University of the Pacific
Encyclopedia
The University of the Pacific (UOP or Pacific) is a private university in Stockton, California
, United States
, originally affiliated with the United Methodist Church
. First chartered on July 10, 1851, in Santa Clara
under the name California Wesleyan College, it later moved to San Jose
before settling on its current location in California's Central Valley in 1923.
Pacific is the oldest chartered university in California. In addition to a liberal arts college and schools of education, engineering, business, international studies and music, there are three professional schools: the Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry in San Francisco, the McGeorge School of Law
in Sacramento, and the Thomas J. Long School of Pharmacy and Health Sciences on the main campus in Stockton.
Pacific is ranked among the top 100 national universities in the United States according to U.S. News & World Report
, with its school of law similarly ranked among law schools. It has extensive collections pertaining to jazz musician and alumnus Dave Brubeck
, who in 1953 released the live album Jazz at the College of the Pacific
. It is also home to the papers of environmental pioneer John Muir
. University of the Pacific is also the home of K-PAC
Student Radio and student-run newspaper The Pacifican.
as California Wesleyan College. In 1858, the college opened the first medical school on the West Coast
. The medical school later became part of Stanford
and is now California Pacific Medical Center
.
In 1871, the campus was moved to San Jose
and the college opened its doors to women, becoming the first independent co-educational campus in California. In 1878, the Conservatory of Music was established at Pacific, making it the first of its kind west of the Mississippi River
. In 1896, Napa College merged with the college. In 1911, the name was changed to College of the Pacific (COP or Pacific).
In 1923, the campus relocated from the Bay Area
to the city of Stockton becoming the first institution of higher education in the Central Valley; it became the University of the Pacific in 1961.
In 1962, Pacific merged with the San Francisco College of Physicians and Surgeons (established in 1896 in San Francisco
), and then in 1966, with the McGeorge School of Law
(established in 1924 in Sacramento
). In the late 1960s, the university separated from the United Methodist Church, when “federal law about public funding of church-related institutions became an issue.”
In May 2007, the university announced an estate gift of $100 million from Robert C. and Jeannette Powell. The gift was unusual in its size for an institution like Pacific that is not primarily research-focused. Only 29 universities throughout the world received a larger gift in the prior 40 years.
universities: High Time
, Raiders of the Lost Ark
, Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, The Sure Thing
, Dead Man on Campus, and Dreamscape
, among others. Part of Disney
's 1973 film The World's Greatest Athlete
was also shot at Pacific.
The Stockton campus is home to three main residential halls
: Grace Covell Hall, Southwest Hall, and the Quad Buildings. The Quads are composed of several separate smaller residence halls in close proximity to each other. Grace Covell is the largest residence hall on campus holding more than 350 students while Southwest and the Quads hold a lower number of students. Upperclassmen can find housing in the University Townhouses on the northeast side of campus or in the two apartment buildings known as Monagan and Brookside Hall.
In 2008, the university opened a new University Center, at a cost of $38 million, to centralize all campus student-centered activities. The Don & Karen DeRosa University Center houses a new central dining hall, student cafe, pub, bookstore and conference centers, replacing the McCaffrey Center. It also built a new $20 million Biological Sciences Center in 2008 that provides advanced classroom and laboratory facilities for students studying the natural sciences and the health sciences.
The campus is home to Morris Chapel
, a non-denominational church with simple architecture, excellent acoustics and photogenic backdrops.
), the Students for Environmental Action, and the Department of Earth & Environmental Sciences designed and implemented the “Tap That” campaign, whose goal was to inform students, faculty and staff about the effects of disposable water bottles on the environment. Pacific's sustainability score was a D in 2009 and has risen to a C since then. In 2010, a movement titled Meatless Mondays was started by the Bon Appetit
food company in an attempt to reduce Pacific's carbon footprint by limiting the amount of shipped meats (and therefore, carbon emissions) to Pacific. However, this movement was heavily protested by a group led by students Joe Orr and Richard Dietrich, who ultimately had the Meatless Mondays program closed due to it being "Un-American
".
