The Division of Institutional Equity, Diversity and Justice was established out of Pasadena City College’s commitment to increase institutional capacity across the District to advance diversity, equity, accessibility, anti-racism, inclusion, and belonging.

Our work is rooted in the belief that equity is not the responsibility of one office, one program, or one initiative alone. Equity is a shared institutional practice that must be embedded across our policies, systems, learning environments, and daily interactions.

Our Purpose

IEDJ works in partnership with students, faculty, classified professionals, managers, and community partners to create more just, equitable, inclusive, and community-centered learning and working environments.

We support the College in:

  • Identifying and addressing systemic barriers
  • Strengthening practices that advance student success and belonging
  • Building the collective capacity needed to transform institutional culture
  • Advancing racial equity and justice
  • Supporting identity-centered programs and spaces
  • Strengthening institutional compliance and accountability
  • Cultivating opportunities for professional learning, reflection, and action

Our Commitment

Through this work, we seek to move beyond statements of commitment and toward practices, structures, and relationships that reflect PCC’s values.

At the heart of IEDJ is a commitment to care, accountability, and community. We understand that creating meaningful change requires collaboration, courage, and sustained attention to the lived experiences of those who have been historically marginalized in educational spaces.
Our work invites the PCC community to learn together, act together, and build together in pursuit of a campus where all students and employees can experience dignity, belonging, and opportunity.
Equity Tools
Leadership Development Embedding equity in the policies and processes of Pasadena City College.
Bias Response Responding to hate and bias-related incidents.

Equity in Action

Supporting the creation of an inclsuive, equitable community for students, faculty, and staff.

Past Event Recordings

Access resources and recordings of past events sponsored by Institutional Equity, Diversity, and Justice. 

Past Event Recordings

Resources for Your Event

Pasadena City College is a learning community within the indigenous homelands of people who have been known as the Gabrielieño Band of Mission Indians of the Sisitcanongna (pronounced "Shesh-i-i-kuan-ga") Village and Kizh Nation. We acknowledge the painful history of genocide and forced removal from this land on which we gather.

We also honor the legacy of the African diaspora and recognize that the United States as we know it was built at the often-fatal expense of forcefully enslaved Black people. We are indebted to their labor and the labor of many Black and Brown bodies that continue to work in the shadows for our collective benefit.

PCC and its faculty, staff, and students recognize that we are all simultaneously teachers, learners, and guests on these lands. This acknowledgment is a small part of an ongoing process of working to raise awareness about histories that are too often erased or forgotten, to recognize our place in this history, and to affirm our commitment to social justice, systemic change, and anti-racism.

Why Land Acknowledgements are Important

We recognize that the United States as we know it was built at the often-fatal expense of forcefully enslaved Black people. We must acknowledge that much of what we know of this country today, including its culture, economic growth, and development has been made possible by the labor of enslaved Africans and their descendants who suffered the horror of the transatlantic trafficking, chattel slavery, and, later on, dehumanization through segregation and Jim Crow laws.

We acknowledge and remember those who did not survive the Middle Passage, those who were beaten and lynched as a result of White Supremacy, and those who are still suffering while fighting for their freedom. We are indebted to their labor and their unwilling sacrifice, and we must acknowledge the tremors of that violence throughout the generations and the resulting impact and generational trauma is still felt and witnessed today.

Today, we are indebted to their labor and the labor of many Black bodies that continue to work in the shadows for our collective benefit.

 

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