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 sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichkei ...

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 sec ...

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...

. It is the largest post-secondary institution in the state and serves residents in the five-county area of Multnomah,

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

, 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 self-educating activities in order to gain new forms of knowledge, skills, attitudes, or values. Merriam, Sharan B. & Brockett, Ralp ...

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 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 Carbon neutrality is a state of net-zero carbon dioxide emissions. This can be achieved by balancing emissions of carbon dioxide with its removal (often through carbon offsetting) or by eliminating emissions from society (the transition to the " ...

higher education building in Oregon.

Facilities

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 Five Oaks Museum, formerly known as the Washington County Museum, is a history museum in Washington County, Oregon, United States. It is located at the Rock Creek campus of Portland Community College (PCC), north of Beaverton, Oregon. From 2012 t ...

. 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 metro area in the U.S. states of Oregon and Washington centered on the principal city of Portland, Oregon. The U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) identifies it as the Portland–Vancouver–Hillsboro, ...

, 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 The Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI, ) is a science and technology museum in Portland, Oregon, United States. It contains three auditoriums, including a large-screen theatre, planetarium, and exhibition halls with a variety of hands- ...

. *Portland Metropolitan Workforce Training Center. *Willow Creek Center, opened in 2009 in Hillsboro. It is located immediately adjacent to

TriMet TriMet, formally known as the Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District of Oregon, is a public agency that operates mass transit in a region that spans most of the Portland metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Oregon. Created in 1969 ...

Willow Creek Transit Center Willow Creek/Southwest 185th Avenue Transit Center is a transport hub in Hillsboro, Oregon, United States. Owned and operated by TriMet, it is a light rail and bus station. The transit center is the ninth station eastbound on the Blue Line an ...

. *Hillsboro Center, which serves about 500 students and moved to the

Hillsboro Intermodal Transit Facility Hillsboro Intermodal Transit Facility (HITF) is a parking garage with extensive bicycle facilities located in Hillsboro in the U.S. state of Oregon. Located next to Hillsboro Medical Center (formerly Tuality Community Hospital), the facility ha ...

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 Idaho, along with the Canadian prov ...

(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 is a potentially active stratovolcano in the Cascade Volcanic Arc. It was formed by a subduction zone on the Pacific coast and rests in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located about east-southeast of Portlan ...

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 each ...

, Linn-Benton, Southwestern Oregon, and Umpqua.

Community education

Portland Community College offers hundreds of non-credit and

continuing education unit A continuing education unit (CEU) or continuing education credit (CEC) is a measure used in continuing education programs to assist the professional to maintain their license in their profession. Continuing education or professional development is ...

(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.

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 New Zealand-born British screenwriter, producer and film director. One of Britain's most successful comedy screenwriters, he is known primarily for romantic comedy films, among them '' ...

, 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 Matthew Keeslar (born October 15, 1972) is an American retired actor and practicing PA-C (certified physician assistant). He is an instructor of urology at the Oregon Health & Science University's School of Medicine. Life and career Matthew ...

, actor *

Christopher Loeak Christopher Jorebon Loeak (born 11 November 1952) is a Marshallese politician who was the President of the Marshall Islands from 2012 to 2016. He was elected by parliament as President in January 2012, following the 2011 general election. Per ...

President of the Marshall Islands The following is a list of 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 Islands. The President is el ...

Nichole Mead Nichole Renee Mead Zahner (born March 23, 1988) is an American beauty pageant titleholder from Newport, Oregon. She was crowned Miss Oregon 2012 after pageant officials discovered that the original winner did not meet state residency requirements ...

, 2012 Miss Oregon * Rebecca Skloot, author *

Marie Watt Marie Watt (born 1967) is a contemporary artist living and working in Portland, Oregon. Enrolled in the Seneca Nation of Indians, Watt has created work primarily with textile arts and community collaboration centered on diverse Native American th ...

, contemporary artist *

Jackie Winters Jackie Winters (April 15, 1937 – May 29, 2019) was an American Republican politician in the U.S. state of Oregon. She served as a state senator, representing the 10th district in Salem. She was Senate Minority Leader. She died of lung cancer o ...

, Oregon politician *

Cameron Whitten Cameron Whitten (born April 8, 1991) is an American community activist best known for advocacy on affordable housing, racial justice, and LGBT rights. Early life and education Whitten grew up in Sterling, Virginia, outside Washington, D.C. He ...

Occupy Portland Occupy Portland was a collaboration that began on October 6, 2011 in downtown Portland, Oregon as a protest and demonstration against economic inequality worldwide. It is inspired by the Occupy Wall Street movement that began in New York City ...

organizer and community activist

Faculty

* Michael Dembrow *

Lew Frederick Lew Frederick (born December 1951) is an American Democratic politician, currently representing District 22 in the Oregon Senate. Early life and education Born in Pullman, Washington, Frederick grew up in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and Atlanta, G ...

Ralph Friedman Ralph Friedman (June 3, 1916 – June 3, 1995) was an American author best known for his books about Oregon. Ralph Friedman was born and raised in Chicago. He hitchhiked to Oregon in 1933 at the age of 16. He wrote 10 books, and contributed to ...

* Larry Galizio *

Diana Schutz Diana Schutz (born February 1, 1955) is a Canadian-born comic book editor, serving as editor in chief of Comico during its peak years, followed by a 25-year tenure at Dark Horse Comics. Some of the best-known works she has edited are Frank Mill ...

Ralf Youtz Ralf Youtz (born 1972) is an American musician. Youtz was the original drummer in the Boise, Idaho-based indie rock band Built to Spill. He appeared on their 1993 debut album, '' Ultimate Alternative Wavers''. Youtz was replaced by Andy Capps a ...

National Alternative Fuels Training Consortium

The college hosts a NAFTC Training Center.

References

External links

Official website
{{authority control 1961 establishments in Oregon Buildings and structures in Portland, Oregon Buildings and structures in Washington County, Oregon Buildings and structures in Yamhill County, Oregon Education in Columbia County, Oregon Education in Washington County, Oregon Education in Yamhill County, Oregon Educational institutions 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