News, Media and Stories | Pacific History

Les AuCoin '69, center, sits among guests at the dedication of Les AuCoin Hall
The ceremony, honoring the Pacific alumnus and nine-term Congressman, kicks off the celebration of Pacific University's 175th anniversary.
Alumni pose with Boxer I during Homecoming
The bronze qilin statue, the namesake of Pacific University and beloved by students and alumni alike, is reunited with the university after a 55-year absence.
Les AuCoin '69
The newly remodeled building at the heart of the Forest Grove Campus, formerly known as Pacific Hall, honors the nine-time Congressman for his lifetime of service.
AAPI Month graphic
Pacific University, the Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion, and the Student Multicultural Center in collaboration with university partners, proudly celebrate Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month in May.
jefferson hall exterior
We celebrate 75 years of Optometry at Pacific University with a look back through the years.
exhibit from the Contact lens Museum showing colored lenses in a red velvet lined box
The earliest contact lenses were made of glass and could be worn only for a few hours at a time. Today’s contact lenses are engineering marvels, and Pacific’s College of Optometry is at the vanguard of contact lens research and design.
women getting eyes screened
The optometry program launched at Pacific in 1945 as a result of a combination of postwar challenges and unexpected opportunities. The needs of a small, temporarily shuttered optometry college in Northeast Portland helped meet the demands of a university that had limped through the war years. The outcome was the beginning of Pacific’s focus on the health professions.
Red, Orange, Yellow and Green Crayons
August is National Crayon Collection Month, and Pacific is proud to celebrate its connection to the roots of Crayola.
Collage of historic photographs of Pacific women
In some important ways, Pacific University was ahead of its time when it came to educating women. But in other ways, women who lived, learned and taught here had to blaze their own trails. We take a look at some of the important women who shaped Pacific in the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries.
Anna Berliner
One of the most insightful thinkers and teachers ever to be employed at Pacific was Anna Berliner, a psychologist by title, but also an anthropologist, sociologist, optometrist and visual researcher.

Pages