NAACP Pasadena Chapter Recognizes Administrator, Professor

Dr. Robert Bell, senior vice president and assistant superintendent of Pasadena City College, and Stan Kong, associate professor, were recently recognized by the NAACP Pasadena Branch for their efforts in supporting education and student success.

The two were honored at the organization’s 29^th Annual Ruby McKnight Williams Freedom Fund Scholarship and Awards Banquet, which was held Oct. 2 at the Pasadena Hilton Hotel.

“I am deeply honored and humbled to receive this recognition from the NAACP,” said Bell, who was given the Ruby McKnight Williams Education Award . “It is very gratifying to me to be recognized for the work that I do every day at PCC. I hope to be a positive influence in the lives of the students, faculty, and staff here at the college and it is extremely gratifying to be recognized in this way for the work that I do, in what to me is the most important profession I could have chosen for my life – education.”

Bell has an extensive career in the education field. Prior to joining PCC four years ago, he served as director of Extended Studies for Antelope Valley College, senior vice president for Academic and Student Affairs for the Louisiana Community Technical College System, and vice president/chief administrative officer for Chaffey College. He also served as vice president of Student Services at Sound Community College in Olympia, Wash.

Kong, who teaches product design at PCC and was recognized with the Ruby McKnight Williams Arts Award, called the honor “humbling.”

“The NAACP recognizes the importance and value of the arts and arts education to the daily lives of citizens,” he said. “I am honored to be acknowledged for my contributions to the cultural enrichment of the broader Pasadena community.”

In addition to his duties at PCC, Kong is an adjunct professor in the Graduate Industrial Design Department and Public Programs at the Art Center College of Design. A founding co-chair of the alumni scholarship fundraising group Legacy Circle, he also serves on the Visual Arts and Design Academy Advisory Board and the Rowe and Gayle Giesen Trust Board of Trustees. He was recently named the president of the Executive Board of Directors for the Armory Center for the Arts.

The banquet is named after Ms. Ruby Williams McKnight, who was a community organizer in Pasadena for more than 50 years. She also served as the NAACP Pasadena Branch’s president, first in 1959 and later in the 1970s. In 1958, the organization determined that in her honor, an award should be given to those who demonstrate excellence in community service.