Portland Community College

Portland Community College (PCC) is a public community college in Portland, Oregon. It is the largest post-secondary institution in the state and serves residents in the five-county area of Multnomah, Washington, Yamhill, Clackamas, and Columbia counties. As of the 2021–2022 academic year, PCC enrolls more than 50,000 full-time (40%) and part-time (60%) students.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

History

The college was founded in 1961 as an adult education program for the local public school system, operating out of the former Template:Proper name Elementary School<ref name="amo" /> since 1959 and renamed Portland Community College in 1961.<ref name=oreg17apr61>Template:Cite news</ref> Voters approved the establishment of an independent district for the college in 1968.<ref name="amo" /> Amo DeBernardis (1913-2010),<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> former assistant superintendent of Portland Public Schools, was the founding president of the school, serving from 1961 to 1979.<ref name="amo">Template:Cite news</ref>

The Cascade Campus opened in North Portland in 1971, and the Rock Creek Campus opened in Washington County in 1976. The district passed a $374 million bond measure in 2008.<ref name="leed">Template:Cite news</ref> PCC's $25 million Willow Creek Center opened in 2009 and earned a platinum LEED certification the next year.<ref name="leed"/><ref name="willow creek">Template:Cite news</ref> The Newberg Center opened in October 2011,<ref name="newberg center">Template:Cite web</ref> replacing a temporary arrangement in use for the 2010–11 school year, in which PCC courses were offered at the Chehalem Cultural Center. The center's Template:Convert building is a LEED platinum-designed building, the first net zero higher education building in Oregon.<ref name=djc-2011oct>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Facilities

Rock Creek campus, building 7

Sylvania campus

There are four main campuses, which are larger facilities offering two-year degrees and a range of typical student services:

• Sylvania, opened in the Far Southwest neighborhood of Portland in 1968 and serves over 26,000 students annually.
• Rock Creek, a Template:Convert suburban campus, opened in 1976, near Hillsboro; it is also home to the Washington County Museum. It is about 12 miles west of downtown Portland.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Cascade, an urban campus, opened in 1971, and is located in North Portland.
• Southeast, newly expanded and upgraded to a full-fledged campus in fall of 2014, originally in the former home of the local U.S. Corps of Engineers headquarters.

There are several centers throughout the Portland metropolitan area, which are smaller facilities offering more limited or specialized programs:

• Continuous Learning for Individuals, Management and Business (CLIMB) Center for Advancement (formerly the Central Portland Workforce Training Center), located near OMSI.
• Portland Metropolitan Workforce Training Center.
• Willow Creek Center, opened in 2009 in Hillsboro.<ref name="willow creek"/> It is located immediately adjacent to TriMet's Willow Creek Transit Center.
• Hillsboro Center, which serves about 500 students and moved to the Hillsboro Intermodal Transit Facility in 2010.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
• Newberg Center, opened in fall 2011<ref name="newberg center"/> and serving about 650 students.

In addition to classes held at campuses and centers, PCC partners with local business, schools, community centers, churches, and parks to offer classes in neighborhoods throughout the PCC district.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Athletics

Portland Community College competes in the Northwest Athletic Conference (NWAC) as the Panthers, with its men's and women's basketball teams competing against those from the community colleges of Chemeketa, Clackamas, Mount Hood, Lane, Linn-Benton, Southwestern Oregon, and Umpqua.

The Technology Classroom Building at PCC Sylvania

Community education

Portland Community College offers hundreds of non-credit and continuing education unit (CEU) classes each term through its lifelong learning community education program, which enrolls more than 25,000 students each year online and in-person across Multnomah, Washington, Clackamas, Columbia, and Yamhill counties.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Notable people

Alumni

• Margaret Carter, the first African-American woman elected to Oregon state's legislature<ref name="blog.oregonlive.com">Template:Cite web</ref>
• Richard Curtis, politician from Washington state
• Karen Gaffney, the first person with Down syndrome to complete a relay swim of the English Channel<ref name="blog.oregonlive.com"/>
• Samantha Hess, owner and founder of the Certified Cuddlers Certification Program
• Jon Hill, former White House Executive Chef<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
• Matt Keeslar, actor
• Christopher Loeak, President of the Marshall Islands
• Nichole Mead, 2012 Miss Oregon<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
• Rebecca Skloot, author<ref name="blog.oregonlive.com"/>
• Marie Watt, contemporary artist
• Jackie Winters, Oregon politician
• Cameron Whitten, Occupy Portland organizer and community activist

Faculty

• Michael Dembrow
• Lew Frederick
• Ralph Friedman
• Larry Galizio
• Diana Schutz
• Ralf Youtz

National Alternative Fuels Training Consortium

The college hosts a NAFTC Training Center.

See also

• List of Oregon community colleges

External links

• Official website