Aaron Bell Sr. Black Men’s Health Awareness Day Returns To PCC's Cascade Campus (Photo) - 01/07/26

NORTH PORTLAND, Ore. – Portland Community College is delivering a big assist to men’s health.

The Cascade Campus gym (705 N. Killingsworth St.) will host the annual Aaron Bell Sr. Black Men’s Health Awareness Day from 1-4 p.m., Saturday, Jan. 17. The event honors the legacy of Aaron Bell Sr., a PCC men’s basketball assistant coach who passed away in 2019 due to a heart-related illness. It promotes health and wellness for men, especially Black men, who have higher death rates from preventable and chronic illnesses than other racial groups.

“This event is about honoring Aaron and saving lives,” said PCC Athletics Manager Tyrone White, a longtime friend of Bell. “Black men experience higher rates of heart disease, diabetes, cancer and hypertension, and we want people to know there are resources available and professionals who want to help.”

In his memory, PCC Athletics and community partners continue to host the annual awareness day to encourage preventive care, education and open conversations about health, particularly for Black men, who face disproportionate health risks nationwide.

According to event sponsor Multnomah County Health, Portland’s county health rankings show that Black men have an eight-year shorter life expectancy than white men and up to a 15-year discrepancy from that of Hispanic or Asian men.

Bell was friends with both PCC Director of Athletics Tony Broadous and White prior to joining PCC's men's basketball team in the 2012–13 season.  He became known not only for his work on the court but also for his mentorship, encouragement and compassion for students and athletes.

“Aaron Bell was a gentle giant,” White said. “He was 6-foot-5 and incredible on and off the court. He always fought for the underdog and encouraged people to believe in themselves.”

PCC's awareness day is being presented in partnership with OHSU, Multnomah County REACH and the Multnomah County Health Department. Together with the Urban League of Portland and community providers North By Northeast Health Clinic, Supporting Our Society (SOS) and Men in Recovery, a wide range of free health screenings, education and resources will be offered including:

• Ask a doctor — no health question is off-limits

• Blood pressure and blood sugar screenings

• Prostate cancer education

• Health clinic referrals and resources

• Gun locks, Narcan and addiction support information

• Tobacco quit kits

• Sign-ups for Narcan and mental health first aid training

• Active People Healthy Multnomah walking programs

• Healthy African heritage recipes

• Body and mind wellness tips

While the event centers on Black men’s health, all are welcome and encouraged to attend as it is free and open to all. 

“We want people to feel comfortable asking questions and taking steps toward better health,” White said. “This is about access, education and community.”

The health awareness event will coincide with a Portland Panthers basketball doubleheader at the Cascade Campus gym. The men’s basketball team will tip off at 2 p.m., followed by the women’s game at 4 p.m., offering attendees an opportunity to support PCC athletics while prioritizing wellness. 

For more information about PCC Athletics, visit panthers.pcc.edu

About Portland Community College: Founded in 1961, Portland Community College is the largest post-secondary institution in Oregon and provides training, degree and certificate completion, and lifelong learning to more than 57,000 full- and part-time students in Multnomah, Washington, Yamhill, Clackamas, and Columbia counties. PCC has four comprehensive campuses, 10 education centers or areas served, and approximately 200 community locations in the Portland metropolitan area. The PCC district encompasses a 1,500-square-mile area in northwest Oregon and offers two-year degrees, one-year certificate programs, short-term training, alternative education, pre-college courses and life-long learning.

Visit PCC news on the web at http://news.pcc.edu/

For B-ROLL footage, visit PCC campus and student life highlight reel.

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Panel Discussion Centers On Art, Authorship And The Future In The Age Of AI (Photo) - 01/06/26

SOUTHWEST PORTLAND, Ore. – Portland Community College will host “Thinking Machines: Art, Authorship, and the Future in the Age of AI,” a panel conversation from noon to 1 p.m., Saturday, Jan. 17 at the North View Gallery, Sylvania Campus (12000 S.W. 49th Avenue). 

The event is organized alongside interdisciplinary artist Hannah Newman’s exhibition, “Neural-Lithic Harvests,” on display through Jan. 27. This discussion is free and open to the public. The art gallery is located in Room 214 of the Communication Technology (CT) Building.

