Pasadena City College Archives FAQ
This resource is based on frequently asked questions received by the archives staff at PCC.
Artists in Residence
1987 | Oliverira, Nathan |
1988 | Zajac, Jack |
1989 | Cuevas, Jose Luis |
1990 | Chas-Riboud, Barbara |
1991 | Graham, Patrick |
1992 | Nagel, Andre |
1993 | Smith, Alexis |
1994 | Wegman, William |
1995 | Frank, Mary |
1996 | Thiebaud, Wayne |
1997 | Brown, Christopher |
1998 | Teraoka, Masami |
1999 | Milton, Peter |
2000 | Ringgold, Faith |
2001 | Uelsmann, Jerry |
2002 | Reice, Milo |
2003 | Mead, Syd |
2004 | McMillen, Michale |
2005 | Saar, Alison |
2006 | Bronson, Jessica |
2007 | Alexander, Peter |
2008 | Future Farmers |
2009 | Cowin, Eileen |
2010 | Panter, Gary |
2011 | Martinez, Daniel Joseph |
2012 | Morell, Abelardo |
2013 | Laduke, Tom |
2014 | Reas, Casey |
2015 | Ybarra, Jr., Mario |
2016 | Khalsa, Sant |
2017 | Hawkinson, Tim |
2018 | Newkirk, Kori |
2019 | Weber, Marnie |
2020 | Hartog, Jacci Den |
2021 | Hundley, Elliot |
2022 | Hanasik, Jason |
2023 | Saldamando, Shizu |
2024 | Bey, April and Valenzuela, Rodrigo |
Building Names
Common Name | Official Name | Individual/Family for Whom Building was/is Named |
C Building |
*Horace Mann Building Jack Scott Building |
Horace Mann Dr. Jack Scott |
D Building | *Jane Adams Building | Jane Adams |
E Building | Louis Agassiz Building | Louis Agassiz |
R Building | Catherine J. Robbins Building | Catherine J. Robbins |
U Building | Sarafian Hall | Dr. Armen Sarafian |
UU Building (Retired) | Lillian Vosloh Forum | Lillian Vosloh |
Westerbeck | Westerbeck Recital Hall | Robert and Adrienne Westerbeck |
Robinson Stadium | ` | Jack and Mack Robinson |
Boone Sculpture Garden | Dr. George Boone and Family | |
Art Gallery | Boone Family Art Gallery | Dr. George Boone and Family |
Jameson Amphitheater |
Jameson Ampitheater |
J.W. Jameson |
Sexson Auditorium |
John A. Sexson | |
Creveling Lounge |
Louis Creveling | |
Jack Robinson Memorial Field |
Jackie and Mack Robinson | |
Robinson Park Softball Field |
Jack and Mack Robinson |
Buildings C, D, and E, the three main buildings of the campus at its inception were originally named for Horace Mann, the founder of America's modern educational system; social reformer and pacifist Jane Adams, and world renowned scientist, Louis Agassiz.
Dr. George Boone (1923-2008), An alum of PCC, dentist, and major philanthropist, the Boone family contributed the bulk of the funds for the Boone Sculpture Garden. The garden which stands on ground where their family home once stood, was named his parents, George Sr. and Fern Boone. “ The Art Gallery also bears the family name but have yet to determine their contribution to the project.
Creveling—Louis Creveling was in the first Junior College class and was the first student body president in 1924. He went on to build a clothing manufacturing business in Los Angeles and according to an L.A. Times article from 1986 he's quoted as saying "I can't account for my fascination with PCC," this from a man who has befriended every PCC president for more than 20 years, headed its Alumni Association. and donated to many of its funds.
He said that he has no idea how much money he has given to the college, "but it's one of my favorite charities, if you could call it a charity."
John W. Harbeson Serving as the campuses longest-serving principal from 1927-1950, Harbeson guided the college through the Depression, the 1933 earthquake, and World War II. It was also during his tenure that the college band became of official band of the Tournament of Roses Parade. In addition to reconstructing the buildings damaged in the 1933 quake, Harbeson directed the building of the college's Observatory, which was dedicated by Albert Einstein.
