Pacific University
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| Pacific University | |
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| Motto: | Pro Christo et Regno Ejus (For Christ and His Kingdom) |
| Established: | 1849 |
| Type: | Private |
| President: | Philip Creighton, Ph.D. |
| Students: | 2,500 |
| Location: | Forest Grove, Oregon, United States |
| Campus: | suburban |
| Colors: | Red and Black |
| Mascot: | Boxer |
| Affiliations: | none |
| Website: | http://www.pacificu.edu/ |
Pacific University is a private university located in Forest Grove, Oregon, United States about 38 km (23 mi) west of Portland.
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[edit] History
Pacific University traces its origins to a private school, the Tualatin Academy, which was established in 1848 to care for orphans from the 1846 Applegate Trail party, and was officially chartered by the territorial legislature in 1849.[1] Tabitha Brown, a pioneer emigrant from Massachusetts who was in that 1846 party, helped start the academy, and later taught at the academy. Eliza Hart Spalding, part of the Whitman Mission, was its first teacher. The current campus was deeded in 1851.
The central building on the Pacific campus is Marsh Hall, built in 1895 and named for Pacific's first president, Sidney Harper Marsh. It houses several classrooms, in addition to administrative offices, including the financial aid office, president's office, University Relations, and faculty offices. Marsh Hall was gutted by fire in 1975, but its shell was preserved, and the structure reopened in 1977.
Dr. Phillip D. Creighton became Pacific's sixteenth president in August 2003.
[edit] Current programs
In national surveys, Pacific University has consistently received high ratings in the category of private regional liberal arts universities with a limited range of graduate programs. The majority of its students are resident undergraduates in the College of Arts and Sciences.
At the graduate level, Pacific University is probably best known for its College of Optometry, but also offers graduate programs in several allied health fields via its College of Health Professions in physical therapy, occupational therapy, physician assistant studies, professional psychology, dental health science, and pharmacy.
Pacific also has a full range of undergraduate liberal arts degree programs and a College of Education. The College of Education offers an undergraduate major in early childhood education and elementary education. There are also a number of graduate education programs including MAT/MAT Flex, MAT Special Education and M.Ed. in Curriculum Studies and a joint program with the Optometry school in visual function in learning.
Pacific University is presently in the process of expanding. A state-of-the-art University Library was completed in 2005, as well as a separate campus for the health professions in Hillsboro. A new residence hall was completed in August 2006. In February 2008, Berglund Hall was opened to house the School of Education and the business department. As of 2008, another new residence hall is under construction in the northwest corner of the campus.
In 2007, Pacific University's MFA In Writing program was named one of the top five low-residency MFA programs in the United States.[2]
[edit] Facts about the university
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Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines. The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones. |
The university's mascot is the Boxer, which was derived from a Chinese statuette. It originally came to Pacific in the late 1890s as a gift from an alum. It was purchased from a Chinese family who used it as a sort of coat of arms. It appears to be a mix of a several different mythical creatures although it is often simply called a "dragon dog."[3]
Founded by the United Church of Christ, the University's motto is Pro Christo et Regno Ejus, which is Latin for "For Christ and His Kingdom".
The University's newspaper, the Index, was first published in 1893.
The University's annual yearbook, the Heart of Oak, was first published in 1894.
Tommy Thayer, lead guitarist of the band KISS was elected to the university's board of trustees in 2005.[4]
Pacific University is one of the few U.S. programs to officially have women's wrestling as a Varsity sport.[citation needed]
[edit] Alumni
Harvey W. Scott (graduated 1863) – the first graduate of Pacific and hired by Henry Pittock to edit The Oregonian. He was also quite influential in Oregon politics. He also served for a time as U.S. Collector of Customs for Oregon before returning to The Oregonian.
Myron Eells (graduated 1866) – the first Pacific graduate to become a trustee of the University. He was a writer and noted anthropologist. His notebooks on his work with Western Washington Indian tribes was published in 1986 under the title The Indians of Puget Sound: the Notebooks of Myron Ells. He was awarded an honorary Doctor of Divinity from Whitman College in 1890.
