Pacific College (Newberg, Or.)

The State of Oregon granted Pacific College, in Newberg, a college charter in 1891 when the college was established with eight fully accredited and seven provisional students. It was the outgrowth of a Quaker secondary school, Friends Pacific Academy, established ten years earlier when pioneer Friends from Iowa Yearly Meeting emigrated to the Newberg area. Believing that "the aim of Pacific College is to combine high scholastic achievement with a strong emphasis on spiritual values and humanitarian service as taught in the New Testament," Quakers of Oregon Yearly Meeting were motivated to organize what continues to be the only Friends school of higher learning in the northwestern states. Pacific College was accepted as a "Standard College" in 1925. In 1949 the name of the college was changed to George Fox College (now George Fox University).