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SJCC's Official Centennial Ceremony

SAN JOSE CITY COLLEGE IS 100!

In 2021 San José City College (SJCC) will celebrate 100 years as a symbol of hope for students and an innovative leader in providing educational and career pathways to generations of families living in California's third-largest city.

SJCC has built a legacy of educational and institutional excellence by adapting to the rapid changes that have transformed the Valley of Hearts Delight into Silicon Valley, a major driver of the state, national, and global economies.

How it Started

San José Junior College was born out of an agreement between San José High School District and San José State Teachers College (now San José State University). The collaboration provided high school students with pathways to four-year colleges and direct paths to jobs in agricultural, manufacturing, and other industries.

From 1921 to 1923, San José High School housed the Junior College in unused classrooms. San José State then anchored the Junior College from 1923 to 1953. San José Unified School District (SJUSD) assumed control of the College's operation in 1953, moving it to its present Moorpark Avenue location. In 1958, SJUSD changed the name to San José City College.

A faculty-led effort resulted in a special election that established the independent San José Junior College District in 1963. Today, SJCC, which includes the Milpitas Extension, enrolls more than 16,000 students annually, compared to its first enrollment of 86 in 1921.

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MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT

San José City College has enjoyed the support of the community since our founding in 1921. Generations of families have put their trust in our school, which has always delivered relevant career education programs, guaranteed college transfers, and life-changing educational opportunities.

Throughout our history, SJCC has been accessible, affordable, and dedicated to our values of equity, opportunity, and social justice.

SJCC alumni have helped transform the Valley of Hearts Delight from a major agricultural producer into Silicon Valley, the world's technology capital. Our students, faculty, classified professionals, and administrators reflect San Jose's demographic and cultural transformation.

Our dedication to the community extends to the SJECCD Milpitas Extension, where SJCC faculty, classified professionals, and administrators provide valuable resources, instruction, and educational pathways to the community as a whole.

In 1986, a citizens committee renamed the San José Junior College District to the San José-Evergreen Community College District, incorporating our sister campus Evergreen Valley College which opened in 1975.

Thanks to bond measures dating back to the early 1950s, SJCC has grown its campus on Moorpark Avenue into a gleaming beacon of higher education. Bonds have supported the development of the following facilities:

• Cesar E. Chavez Library
• Student Center
• Science Complex
• Parking Garage
• Technology Complex
• Career Technology Building
• Multi-Disciplinary Building
• Carmen Castellano Fine Arts Center
• Jaguar Sports Complex

Construction has started on a new Maintenance, Operations, and Emergency Operations Center. Planning is underway for the new Career Education Complex.

We are proud of our history in this great city, and we hope you can share in our celebration. We look forward to our next century of service to our beloved community. Go Jaguars!

Dr. Rowena M. Tomaneng

President of San José City College

Join us in unleashing another 100 years of education & opportunity! In the next 100 years will be doubling down on our social values of equity, opportunity, and social justice. With your support, our students will continue receiving all the academic, social, and emergency support needed to help them achieve and succeed.

Gifts of $1,200 or more…
The Opportunity Roundtable is a community of people who collectively know that together we can make the difference for our students to reach their fullest potential. Your annual gift of $1,200 or more will allow us to provide scholarships, emergency grants, equipment, supplies, and anything else needed to ensure our students receive the best education possible.

Scholar’s Circle
Scholar’s Circle members are invited to the annual Opportunity Roundtable Leadership event hosted by the Chancellor and College Presidents. Subscription to our quarterly electronic briefing, just for donors. Recognition in Foundation print and electronic publications. Recognition on the Foundation donor landing page.

President’s Circle
President’s Circle members are also invited to special donor events at select campus cultural activities.

Chancellor’s Circle
Chancellor’s Circle members are also invited to a special donor dinner hosted by the Chancellor and President of the SJECCD Governing Board.

Notable Alumni

1950's

• 1956 - An outstanding player for the Chicago Bears for 11 years, Jim Cadile, graduated from San Jose City College
• Cass Jackson, an outstanding member of the City College football team, graduated and transferred to San Jose State. Following that he played in the NFL for the Philadelphia Eagles. He recently retired after serving as head track coach at Monterey Peninsula College.
• Bill Walsh, who went on to fame as the football coach at Stanford University and then the San Francisco 49ers, was an assistant football coach at San Jose City College in 1959.

1960's

• 1965 - After leaving SJCC Bob Toledo graduated from San Francisco State University in 1967. His career is legendary, and he coached football at UC Riverside, USC, University of the Pacific, University of Oregon, Texas A&M, UCLA and Tulane University.
• Following his graduation from San Jose City College and the University of Utah in 1972, Steve Kinney went on to play with the Chicago Bears in the NFL.

