Three members of Pasadena City College’s Board of Trustees (BOT) are up for reelection on the March 2024 ballot, where voters in areas two, four, and six from Altadena to Rosemead will have the opportunity to elect their trustee. Prior to Board member John Martin from district six announcing his decision to not run for another term after serving as a PCC Trustee for over 40 years, he was facing off against PCC alum Ryan Liu. However, Liu is expected to take Martin’s seat unless …
Trustees approve PCC Presidential search timeline and committee appointments
At the November Board of Trustees (BOT) meeting the board publicized and approved the PCC presidential search timeline, committee appointments and a document outlining what PCC’s constituency groups, shared governance and on-campus community is looking for in their next permanent Superintendent-President. The preliminary preparations and creation of the search profile have been going on since late September when the Board hired AGB Search to facilitate the process. As a part of the undertaking since their hiring, AGB Search has hosted several listening sessions with The …
Mental health on campus: Professors need help too
As the United States grapples with a continuing mental health crisis, especially among college aged adults and teens, many professors are feeling the brunt of having to console and act as mental health providers to their students as mental health has worsened and outside care has become more expensive and harder to access. Fear and isolation caused by the pandemic, along with the surfacing of social issues and economic instability, are said to have exacerbated a national struggle with mental health and substance abuse especially …
Faculty Association survives ouster from state union
In the second decertification attempt in a year, the Pasadena City College Faculty Association (PCCFA) won a majority over the California Federation of Teachers (CFT) to remain as the on-campus faculty union representative. The vote to remain with the FA was at approximately 52%, according to Political Science Professor and PCCFA Director Marcus Green. Just above the 50% needed to remain as the on-campus faculty representative. The CFT does not plan to contest the vote at this time or challenge the results. “I’m hoping that …
After 44 years at PCC, trustee John Martin will cruise into retirement
Some call John Martin a walking encyclopedia of Pasadena City College and with good reason; having served on the school’s Board of Trustees for the last 44 years, he knows the entire institution, from top to bottom. On Oct. 18 at the Board of Trustees meeting, Trustee Martin announced his retirement and his decision to not run for re-election in the 2024 election for his board seat, opening the door for others to take his position after serving on the board at PCC since 1979. …
Say hello to the new boss at PCC, Dr. José Gómez
With a tall cup of Diet Coke and the sun shining through the windows, Dr. José Gómez, the Interim Superintendent-President, speaks fondly of the musicians who once walked PCC’s halls, from Eddie Van Halen to Kenny Loggins. The awe and excitement with which he spoke of these legends translates directly to his love and dedication to PCC, not just as an institution but as a community as well. Gómez assumed the role of Interim Superintendent President in late July following former president Erika Endrijonas’s departure. …
Polarization in war drowns out those who need to be heard
Everytime something in the media surfaces about an internationally significant situation, millions across the media, social media, and other forms of sharing become a cesspool of “armchair geopolitical experts.” It muddies the waters and dims the voices of those who actually need to be heard, which in this case is one’s with bombs being dropped on their homes, who are facing the brunt of ethnic cleansing, war crimes, genocide and the denial of their dignity as human beings. The discussions that take place on social …
W building set to be demolished in 2024, replaced with new academic building
The W building next to Pasadena City College’s Aquatic Center will no longer house faculty or have classes scheduled as of January 2024, as it is set to be demolished and replaced with a new academic building, under PCC’s new Facilities Master Plan. The Facilities Master Plan (FMP) was approved by the Board of Trustees in May of 2020 though it was not put on the ballot until the 2022 midterms. The $565 million Measure PCC bond to fund the plan was overwhelmingly passed by …
Board selects search firm for permanent Superintendent-President
At a special PCC Board of Trustees (BOT) meeting in mid September the board hired AGB Search to conduct a nationwide search for PCC’s next permanent Superintendent-President. “AGB Search is honored to be assisting [PCC’s] governing board with this important undertaking,” Janice Fitzgerald, a Senior Executive Search Consultant from AGB Search said in an email. The board voted 4-1, with two absentees to select AGB Search to conduct this process, according to PCC Spokesperson Alex Boekelheide in an email. This hiring comes after some of …
Fractured faculty: Group tries again to decertify and replace teacher union
For the second time in a year the Pasadena City College Faculty Association (PCCFA) faces the threat of decertification by a group of faculty demanding better working conditions for part-time faculty, greater access to resources and improved advocacy at both the state and federal level. Their goal is to establish a local chapter aligned with the California Federation of Teachers (CFT) in place of the PCCFA. The group of faculty claim being affiliated with a larger organization for their union will be more effective in …