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Pima Community College

Undergraduate School

Mailing Address
4905 East Broadway Boulevard
Pima, Arizona 85709
Phone
(520) 206-4500
Email address
infocenter@pima.edu
School Information
To guide Pima Community College, these values characterize the way in which we accomplish our mission: People: We value our students, employees and the community members we serve, by making decisions that address the needs of those populations. Integrity: We make a commitment to academic honesty, personal ethics and institutional decision-making that is based on sound moral principles, accountability and transparency. Excellence: We embrace best practices and value high quality services and programs that lead to successful outcomes for our students through evidence-based continuous improvement practices. Communication: We are committed to sharing information with internal and external stakeholders in a transparent, timely and meaningful way that is open, honest and civil. Collaboration: We encourage teamwork and cooperation within the College and with the community to support student success. Open Admissions and Open Access: We value open admissions and access to our programs and services for all who may benefit from them, regardless of where they are starting from or what their final goal may be.
General Information
Pima Community College wrote a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Plan which established six strategic initiatives to engage in anti-racism. Pima now has a position of DEI officer, but its other initiatives such as recruiting more minorities and enhancing cultural competency are more ambiguous. The Governing Board has stated its opposition to systemic racism and support of equity and anti-racism. The College even won an equity award in 2019. Pima has endorsed the “campus-wide” reading of “How to be an Antiracist.” The reading of this book appears to have been optional and there is no evidence students or faculty are required to undergo training.

Actions Taken

Admissions Policies
  • As part of its "Diversity and Justice Statement," PCC states that it "represent[s], recruit[s], retain[s], develop[s], and support[s] the potential of students and employees from historically marginalized groups in the US and from any origin in the world regardless of ethnicity, religion, disability, political views, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, social status and other characteristics."
Curriculum Changes and Requirements
  • Pima's General Education Curriculum requires that students take courses on the topics of ethnic, race, gender, and class awareness.
Program and Research Funding
  • Pima received a National Institute of Health Grant in order to "increase minority participation in STEM [Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics]."
Resources
  • In 2017, Pima released a "Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Plan" which established six Strategic Goals. Pima hired a DEI officer, improved recruitment and retention of employees from underrepresented populations, built diversity and inclusion competencies for employees, and enhanced students' diversity and inclusion.
  • Pima is committed to "empowering equity." It seeks to "make systemic change now" according to Dr. Ibram X. Kendi's third option to confront racism. Initiatives to this end include the "Governing Board's stated support of anti-racism," "Unconference in August featuring Dr. Kendi and educator Dr. Laura Rendon," a "Shared reading of "How to Be an Antiracist," and a new "Faculty Senate Systemic Justice Action Committee."
  • Pima Library offers resources that explore race and racism. Some book recommendations include "How to be an Antiracist" and "White Fragility."
  • Pima offers a course titled "Race, Ethnicity, Minority Groups and Social Justice" which is described as follows: "Social processes involved in the construction of difference. Includes race, ethnicity, minority groups, nationality, and social justice. Also includes the analysis of social, political, cultural, religious, economic and historical formations with special reference to current global trends, social conflict, and change."
  • Pima's "Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Redesign" initiative is a "multi-year project that involves embedding DEI initiatives, resources, personnel, data systems, and planning into all departments and into the Strategic Plan." The goal of this project is to "launch the structural elements by 2025 and then include IDEA into the next strategic planning process resulting in an integrated plan."
Symbolic Actions
  • In 2019, Pima won the "Association of Community College Trustees' Pacific Regional Equity" Award "for furthering diversity, equity and inclusion among students and the community."
  • As part of its "Diversity and Justice Statement," PCC states that it "strives to be a leader in promoting opportunity through social justice commitments and actions" and that PCC "believe[s] that the ultimate objective of diversity is the achievement of equality and social justice."
  • PCC issued a "Labor and Slavery Acknowledgement" statement which reads in part as follows: "We recognize and acknowledge that the very foundation of the United States of America was built on the free and forced labor of Black people of the African Diaspora, on the backs of immigrants and refugees, and those indigenous to this land. This labor has contributed to the essential foundations, wealth, and success of this country. This foundation has generational and exponential effects that continue to negatively impact Black, brown, and marginalized communities today and remain uncompensated."
Last updated December 13th, 2023
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