San Jose City College

San José City College
TypePublic community college
Established1921
Parent institution
California Community
College System (San José-Evergreen Community College District)
PresidentRowena M. Tomaneng
Students10,139 (2012)[1]
Location
Fruitdale, San Jose
,
California
,
United States
37°18′53″N 121°55′41″W / 37.3148°N 121.9280°W / 37.3148; -121.9280[2]
ColoursPurple, gold   
MascotSan Jose City Jaguars
WebsiteOfficial website

San José City College (SJCC) is a public community college in San Jose, California. It was founded in 1921,[3] and is one of the oldest colleges in the California Community College System.

History

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SJCC Technology Center.

The college was founded in 1921,[3] opening its doors as San Jose Junior College to students in September of that year.

In 1953, San José Unified School District took over the college's operation from San José State University. The college moved to its present location in the Fruitdale neighborhood of West San Jose in the same year. The college's name changed to "San José City College" in 1958.[3]

In 1999, 2004 and 2010, voters within the San José-Evergreen Community College District passed bond measures to re-build the campus and provide modern technology and facilities for the students, which resulted in the construction of buildings like César E. Chávez Library, the Science Complex, Carmen Castellano Fine Arts Center, and the SJCC Student Center.

Campus

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César E. Chávez Library.
Carmen Castellano Fine Arts Center.
SJCC's campus.

SJCC's campus is located in West San Jose, in the neighborhood of Fruitdale. It is bound by Bascom Ave to the west, Leigh Ave to the east, and Moorpark Ave to the north.[4]

Notable buildings on campus include César E. Chávez Library, the Science Complex, the Student Center, Carmen Castellano Fine Arts Center, and the Technology Center, among others.

César E. Chávez Library

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The new library opened in June 2003. It was named after Californian civil rights activist César E. Chávez. The library is state-of-the-art with wireless Internet access and data ports throughout the building.

It also has an electronic research laboratory consisting of 30 personal computers, an electronic whiteboard and a variety of learning software.

Carmen Castellano Fine Arts Center

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The Carmen Castellano Fine Arts Center was opened in 2012. It is named after longtime local arts booster and community organizer Carmen Castellano.[5][6] The center includes a fine arts gallery and a theatre/performance space, alongside classrooms for relevant departments.

KJCC

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KJCC 104.1 FM is an online and very low power FM radio station run by San Jose City College students.[7][8][9][10][11][12][13] KJCC began in 1978, then in fall 1994, radio classes were cancelled due to budget cuts, and has since been operated by campus clubs.[8]

Athletics

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Multi-Disciplinary Building.
Cosmetology Department.
SJCC Science Complex.

San Jose City College is home to Jagsports. A $1.7 million capital improvements plan includes a new weight and fitness training complex which is open now to all students, and contains weight and cardiovascular equipment.

During the 1970s, SJCC was a major training hub for Olympic track and field athletes. Under the supervision of coach Bert Bonanno, Caitlyn Jenner (known as Bruce Jenner prior to her transition) trained eight hours per day at the track before he won the 1976 Olympic decathlon. Alumni Millard Hampton and Andre Phillips both won Olympic gold medals, with coaching assistance from Bobby Poynter who was a part of San Jose State University's "Speed City" track team, and was also their coach and teacher at Silver Creek High School (California). The throwing facilities, in particular, were home to gold medalist Mac Wilkins, Al Feuerbach and John Powell. All three became world record holders, Wilkins and Feuerbach setting their records at San Jose City College. Following Jenner's victory in Montreal, Bonanno created the Bruce Jenner Invitational, one of the top domestic meets for top-level athletes. It was an annual televised stop, equivalent with today's Prefontaine Classic. He also used Hampton and Phillips' names to create a local high school invitational.

In 1984 and 1987, the San Jose City College track was host to the USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships.

In February 2018, men's basketball head coach Percy Carr became the all-time winningest black head coach in college basketball history.[14]

Notable people

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Alumni

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Faculty

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  • Marie E. Johnson-Calloway, mixed-media artist[15]
  • John Shrader, Professor of Journalism, has an extensive background in television and radio sports anchoring and sports reporting. For more than 15 years, John was a sports anchor/sports reporter/talk show host for KNBR Radio in San Francisco. He was a television sports anchor in San Jose for ten years, first at KNTV-TV and then KICU-TV. He also was the San Jose Sharks intermission host and rink-side reporter for the 2006-07 season on FSN Bay Area.

References

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  1. ^ "California Community Colleges Chancellor's Office - Data Mart". Datamart.cccco.edu. Retrieved January 27, 2017.
  2. ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: San Jose City College
  3. ^ a b c Sal Pizarro (January 30, 2021). "San Jose City College kicks off 100th anniversary celebration". Mercury News. Retrieved July 18, 2024. founded 1921
  4. ^ "Swenson scoops up San Jose parcel". BizJournals.com (Silicon Valley). May 15, 2017.
  5. ^ "Remembering Carmen Castellano and her impact on the arts in San Jose". Mercurynews.com. July 22, 2020. Retrieved June 17, 2023.
  6. ^ "San Jose City College names new arts center after Carmen Castellano | ABC7 San Francisco". Abc7news.com. Retrieved June 17, 2023.
  7. ^ "KJCC San Jose City College". Live365.com. Retrieved March 6, 2022.
  8. ^ a b Berthelsen, Brandon (May 3, 2011). "KJCC steps up in class". City College Times. Archived from the original on March 6, 2022. Retrieved March 6, 2022.
  9. ^ "Emergency Preparedness". San José-Evergreen Community College District. Retrieved March 6, 2022.
  10. ^ Waits, Jennifer (July 24, 2013). "Radio Station Mystery Tour - South of San Francisco Edition". Radio Survivor. Retrieved March 6, 2022.
  11. ^ Waits, Jennifer (July 24, 2013). "Spinning Indie: Radio Station Field Trip 49 - KJCC at San Jose City College". Spinning Indie. Retrieved March 6, 2022.
  12. ^ "The College Radio Database". 35000 Watts :: The Story of College Radio. Retrieved March 6, 2022.
  13. ^
  14. ^ "San Jose CC's Carr reaches 900-win milestone". ESPN.com. Retrieved November 21, 2018.
  15. ^ Jules Heller; Nancy G. Heller (December 19, 2013). North American Women Artists of the Twentieth Century: A Biographical Dictionary. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-135-63882-5.
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