Share: Audience chatter echoes throughout the Sexton Auditorium. Members of The Pasadena City College Community Orchestra are all seated as they prepare to perform the last half of their concert aptly titled “Musical Postcards From The East And West”, a program that celebrates symphonies from different cultures, and different walks of life. Their instruments shriek as they check to make sure their instruments are in tune. The conductor Henry Shin walks on stage and introduces himself to signal their start, announcing their next symphony: “Piece …
Survey deadline extended as PCC awaits final decision in Superintendent search
Share: The presidential search forums at Pasadena City College (PCC) on Wednesday featured the final four candidates, Interim Superintendent-President Jose Gomez, Lena Tran, Thuy Thi Nguyen and Carlos Cortez where they got to pitch themselves to the community in events punctuated by low turnout and minimal participation, spurring the search firm to extend the deadline for providing feedback an additional week. However, an email announcing the extension was only sent to PCC faculty and staff and has yet to be sent to PCC students’ inboxes …
‘The Book Club Play’ cast and crew write their own chapter in PCC’s theater department
Share: On the opening night of the theater arts department’s spring main stage show, “The Book Club Play,” actors of varying backgrounds and experiences were surrounded by an audience in PCC’s CA Theatre. The audience wrapped around the disk-shaped seating area, on the stage was a carefully constructed set modeled after a modern home, further immersing the actors into the private world of a tight-knit group of friends. A little over a month before working together, all six main cast members waited in line for …
Four finalists named in Superintendent-President search
Share: As the Superintendent-President (S/P) search goes public for the first time beyond shared governance at Pasadena City College (PCC), the Board of Trustees (BOT) has announced the final four candidates that will participate in on-campus Q&A forums and meet-and-greets before a final decision by the Trustees for PCC’s next leader is expected by the end of the month. The four candidates come from various backgrounds who Board President Kristine Kwong said in a campus-wide email were “well qualified” to serve as PCC’s next Superintendent-President. …
Farm workers’ union president sows seeds of leadership with PCC Equipo
Share: In August 2022, the United Farm Workers Union marched from Delano to Sacramento, following the same path labor leader Cesar Chavez took in 1996. Inspired by Chavez’s achievements, this 335-mile march was held in hopes of passing the California Agriculture Labor Relations Voting Choice Act Assembly Bill. This bill would create more ways for farm workers to vote on union elections without pressure from growers or supervisors. Marching in the heat of summer along those farm workers, for the second time, was the president …
Bonds to bombs: A quaint community college’s global impact
Share: The PCC Foundation, a non-profit that raises funds for Pasadena City College (PCC), holds investments in several major polluters and weapons manufacturers including ExxonMobil and RTX Corp (formerly Raytheon), a Courier analysis of the foundation’s financial disclosures found. The findings come at a time when students across the nation, including PCC, are urging their institutions to divest from companies implicated in climate degradation and Israel’s ongoing bombardment of the Gaza Strip. Since the escalation of violence in Israel and Palestine on Oct. 7, 2023, …
Fired kinesiology dean files discrimination claim against PCC
Share: The Board of Trustees is set to name a new permanent dean of kinesiology, health and athletics (KHA) at their March meeting after former dean Dyan Miller was terminated in August 2023 following a months-long investigation into Miller’s conduct at Pasadena City College (PCC). In a claim for damages served to PCC’s Office of Risk Management Services in mid-February, Miller accused the college, members of the KHA department and the Assistant Superintendent and Human Resources Vice President Robert Blizinski for creating a hostile work …
April Bey’s ‘Atlantica’: An alien planet with a human story
Share: In PCC’s very own center of the arts building, expression and creativity runs rampant throughout the hallways. Towards the west side of the building lies the Boone art and V gallery, where a glittery exhibit takes place. An exhibit that, on a surface level, looks bizarre, striking, and somewhat off-putting, but yet also contains deep-provoking thought behind its initial flashy appearance. Excited groups of individuals discuss the exhibit outside of the gallery, and repeatedly go back in for multiple viewings. The exhibit in question …
Courier sweep! Our state journalism awards roundup
Share: This story has been updated to include links to our award winners This past weekend, The Courier attended the Journalism Association of Community College’s (JACC) regional competition in La Jolla, California. Writers and Editors attended workshops and other keynotes to learn more about the industry and also competed in several on-the-spot competitions. The competitions ranged from timed writing assignments to wider ranging video and social media components. The Courier managed to bring home 24 total awards across 15 competitions along with a mail-in contest …
After vote of no confidence, PCC gets extension on presidential search
Share: Over the last few months as Pasadena City College continues the process searching for a new permanent Superintendent-President, the Board of Trustees and the search firm assisting the college, AGB Search, has worked with PCC’s shared governance groups to shift timelines and address issues after a vote of no confidence was issued in late January. Despite the positive changes the Board and the search firm have faced continued criticism from PCC’s shared governance groups for how they had conducted the process, facing allegations of …