| San José City College | |
| Established: | 1921 |
| Students: | 10,139 (2012)[1] |
| President: | Rowena M. Tomaneng |
| Type: | Public community college |
| City: | Fruitdale, San Jose |
| State: | California |
| Country: | United States |
| Website: | Official website |
| Colours: | Purple, gold |
| Mascot: | San Jose City Jaguars |
| Parent: | California Community College System (San José-Evergreen Community College District) |
San José City College (SJCC) is a public community college in San Jose, California. It was founded in 1921, and is one of the oldest colleges in the California Community College System.
The college was founded in 1921,[2] 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.[2]
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.
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.[3]
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.
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.
The Carmen Castellano Fine Arts Center was opened in 2012. It is named after longtime local arts booster and community organizer Carmen Castellano.[4] [5] The center includes a fine arts gallery and a theatre/performance space, alongside classrooms for relevant departments.
KJCC 104.1 FM is an online and very low power FM radio station run by San Jose City College students.[6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] KJCC began in 1978, then in fall 1994, radio classes were cancelled due to budget cuts, and has since been operated by campus clubs.[7]
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.[13]