Candidate for
Board Member; Palomar Community College District

Joe Chirra has had direct involvement with community colleges for more than 25 years.

Joe earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from The Pennsylvania State University and a Juris Doctor degree from the University of San Diego School of Law. He is a member of Pi Sigma Alpha, the national political science honor society, and Phi Alpha Delta, the national legal fraternity.

Joe has also had plenty of experience in the world of business. He has been a licensed attorney in California since 1974 and, in 1982, was the founder and, for many years thereafter, the managing partner of a ten-attorney law firm. Additionally, Joe has served as a principal in the development of residential real estate projects in California and Pennsylvania, and he has been a licensed California real estate broker.

He knows the challenges that teachers face in the community college classroom. Since 1976, Joe has been an associate faculty member at MiraCosta College, where he has taught political science in the social sciences department and criminal evidence in the administration of justice program.

Joe also knows the need to involve community members in supporting the students. He is a founder and was first president of a community college theatre arts foundation, which provides scholarships to theater arts students and financial assistance to the drama department.

In addition, Joe knows the importance of receiving support from alumni. With his wife, Gloria Floren, Joe has established an endowment at The Pennsylvania State University to provide scholarships and to support research of faculty members in the political science department.