Thomas H. Tongue (graduated 1868) – elected to the 55th U.S. Congress by Oregonians as a U.S. Representative to the First District and was re-elected to the 58th Congress. He was chairman of the Committee for the Irrigation of Arid Lands and was responsible for the creation of the Crater Lake National Park.
Hatsutara Tamura (graduated 1876) – arrived in Forest Grove in 1870 and was one of the first three Japanese students at Pacific. He graduated and taught with a degree in chemistry, but later went to Oberlin College to study theology. Upon his return to Japan, he became the headmaster of the St. Agnes School in Kyoto.
Alfred Carlton Gilbert (graduated in 1902 from the Tualatin Academy) – is perhaps Pacific’s most famous alumnus. He attended Pacific as a member of the Gamma Sigma fraternity for 2 years following his graduation from Tualatin Academy. During this time, he set a world record for the most number of pull-ups performed consecutively. AC Gilbert graduated from Yale University with a degree in medicine and having attained a gold medal and world record for the pole vault in the 1908 Olympics. He later went on to invent the Erector Set in 1913. His company also marketed magic, chemistry and telegraph sets, and American Flyer Trains. The Discovery Village, located in Salem, Oregon, is a children’s museum named after Gilbert.
Victor Emmel (graduated in 1904) – received his bachelors degree from Pacific and then moved on to Brown University where he ranked among the top 25 anatomists in the U.S. for his work on red blood cells and for editing a 10-volume atlas on anatomy.
Elda F. Walker (graduated in 1904) – received her doctorate from the University of Nebraska after her graduation from Pacific. She remained on faculty there, later to distinguish herself as a noted botanist. She studied plant morphology and the ecology of algae.
Olaus Murie (graduated 1912) – was internationally recognized as a wilderness advocate and conservation leader. He moved to Jackson Hole, Wyoming and began researching elk life-history which eventually placed him among the most notable mammalogists of his time.
[edit] Contemporary alumni
Robert Oliver (graduated 1932) – had over 40 books published. He also received an honorary degree from Pacific in 1949.
Roy Lieuallen (graduated in 1940) - was president of the Oregon College of Education from 1955 to 1961. He was then appointed chancellor of the State Board of Higher Education and served until 1982. He was awarded an honorary degree from the University in 1959. He was also appointed vice chairman of the State Education Commission of the People’s Republic of China for a time.
Lawrence Nielsen (graduated in 1940) – was an author and researcher. He wrote five books and numerous technical articles on plastics and held six patents.
Lynn S. Meredith (graduated 1944) - was a Secret Service agent serving under eight U.S. presidents. He was a personal bodyguard to the Kennedy children and stayed on with the family for a year after President Kennedy’s death.
Calvin Leroy Van Pelt (graduated 1949) - World War II veteran, executive in international trade positions with Oregon companies and later an honorary consul to the Republic of South Africa.
Ambassador Shirley Abbott (graduated 1952, OD’53) - served as ambassador to the Kingdom of Lesotho, South Africa under Presidents Reagan and Bush.
William Hilliard (graduated in 1952) - formerly the Editor of The Oregonian.
Robert Casteel (graduated 1954) - is professor in Speech Pathology at Portland State University and is internationally recognized in the field of stuttering. He has been published in American and Swiss journals on subjects such as phoniatrics, stress control, stuttering and speech articulation.
Varina Heinrich French (graduated 1956 and M.S. in 1965) - was a leading world gymnastics judge. She was the U.S. Gymnastics Federation delegate to the U.S. Olympic Committee in 1972 and 1980 and was on the ABC-TV gymnastics coverage team for the 1984 Olympic Games. She was instrumental in developing Pacific’s Physical Therapy program and was the first woman on the West Coast to chair the P.E. and Health Department in a college or university.
George Ing (graduated 1957) - is a partner in Mt. Adams Orchards – the world’s largest individual pear orchard. They also grow cherries and apples. He also served as manager of the Washington Tree Fruit Research Commission and was chairman of the Winter Pear Control Committee.
Jim Romig (graduated 1960) is president and CEO of Hilo Hattie – a world-wide distributor of Hawaiian goods.
