Pacific University

Infobox_University
name =Pacific University
native_name =
latin_name =


motto =Pro Christo et Regno Ejus ("For Christ and His Kingdom")
established =1849
type =Private
endowment =
staff =
faculty =
president =Philip Creighton, Ph.D.
principal =
rector =
chancellor =
vice_chancellor =
dean =
head_label =
head =
students =3000Christensen, Nick. [http://blog.oregonlive.com/hillsboroargus/2008/09/search_on_for_new_pacific_univ.html “Search on for new Pacific University president : Creighton led university's growth, within Forest Grove and east to Hillsboro”,] The Hillsboro Argus, September 22 2008.]
undergrad =
postgrad =
doctoral =
city =Forest Grove
state =Oregon
country =United States
campus =suburban
free_label =
free =
colors =Red and Black
mascot =Boxer
nickname =
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. Established as Tualatin Academy in 1849, the school has an enrollment of 3,000 students. 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". A small liberal arts school, it offers graduate programs in education, optometry, writing, and health professions.

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.cite book
last = Hastings
first = Terry
authorlink =
coauthors = Joe Montalbano
title = Hillsboro: My Home Town
publisher = Hillsboro Elementary School District 7
date = 1980
doi = ] 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.

In the late 1890s an alumnus gave Pacific a Chinese statuette. The statuette 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" and serves as the foundation for the university's mascot, the Boxer. [ [http://www.pacificu.edu/calendar/detail.cfm?CALENDAR_ID=1990&CATEGORY_ID= RHA's Boxer Bash.] Pacific University, accessed September 15 2007.] 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, and will retire in June 2009. Tommy Thayer, lead guitarist of the band KISS was elected to the university's board of trustees in 2005. [ [http://tommythayer.com/news-updates/2005/09/tommy-thayer-goes-to-college-board-approved Tommy Thayer Goes To College - Board Approved.] TommyThayer.com, accessed September 15 2007.]

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.Edward J. Delaney, Where Great Writers Are Made "Atlantic Monthly" (2007 Special Fiction Issue), p. 88.]

tudent life

Pacific's newspaper, the "Index", was first published in 1893. The next year an annual yearbook began as the "Heart of Oak".

Pacific University is one of the few U.S. programs to officially have women's wrestling as a Varsity sport.Fact|date=September 2007

All of the Greek societies at Pacific University are "local", meaning that they are unique to the campus. [ [http://www.pacificu.edu/studentlife/orgs/greek_life/faq.cfm Greek Life FAQ] .]

Fraternities

*ГΣ - Gamma Sigma, "Gammas." Founded 1863. [ [http://www.gammasigma.org/index.php Gamma Sigma Fraternity homepage] .]
*ΑΖ - Alpha Zeta, "AZs." Founded 1901.
*ΠΚΡ - Pi Kappa Rho, "Pi-Rhos." Founded 2004.

ororities

*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

Notable alumni

*Les AuCoin (graduated 1969) - was Oregon’s U.S. Representative from the First Congressional District from 1975 to 1992
*William A. Barton (graduated 1969) - noted Oregon personal injury attorney and author
*Alfred Carlton Gilbert, (graduated in 1902 from the Tualatin Academy) – Olympian and inventor of the Erector Set
*Olaus Murie, (graduated 1912) – conservationist and mammalogist
*Harvey W. Scott, (graduated 1863) – the first graduate of Pacific, editor of "The Oregonian"
*Thomas H. Tongue, (graduated 1868) – U.S. Representative for Oregon's First Congressional District
*Calvin Leroy Van Pelt (graduated 1949) - World War II veteran
*Nancy Wilson (graduated in 1976) is lead guitarist and vocalist in the classic rock group “Heart”

References

* 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

External links

* [http://www.pacificu.edu/ Pacific University]
* [http://goboxers.com/ Pacific University Athletics]