The College

Los Angeles Pierce College Mission Statement

Engage. Enrich. Empower.

Los Angeles Pierce College aims to make a positive impact in people’s lives by providing quality, inclusive, and innovative academic, technical, and cultural educational opportunities. We are committed to providing caring, equitable services to help our diverse students as well as our local community achieve their goals and thrive in a rapidly changing world.

Los Angeles Pierce College Vision Statement

Los Angeles Pierce College is the premier equity-minded community college in CA, where every person is respected, supported, and empowered with empathy. 

Los Angeles Pierce College Goals

Goal 1: Pierce College will offer excellent, responsive instructional programs to facilitate and improve student learning.

Goal 2: Pierce College will increase opportunities for student access, readiness, retention, and success.

Goal 3: Pierce College will enhance the learning environment to be culturally and pedagogically diverse.

Goal 4: Pierce College will expand the effective use of technology in all areas of the college.

Goal 5: Pierce College will enhance its relationships with the community at large.

Goal 6: Pierce College will establish and maintain fiscal stability.

Goal 7: Pierce College will implement a campus facilities master plan that fully integrates programs, services and budget in support of student learning.

Goal 8: Pierce College will continually refine both its governance and decision processes and its interaction with the district to increase effectiveness and inclusion.

Los Angeles Pierce College Values

• Racial Equity and Social Justice
  We acknowledge the vast inequalities systematically perpetuated within the United States of America, and we are steadfast in our commitment to ensure success for all students, regardless of their background.

• Quality
  Faculty and staff cultivate a climate of excellence by providing quality instruction, services, facilities, and experiences. Our comprehensive curriculum and support services enable students to earn associate degrees and certificates, prepare for transfer, gain career and technical proficiency, and develop foundational skills.

• Constant Growth
  We always seek better ways to serve and innovate. We address the changing needs of our student population in a proactive manner.

• Student Centered

  • Our practices and decisions are made with students at the forefront of our minds. We empower students.

  • Our practices and decisions are made in collaboration with students.

• Student Engagement and Advocacy
  We value student voices; we value their input, their ideas, their feedback, and their desires.

• Friendly
  We are welcoming and compassionate. People say hello to students and colleagues on campus and in service areas. Our colleagues are approachable and act with respect and collegiality. Our facilities are navigable and attractive, as is our website. We SEE people and operate with a keen awareness of individual needs and stories.

• Collaborative
  We work together. We break down silos and communicate across areas. Students have a seamless experience. We understand, generally, the roles everyone and every department play. We work together to solve problems.

• Enrichment of Community
  We provide enriching activities for our Pierce community, which includes our students, staff and faculty as well as our local and regional community.

• Passion
  We bring forward our passion for change, for education, and for the community, and we seek to bring forth the passion in our students and our colleagues.

History

The college was founded in 1947 through the efforts of Clarence W. Pierce, M.D. The land for the college was purchased by the L.A.City School District (now the L.A. Unified School District). The original name of the college was the Clarence W. Pierce School of Agriculture.

From the early days when all the students were male agriculture majors come wonderful stories of on-campus dormitories, making ice cream on Friday afternoons and rain interrupting classes held in tin-roofed huts.

As the San Fernando Valley grew, the need for a comprehensive community college to serve the region was apparent. The college changed its name and its mission when it became Pierce College. Under John B. Shepard, the college’s core buildings were constructed and enrollment grew from a hundred or so in 1947 to more than 25,000 at its peak in the early 1980s.

Pierce College gained a new momentum under Darroch ”Rocky“ Young in 1999, an upward trend which continues today. Under his direction, a visionary Master Plan for the land and the curriculum of the college was established with the support of the community both on and off campus.

Three bond measures passed just after the new millennium made possible a massive construction and renovation project that gave substance to the vision of the Master Plan.

While the College remains unique in the greater Los Angeles area because of its farm and its instructional program in agriculture, it may be best characterized by its broad range of instructional programs and as one of the most respected community colleges and transfer institutions in California.

The vision of Dr. Pierce has developed into a thriving educational and cultural center for the entire San Fernando Valley.

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