The panel brings together artists and scholars to examine how advancing AI tools, especially image/video generators and large language models, are reshaping creative practice, authorship and education. Participants include Newman, artist Myra Lilith Day, poet Megan Savage, artist David Torres, philosopher Matt Stockton and humanities professor Jo McLendon.

The conversation probes the tension between human agency and machine creation amid intensifying real-world debates about who benefits from generative AI and who bears the costs. U.S. courts are entering a pivotal year in lawsuits that question whether training AI on copyrighted books, images, and journalism is “fair use,” with outcomes that could redefine creative rights and compensation. 

At the same time, recent headlines have underscored how image-generation tools can be misused to create nonconsensual “nudification” and sexualized deepfakes, raising urgent questions about consent, safety, and accountability online.

Panelists will also address the environmental footprint of AI systems, including the growing energy and water demands of data centers powering today’s models, and what responsible use can look like in the arts and humanities. 

PCC is home to three art galleries: the North View Gallery, the Paragon Arts Gallery and the Helzer Gallery, each located on comprehensive campus locations in Portland – Sylvania, Cascade and Rock Creek, respectively. The Art Galleries are dedicated to supporting education and community building through the arts.



For more information, visit the PCC art galleries webpage: pcc.edu/galleries/.

About Portland Community College: Founded in 1961, Portland Community College is the largest post-secondary institution in Oregon and provides training, degree and certificate completion, and lifelong learning to more than 57,000 full- and part-time students in Multnomah, Washington, Yamhill, Clackamas, and Columbia counties. PCC has four comprehensive campuses, 10 education centers or areas served, and approximately 200 community locations in the Portland metropolitan area. The PCC district encompasses a 1,500-square-mile area in northwest Oregon and offers two-year degrees, one-year certificate programs, short-term training, alternative education, pre-college courses and life-long learning.

Visit PCC news on the web at http://news.pcc.edu/

For B-ROLL footage, visit PCC campus and student life highlight reel.

PCC Interior Design Faculty And Alumni Earn National Recognition (Photo) - 12/16/25

PORTLAND, Ore. – Portland Community College faculty and students continue to gain national visibility.

This year, instructor Betsy Brandenburg was named a 2025 Innovator by Kitchen & Bath Design News, while three PCC-educated designers from the interior and architectural design programs, Allison Hedrick, Bethany Broussard, and Emma K. Winn, also earned prestigious honors from the National Kitchen & Bath Association (NKBA) as young professional leaders. Hedrick won first place in the NKBA Student Design Competition Kitchen Design category, and Broussard and Winn were named NKBA’s Thirty Under 30 Class of 2025.

Last March, an interior design instructor was awarded the inaugural 2025 NKBA/KBIS Educator of the Year award.

Brandenburg joined PCC’s Interior Design Program in 2023 and has a bachelor's degree in Interior Architecture from the California College of the Arts in San Francisco. She brings 30 years design experience from running her own design studio in Portland to her early career in San Francisco as a designer specializing in high-end hotels. The instructor is known for her practical, industry-aligned approach to teaching. 

“It’s an honor to be recognized as a KBDN Innovator,” Brandenburg said. “I want designers to know it doesn’t have to be so hard to deliver projects on time and on budget without losing your mind. This recognition reinforces that it’s a message designers want and need right now.”

In class, she introduces students to the “Design Roadmap System” that she created and they work on practicing project management in real time. By tracking their time and planning their schoolwork using the system all semester long, they learn how to manage a busy workload without the stress.

She said PCC excels at preparing students for real-world practice by connecting coursework directly with industry expectations.

“The curriculum isn’t just academic; it’s rooted in what designers actually need to know,” she said. “This business is also all about who you know, and PCC does a great job helping students build those relationships.”

Faculty regularly join students at industry events, introduce them to working professionals and incorporate hands-on career skills into the classroom. Brandenburg said her students’ enthusiasm strengthens her commitment to the program.

“Their energy is infectious,” Brandenburg said. “They remind me what an honor it is to make a living in this field. I'm so incredibly honored to be able to teach at PCC. The energy and talent is really remarkable.”

For more details on PCC's Interior Design Program, visit its webpage.

