College Catalog Cover Design 2 - Pima Community College

Historic Profile
In 1966 the citizens of Pima County, Arizona, voted by a
large margin to form a junior college district. The county
superintendent of schools appointed a five-member governing
board that laid the groundwork for Pima College.
With help from committees composed of citizens, the board
developed educational goals, created a financial plan,
selected a president, and chose a campus site.
The next year the citizens of Pima County elected a board
to replace the appointed officials and approved a $5.9 million
bond issue for the College. In 1969, construction on
the first campus began on a 267-acre site in the foothills of
the Tucson Mountains west of the city.
The College’s first classes met in the fall of 1969 at Tucson
Medical Center, Villa Maria, and Marana. In the fall of 1970
Pima College officially opened its doors to 3,543 students.
Classes were held in unlikely quarters, a hangar at the
Tucson International Airport. By January of 1971, students
in all programs attended classes in the 11 buildings on
Anklam Road — today’s West Campus, which has expanded
to include a center for the arts to serve more than 20,000
students annually.
expansion and evolution soon began. In 1972 the board
renamed the institution Pima Community College to better
reflect its mission of service to the community. It began to
offer greater access through additional campuses.
In 1974 the College opened the Downtown Campus at
Stone Avenue and Speedway Boulevard. The first classes
were held in a remodeled post office building. With the purchase
of neighboring structures and the construction of the
campus center and classroom technology building, the
campus grew to 10 buildings. The campus currently serves
more than 19,000 students annually.
In 1975 the College established the Community Campus to
supplement traditional on-campus education. Currently,
this campus offers classes at more than 115 sites throughout
southern Arizona, and is the hub for distance learning.
Pima Community College Adult education, a part of Pima
County since 1969, joined the College in 2000 and is headquartered
at Community Campus. The Corporate and
Community education office at the Community Campus
offers customized training for the business community,
noncredit courses, and study tours. After occupying several
sites, the permanent Community Campus facility opened in
1997 near St. Mary’s Road and Interstate 10 and serves
about 21,000 students.
The College established the east education Center in 1976,
which became the east Campus in 1980. located on a
desert site east of Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, the campus
doubled in size in the fall of 1989 with the construction
of the student union and library. It has since expanded to
accommodate more than 13,000 students. In 2004, the
College and Tucson Parks and Recreation built a 21-acre
park on the northwest edge of the campus, with soccer and
softball fields, and a fitness facility for students.
The South education Center opened in 1986, and by 1993
had grown into the Desert Vista Campus, located near
Interstate 19 and Valencia Road. The campus serves nearly
9,000 students each semester, including many who use the
training and student services of the Center for Training and
Development. The campus also houses a charter high
school serving Native American students.
The College
A 1995 Pima County bond election enabled the College to
use taxpayer-supported bonds to finance much-needed
expansion and important facility and technology improvements
throughout the Pima County Community College
District.
The Northwest Community learning Center opened in
1998 and in fall 2003 was replaced by Northwest Campus
on North Shannon Road. The Northwest campus offers a
full spectrum of educational, recreational and cultural programs
and services to more than 11,000 students. Major
areas of study include the arts and sciences, preparation
for health careers and hotel and restaurant management.
In 2002, the College opened the Southeast Community
learning Center. In 2003, the Community Performing Arts
and learning Center in green Valley opened.
In partnership with area school districts, Desert Vista, east,
Northwest and West campuses host branches of Aztec
Middle College, an alternative high school.
For many of its 40 years, Pima Community College has
ranked among the ten largest multi-campus community
colleges in the nation, and currently serves almost 75,000
students annually.
Pima County Community College District
Presidents/Chancellors
Presidents
Dr. oliver lane 1967-1969
Dr. Kenneth harper 1969-1972
Dr. Irwin Spector 1972-1978
Donald Klaasen (Acting) 1978-1979
Dr. S. James Manilla 1979-1988
Diego Navarette 1988-1989
Dr. Brenda Beckman (Acting) 1989-1990
Dr. Johnas hockaday 1990-1992
Chancellor (title change)
Dr. Johnas hockaday 1992-1995
Dr. Robert Jensen 1995-2003
Dr. Roy Flores 2003-present
Pima Community College Catalog 2011/2012 7