Mt. Hood Community College (MHCC) is a public

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 ...

Gresham, Oregon Gresham ( ) is a city located in Multnomah County, Oregon, in the United States of America, immediately east of Portland, Oregon. It is considered a suburb within the Greater Portland Metropolitan area. Though it began as a settlement in the mid- ...

, United States, named after

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 ...

. Opened in 1966, MHCC enrolls around 30,000 students each year and offers classes at the main campus in Gresham, as well as the Maywood Park Center in

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

, the Bruning Center for Allied Health Education (also in Gresham), and at area public schools. The college's sports teams, the Saints, compete 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 ...

. The college also owns and oversees

KMHD KMHD (89.1 FM) is a listener-supported, non-profit FM broadcast radio station in Portland, Oregon. For the first 25 years of its operation, the station's studio was located on the Mt. Hood Community College campus in Gresham, Oregon, before moving ...

, a non-profit FM broadcast radio station based in Portland.

Campus

The main campus occupies in Gresham. Other facilities include the Maywood Park campus in

, the Bruning Center for Allied Health Education and area public schools. The college is within relatively short distance from the nearby communities Sandy and Clackamas, and is roughly from downtown Portland.

Academics

MHCC enrolls roughly 30,000 students each year and is accredited by the

Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities The Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU) is an independent, non-profit membership organization recognized by the United States Department of Education since 1952 as an institutional accreditor for colleges and universities. ...

. The college's programs include nursing, funeral science, integrated media, automotive technology and transfer opportunities to local universities toward

B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

degrees in

humanities Humanities are academic disciplines that study aspects of human society and culture. In the Renaissance, the term contrasted with divinity and referred to what is now called classics, the main area of secular study in universities at the t ...

and science programs. The college is financed by local property tax funds, state reimbursement funds and student tuition. Local voters established the college tax base in 1968 and approved tax base increases in 1970 and 1980. MHCC is home to an

Eastern Oregon University Eastern Oregon University (EOU) (officially designated as Oregon’s Rural University) is a public university in La Grande, Oregon. It was formerly part of the Oregon University System, since dissolved. EOU was founded in 1929 as a teacher’ ...

4-year degree program in either

Business Administration Business administration, also known as business management, is the administration of a commercial enterprise. It includes all aspects of overseeing and supervising the business operations of an organization. From the point of view of management ...

or Education, both with several concentrations. The classes are held in the same manner as a regular 4-year institution, under the Eastern Oregon University - Mt. Hood Metro Center.

Student life

The college has historically been known for its jazz performance program, and was the home of jazz radio station

and was the site of the Mt. Hood Jazz Festival each summer from 1982 through 2002 and from 2008 through 2010. The college has an active student government, almost 30 student clubs, and a student newspaper, ''The Advocate''. The college also annually hosts the Portland Highland Games.

Athletics

Mt. Hood Community College competes in the

(NWAC). The college nickname is the Saints in reference to the St. Bernard mascot. There are four men's teams including baseball, basketball, track and field, and cross country. There are five women's teams including volleyball, softball, basketball, track and field, and cross country. The college features a large aquatics center, which includes an indoor

swimming pool A swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, paddling pool, or simply pool, is a structure designed to hold water to enable Human swimming, swimming or other leisure activities. Pools can be built into the ground (in-ground pools) or built ...

Notable people

Alumni

Chris Botti Christopher Stephen Botti ( ; born October 12, 1962) is an award-winning American trumpeter and composer. In 2013, Botti won the Grammy Award in the Best Pop Instrumental Album category, for the album ''Impressions''. He was also nominated in ...

, Grammy Award-winning trumpeter *

Brian Burres Brian Burres (born April 8, 1981) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. Burres' best pitch is his changeup. He also has a high 80s-low 90 MPH fastball and a curveball. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Baltimore Orio ...

, Major League Baseball pitcher * Dan Carlson, Major League Baseball pitcher *

Marco Eneidi Marco Eneidi (November 1, 1956 – May 24, 2016) was an American jazz alto saxophonist. He was primarily associated with free jazz. Career Eneidi was born in Portland, Oregon. His father worked for the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and ...

, free jazz saxophonist *

Essiet Essiet Essiet Okon Essiet (born September 1, 1956 in Omaha, Nebraska) is an American jazz double-bassist. Essiet's parents were Nigerian immigrants to the United States.Lara Pellegrinelli, "Essiet Essiet". '' The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz''. 2nd edit ...

, jazz bassist *

Todd Field William Todd Field (born February 24, 1964) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is known for directing three feature films: ''In the Bedroom'' (2001), '' Little Children'' (2006), and ''Tár'' (2022). He has received three Academy Award nomi ...

, Academy Award-nominated filmmaker * Nick Kahl, politician * Stafford Mays, NFL player *

Joel David Moore Joel David Moore (born September 25, 1977) is an American character actor and director. Born and raised in Portland, Oregon, Moore studied acting in college before relocating to Los Angeles to pursue a film career. His first major role was as Owen ...

, actor and director *

Lillian Pitt Lillian Pitt (born 1944) is a Native American artist from the Columbia River Plateau region of the Pacific Northwest. Her Native American name is Wak’amu ( camas root), chosen because it represents a "stubborn plant that won’t let go of the e ...

, Native American artist *

Patti Smith Patricia Lee Smith (born December 30, 1946) is an American singer, songwriter, poet, painter and author who became an influential component of the New York City punk rock movement with her 1975 debut album '' Horses''. Called the "punk poe ...

, politician *

Dave Veres David Scott Veres (born October 19, 1966) is an American former professional baseball player who pitched in Major League Baseball from 1994 to 2003. Career On January 4, 2007, Veres signed a minor league deal with the Colorado Rockies. However, ...

, Major League Baseball pitcher *

Lindsay Wagner Lindsay Jean Wagner (born June 22, 1949) is an American film and television actress, model, author, singer, and acting coach. Wagner is best known for her leading role in the American science-fiction television series '' The Bionic Woman'' (197 ...

, actress * Paul Wenner, creator of the

Gardenburger Gardenburger is the brand name of a veggie burger sold in the United States. It was developed in the early 1980s by Paul Wenner, the owner of the Gardenhouse, a vegetarian restaurant in Gresham, Oregon. It is currently owned by the Kellogg Compa ...

vegetarian patty

Presidents

*1966–1976: Dr. Earl Klapstein *1976–1985: Dr. R. Stephen Nicholson *1985–1996: Dr. Paul E. Kreider *1996–2000: Dr. Joel E. Vela *2001–2007: Dr. Robert Silverman *2008–2011: Dr. John J. "Ski" Sygielski *2011-2013: Dr. Michael Hay *2013-2018: Dr. Debra Derr *since 2018: Dr. Lisa Skari

References

External links

Official website
{{authority control 1966 establishments in Oregon Buildings and structures in Gresham, Oregon Education in Multnomah County, Oregon Education in Gresham, Oregon Educational institutions established in 1966 Community colleges in Oregon Universities and colleges accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities