Phoenix College

History

The college was originally a part of the Phoenix Union High School and Junior College District (now Phoenix Union High School District), and was known as Phoenix Junior College (PJC). PC became a part of the Maricopa County Community College District in 1960, and is now considered the flagship campus of one of the largest community college systems in the world.

Campus

Phoenix College consists of the main campus in Midtown Phoenix, as well as a downtown campus located in the central business district of Phoenix.

Academics

Phoenix College offers over 200 degree and certificate programs. PC also offers training geared towards professional community/business development and general interest. PC is also home of the Student Services Institute.

Athletics

Phoenix College has seven sports teams competing in the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA). The women's softball team has won the NJCAA National Women's Softball Division II Championships nine times (2000, 2001, 2004–08, 2012, 2021). The school has also won NJCAA championships in baseball (1960, 1962, 1965), men's track and field (1964, 1965, 1966), wrestling (1967–68, 1968–69), men's golf (1964), football (1964), and women's cross country (1985). In 1980 PC won national team championships in women's and mixed archery (two-year college division). Women's archery also won national titles in 1933 and 1934. The Maricopa Community College District elected in February 2018 to eliminate all football programs associated with its schools. Programs cut included those at Scottsdale Community College, Glendale Community College, Mesa Community College and Phoenix College's own program.

Notable people

Alumni

Main article: :Category:Phoenix College alumni

Alumni include two Miss Americas (1949 and 1964) and two Arizona governors (Wesley Bolin and Jack Richard Williams). Other prominent alumni include the Navajo Nation's first president Peterson Zah, film star Nick Nolte, Tony Award-winning actor Stephen Spinella, actor Peter Billingsley, daytime television star Jaime Lyn Bauer, Pop/Rhythm & Blues singer CeCe Peniston, artist Eric Fischl, Mixed Martial artists UFC veteran Homer Moore, AAGPBL pioneer Charlotte Armstrong. Investigative journalist Ron Ridenhour, who exposed the My Lai Massacre, attended Phoenix College before being drafted into military service in Vietnam in 1967. Politicians who attended the college include State Senator Juan Mendez and Democrat fund-raiser Ed Buck.

Several former football players have played in the National Football League including Fred Carr, Bob Wallace, Lyn Larsen, Damon Sheehy-Guiseppi, Tory Nixon, Andy Livingston,{{cite web |access-date=November 18, 2012 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121023234353/http://www.databasefootball.com/players/playerpage.htm?ilkid=LIVINAND01 |archive-date=October 23, 2012

Faculty

• John S. Goff (1931–2001), studied Robert Todd Lincoln and the history of Arizona

References

References

1. [https://athletics.phoenixcollege.edu/sports Men's and Women's Sports. Phoenix College]
2. [https://arizonasports.com/story/1406221/maricopa-community-colleges-eliminate-football-2018-season/ Maricopa Community Colleges to eliminate football after 2018 season]
3. "Arizona Governor Wesley Bolin".
4. "Arizona Governor John "Jack" R. Williams".
5. (31 March 2023). "Peterson Zah, 85, Navajo Nation’s First President, Dies". The New York Times.
6. [https://www.nytimes.com/1998/05/11/us/ronald-ridenhour-52-veteran-who-reported-my-lai-massacre.html Ronald Ridenhour obituary, ''New York Times'', May 11, 1998.]
7. [https://www.azleg.gov/senate-member/?legislature=53&legislator=1799 Senate Member]
8. [https://www.wehoville.com/2017/08/16/who-is-ed-buck/ Who Is Ed Buck? – WEHOville]