Motto | Student Success, Our Top Priority |
---|---|
Type | Public Community College |
Established | 1924 |
President | Dr. Rajen Vurdien |
Students | 25,319 (As of 2015[update]) |
Location |
Pasadena, California, United States 34°9′N 118°7′W / 34.150°N 118.117°WCoordinates: 34°9′N 118°7′W / 34.150°N 118.117°W |
Colors | Cardinal Red and Gold |
Website | Official website |
Pasadena City College (PCC) is a community college located in Pasadena, California.
Pasadena City College was founded in 1924 as Pasadena Junior College. From 1928 to 1953, it operated as a four-year junior college, combining the last two years of high school with the first two years of 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. 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.
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. 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 donations. He was also active in the Civil Rights Movement.
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, planetarium, and seismograph.