Willamette and Pacific Universities Plan to Merge

Recently, Pacific University and Willamette University, Oregon’s two founding institutions of higher education, have signed a letter of intent agreeing to move forward with due diligence and the negotiation of a definitive agreement to merge to become the state’s largest private university.

If approved, this historic combination, provisionally the University of the Northwest, would work to create more pathways for students, more avenues for collaboration, and more opportunities for Oregon and the West in an institution that would combine the flexibility and nimbleness of a small school with the breadth and resources of a larger institution.

Pacific University and Willamette University have a combined student body of about 6,000 students across distinctive independent undergraduate colleges and expansive graduate and professional programs, and a network of more than 73,000 alumni.

The merged university would offer:

⦁ Access to top-ranked undergraduate, graduate and professional programs. The combined institution would span the liberal arts and sciences, law, business, health professions, education, optometry, counseling, art and design, and computing and data science.

⦁ Expanded access to professional pathways. Students at each institution have access to preferred admissions programs for advanced and accelerated degree paths, helping them launch meaningful careers faster and therefore with less debt. The merged institution would allow access to these programs across the combined university.

⦁ A robust career and alumni network. The alumni, philanthropic supporters, and community partners of the universities have founded companies, led government agencies and nonprofit organizations, revolutionized healthcare, shaped legal precedent and created cultural foundations that define the region today.

⦁ A hub for leadership, service, and workforce development. With campuses spanning Forest Grove, Hillsboro, Portland and Salem, the combined institution would continue the work of Pacific University and Willamette University in building the talent pipeline the region needs to address the healthcare, technology, creative and cultural, and innovation opportunities facing the Northwest.

The Combined University

If the merger is finalized and approved, the combined university would operate as a “collegiate university,” where distinct schools and colleges maintain their character, identities, and historic campuses while unified under a shared administrative structure as a single institution.

The undergraduate colleges at Pacific, Willamette, and PNCA would continue to operate with their current names as colleges within the combined university on their historic campuses in Forest Grove, Salem and Portland and would maintain separate admissions requirements, academic programs and athletics. Existing graduate and professional programs would continue to offer students pathways toward their career goals.

The Two Former Universities

Founded in the 19th century to serve a growing region, Willamette and Pacific have long championed the role of nonprofit private universities in innovating to serve the needs of their communities.

Pacific launched the state’s first degree programs in teaching, optometry, occupational therapy and physical therapy, and today it is the No. 1 private educator of healthcare professionals in Oregon. Willamette, the first university in the West, launched the state’s first medical school and law school, and has produced generations of leaders and changemakers who have shaped the region’s civic, legal, and cultural fabric.