Phoenix College (PC) is a

public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichk ...

community college A community college is a type of educational institution. The term can have different meanings in different countries: many community colleges have an "open enrollment" for students who have graduated from high school (also known as senior se ...

in Encanto, Phoenix, Arizona. Founded in 1920, it is one of the oldest community colleges in the country.

History

The college was originally a part of the Phoenix Union High School and Junior College District (now

Phoenix Union High School District The Phoenix Union High School District is a high school-only school district in Phoenix, Arizona, United States. It is one of five high school-only districts in the Phoenix area. Overview The school district serves students within a area of P ...

), and was known as Phoenix Junior College (PJC). PC became a part of the Maricopa County Community College District in 1960, and is now considered the

flagship campus A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically the f ...

of one of the largest community college systems in the world.

Campus

Phoenix College consists of the main campus in Midtown Phoenix, as well as a downtown campus located in the central business district of Phoenix.

Academics

Phoenix College offers over 200 degree and certificate programs. PC also offers training geared towards professional community/business development and general interest. PC is also home of the Student Services Institute.

Athletics

Phoenix College has 7 sports teams competing in the

NJCAA The National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA), founded in 1938, is the governing association of community college, state college and junior college athletics throughout the United States. Currently the NJCAA holds 24 separate regions ...

. The women's

softball Softball is a game similar to baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller field. Softball is played competitively at club levels, the college level, and the professional level. The game was first created in 1887 in Chicago by George Hanc ...

team has won the NJCAA National Women's Softball Division II Championships nine times (2000, 2001, 2004-2008, 2012, 2021). The school has also won NJCAA championships in baseball (1960, 1962, 1965), men's track and field (1964, 1965, 1966), wrestling (1967–68, 1968–69), men's golf (1964), football (1964), and women's cross country (1985). In 1980 PC won national team championships in women's and mixed archery (two-year college division). Women's archery also won national titles in 1933 and 1934. The Maricopa Community College District elected in February 2018 to eliminate all football programs associated with its schools. Programs cut included those at

Scottsdale Community College Scottsdale Community College is a public community college in Scottsdale, Arizona. It is on the eastern boundary of the city on 160 acres (650,000 m2) of land belonging to the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community. The lease was taken out i ...

, Glendale Community College, Mesa Community College and Phoenix College's own program.

Notable people

Alumni

Alumni include two Miss Americas ( 1949 and

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarc ...

) and two Arizona governors (

Wesley Bolin Wesley Bolin (July 1, 1909 – March 4, 1978) was an American Democratic Party politician who served as the 15th governor of Arizona between 1977 and 1978. His five months in office mark the shortest term in office for any Arizona governor. Pr ...

and Jack Richard Williams). Other prominent alumni include film star

Nick Nolte Nicholas King Nolte (born February 8, 1941) is an American actor. He won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor for the 1991 film ''The Prince of Tides''. He received ...

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ce ...

-winning actor Stephen Spinella, actor

Peter Billingsley Peter Billingsley (born April 16, 1971), also known as Peter Michaelsen and Peter Billingsley-Michaelsen, is an American actor and filmmaker. His acting roles include Ralphie Parker in the 1983 movie ''A Christmas Story'' and its 2022 sequel ' ...

, daytime television star Jaime Lyn Bauer, Pop/Rhythm & Blues singer

CeCe Peniston Cecilia Veronica "CeCe" Peniston (; born September 6, 1969) is an American singer and former beauty queen. In the early 1990s, she scored five number one hits on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot Dance Music/Club Play. Her signature song " Finally" re ...

, artist

Eric Fischl Eric Fischl (born March 9, 1948) is an American painter, sculptor, printmaker, draughtsman and educator. He is known for his paintings depicting American suburbia from the 1970s and 1980s. Life Fischl was born in New York City and grew up on s ...

, Mixed Martial artists

UFC The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

veteran Homer Moore, AAGPBL pioneer Charlotte Armstrong. Investigative journalist

Ron Ridenhour Ronald Lee Ridenhour (April 6, 1946 – May 10, 1998) was an American known for having played a central role in spurring the federal investigation of the 1968 Mỹ Lai massacre in Vietnam. When he first learned of events there, he was serving i ...

, who exposed the

My Lai Massacre My or MY may refer to: Arts and entertainment * My (radio station), a Malaysian radio station * Little My, a fictional character in the Moomins universe * ''My'' (album), by Edyta Górniak * ''My'' (EP), by Cho Mi-yeon Business * Market ...

, attended Phoenix College before being drafted into military service in Vietnam in 1967. Politicians who attended the college include State Senator Juan Mendez and Democrat fund-raiser

Ed Buck Edward Bernard Peter Buck (né Buckmelter; born August 24, 1954) is an American convicted felon and businessman. A former model and actor, he made a significant amount of money running and selling the data service company Gopher Courier. He becam ...

. Several former football players have played in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

including Fred Carr, Bob Wallace, Lyn Larsen, Damon Sheehy-Guiseppi, Tory Nixon, Andy Livingston, and "Scooter" Molander. Dennis Layton played for the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

's Phoenix Suns and John Smith toured with the Harlem Globetrotters. Bears who have played

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

include Gary Gentry and

Dave Rajsich David Christopher Rajsich ( ; born September 28, 1951) is an American former professional baseball pitcher, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1978 to 1980 for the New York Yankees and Texas Rangers. He also played one season in Japa ...

Faculty

* John S. Goff (1931-2001), studied Robert Todd Lincoln and the history of Arizona

References

External links

*
{{authority control 1920 establishments in Arizona Community colleges in Arizona Educational institutions established in 1920 Maricopa County Community College District Phoenix College NJCAA athletics