I am constantly amazed and gratified at the passion in our community. I observed and respected that passion as our Pima Community College Governing Board explored the implications of ending the football program. I see it daily on these pages in the letters to the editor and on social media. I have observed it on the streets of our city from teachers, human-rights advocates and immigration activists. I have that passion for education to change lives and communities for the better.
I am also passionate about the fact that PCC is the most important educational institution in our community. The college lives its value of open admissions and open access. We take all who want to further their education, no matter their academic or socioeconomic status. Young or old, high school graduates or GED seekers, unemployed, unskilled or seeking new skills β the college welcomes everyone. Potential welders, aircraft mechanics, physicists, authors, social service workers, nurses can come to PCC and change not only their lives but those of their families and communities.
Honest conversations and difficult decisions lay the groundwork for important change. For the last several years, PCC has been engaged in both. We have spent much time listening to community members, business and industry leaders, other educators, and most importantly our students about what really matters to them. The answer? It is to provide an affordable and accessible college education that supplies a workforce with 21st-century skills and an opportunity for all to live that American dream of economic security and family/community prosperity.
Faced with revenue challenges from declines in enrollment, the Legislatureβs elimination of state funding for PCC, and state laws limiting our expenditures, the college is eliminating more than 150 staff, faculty and administrator positions, and making tough decisions at every level, including reducing athletic and other programs. What once was referred to as a βthree-legged stoolβ for funding β state funds, property taxes, tuition β is now a shaky two-legged one. We absolutely have a responsibility to continue to reduce expenses, at least $15 million over three years, while enacting modest property tax and tuition increases. It should be noted that PCCβs tuition remains less than a quarter of the University of Arizonaβs tuition.
Despite these challenges, the college is free of sanctions from our accreditor and is ranked by the Aspen Institute as one of the nationβs top 100 community colleges. Our enrollment has stabilized and shows signs of revitalization.
There has been some concern in our community about PCC resources spent on international students. The truth is that these students more than pay their own way, make up less than 2 percent of our student body, and truly enhance our entire student population in terms of exposure to the global community that our world has become.
Ambitious facilities and educational master plans lay out a college based around centers of excellence in applied technology, health care, information technology, public safety, the arts and hospitality. The introduction of Guided Pathways this fall, which will surround students with specialized support, has demonstrated success in moving students to graduation.
Next year marks Pima Community Collegeβs 50th anniversary. As we launch our next 50 years, we will honor the hard work of those who created the college, while rededicating ourselves to our students, community service and the passionate pursuit of social justice. I urge you to join me in that passion for a better, more prosperous and socially just Tucson/Pima County community fueled by the opportunity of college education for all.
Please support Pima Community College in any way you can, including electing public officials and legislators who truly share that same passion!