About Portland Community College: Founded in 1961, Portland Community College is the largest post-secondary institution in Oregon and provides training, degree and certificate completion, and lifelong learning to more than 57,000 full- and part-time students in Multnomah, Washington, Yamhill, Clackamas, and Columbia counties. PCC has four comprehensive campuses, 10 education centers or areas served, and approximately 200 community locations in the Portland metropolitan area. The PCC district encompasses a 1,500-square-mile area in northwest Oregon and offers two-year degrees, one-year certificate programs, short-term training, alternative education, pre-college courses and life-long learning.

Visit PCC news on the web at http://news.pcc.edu/

For B-ROLL footage, visit PCC campus and student life highlight reel.

Home (and Away) For The Holidays: PCC Employees And Students Give Back To The Community (Photo) - 12/09/25

PORTLAND, Ore. – It's that time of year again for baubles, bangles and bling! 

Portland Community College employees are once again turning holiday spirit into support for English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) students through an annual jewelry sale that benefits the ESOL Fund.

The sale took place in early December in the CC Building Upper Mall at the Sylvania Campus. All jewelry has been donated by PCC staff, along with their friends and family members, with 100% of proceeds going to help ESOL students cover fees, tuition and textbooks. Other PCC campuses also host jewelry sales throughout the year to benefit ESOL students, too.

“We've had this fund for about 15 years, and we help students with tuition, fees and textbooks,” said Luciana Diniz, ESOL instructor who organized Sylvania’s sale. “Last year, we raised about $1,000 and we are hoping for more this year. We do many other events at different campuses and the jewelry sale is just one of them.”

ESOL instructors and retired instructors lead the fundraising efforts. The jewelry sale typically raises around $1,000 each year and is one of many events held annually to support ESOL students across the district.

While the fund has traditionally focused on academic non-credit students, this winter it will award $10,000 to ESOL Level 7 (credit) students districtwide. Some ESOL students volunteered at the sale, giving donors and shoppers a chance to meet the students they are supporting.

Jewelry donations are accepted year-round, with about 10-15 employees contributing pieces in the past three months alone. Organizers hope this year’s sale will surpass previous fundraising totals.

To donate to the fund, contact the PCC Foundation, or to give jewelry, get in touch with Diniz at luciana.diniz@pcc.edu.

Holiday donation energizes PCC’s food bank

At PCC’s recent Free Food Market at its Sylvania Campus, staff not only distributed groceries and winter gifts to students, they also received a meaningful gift themselves. During the event at the Sylvania Campus, the PCC Student Basic Needs Center (SBNC) was honored with a $5,000 donation from The MamaBerries Nonprofit Foundation, in partnership with Shades by Shan Cosmetics.

The funds will provide seasonal assistance gift cards to single parent students at PCC, helping to ease the financial strain of the holiday season for families balancing college, caregiving and basic expenses. A recent survey showed 64% of PCC’s students experience at least one form of basic needs insecurity such as food or housing challenges.

This Student Is A Smile-Maker

Caribbean grade schoolers, adults in custody, and community members are smiling more brightly thanks to Kristina Hsu. The PCC Dental Hygiene student volunteered recently on a smile-giving trip to Saint Lucia, an island nation in the Eastern Caribbean. Hsu continues to serve patients this holiday season as she completes her studies and helps to staff the PCC Dental Clinic at the Vanport Building in Downtown Portland that provides free preventive and limited restorative dental services to the community, PCC faculty, staff, and students. 

Learn more about Kristina Hsu Caribbean work and current assistance with the college’s reduced-cost dental clinic.

About Portland Community College: Founded in 1961, Portland Community College is the largest post-secondary institution in Oregon and provides training, degree and certificate completion, and lifelong learning to more than 57,000 full- and part-time students in Multnomah, Washington, Yamhill, Clackamas, and Columbia counties. PCC has four comprehensive campuses, 10 education centers or areas served, and approximately 200 community locations in the Portland metropolitan area. The PCC district encompasses a 1,500-square-mile area in northwest Oregon and offers two-year degrees, one-year certificate programs, short-term training, alternative education, pre-college courses and life-long learning.

Visit PCC news on the web at http://news.pcc.edu/

For B-ROLL footage, visit PCC campus and student life highlight reel.