Pacific Mourns Passing Of President Emeritus Phil Creighton
Pacific University is saddened by the death of President Emeritus Phil Creighton. The university’s 16th president, Creighton passed away on Sept. 17, 2024, at age 79, after a long battle with cancer.
Creighton served as Pacific’s president from 2003 to 2009 and oversaw a six-year period of growth that transformed the university from a small liberal arts college into one of the region’s top comprehensive universities.
“Phil Creighton was a transformational leader for Pacific University. His vision was the catalyst for the diverse institution we are today,” said current Pacific President Jenny Coyle ’90, OD ’93, MS ’00, who worked alongside Creighton when she was dean of the university’s College of Optometry. “He played such a special role in my story. He was that mentor who saw things in me that I had not yet seen in myself. It transformed my journey.
“Phil had a special gift of remembering everyone’s name, a personal touch that created a sense of understanding and belonging. I am a better person, and Pacific is a better place, for having Phil Creighton in our lives.”
Under Creighton’s leadership, Pacific constructed several buildings that transformed the university’s footprint. On the Forest Grove Campus, the Tim & Cathy Tran Library opened in 2005 and Berglund Hall opened in 2007. The university also constructed two residence halls: Burlingham in 2007 and Gilbert in 2010.
Creighton developed a partnership with the City of Forest Grove that transformed Lincoln Park, located north of the Stoller Center, into a first-class outdoor athletic complex. Opened in 2008, the Lincoln Park Athletic Complex is home to the Boxers’ football, baseball, softball, soccer, lacrosse, and track and field programs.
However, the lasting physical legacy of Creighton’s tenure is in Pacific’s Hillsboro Campus, which houses the university’s health professions graduate programs. Constructed adjacent to and in partnership with Tuality Healthcare (now OHSU Hillsboro Medical Center), the first building on the campus opened in 2006 and, upon his retirement, was named Creighton Hall in his honor.
Financially, Creighton oversaw one of the most prosperous periods in the university’s 175-year history. Inheriting a $3 million deficit, the university logged a $3 million surplus in 2008. Creighton also oversaw fundraising efforts that resulted in the reinstatement of the Pacific football program in 2010.
Creighton oversaw the creation of the university’s College of Health Professions, which included the creation of graduate health profession programs in dental hygiene studies, pharmacy and healthcare administration. The university also started the Master of Fine Arts in Writing program in the College of Arts & Sciences.
On campus, Creighton was known for his personable demeanor and a knack for remembering the names and faces of just about anyone he encountered. Nicknamed “Dr. Phil” by students, he was a popular figure with students and alumni alike.
Before assuming Pacific’s presidency, Creighton served as provost and vice president of academic affairs at Salisbury University in Maryland and was president at Eastern Oregon University in La Grande from 1999 to 2003.
Upon retirement, Creighton and his wife, Leigh, split time between homes in Arizona and Colorado. An avid birder, Creighton spent many retirement hours traveling the West, searching for species to check off on his “life list.”
Creighton attended the United States Air Force Academy before transferring to Tarkio College in Missouri, where he earned his bachelor’s degree in 1966. He received a master’s degree from Colorado State in 1970 and his doctorate in biology from Colorado State in 1974.