Pacific University's School Of Occupational Therapy Celebrates 40 Years
Pacific University celebrated the 40th anniversary of its School of Occupational Therapy with several events for students and alumni Aug. 8-10.
Timed to coincide with the university’s annual August Commencement exercises, “The Power of Occupational Therapy” celebration melded the program’s past and future.
Pacific University was the first college in Oregon to confer an occupational therapy degree. The program continues to flourish with 38 students earning degrees in 2024.
Those graduating students were one focus of the 40th-anniversary celebration, which began with the presentation of capstone projects on Thursday, Aug. 8, at the Hillsboro Campus.
Capstone presentations were followed with a pinning ceremony for the class of 2024 on Friday, Aug. 9, in the Taylor-Meade Performing Arts Center on the Forest Grove Campus. A rite of passage for graduates, each doctoral candidate received a commemorative pin recognizing their entry into the occupational therapy profession. The pins are presented by friends or family of the candidate’s choice.
Graduates received their degrees during the university’s August commencement ceremony on Saturday, Aug. 10, at 9 a.m. on the Forest Grove Campus.
The weekend celebration also looked back to the impact previous classes have made in the profession. The classes of 1994, 2004 and 2014 celebrated milestone reunions with gatherings on Friday, Aug. 9, at McMenamins Grand Lodge. Alumni had an additional opportunity to share fellowship with a nature walk, history walk, or a wine-tasting experience on Saturday, Aug. 10.
The weekend concluded with an anniversary dinner on Saturday night on the Forest Grove Campus. The evening honored the long history of the program and the sharing of stories testifying to the purpose that the occupational therapy field has provided for the school’s many graduates.
“Pacific’s School of Occupational Therapy has proven over four decades that we are creating a community of strong occupational therapists who continue to support underserved populations, improve lives, and pursue occupational justice,” said Sarah Foidel, interim director of the School of Occupational Therapy. “I am incredibly proud to be part of the oldest occupational therapy program of Oregon and look forward to thriving as an amazing program.”
Founded in 1984, Pacific’s School of Occupational Therapy was the first in the state of Oregon and graduated its first class of graduates in 1986 with 18 students receiving undergraduate degrees. The school graduated its first master’s degree students in 2000 and its first doctoral degrees in 2015. Occupational therapy is the third-oldest of Pacific’s health professions programs, preceded by the College of Optometry (1946) and the School of Physical Therapy (1975).