Portland Community College (PCC) 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 sociology, sociological concept of the ''Öf ...

community college A community college is a type of undergraduate higher education institution, generally leading to an associate degree, certificate, or diploma. The term can have different meanings in different countries: many community colleges have an open enr ...

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

. 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.

History

The college was founded in 1961 as an

adult education Adult education, distinct from child education, is a practice in which adults engage in systematic and sustained educating activities in order to gain new knowledge, skills, attitudes, or values. Merriam, Sharan B. & Brockett, Ralph G. ''The Pr ...

program for the local public school system, operating out of the former Elementary School since 1959 and renamed Portland Community College in 1961. Voters approved the establishment of an independent district for the college in 1968. Amo DeBernardis (1913-2010), former assistant superintendent of Portland Public Schools, was the founding president of the school, serving from 1961 to 1979. 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. PCC's $25 million Willow Creek Center opened in 2009 and earned a platinum

LEED Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is a Green building certification systems, green building certification program used worldwide. Developed by the non-profit U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), it includes a set of rating ...

certification the next year. The Newberg Center opened in October 2011, 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 building is a LEED platinum-designed building, the first

net zero Global net-zero emissions is reached when greenhouse gas emissions and removals due to human activities are in balance. It is often called simply net zero. ''Emissions'' can refer to all greenhouse gases or only carbon dioxide (). Reaching net ze ...

higher education building in Oregon.

Facilities

Building 7 at PCC Rock Creek campus from NE in 2018

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 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. *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 The Portland metropolitan area is a metropolitan area, metro area with its urban area, core in the U.S. states of Oregon and Washington (state), Washington. It has 5 principal cities, the largest being Portland, Oregon. The U.S. Office of Man ...

, 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. It is located immediately adjacent to

TriMet The Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District of Oregon (TriMet) is a Transit district, transit agency that serves most of the Oregon part of the Portland metropolitan area. Created in 1969 by the Oregon Legislative Assembly, Oregon legi ...

's Willow Creek Transit Center. *Hillsboro Center, which serves about 500 students and moved to the Hillsboro Intermodal Transit Facility in 2010. *Newberg Center, opened in fall 2011 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.

Athletics

Portland Community College competes in the

Northwest Athletic Conference The Northwest Athletic Conference (NWAC), formerly the Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges (NWAACC), is a sports association for community colleges in the U.S. states of Oregon, Washington, and along with the Canadian province ...

(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 Mount Hood, also known as Wy'east, is an active stratovolcano in the Cascade Range and is a member of the Cascade Volcanic Arc. It was formed by a subduction zone on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast and rests in the Pacific N ...

Lane In road transport, a lane is part of a roadway that is designated to be used by a single line of vehicles to control and guide drivers and reduce traffic conflicts. Most public roads (highways) have at least two lanes, one for traffic in eac ...

, Linn-Benton, Southwestern Oregon, and Umpqua.

Community education

Portland Community College offers hundreds of non-credit and continuing education unit (CEU) classes each term through its lifelong learning

community education Community education, also known as Community-Based Education or Community Learning & Development, or Development Education is an organization's programs to promote learning and social development work with individuals and groups in their commun ...

program, which enrolls more than 25,000 students each year online and in-person across Multnomah, Washington, Clackamas, Columbia, and Yamhill counties.

Notable people

Alumni

Margaret Carter Margaret Louise Carter (née Hunter; December 29, 1935) is an American politician who was a Democratic member of the Oregon Legislative Assembly from 1985 to 1999 and 2001 to 2009 and was the first black woman elected to the state's legislature ...

, the first African-American woman elected to Oregon state's legislature *

Richard Curtis Richard Whalley Anthony Curtis (born 8 November 1956) is a British screenwriter, producer and director. One of Britain's most successful comedy screenwriters, he is known for romantic comedy-drama films, including ''Four Weddings and a Funeral' ...

, politician from Washington state * Karen Gaffney, the first person with Down syndrome to complete a relay swim of the English Channel * Samantha Hess, owner and founder of the Certified Cuddlers Certification Program * Jon Hill, former White House Executive Chef * Matt Keeslar, actor * Christopher Loeak,

President of the Marshall Islands The following is a list of President (government title), presidents of the Marshall Islands, since the establishment of that office in 1979. The president of the Republic of the Marshall Islands is the head of state and government of the Marshall ...

* Nichole Mead, 2012 Miss Oregon *

Rebecca Skloot Rebecca L. Skloot (born September 19, 1972) is an American science writer who specializes in science and medicine.Jessica Teisch, "Floyd Skloot & Rebecca Skloot", in '' Bookmarks'', May/June 2010. Her first book, '' The Immortal Life of Henrie ...

, author * 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.

References

External links

Official website
{{authority control 1961 establishments in Oregon Education in Columbia County, Oregon Education in Washington County, Oregon Education in Yamhill County, Oregon Universities and colleges established in 1961 Community colleges in Oregon Universities and colleges accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities Universities and colleges in Portland, Oregon Two-year colleges in the United States