Pacific University and Willamette University signaled plans today to merge in what would create Oregon’s largest private university.
Provisionally named the University of the Northwest, the new institution would consolidate resources to provide undergraduate and graduate programs in liberal arts, medicine, data science, law, the fine arts and more.
The merger would purportedly preserve the names and unique identities of each university’s schools and colleges while expanding curricular offerings to students at each institution.
Each university would maintain separate admissions requirements, academic programs and athletics, but students will be offered preferred admissions for advanced degree paths once enrolled.
A similar deal was struck in 2021 when Pacific Northwest College of Art, a Portland-based institution founded in 1909, merged with Willamette University.
“If finalized and approved, this merger would be a defining moment for private higher education in the region,” President Steve Thorsett of Willamette University said. “Pacific and Willamette are both deeply rooted in Oregon’s history and have educated thousands of leaders.”
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Founded in Salem in 1842—17 years before Oregon became a state—Willamette University is regarded as the oldest university in the western United States. Its current programs include schools in the liberal arts, fine arts, law, and computing and information sciences, and a graduate school in business management.
Pacific University was established 12 years later in Forest Grove, about 50 miles north of Salem. Pacific offers similar undergraduate programs, as well as graduate and doctoral degrees in healthcare fields, such as psychology, optometry, pharmaceutical sciences and more.
“We share a commitment to addressing the region’s most pressing workforce needs while preserving the personalized, mission-driven education that defines both of our institutions,” President Jenny Coyle of Pacific University said.