The University of the Pacific Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry in San Francisco had 516 students, and the McGeorge School of Law in Sacramento had 1,073 students.
Undergraduate Ethnic Breakdown
The university offers degrees programs in nine schools and a graduate program.
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy
, an adjunct professor, teaches at the McGeorge School of Law in Salzburg, Austria, in the University's summer program abroad.
In 2006, the School of International Studies opened The Global Center for Social Entrepreneurship. The center conducts research into and serves as a gathering place for students interested in social entrepreneurship. Unlike most university social entrepreneurship centers, the program has an undergraduate, student-centered approach, incorporating both academic analysis and practical applications in the field.
One of the leading microfinance
lenders for Central America, the Katalysis Bootstrap Fund, relocated to the University of Pacific campus in 2006. Pacific is the first U.S. University to have a microfinance center operating on its campus.
Two University of the Pacific graduates have received Skoll Foundation
awards for Social Entrepreneurship. In 2005, alumnus Martin Burt received an award for his agricultural education and rural entrepreneurship program, Fundación Paraguaya. In 2006, Sakena Yacoobi
was recognized for her foundation Afghan Institute of Learning, which aims to restore education and health programs.
Pacific had previously competed in the Division II California Collegiate Athletic Association
conference but left in 1950. They were one of the charter members of the Pacific Coast Athletic Association (now known as the Big West), which was founded in 1969. They were Division I independents until beginning play in the PCAA in 1971.
Facilities include the 2,500-seat Klein Family Field for baseball, the 350-seat Bill Simoni Field for softball, the 6,150-seat Alex G. Spanos Center
for basketball and volleyball, the 30,000-seat Amos Alonzo Stagg Memorial Stadium
for soccer (and high school football), the Hal Nelson Tennis Courts and the Chris Kjeldsen Pool.
University of the Pacific competes in NCAA Division I athletics as the Pacific Tigers in the Big West Conference, where they are the only private school in the conference. The athletics department sponsors 16 sports: baseball, men's and women's basketball, women's cross country, women's field hockey, men's golf, women's soccer, women's softball, men's and women's swimming, men's and women's tennis, men's and women's volleyball and men's and women's water polo. The university's two national championships have come in women's volleyball, a sport in which the school advanced to 24 straight NCAA Tournaments (1981–2004) and appeared in nine Final Fours (2 AIAW, 7 NCAA).
The Pacific Tigers men's basketball program made three consecutive appearances in the NCAA Tournament (2004, 2005, 2006). Head coach Bob Thomason became the winningest head coach in Big West Conference men's basketball history when he collected his 206th career league victory on Feb. 14, 2009, surpassing the conference win total of former LBSU and UNLV head coach Jerry Tarkanian.
In 2003-04, the Tigers were 25-8. They defeated Cal State Northridge, 75-73, in the 2004 Big West Conference championship game
. They went on to the NCAA tournament and defeated number 5 seeded Providence in the first round. It was Pacific's second trip to the NCAA Tournament under Thomason (1996–97). Pacific also shared the Big West Conference regular season championship with a record of 17-1. Pacific has also achieved a 16-game winning streak three times under Thomason.
In the 2004-05 season, the Tigers earned an at-large bid as an 8 seed in the NCAA Tournament and beat 9 seeded Pittsburgh in the first round. The 2004-05 Tigers finished the season with the best record in school history at 27-4.
In 2005-06, after winning the Big West regular season and tournament titles, Pacific earned their third straight trip to the NCAA Tournament. As a 13 seed, the Tigers played 4th seed Boston College. Down 13, they tied the game to force overtime. In the first extra session, Pacific led by as many as six points, but Boston College came back to tie the game to force double overtime. Pacific eventually lost, 88-76.
After 77 years of competition, Pacific ended its football program after the 1995 season.
In April 2011, Athletics Director Lynn King announced he would step down in July 2011 to work on special projects for the University. Former Stanford Athletics Director and current University Vice President of External Relations Ted Leland was named as King's temporary replacement.