Mindy Cameron (graduated in 1965) - former City Editor of the Seattle Times.
Katherine Schreiber Occhiato (graduated 1966) is an opera singer with the Essen Opera in Germany.
Les AuCoin (graduated 1969) - was Oregon’s U.S. Representative from the First Congressional District from 1975 to 1992. He was the first democrat elected from the district since its formation. He was the 1985 Whip at Large and served on the House Democratic Study Group and the Executive Steering Committee of the Grace Commission caucus. In 1977 he received an honorary Doctorate of Letters from Pacific and has served on the Board of Trustees.
Esmund K. Chung (graduated 1969) - was a television and stage actor (had a recurring role on Magnum P.I.)
William A. Barton (graduated 1969) - noted Oregon personal injury attorney and author. In Doe v. Holy See (434 F.Supp.2d 925) was allowed to proceed against the Vatican in the priest sex scandal.
Thomas Stearns (graduated 1970) - is former publisher and general manager of Times Publications. He also was associate publisher of the Daily Journal of Commerce-Portland Business Today (now Portland Business Journal)
Paul Ranslow (graduated 1971) - Ed.D., Harvard University, 1984; President, Ripon College, 1995-2002; President, Sierra Nevada College, 2005-2006.
Nancy Wilson (graduated in 1976) is lead guitarist and vocalist in the classic rock group “Heart”. Since the early 1970s the band has continued to make music, having recently released their first album in many years, titled Jupiter’s Darling.
Brian Kerwin (graduated 1977) - Co-starred with Sally Field and James Garner in “Murphy’s Romance” and had the starring role in “King Kong Lives”. Has also appeared in such television shows as "Grey's Anatomy," "Desperate Housewives," "Nip/Tuck," and "The West Wing."
Daniel Galvez (graduated 1977) - is a California artist and muralist. He has been commissioned by the City of San Francisco, Massachusetts Hispanic Murals Project and others to complete works of art.
Michael McCartney (graduated 1982) - has served in the Hawaii state senate and is now president and CEO of PBS Hawaii.
Rich Burk (graduated 1988) - is the baseball radio and television play-by-play announcer for the Portland Beavers of the Pacific Coast League, and has filled in for the San Diego Padres, Montreal Expos and Toronto Blue Jays.
[edit] Greek life
There are four fraternities and four sororities on campus. Each group is local, founded at Pacific.
[edit] Fraternities
ГΣ - Gamma Sigma, "Gammas." Founded 1863. This is the oldest fraternity west of the Mississippi River.
ΑΖ - Alpha Zeta, "AZs." Founded 1901.
ΠΚΡ - Pi Kappa Rho, "Pi-Rhos." Founded 2004.
ΒΚ - Beta Kappa, "Brew Crew." Founded Valentines Day 2005.
[edit] Sororities
ΑΚΔ - Alpha Kappa Delta, "AKDs"
ΘΝΑ - Theta Nu Alpha, "Thetas"
ΦΛΟ - Phi Lambda Omicron, "Philos"
ΔΧΔ - Delta Chi Delta, "Deltas or DCDs" Established its charter in 1959 and was re-established in 2001
[edit] References
- ^ Hastings, Terry; Joe Montalbano (1980). Hillsboro: My Home Town. Hillsboro Elementary School District 7.
- ^ Edward J. Delaney, Where Great Writers Are Made Atlantic Monthly (2007 Special Fiction Issue), p. 88.
- ^ RHA's Boxer Bash. Pacific University, accessed September 15, 2007.
- ^ Tommy Thayer Goes To College - Board Approved. TommyThayer.com, accessed September 15, 2007.
- Drury, Clifford Merrill. 'Henry Harmon Spalding: Pioneer of Old Oregon." Caxton Printers, Caldwell, ID, 1936.
- Smith, Alvin T. Original diaries at Pacific University Archives
- Spalding, Henry H., in collections of Oregon Historical Society, Protestant Missions in the Pacific Northwest
- Brown, Tabitha, in "Centennial History of Oregon"
- Deed, 3 April 1851, Washington Country, Oregon
[edit] External links
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