Jameson – possibly the JW and Ida M. Jameson Foundation of Sierra Madre but pure speculation at this point.
Howard E. Marvin Brilliant mathematician, award winning artist, pioneer software executive and developer https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/latimes/obituary.aspx?n=marvin-howard&pid=173411214
Dr. Catherine J. Robbins Robbins began her 42 year affiliation with the campus as a teacher and ended in 1965 after serving ten years as the campus president. At that time she was one of only two female community college presidents in the country. In 1959 she was named by the Times as "Woman of the Year in Education."
Robinson named facilities were all named for athletes Jackie and Mack Robinson.
Dr. Armen Sarafian Superintendent-President from 1965-1976, Sarafian presided over many changes at PCC while president, including the completion and dedication of five new buildings on campus.
Dr. Jack Scott is a former president of Pasadena City College and Chancellor of the California Community Colleges System. He also was a member of the California State Assembly and California State Senate.
Sexson—John A. Sexson was the superintendent of schools in Pasadena from 1929 to 1948.
Lillian Vosloh –As the founding Dean of the PCC Nursing Division, Vosloh initiated the ADN program at PCC in 1952 and persuaded the California legislature to provide statutes allowing a two-year academic program in nursing.
Westerbecks—Robert Westerbeck was an alum of PCC and his wife Adrienne taught music on the campus until 1971. In 2011 the family trust implemented the bequest of the Westerbecks and donated $4 million dollars to the PCC Foundation. This was the largest single donation ever received by the campus.
Campus Publications
Title | Date | Creator |
The Arts | 1933 | Pasadena Junior College |
Bamboo Post | 1979/82 | PCC Asian-American Affairs Office |
Black Pearls | 1975/77 | PCC Office of Pan African Affairs |
Black Awareness | 1969 | PCC Students |
Business | 1933 | Pasadena Junior College |
Campix | 1938/39 | Pasadena Junior College |
Campus Dialog | 1969 | PCC Faculty and Students |
Create | 1961/63 | Pcc Engineering and Tech Dept. |
Dink | 1951/54 | Pasadena City College |
Ego | 1938 | Pasadena Junior College |
Engineering | 1932 | Pasadena Junior College |
First the Blade | 1932 | Pasadena Junior College |
First Flight (Book of prose and poetry) | 1938 | Pasadena Junior College |
Forestry Club | 1921, 1923, 1940 | PHS/PJC Forestry Dept. |
Gad Flight (Journal of independent student opinion) | 1962 | Pasadena City College |
Globe (ESL) | 2007-08 (some missing) | ESL Lanuage Dept. |
Huddle (single and bound) Official program for all home games of PCC Bulldogs | 1938, 1945-71 (some missing) | PCC Press |
Lookout | 1938-39, 1942 | Forestry Club of Pasadena Junior College |
Liberacion | 2000 | For students and by students of PCC |
Mad Dog | 1928/29 | Associated Students of Pasadena Junior College |
Mustang (bound) | 1950-52 | John Muir College |
Pasadena Mecha | 1983 | PCC Mecha |
Patriot (Sons of Liberty ) | 1979, 1985 | PCC Students |
Prarie | 1955-62 | PCC Students |
Rife (A Pararie Parody) | 1955 | PCC Press |
Prarie-E | 1963 | PCC |
Scholar and Clown | 1931 | Associated Students of PJC |
Scan (Student Christian Association News) | 1952-53 | PCC |
Soph Soap (News of the sophmores) | 1943-45 | Sophmore Class of Pasadena Junior College |
TAB | 1938, 1946, 1949 | Douglas McMann, Pasadena Junior College |
Unidos | 1972 | PCC Mexican-American students and staff |
VOMAG |
1934-39, 1934-38 |