1970's

• 1970 - Following graduation Roger Maltbie embarked upon a long and successful career as a professional golfer. He won a total of 14 PGA championships, placed 9th in the Masters Tournament in 1976 and 4th in 1987. After retiring from the tour he spent a number of years as a Sports Analyst for NBC Sports.
• SJCC graduate, Dave Stieb, was a 7-time All Star pitcher playing with the Toronto Blue Jays and the Chicago White Sox.
• 1976 - While a student at San Jose City College Millard Hampton competed in the 1976 Olympics in Montreal where he won a gold medal in the 4x100 relay and a silver medal in the 200 meter dash. After his graduation from UCLA he became a San Jose police officer and the author and publisher of the newspaper The Buffalo Soldiers.
• 1977 - One of the all-time great pitchers in major league baseball, Dave Righetti, was a student at SJCC. His first year playing with the New York Yankees he was named Rookie of the Year. Twice an All Star, he played with the San Francisco Giants, Oakland Athletics, Toronto Blue Jays, and Chicago White Sox during his sixteen year career. He is the first player in history to pitch a no hitter and lead the league in saves. From 2000 through 2017 he was the pitching coach for the Giants prior to his retirement.

1980's

• 1988 - After graduating from SJCC, Scott Erickson transferred to the University of Arizona, after which he began a major league baseball career as a pitcher for the Minnesota Twins, Baltimore Orioles, Texas Rangers and Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Mets, and New York Yankees.

San Jose City College History

1920's

• The first class to enroll in San Jose Junior College had 86 students. Enrollment quickly increased, and from 1925 until the end of WWII it remained at approximately 30% of the total San Jose State Teachers College student body.

1930's

• In conjunction with programs offered by San Jose State College programs were created for aircraft mechanics, airframes, and pilot training.

1940's

• 1941 - A chapter of Alpha Eta Rho, a national aviation fraternity, is sponsored by the college. Among the thirty active members two are from the junior college. Two airplanes are purchased and the students are trained as both private and commercial pilots.

1950's

• 1956 - An outstanding player for the Chicago Bears for 11 years, Jim Cadile, graduated from San Jose City College
• 1957 - San Jose City College rose to the forefront of providing the community with cultural leadership when renowned news journalist Peter Jennings spoke in the new City College auditorium to a packed audience on the topic of the Viet Nam conflict, which was dominating the news of the day.
• 1958 - One student, Leroy M. Montez, almost single handedly brought about the change from San Jose Junior College to San Jose City College. As a freshman he wrote an article in the Scribe, as the school newspaper was known in those days, in which he deplored the layman’s connotation of the words “junior college” into a concept of undesirability. He subsequently wrote additional letters to the paper, and on June 30, 1958 the name was officially changed to San Jose City College. Ironically, the diploma that was presented to him bore the designation San Jose Junior College because it was issued before the name change became official.
• 1959 - The cultural series began and for the next 15 years the college hosted a wide variety of speakers and performers in the college theater, Men’s Gymnasium and the San Jose Civic Auditorium. The speakers included such noteworthy individuals as Margaret Mead, Dr. S.I. Hayakawa, Malcom Muggeridge, Eleanor Roosevelt, Dr. Linus Pauling, Dr. Robert Hutchins, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., William Shirer, Norman Cousins, Madame Rahan Nehru, Drew Pearson, Erich Fromm, Dr. Ashley Montagu, David Susskind, Vance Packard, Bishop James Pike, Gore Vidal, Dr. L.S.B. Leakey, James Meredith, Steward Udall, Ralph Nader, Sander Vanocur, Paul McCloskey, Mervyn Dymally, Alex Haley, Cesar Chavez, and Dr. Paul Ehrlich.
• Cass Jackson, an outstanding member of the City College football team, graduated and transferred to San Jose State. Following that he played in the NFL for the Philadelphia Eagles. He recently retired after serving as head track coach at Monterey Peninsula College.
• Bill Walsh, who went on to fame as the football coach at Stanford University and then the San Francisco 49ers, was an assistant football coach at San Jose City College in 1959.

