Maricopa County Community College District

History

The Phoenix Union High School District established Phoenix Junior College (now Phoenix College) in 1920 as the first community college in the state of Arizona. In 1960, the state legislature provided for junior college districts in Arizona. The Maricopa County Junior College District was established in 1962 by the approval of county voters, with the new system acquiring Phoenix Junior College.

The system established branch campuses of Phoenix Junior College in the nearby suburbs of Glendale and Mesa; these would become independent campuses within the system by the end of the decade (1965). Other campuses were established in the following years:

In 1971, the "Junior College" portion of the name was changed to "Community College".

The State Board of Directors for Community Colleges of Arizona presided over the entire statewide community college system until June 2002, when the Arizona Legislature reduced its powers and duties and transferred most oversight to individual community college districts.

Mission

The Maricopa Community Colleges provide access to higher education for diverse students and communities. The colleges focus on learning through:

Maricopa Corporate College

Founded in 2013, the corporate college develops and implements solutions for new and existing Arizona businesses based on specifically identified needs. The corporate college provides consultative services to businesses, and continuing education to professionals, and will oversee district entrepreneurial activities and initiatives, such as the business incubator on the GateWay Community College campus. Using best practices of successful corporate colleges implemented in Ohio, North Carolina, Texas, Florida and Indiana, Maricopa's corporate college provides non-accredited training. This means it will function independently of the 10 Maricopa community colleges and two skill centers, while drawing on their faculty and facility resources when appropriate. In addition to working with employers that are moving into the Valley, it offers professional and continuing education programs to established corporations and associations.

Center for Entrepreneurial Innovation (CEI)

The result of a partnership among the City of Phoenix, the Economic Development Administration and the Maricopa County Community College District, as well as additional public and private partners, the businesses incubator helps companies grow and commercialize their businesses, championing small business job creation for the region. The center houses more than 30 office, wet lab and light manufacturing spaces, as well as state-of-the-art presentation technology, a client server room, and additional collaborative and meeting areas. Clients have access to student research teams and a vast network of mentors and partner organizations as well.

Governance And Leadership

Governing Board

The Governing Board of the Maricopa County Community College District has seven members, five elected from geographical districts within the Maricopa County, and two elected at-large positions by the voters of the entire county.[13]

Chancellor & Provost

The Chancellor of the Maricopa Community Colleges is the CEO of the 10-college system. The Presidents at each college and 4 Vice Chancellors report to the Chancellor, who serves at the pleasure of the Governing Board.

President: (define when it changed to chancellor) Robert J. Hannelly (1947 - 1967) John Prince (1967 - 1976)

Past Chancellors: Dr. Paul Elsner (1977 - 1999) Fred Gaskin (2000 - 2003) Dr Rufus Glasper (2003–2016)

Chancellor : Dr. Maria Harper-Marinick

Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost: Dr. Paul Dale (Interim)

College Presidents:

Chandler-Gilbert Community College: Dr. William Guerriero (Interim)

Estrella Mountain Community College: Dr. Ernie Lara

GateWay Community College: Dr. Steven Gonzales

Glendale Community College: Dr. Terry Leyba-Ruiz (Interim)

Maricopa Corporate College: Dr. Chris Bustamante

Mesa Community College: Dr. Sasan Poureetezadi (Interim)

Paradise Valley Community College: Dr. Paul Dale

Phoenix College: Christina M. Haines, M.Ed. (Interim)

Rio Salado College: Dr. Chris Bustamante

Scottsdale Community College: Dr. Jan L. Gehler

South Mountain Community College: Dr. Shari L. Olson

Awards

Lectureships

Honors Forum Lectures: The Honors Forum Lecture Series features local and nationally known speakers who address specific issues related to a theme selected by Phi Theta Kappa. The Phi Theta Kappa (PTK) theme is chosen to bring unity to the Honors Program and the national PTK chapters at each college.

Fischl Lecture Series at Phoenix College: The Eric Fischl Lecture Series was launched in 2005 when internationally acclaimed American painter and sculpture Eric Fischl returned to Phoenix College for the first time since the late 1960s. Fischl, then student, studied at PC under renowned Southwestern landscape artist and faculty member Merrill Mahaffey.

Name confusion

The Maricopa Community College District, or Maricopa Community Colleges for short, is also known as the Maricopa County Community College District (MCCCD). This is the legal entity name of the District. Some confuse the Maricopa Community Colleges abbreviation for Mesa Community College (MCC), one of the ten Maricopa colleges. The District's official initialism, therefore, is MCCCD, while Mesa's is MCC.

Notable Alumni

Phoenix College

Mesa Community College

Glendale Community College

Scottsdale Community College

South Mountain Community College

Chandler-Gilbert Community College