Pacific University Celebrates 175 Years of Purpose

Today is Pacific University’s Charter Day!

On Sept. 26, 1849, the Oregon Territorial Legislature’s first official act was to grant approval for the establishment of Tualatin Academy, the foundation of Pacific University. Originally created to provide a home and education for children orphaned on the Oregon Trail, our university’s mission from Day 1 has centered on uplifting our community.

For 175 years, we have been a cornerstone of Forest Grove, of Washington County, and of Oregon, launching students into lives of purpose and service.

We were the first in Oregon to offer a high school teaching certificate. The first to prepare optometrists, physical therapists, or occupational therapists.

Today, Oregon’s 12 private colleges — Pacific included — contribute $3.5 billion to the state’s economy in the jobs we support, the earnings of our alumni, and the spending of the students and visitors who come to our campuses from out of state.

More, though, Pacific provides a place of belonging and opportunity for people to learn, grow, and achieve their dreams. Students choose Pacific because we believe in them, in their potential. We celebrate them for who they are and who they will become. And we provide the care, support, and expertise to empower them to live out the purpose they seek in the world.

Our faculty and staff are teachers and mentors who are, in their own right, expanding knowledge and discovery in the world. They are people like Adelle Monteblanco, researching the impact of climate change on the most vulnerable in our communities, or Kerry Mandulak, transforming the face of the speech-language pathology profession by removing barriers and advancing diversity. Like Jim Moore, challenging voters to investigate and think critically about the leadership of our state and nation, or Hossein Rikhtehgar Berenji modeling business sustainability practices that eliminate hunger. Like Cynthia Brown, investigating interventions to support youth with autism. And so very many more.

Under the mentorship and inspiration of these faculty, our students rise to the opportunity to create their own marks on the world. The vast majority of Pacific University students go on to work in schools and healthcare systems. They are the teachers, social workers, and mental health professionals caring for our children. They are the healthcare providers keeping our families and neighbors healthy.

And they are public servants and community leaders, like former U.S. Congressman Les AuCoin, a 1969 graduate of Pacific who we are proud to honor tomorrow with the dedication of Les AuCoin Hall on the Forest Grove Campus. Or our seven 2024 Alumni Association Award recipients — volunteers, and philanthropists, and humanitarians — who we honor next month at Homecoming & Family Weekend.

And yet, despite all of this evidence of the critical impact of higher education, Pacific and colleges like us are still facing serious challenges.

Every year, there are fewer students graduating from high school and heading to college. This “demographic cliff” is the result of a decrease in birth rates since the 2008 recession. In higher education, we are projected to see a 15% drop in the number of 18-year-olds nationwide from 2025 to 2029. 

At the same time, there is an increasing — and alarming — public sentiment that devalues education for our young people. The percentage of young adults who say a college degree is “very important” fell from 74% to 41% within a decade.

We know that education is critical for the wellbeing of our students — and our communities as a whole. Students who earn a bachelor’s degree earn, on average, at least $1 million more in their lifetimes than those with a high school diploma. A college education advances students’ social mobility — transforming their families’ economic stability for generations to come.

And our communities need educated people — teachers and mental health professionals and healthcare providers. Researchers who fight cancer and climate change. Critical thinkers who are engaged voters, leaders and problem solvers. (After all, that demographic cliff will hit our workforces shortly after it hits colleges and universities.)

At Pacific University, as we celebrate our 175th anniversary, we reaffirm our commitment to uplifting those who uphold others. And we look ahead to how we will continue to adapt and meet the challenges in front of us through our unwavering commitment to belonging, to access, and to innovation, guided by our new strategic plan, Our Pacific, and its core themes of Empower, Thrive, and Advance.

We will continue to empower our faculty, staff, students and alumni to achieve their purpose. 

That means embracing innovation that meets the needs of our communities today and into the future. It’s what we’ve always done, as we moved from an academy to a university, as we launched new majors or graduate programs to align to a changing world, and as we increased our investment in discovery to become the No. 1 private research university in the Pacific Northwest. 

It’s what we’ve done through the Pacific Priority program, debuted last year, that provides undergraduate students pathways to graduation and graduate school.

And it’s what we’ll continue to do in seeking new ways to meet student needs, by developing online, hybrid or part-time learning opportunities in areas like pharmacy or social work; by piloting apprenticeship models for teachers or healthcare professionals; and by partnering with our communities to identify emerging needs in our workforce.

We will continue to create environments where our students can thrive.

That means a physical environment that is accessible, safe and sustainable, as well as a cultural space centered on inclusion, collaboration, and unity.

We are already a federally designated Asian-American, Native Alaskan, Pacific Islander serving institution, and we are working toward designation as a Hispanic Serving Institution.

We will renovate the Stoller Center to create a world-class environment that supports student wellness, health and experiential learning. We will build a longhouse on the Forest Grove Campus, honoring the Indigenous peoples who stewarded this land before us and celebrating the many cultures of our students and communities today.

We will ensure that our systems and support structures remove barriers — including financial ones — for students and that we are efficient stewards of students’ investment in their future.

And we will advance the mission of Pacific University.

We will work, as one, to elevate the reputation of Pacific University in our communities and to fight the erroneous devaluing of education for our future generations. Education is, and always has been, central to our democracy and our wellbeing in this country.

We will galvanize the passion of the Pacific community as we tell the story of our mission, our students and our alumni. 

And we will activate our community’s pride to garner philanthropic support that ensures ongoing access to the Pacific experience.

Today, on the 175th anniversary of Pacific University’s charter, we are focused on our future — on setting the course for our next 175 years. But we need your help.

We need you to be a champion, not only of Pacific University, but of higher education. Help us counter the narrative that college doesn’t pay off. Tell your Pacific story, on social media, to friends and family. Refer families and students to our admissions team. 

We need you to be a partner. As faculty and staff, we can support our students by working collaboratively across units to uplift our university collectively. As alumni and friends, we can be mentors, practicum and internship supervisors, employers, and advocates for today’s students.

And we need you to be a supporter. As a nonprofit organization, we rely on philanthropic support to offset the cost of delivering the Pacific experience to our students. Your contributions make the difference for students who would not otherwise be able to pursue their purpose through Pacific.

I invite you to join us all year in celebrating our 175th anniversary and all the potential ahead of us.

Come to campus to cheer on our Boxer sports teams, enjoy our students’ music, theatre and dance performances, or learn about emerging discovery through our Undergraduate Research Conference or Senior Projects Day.

We’d love to see you at Homecoming & Family Weekend next month. 

We’re also excited to travel to see our many alumni, families and friends throughout the West. Already this year, we’ve connected with Boxer communities in Hawai‘i and Southern California, and we’ll be visiting more communities in Oregon, Washington, Colorado, Arizona and Idaho this spring.

Finally, we hope you will save the date for our first public State of the University event, planned for Feb. 6 at the Reser Center for the Arts in Beaverton, as we continue our conversation about the future of Pacific University together.