Paramount, TVG and KPCC.[11]

Students may participate in the student-run radio station "Lancer Radio". PCC owns and leases the FCC license to broadcast on station KPCC 89.3 FM. KPCC is a member station of National Public Radio, managed and operated by Southern California Public Radio from their facility on Raymond Avenue in Pasadena. PCC has no other direct connection to the management or operation of KPCC. Student involvement is limited to a contractual agreement to accept 12 student interns per year.[citation needed]

Publishing[edit]

The Courier is the official student award-winning newspaper of Pasadena City College. It has been honored with a General Excellence Award by the Journalism Association of Community Colleges.[12][non-primary source needed] The students were also honored for their work on the campus newspaper.[citation needed]

Athletics[edit]

Athletic programs available at Pasadena City College include basketball, cross country, swimming, tennis, track and field, volleyball, baseball, softball, football, and soccer.[13] The sports teams are known as the Lancers, and the school colors are cardinal red and gold. The school's baseball team uses Jackie Robinson Field, located near the Rose Bowl, for practices and home games.[4]

Robinson Stadium is named for Jackie and Mack Robinson, both of whom were PCC alumni.[4] The stadium was completed in 1999, after a renovation to move the stadium from a North-West position to an East-West direction. The stadium's surface is SprinTurf,[14] while the track has been converted to an all-weather surface. In addition to the school students, the stadium is used by local students from Marshall Fundamental Secondary School, Pasadena High School, and Blair International Baccalaureate School for some high school home football games due to lack of resources on the respective campus fields.

Offsite facilities[edit]

Pasadena City College has two offsite facilities, the Child Development Center and the Community Education Center. The Child Development Center, located one block west of the PCC campus, is a childcare center for children of the school's students.[4] The Community Education Center, located two miles east of the main campus, is an offsite facility where vocational training, some ESL courses, American Citizenship (known as "Americanization") courses, and the college's high school diploma program take place. A shuttle service from the main campus is available to the Community Education Center.[4]

Classes at high schools[edit]

Pasadena City College offers courses that can be taken at nearby high schools. Courses are also offered at the Armory Center for the Arts in downtown Pasadena.[4]

Transportation[edit]

PCC is accessible by bus, including five Metro Local lines, Metro Rapid, Foothill Transit, and some Pasadena ARTS buses. The school provides a shuttle[15] to and from the Metro Gold Line station (light rail) and the Community Education Center of Pasadena City College.[16]

Student activism[edit]

While at John Muir, Fred Phelps was profiled in Time magazine for preaching against "sins committed on campus by students and teachers ... promiscuous petting ... evil language ... profanity ... cheating ... teachers' filthy jokes in classrooms ... [and] pandering to the lusts of the flesh".[17] Phelps later became leader of the Westboro Baptist Church.

On March 20, 2003, on the day the United States launched Operation Iraqi Freedom, many students led by the Students for Social Justice, protested on campus against the war. Protesters went through the administration building requesting students to join their cause. Three students were arrested by campus police.[18]

On March 7, 2007, demonstrators from Philadelphia-based Repent America demonstrated on campus, leading to tensions between demonstrators and some students. PCC students, some who were journalism students and staff members of the campus newspaper, PCC Courier, were involved in the May Day melee at MacArthur Park.[citation needed]

Students and faculty held a rally in support of the Jena Six on September 20, 2007. Some students were beaten and arrested at the MacArthur Park immigrant rights demonstration on May 1, 2007.[19]

During 2012 and 2013, the school has become embroiled in conflict between students, faculty and the campus administration.[20] In an unprecedented move, the Associated Students unanimously censured the administration and passed a vote of no confidence in the school's president, Dr. Mark Rocha, and collectively called for his immediate ouster.[21] Separately, a vote among full-time faculty members expressed no confidence in Rocha by a margin of 92 percent to 8 percent.[22] To date, the Board of Trustees remain firm in their support of the administration, and Rocha remains in office.

