INSIDE OUR SCHOOLS
Students at PCC working together as they look into microscopes (Photo – pasadena.edu)
$42 Million appropriation kicks the Pasadena Community College (PCC) STEM building replacement plans into high gear.
By Kate Bartlett
California’s 2019-2020 state budget has been passed by the Legislature and is expected to be signed by the Governor within the next few days. PCCs students, faculty and staff are delighted that the budget includes a $42 million appropriation for PCC’s science building, the Armen Sarafian Building.
The Sarafian Building was determined to be an earthquake hazard in 2012 and has been empty since then. Demolishing and reconstructing the Sarafian Building has been a Life and Safety priority on the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office facilities list; it will receive 80% of its funding from proceeds of Proposition 51, approved by California voters in 2016.
Superintendent-President Erika Endrijonas, Ph.D. , said:
No matter how you look at it, this is a win for PCC. Our plans are in place, we’ve done our due diligence with the State and the Chancellor’s Office, and our community wants to get this building online. Our students, faculty, and staff deserve to have a building that meets their needs. We’re ready to get to work.
State dollars have funded preliminary planning and engineering documents. Architectural working drawings will be completed this summer. The $42 million appropriation will fund the majority of the construction costs and ensure the viability of the Sarafian Building.
“PCC is an exciting place, and this building will build on that momentum,” said PCC Board President Anthony R. Fellow, Ph.D. “Our region relies on a constant supply of smart, capable college graduates to meet its labor needs. This investment in PCC will pay off for everyone in our region.”
Fall 2019
Demolition is expected to begin as early as Fall 2019. PCC is prepared for an accelerated timeline so that students could enroll in classes in the Sarafian Building as early as Summer 2022.
“We are so pleased that the State has stepped up for PCC,” said Linda Wah, a member of PCC’s Board of Trustees and President of the statewide California Community College Trustees. “This would not have been possible without the support of our elected representatives in the California Legislature. Senator Anthony Portantino and Assemblymember Chris Holden were instrumental in securing this funding for PCC, and U.S. Representative Adam Schiff spoke up for us as well. Assemblymember Ed Chau and former Senator Carol Liu also stepped up for us. I particularly want to recognize the work done by Jack Scott, himself a former PCC president, California Community College chancellor, and state senator. We are so grateful for everyone’s support in this effort.”
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