San José City College marked its 105th anniversary with a celebration on Sept. 9 in the Career Education Complex, drawing students, faculty, and staff together for cake, cupcakes, and a look back at more than a century of service to San José since the college first opened its doors in 1921.
The celebration coincided with Student Club Day, filling the complex with the energy of campus organizations alongside the milestone festivities.
SJCC President Dr. Marilyn Flores delivered remarks connecting the building where the celebration took place to the college’s origins.
“We’re here today to celebrate 105 years of San José City College,” Flores said. “And I have to say there’s something fitting about celebrating it right here, in the Career Education Complex, because this building is literally standing on our history.”
Flores pointed to the 200 and 300 Wings incorporated into the complex, remnants of the original campus buildings.
“Those are not just architectural details,” she said. “Those are pieces of the original campus.”
From Junior College to City College
SJCC’s story began Sept. 12, 1921, as San José Junior College, born from an agreement between San José High School District and San José State Teachers College. The junior college held classes on the San José High School campus from 1921 to 1923, then at San José State from 1923 to 1953 — all before the college had a campus to call its own.
That changed after World War II, as San José’s population boomed and returning veterans sought education and job training. In 1953, San José Unified School District moved the junior college to its present Moorpark Avenue site, then home to the San José Leland Technical High School, three long industrial buildings known as the 100, 200, and 300 Wings.
“Built with the same design as U.S. military bases around the world,” Flores said. “High ceilings. Big windows. Built to last.”
The school was renamed San José City College in 1958. A faculty-led effort led to a special election establishing the independent San José Junior College District in 1963.
The 100 and 200 Wings still stand today. The 300 Wing was demolished to make way for the Career Education Complex.
“We’re not erasing our history to build our future,” Flores said. “We’re building our future out of our history.”
A Growing Campus
Since 2005, voter-approved bond measures dating back to 1954 and most recently in 2016 have funded a wave of new construction at SJCC: the Library and Learning Resource Center, the Robert N. Chang Student Center, the Technology Center, the Science Complex, the Carmen Castellano Fine Arts Complex, the Multi-Disciplinary Classroom Complex, the Jaguar Sports Complex, the Maintenance and Emergency Operations Center, and now the Career Education Complex.
Today, SJCC, which includes the Milpitas Extension, enrolls more than 12,000 students annually, a dramatic rise from its first class of 86 students in 1921.
Once a Jaguar, Always a Jaguar
Over the past century, SJCC alumni have gone on to make their mark across fields including athletics, journalism, the arts and public service — from Olympic gold medalists to a National Book Award-winning author. Visit the SJCC Alumni page to see the full list of notable Jaguars and share your own story.
“A hundred and five years in, we are just getting started on our second century,” Flores said. “Happy birthday, SJCC. Here’s the next hundred and five.”
Watch a photo history of SJCC’s 105-year history.