Notable alumni[edit]

Faculty
  • Nicholas Martin, Associate Professor of the French department, is a two time Olympic gold medalist with the 1952 and 1956 Hungarian water polo teams
  • Hugo Schwyzer, professor of History and women's studies.
Students

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Pasadena City College - International Students - Campus Information: About PCC". Pasadena.edu. 2009-01-29. Retrieved 2013-03-23. 
  2. ^ "California Community Colleges Chancellor's Office - Data Mart". Datamart.cccco.edu. Retrieved 2013-03-23. 
  3. ^ a b "Fact Sheet - About Pasadena City College". Pasadena.edu. 2012-08-11. Retrieved 2013-03-23. 
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "Welcome to Pasadena City College - President Dr. Mark Rocha". Pasadena.edu. Retrieved 2013-03-23. 
  5. ^ "PCC is Accredited by the WASC - Institutional Effectiveness - Pasadena City College". Pasadena.edu. Retrieved 2013-03-23. 
  6. ^ "Shatford Library, Pasadena City College - Pasadena, CA - Libraries on". Waymarking.com. Retrieved 2013-03-23. 
  7. ^ Nelson, Valerie J. (May 23, 2009). "Walter T. Shatford Ii, 1914–2009 – Los Angeles Times". Los Angeles Times. 
  8. ^ a b c "Table of Contents" (PDF). Retrieved 2013-03-23. 
  9. ^ Los Angeles Times, January 13, 2002
  10. ^ "Institutional Self Study Report in Support of Reaffirmation of Accreditation, January 2009" (PDF). Retrieved 2013-03-23. 
  11. ^ "Telecommunications - Pasadena City College". Pasadena.edu. 2009-11-16. Retrieved 2013-03-23. 
  12. ^ "Pasadena City College Student Newspaper Picks Up Journalism Awards - News - Pasadena City College". Pasadena.edu. Retrieved 2013-03-23. 
  13. ^ "Athletics Department - Pasadena City College". Pasadena.edu. Retrieved 2013-03-23. 
  14. ^ "Pasadena City College Football". Pasadena.edu. 2013-03-14. Retrieved 2013-03-23. 
  15. ^ "Police/Safety Services - Shuttle Service - Pasadena City College". Pasadena.edu. 2012-09-04. Retrieved 2013-03-23. 
  16. ^ "Community Education Center - Pasadena City College". Pasadena.edu. 2012-12-07. Retrieved 2013-03-23. 
  17. ^ "Religion: Repentance In Pasadena", Time, June 11, 1951, retrieved December 10, 2012 
  18. ^ Hoffman, Gretchen (March 27, 2003). "PCC students, faculty stage protest". Pasadena Star-News. 
  19. ^ http://www.pcccourier.com/home/index.cfm?event=displayArticlePrinterFriendly&uStory_id=3b330812-69b6-49bc-8307-32dc1749d64e][dead link]
  20. ^ "Campus Seethes over Administration". PCC Courier. Retrieved 22 March 2013. 
  21. ^ "Associated Students resolution of No Confidence". 27 February 2013. Retrieved 20 March 2013. 
  22. ^ Anthony Richetts (14 March 2013). "Faculty Overwhelmingly has No Confidence in Administration". PCC Courier. Retrieved 14 March 2013. 
  23. ^ a b c d e f g h i Gary Wayne. "Celebrity Schools". Seeing-stars.com. Retrieved 2013-03-23. 
  24. ^ Gore, Joe (1989), "Jennifer Batten: Storming the Boys’ Club", Guitar Player 23 (7): 92–103 
  25. ^ "George Reeves - Pasadena City College". Pasadena.edu. Retrieved 2013-03-23. 
  26. ^ "Sirhan’s Parole - By Victor Davis Hanson - The Corner - National Review Online". Nationalreview.com. 2011-03-02. Retrieved 2013-03-23. 
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