Pasadena Junior College |
Deans and Chairpersons
Department | Chairperson | Dates |
Allied Health | Pauline C. Anderson | 1980 |
Allied Health and Life Sciences | Jaqueline W. Jacobs | 2000 |
Biological Science | Mabel B. Peirson | 1930-1955 |
Margaret Stason | 1955-1970 | |
Stanley E. Gunstream | 1970-1980 | |
Richard J. Pierce | 1980-1990 | |
Stanley E. Gunstream | 1990-2000 | |
Commerce | Leland M. Pryor | 1930-1955 |
George C. Juett | 1955-1980 | |
James L. Clark | 1980-2000 | |
Don A. Paxton | 2000- | |
Communication | Harold E. Salisbury | 1970-1980 |
Crystal Watson | 1980-1990 | |
Michael Bloebaum | 1990- | |
Community Skills Center | James E. Crayton | 1980-2009 |
Rick Hodge | 2009- | |
Computer Sciences | Frank A. Yett | 1970-1990 |
Richard W. Chamberlain | 1990- | |
Counseling | Chuck Ward | |
Jackie Dodds | ||
James Aragon | ||
Engineering and Technology | Robert G. Moses | 1955-1970 |
Lawrence A. Johannsen | 1970-1990 | |
Robert D. Navarro | 1990-2009 | |
Douglas Haines | 2009- | |
English | Murray G. Hill | 1930-1955 |
Dorothy Dixon | 1955-1960 | |
Woodrow Ohlsen | 1960-1980 | |
Richard Woods | 1980-1990 | |
Rae G. Ballard | 1990-2000 | |
Amy Ulmer | 2000- | |
Foreign Language | Kathleen Dorothy Loly | 1930-1955 |
Dorothy Dixon | 1955-1960 | |
Arthur S. Wiley | 1960-1970 | |
Phyllis C. Nelson | 1970-1980 | |
Marina F. Cobb | 1980-1990 | |
Rae G. Ballard | 1990- | |
Health Sciences | ||
Household and Fine Arts | Katherine E. McGorray | 1930- |
Industrial Arts | Walter W. Martin | 1930-1940 |
Helen H. Reid | 1955-1960 | |
Lennox Tierney | 1960-1980 | |
David Schnabel | 1980-1990 | |
Linda Malm | 1990-2009 | |
Alexander I. Kritselis | 2009- | |
Library | Ethelyn Wakefield | 1909-1912 |
Winifred E. Skinner | 1912-1947 | |
L. Herman Smith | 1947-1958 | |
Margaret B. McCaughna | 1958-1959 | |
William K. Grainger | 1959-1967 | |
William I. Weitzel | 1967-1968 | |
William K. Grainger | 1968-1983 | |
Joanne Y. Kim | 1984-1990 | |
David R. Dowell | 1991-1995 | |
Mary Ann Laun | 1995-2012 | |
Pearl Ly | 2013-2014 | |
Leslie Tirapelle | 2014-2021 | |
Mathematics | Peter W. Stoner | 1930-1955 |
L. Clark Lay | 1955-1960 | |
William W. Olsen | 1960-1980 | |
William P. Blair | 1980-1990 | |
Richard W. Chamberlain | 1990-2000 | |
Carl Main | 2002- | |
Military Science and Tactics | Major Frank E. Bertholet | 1930- |
Natural Sciences | David N. Douglass | 2009- |
Nursing | Lillian Vosloh | 1955-1970 |
Joan M. Davidson | 1970-1980 | |
Shirley J. Wrasse | 1980-1990 | |
Lois L. Linn | 1990-2000 | |
Mary E. Winn | 2000- | |
Physical Education | William K. Dunn | 1930-1955 |
William K. Dunn and Elizabeth Jensen | 1955-1960 | |
John C. Thurman and Suzanne Macauley | 1960-1970 (Thurman) 1960-1980 (Macauley) | |
Anthony P. Linehan | 1970-1980 | |
William Sandstrom and Jo Ann Swanziger | 1980-2000 (Sandstrom) 1980-1990 (Swanziger) | |
Jessie Moore | 1990- | |
Willie Robinson, Jr. | 2000- | |
Physical Science/Natural Sciences | Bailey W. Howard | 1930-1955 |
Edwin V. Van Amringe | 1955-1960 | |
Ralph A. Barnmore | 1960-1980 | |
Norman J. Juster | 1980-1990 | |
Bruce A. Carter | 1990- | |
Patrick O' Day | ||
Alice Corey | ||
Tom Mallory | ||
Dave Douglass | 2006- | |
School of Trades and Technology | Edward D. Cornelison | 1940- |
Social Science | R.L. Ashley | 1930-1940 |
William Bell Langsdorf | 1940-1955 | |
Ralph J. Hallman | 1955-1980 | |
John F. Christopher | 1980-1990 | |
Kennon G. Miedema | 1990-2000 | |
Gretchen L. Anderson | 2000-2009 | |
MIchael Finkenbinder | 2009- | |
Speech | Paul W. Smith | 1960- |