The president is selected by the University's Board of Regents, consisting of 27 members, including U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Connie M. Callahan, U.S. District Court Judge Morrison England, and former NASA Astronaut Jose Hernandez. Former members may be named Emeritus Board Members. This list includes San Diego Chargers
owner Alex G. Spanos
.
Provost Philip N. Gilbertson served as the chief academic officer from 1996 through June 2010, overseeing all of the university's schools and divisions. He retired on June 30, 2010. The university named Dr. Patrick J. Ferrillo, Jr., dean of the Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry in San Francisco, to fill the position while a search was completed for a permanent replacement. In February 2011, Dr. Maria Pallavicini, the dean of the School of Natural Sciences at UC Merced, was appointed provost. The Council of Deans comprises all academic deans, associate and assistant provosts, the Director of Planning and Research, and the Academic Budget Officer.
In 2006, former Stanford
Athletic Director Ted Leland returned to his undergraduate alma mater as Pacific's Vice President of University Advancement, but was appointed as Vice President of External Relations by President Eibeck in 2009. Leland was appointed temporary athletics director in 2011 while still assuming the vice presidential duties.
's 60 Minutes
program which was broadcast April 17, 2011, entitled The Case of Beckett Brennan, in which 60 Minutes discussed the difficulty colleges face in responding to accusations of sexual assault. Brennan, who was on the women's basketball team, said she was raped by three men's basketball players in a fraternity house. While no criminal charges were filed, University of the Pacific convened a judicial review panel which issued sanctions against the three alleged perpetrators ranging from a one semester suspension to expulsion. Brennan ultimately withdrew from the school of her own volition and sued the university. A federal judge dismissed the lawsuit on September 17, 2010.
Stockton, California
Stockton, California, the seat of San Joaquin County, is the fourth-largest city in the Central Valley of the U.S. state of California. With a population of 291,707 at the 2010 census, Stockton ranks as this state's 13th largest city...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, originally affiliated with the United Methodist Church
United Methodist Church
The United Methodist Church is a Methodist Christian denomination which is both mainline Protestant and evangelical. Founded in 1968 by the union of The Methodist Church and the Evangelical United Brethren Church, the UMC traces its roots back to the revival movement of John and Charles Wesley...
. First chartered on July 10, 1851, in Santa Clara
Santa Clara, California
Santa Clara , founded in 1777 and incorporated in 1852, is a city in Santa Clara County, in the U.S. state of California. The city is the site of the eighth of 21 California missions, Mission Santa Clara de Asís, and was named after the mission. The Mission and Mission Gardens are located on the...
under the name California Wesleyan College, it later moved to San Jose
San Jose, California
San Jose is the third-largest city in California, the tenth-largest in the U.S., and the county seat of Santa Clara County which is located at the southern end of San Francisco Bay...
before settling on its current location in California's Central Valley in 1923.
Pacific is the oldest chartered university in California. In addition to a liberal arts college and schools of education, engineering, business, international studies and music, there are three professional schools: the Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry in San Francisco, the McGeorge School of Law
McGeorge School of Law
University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law is a private, ABA approved law school in the Oak Park neighborhood of the city of Sacramento, California. It is part of the University of the Pacific....
in Sacramento, and the Thomas J. Long School of Pharmacy and Health Sciences on the main campus in Stockton.
Pacific is ranked among the top 100 national universities in the United States according to U.S. News & World Report
U.S. News & World Report
U.S. News & World Report is an American news magazine published from Washington, D.C. Along with Time and Newsweek it was for many years a leading news weekly, focusing more than its counterparts on political, economic, health and education stories...
, with its school of law similarly ranked among law schools. It has extensive collections pertaining to jazz musician and alumnus Dave Brubeck
Dave Brubeck
David Warren "Dave" Brubeck is an American jazz pianist. He has written a number of jazz standards, including "In Your Own Sweet Way" and "The Duke". Brubeck's style ranges from refined to bombastic, reflecting his mother's attempts at classical training and his improvisational skills...
