Portland Community College

The college was founded in 1961 as an adult education program for the local public school system, operating out of the former Elementary School Voters approved the establishment of an independent district for the college in 1968. former assistant superintendent of Portland Public Schools, was the founding president of the school, serving from 1961 to 1979. The Cascade Campus opened in North Portland in 1971, and the Rock Creek Campus opened in Washington County in 1976. The district passed a $374 million bond measure in 2008. PCC's $25 million Willow Creek Center opened in 2009 and earned a platinum LEED certification the next year. The Newberg Center opened in October 2011, replacing a temporary arrangement in use for the 2010–11 school year, in which PCC courses were offered at the Chehalem Cultural Center. The center's building is a LEED platinum-designed building, the first net zero higher education building in Oregon. On March 11, 2026, the Portland Community College Federation of Classified Employees (PCCFCE) and the Portland Community College Federation of Faculty and Academic Professionals (PCCFFAP) initiated a strike over pay and benefits. This strike, which began after nearly a year of negotiations, was the first-ever strike for a community college in Oregon's history. The strike significantly disrupted college services. Tentative agreements were reached with the PCCFCE after 15 calendar days, and with the PCCFFAP after 20 calendar days. ==Facilities==

There are four main campuses, which are larger facilities offering two-year degrees and a range of typical student services: • Sylvania, opened in the Far Southwest neighborhood of Portland in 1968 and serves over 26,000 students annually. • Rock Creek, a suburban campus, opened in 1976, near Hillsboro; it was also home to the Five Oaks Museum before it's closure. It is about 12 miles west of downtown Portland. • Cascade, an urban campus, opened in 1971, and is located in North Portland. • Southeast, newly expanded and upgraded to a full-fledged campus in fall of 2014, originally in the former home of the local U.S. Corps of Engineers headquarters. There are several centers throughout the Portland metropolitan area, which are smaller facilities offering more limited or specialized programs: • Continuous Learning for Individuals, Management and Business (CLIMB) Center for Advancement (formerly the Central Portland Workforce Training Center), located near OMSI. • Portland Metropolitan Workforce Training Center. • Willow Creek Center, opened in 2009 in Hillsboro. • Newberg Center, opened in fall 2011 ==Athletics==

Portland Community College competes in the Northwest Athletic Conference (NWAC) as the Panthers, with its men's and women's basketball teams competing against those from the community colleges of Chemeketa, Clackamas, Mount Hood, Lane, Linn-Benton, Southwestern Oregon, and Umpqua. ==Community education==

Portland Community College offers hundreds of non-credit and continuing education unit (CEU) classes each term through its lifelong learning community education program, which enrolls more than 25,000 students each year online and in-person across Multnomah, Washington, Clackamas, Columbia, and Yamhill counties. ==Notable people==

Alumni • Margaret Carter, the first African-American woman elected to Oregon state's legislature • Richard Curtis, politician from Washington state • Karen Gaffney, the first person with Down syndrome to complete a relay swim of the English Channel • Matt Keeslar, actor • Christopher Loeak, President of the Marshall Islands • Nichole Mead, 2012 Miss Oregon • Rebecca Skloot, author • Marie Watt, contemporary artist • Jackie Winters, Oregon politician • Cameron Whitten, Occupy Portland organizer and community activist Faculty • Michael Dembrow • Lew Frederick • Ralph Friedman • Larry Galizio • Diana Schutz • Ralf Youtz ==National Alternative Fuels Training Consortium==

The college hosts a NAFTC Training Center. ==See also==