Library History
Superintendent/Presidents of Pasadena Junior College and Pasadena City College
1924-1927 | William F. Ewing, Ph.D. |
1927-1950 | John Harbeson, Ph.D. |
1950-1959 | William Langsdorf, Ph.D. |
1959-1965 | Catherine Robbins, Ph.D. |
1965-1976 | Armen Sarafian, Ph.D. |
1976-1978 | E. Howard Floyd, Ph.D. |
1978-1983 | Richard Meyers, Ph.D. |
1983-1987 | John Casey, Ph.D. |
1987-1995 | Jack Scott, Ph.D. |
1995-2007 | James Kossler, Ph.D. |
2007-2009 | Paulette J. Perfumo, Ph.D. |
2009-2010 | Lisa Sugimoto Ph.D. (Interim) |
2010-2014 | Mark Rocha, Ph.D. |
2014-2015 | Robert Miller, Ph.D. |
2015-2019 | Rajen Vurdien, Ph.D. |
2019-2023 | Erika Endrijonas, Ph.D. |
2024- | Jose A. Gomez, Ph.D. |
Timeline
1911 | Land on Colorado Blvd. is purchased for construction of Pasadena High School which opened in 1913. | |
1924 | Pasadena Junior College (PJC) is established on the Pasadena High School campus. | |
1924 | A vocational school was established on N. Lincoln which originally was called John Muir Technical High School but served later as the west campus of PJC. | |
1928 | Pasadena Junior College and Pasadena High School merge into a four-year plan; grades 11-14 (lower and upper Bulldogs). The Colorado Blvd. campus changed its name to Pasadena Junior College. | |
1928 | School mascot changed from the Pirate to the Bulldog | |
1931 | Albert Einstein and 8,000 people dedicate the new astronomy observatory. | |
1933 | Earthquake severely damages the three main buildings on the Colorado Blvd. campus. Students attend classes in 50 tents on the campus for three years. | |
1936-1938 | Mack and Jackie Robinson attend Pasadena Junior College | |
1938 | John Muir Technical High School merges with Pasadena Junior College | |
1938 | Aviation students tested its second student designed and built plane led by Max Harlow and Clinton Hoffman | |
1939 | The Bulldog band is officially recognized as the Pasadena Tournament of Roses Band. | |
1942 | The West Campus is used for military training during WWII. | |
1948 | Colorado campus name changes to Pasadena City College | |
1949 | PCC celebrates its Silver Jubilee | |
1953 | PCC launches its Registered Nurses program | |
1954 | The district sunsets the 6-4-4 educational plan replacing it with the 6-3-3-2 plan. | |
1955 | John Muir College is converted to a much needed high school and the college-level students are sent to the now two-year Pasadena City College. | |
1957 | Bulldogs become Lancers | |
1966 | Pasadena Area Community College District forms | |
1967 | Bylaws forming the faculty senate are adopted which was followed up in 1988 when state legislature passed a bill that established an academic senate on each community college campus. | |
1974 | PCC celebrates its 50th anniversary | |
1979 | The PCC Foundation is established | |
1987 | Planning begins for major campus rebuilding for the next decade | |
1992 | Community College Reform Act leads to the establishment of the Classified Senate. | |
1993 | Walter T. Shatford II Library and Media Center open | |
1994 | The first campus parking structure opened adding 2000 additional parking spaces | |
1996 | The Community Education Center, administered by PCC,opens provding basic education, occupational training, high school diploma program, and English as a second language (ESL) courses. | |
1996 | The new Child Development Center (CDC) opens just west of the campus | |
1999 | PCC celebrates its 75th anniversary and the Hutto-Patterson Gymnasium opens | |
2014 | The Center for the Arts opens |