From Dr. Coyle | July 2022
I can’t tell you how thrilled I am to be back home at Pacific University.
Today, I officially became president of my alma mater — a dream I barely could have envisioned as the first member of my family to attend college.
Pacific University is the place that helped launch my career and gave me the foundation to chase my bliss. My dream now is that it can continue to do the same for every one of our students, employees and alumni.
One of the early principals of Pacific’s forebear, Tualatin Academy, called the early provision for the creation of the college an act of “splendid audacity” — a term that would later become the title of our university’s published history.
Throughout our 173-year history, we have, indeed, been splendidly audacious. We have made bold decisions — from educating women and students from Japan in the 1800s, when such inclusion was unheard of, to starting a College of Optometry in the 1940s or a College of Health Professions in 2010.
Sometimes, our decisions have been splendid failures. We can own those mistakes, learn from them, and continue to grow.
As a Pacific University student and alumna, faculty member and dean, and a Boxer parent, I hold the mission of our university in my heart. But I also know that I don’t know everything.
During these first few months as president, I look forward to having extensive dialogue — what I am calling "Conversations About Community" — with members of our Pacific community, starting with alumni and friends in Hawai‘i later this month.
I invite you to consider the following questions and watch for upcoming Conversations About Community for alumni and friends of Pacific through the fall:
- What are you most proud of about Pacific?
- What would you like to change at or about Pacific?
- What should our first priorities be?
- What innovative ideas should we be exploring?
I look forward to seeing you soon and to splendidly audacious days ahead at Pacific University.
Happy Independence Day,
Jenny Coyle '90, OD '93, MS '00
President