1960's

• 1960 - Men's Basketball Coach Jim Padgett leads his team to win the State Championships
• 1962 - The City College Hymn disappeared from the student handbook. No record of the actual music can be found, but the words reveal a more innocent and halcyon way of life back in the early days of the college:
  
  Our voices rise this day to you
  To City College we’ll ever be true
  We pledge to you our loyalty
  To honor and praise you
  Wherever we may be…wherever we may be
• 1965 - After leaving SJCC Bob Toledo graduated from San Francisco State University in 1967. His career is legendary, and he coached football at UC Riverside, USC, University of the Pacific, University of Oregon, Texas A&M, UCLA and Tulane University.
• 1969 - Social upheaval came to the campus and a series of rallies were held on campus involving both Chicano and Black student activists. In April, riot police were called to campus over a potential physical confrontation involving the Mexican American Student Confederation and their demands for justice. Fortunately there was no violence.
• SUGGESTIONS FOR APPROPRIATE COLLEGE DRESS – from College Catalog until 1969:
  
  Classes and Athletic Events
  Women - Sweater, blouse and skirt, sport dress, wool or cotton. Shoes: flats or heels
  Men – Slacks, sports shirt, sweater or jacket
  
  Shows
  Women – School clothes or suit. Shoes: flats or heels
  Men – Sport jacket, slacks (or suit), tie
  
  Dressy Sports Occasions
  Women – Dressy street length dress. Shoes: Heels
  Men – Sports jacket, slacks (or suit), tie
  (Note: Evening College assemblies are dress up occasions)
  
  Dressy-Dress Affairs
  Women – Dressy street length dress. Shoes: Heels
  Men – Suits, tie
  
  Semi-Formal Affairs
  Women – Short or long formal. Shoes: Heels or dressy flats
  Men – Suits (dark if possible) tie (A corsage for your dates may be in order)
  
• Few people are aware that at one time San Jose City College had a championship marching band. In 1965 they marched into the Junior Rose Bowl game at half-time and were named the top band among California Junior Colleges.
• Following his graduation from San Jose City College and the University of Utah in 1972, Steve Kinney went on to play with the Chicago Bears in the NFL.

1970's

• 1970 - Following graduation Roger Maltbie embarked upon a long and successful career as a professional golfer. He won a total of 14 PGA championships, placed 9th in the Masters Tournament in 1976 and 4th in 1987. After retiring from the tour he spent a number of years as a Sports Analyst for NBC Sports.
• 1971 - An arson fire in the City College Times office did $24,000 damage. The perpetrator was never caught.
• 1975 - In keeping with the increasing awareness of social responsibility a childcare facility for students with small children was proposed and adopted. The original operation was held in Emmanuel Lutheran Church on the corner of Leigh Ave. and Moorpark. Subsequently it was moved to one of the old vacant classroom buildings from the San Jose Technical High School.
• SJCC graduate, Dave Stieb, was a 7-time All Star pitcher playing with the Toronto Blue Jays and the Chicago White Sox.
• 1976 - While a student at San Jose City College Millard Hampton competed in the 1976 Olympics in Montreal where he won a gold medal in the 4x100 relay and a silver medal in the 200 meter dash. After his graduation from UCLA he became a San Jose police officer and the author and publisher of the newspaper The Buffalo Soldiers.
• Although never a student at San Jose City College, Bruce Jenner, now known as Caityln Jenner, trained exclusively at San Jose City College under the direction of coach Bert Bonanno prior to winning the gold medal in the decathlon at the 1976 Olympics in Montreal.
• 1977 - One of the all-time great pitchers in major league baseball, Dave Righetti, was a student at SJCC. His first year playing with the New York Yankees he was named Rookie of the Year. Twice an All Star, he played with the San Francisco Giants, Oakland Athletics, Toronto Blue Jays, and Chicago White Sox during his sixteen year career. He is the first player in history to pitch a no hitter and lead the league in saves. From 2000 through 2017 he was the pitching coach for the Giants prior to his retirement.

1980's

• 1984 / 1987 - SJCC hosted the US Track and field championships, and ABC’s Wide World of Sports broadcast both events live from the campus with the aid of the Goodyear Blimp.
• 1988 - After graduating from SJCC, Scott Erickson transferred to the University of Arizona, after which he began a major league baseball career as a pitcher for the Minnesota Twins, Baltimore Orioles, Texas Rangers and Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Mets, and New York Yankees.

1990's

• 1990 - "CARR" Program was developed by Basketball coach Percy Carr to give student-athletes support to succeed in their academic programs
• 1998 - Women's Basketball Coach Terri Oberg leads her team to win the State Championships

2000's

• After September 11th stunned the nation, the college immediately began major efforts to develop campus awareness of Middle Eastern Culture. A Middle Eastern Heritage Committee was formed and there were campus displays, discussions and articles in the City College Times.
• 2000 - The newly constructed Library and Learning Resource Center was dedicated and renamed after Cesar E. Chavez
• 2009 - The Men's Baseball program was eliminated.

2010's

• 2013 - The long anticipated planning for a new sports complex began. Construction was completed and the building opened in 2018.
• 2018 - San Jose City College had three programs ranked in the top five nationally:
  A. Dental Assisting - #1
  B. Cosmetology - #3
  C. Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning - #5