George Fox University - History

History

The university was founded in Newberg, Oregon, in 1885 by Quaker pioneers, originally serving as Friends Pacific Academy for several years before becoming a college in 1891 as Pacific College. The Bruin mascot name comes from a real bear cub found in 1887, in the Coast Range's foothills near Carlton, about 15 miles (24 km) west of Newberg. The cub's mother had been shot and a student from Pacific Academy found the young bear and brought it back to campus. Years later, the bear hide became an unofficial mascot for the senior class and other students often attempted to steal it away. After the hide deteriorated, a leather replica was created and called Bruin Jr. Students today still participate in student-government-sponsored class competitions called "Bruin brawls" for possession of the Bruin Jr.

In 1893, the school was incorporated as a joint-stock company and became a four-year school in 1925. Herbert Hoover’s uncle Dr. H. J. Minthorn served as the school’s first president, and Hoover was an early student at the academy. The school’s name was changed to George Fox College in 1949 to honor George Fox, the founder of the Quaker movement.

From 1991 to 2010, George Fox provided each traditional undergraduate student with a computer. In 1996, the college merged with Western Evangelical Seminary to form George Fox University. Dwight Kimberly, an associate professor of biology, received the Carnegie Foundation's Oregon Professor of the Year award in 2000. Rhett Luedtke, an associate professor of Theatre, was one of just three faculty members chosen nationally to receive a National Directing Fellow Award from the John F. Kennedy Center in 2010.

The university student body has grown more than 500% since 1986, when enrollment was 549. With more than 3,500 students in Newberg, Portland, Salem, and Boise, Idaho, and at other teaching sites in Oregon, George Fox is now the third-largest private college in Oregon.