Patricia O'Connor
Encyclopedia
Patricia Goosey O’Connor (born 2 October 1940) is the founder of Fashion Careers College
(FCC) in San Diego, California
.
and began teaching for the San Diego Unified School District
. A native of San Diego who left for one year to teach for the Berkeley Unified School District
in 1965, she returned to San Diego to continue her career with the San Diego Unified School District. Taking a break from her full-time teaching duties at San Diego Unified, she decided to take a part-time position at Patricia Stevens Modeling School to initiate a new fashion merchandising program offered for the first time at the school. She continued there for nine years as director and instructor of the certificate program in fashion merchandising, before founding her own college in 1979. Fashion Careers College was founded in San Diego in January 1979 in a location in Mission Valley In 1984, FCC moved into its new and present location at 1923 Morena Boulevard in San Diego.
Over the years O'Connor has been involved in all aspects of the fashion industry and has taken an active role in the community. She has served on the Joint Committee to Develop a Master Plan for Education-Kindergarten through University for California, on the advisory board California Bureau for Private Postsecondary and Vocational Education
, and on the Consumer and Family Studies Division and Vocational Education Board for the San Diego Unified School District. She was on the Board of Directors of Educational Talent Search and Fashion Group International of San Diego, Inc. and was appointed Chair of the Board of Directors of the American Friends of the Zandra Rhodes
Museum in London
.
O’Connor is the creator of the Annual Golden Hanger Fashion Awards Gala and has served as its chair for the past 23 years. She is also the creator of a new annual event at the Timken Museum of Art
called The Art of Fashion which brings talented fashion design students from the college to create interpretations of the costumes in some of the great works of art that are part of the permanent collection at the Museum. In 2009 O'Connor was appointed by the Timken Museum to be a member of the Board of Directors. She also serves as a docent and guest lecturer at the museum.
Fashion Careers College
Fashion Careers College is a private post-secondary business school founded to provide a collegiate-level education for students seeking successful careers in the fashion industry. Fashion Careers College has developed Degree and Certificate programs to train students entering the fashion...
(FCC) in San Diego, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
.
Biography
O’Connor has been an educator since 1963 when she graduated from San Diego State UniversitySan Diego State University
San Diego State University , founded in 1897 as San Diego Normal School, is the largest and oldest higher education facility in the greater San Diego area , and is part of the California State University system...
and began teaching for the San Diego Unified School District
San Diego Unified School District
San Diego Unified School District is the school district of San Diego, California. It was founded in 1854...
. A native of San Diego who left for one year to teach for the Berkeley Unified School District
Berkeley Unified School District
Berkeley Unified School District is the public school district for the city of Berkeley, California. Its administrative offices are located in Berkeley's old city hall on Martin Luther King Jr. Way between Center Street and Allston Way...
in 1965, she returned to San Diego to continue her career with the San Diego Unified School District. Taking a break from her full-time teaching duties at San Diego Unified, she decided to take a part-time position at Patricia Stevens Modeling School to initiate a new fashion merchandising program offered for the first time at the school. She continued there for nine years as director and instructor of the certificate program in fashion merchandising, before founding her own college in 1979. Fashion Careers College was founded in San Diego in January 1979 in a location in Mission Valley In 1984, FCC moved into its new and present location at 1923 Morena Boulevard in San Diego.
Over the years O'Connor has been involved in all aspects of the fashion industry and has taken an active role in the community. She has served on the Joint Committee to Develop a Master Plan for Education-Kindergarten through University for California, on the advisory board California Bureau for Private Postsecondary and Vocational Education
California Bureau for Private Postsecondary and Vocational Education
The California Bureau for Private Postsecondary and Vocational Education was a unit of the California Department of Consumer Affairs whose purpose was to protect students by establishing academic standards for of private institutions of higher education in California...
, and on the Consumer and Family Studies Division and Vocational Education Board for the San Diego Unified School District. She was on the Board of Directors of Educational Talent Search and Fashion Group International of San Diego, Inc. and was appointed Chair of the Board of Directors of the American Friends of the Zandra Rhodes
Zandra Rhodes
Zandra Rhodes, CBE, RDI, is an English fashion designer.Zandra Rhodes was introduced to the world of fashion by her mother, who was a fitter in a Paris fashion house and a teacher at Medway College of Art, now the University for the Creative Arts. Rhodes studied first at Medway and then at the...
Museum in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
.
O’Connor is the creator of the Annual Golden Hanger Fashion Awards Gala and has served as its chair for the past 23 years. She is also the creator of a new annual event at the Timken Museum of Art
Timken Museum of Art
The Timken Museum of Art is a fine art museum located in Balboa Park in San Diego, California, close to the San Diego Museum of Art.-History:...
called The Art of Fashion which brings talented fashion design students from the college to create interpretations of the costumes in some of the great works of art that are part of the permanent collection at the Museum. In 2009 O'Connor was appointed by the Timken Museum to be a member of the Board of Directors. She also serves as a docent and guest lecturer at the museum.