, who in 1953 released the live album Jazz at the College of the Pacific
Jazz at the College of the Pacific
Jazz at the College of the Pacific is a live album by Dave Brubeck Quartet. It was recorded and released in December 1953 on Fantasy Records as F 3223. The cover was designed by Ed Colker and drawn by Arnold Roth...
. It is also home to the papers of environmental pioneer John Muir
John Muir
John Muir was a Scottish-born American naturalist, author, and early advocate of preservation of wilderness in the United States. His letters, essays, and books telling of his adventures in nature, especially in the Sierra Nevada mountains of California, have been read by millions...
. University of the Pacific is also the home of K-PAC
K-PAC (University of the Pacific)
KPAC is an unlicensed, low wattage college radio station broadcasting on the University of the Pacific campus. The station is entirely student run and is primarily listened to from its internet stream or the on-campus television network...
Student Radio and student-run newspaper The Pacifican.
History
Pacific was founded on July 10, 1851, in Santa ClaraSanta Clara, California
Santa Clara , founded in 1777 and incorporated in 1852, is a city in Santa Clara County, in the U.S. state of California. The city is the site of the eighth of 21 California missions, Mission Santa Clara de Asís, and was named after the mission. The Mission and Mission Gardens are located on the...
as California Wesleyan College. In 1858, the college opened the first medical school on the West Coast
West Coast of the United States
West Coast or Pacific Coast are terms for the westernmost coastal states of the United States. The term most often refers to the states of California, Oregon, and Washington. Although not part of the contiguous United States, Alaska and Hawaii do border the Pacific Ocean but can't be included in...
. The medical school later became part of Stanford
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
and is now California Pacific Medical Center
California Pacific Medical Center
California Pacific Medical Center is one of the largest private, non-profit, academic medical centers in Northern California. The Medical Center is a combination of four of San Francisco's oldest medical institutions: Pacific Presbyterian Hospital, Children's Hospital of San Francisco, Davies...
.
In 1871, the campus was moved to San Jose
San Jose, California
San Jose is the third-largest city in California, the tenth-largest in the U.S., and the county seat of Santa Clara County which is located at the southern end of San Francisco Bay...
and the college opened its doors to women, becoming the first independent co-educational campus in California. In 1878, the Conservatory of Music was established at Pacific, making it the first of its kind west of the Mississippi River
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
. In 1896, Napa College merged with the college. In 1911, the name was changed to College of the Pacific (COP or Pacific).
In 1923, the campus relocated from the Bay Area
San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a populated region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas...
to the city of Stockton becoming the first institution of higher education in the Central Valley; it became the University of the Pacific in 1961.
In 1962, Pacific merged with the San Francisco College of Physicians and Surgeons (established in 1896 in San Francisco
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
), and then in 1966, with the McGeorge School of Law
McGeorge School of Law
University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law is a private, ABA approved law school in the Oak Park neighborhood of the city of Sacramento, California. It is part of the University of the Pacific....
(established in 1924 in Sacramento
Sacramento, California
Sacramento is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat of Sacramento County. It is located at the confluence of the Sacramento River and the American River in the northern portion of California's expansive Central Valley. With a population of 466,488 at the 2010 census,...
). In the late 1960s, the university separated from the United Methodist Church, when “federal law about public funding of church-related institutions became an issue.”
In May 2007, the university announced an estate gift of $100 million from Robert C. and Jeannette Powell. The gift was unusual in its size for an institution like Pacific that is not primarily research-focused. Only 29 universities throughout the world received a larger gift in the prior 40 years.
Campus
The Stockton campus, featuring a tower, rose gardens, architectural columns, brick-faced buildings, and numerous trees, was used in Hollywood films, due to its aesthetic likeness to East Coast Ivy LeagueIvy League
The Ivy League is an athletic conference comprising eight private institutions of higher education in the Northeastern United States. The conference name is also commonly used to refer to those eight schools as a group...
universities: High Time
High Time (film)
High Time is a 1960 collegiate comedic film, directed by Blake Edwards and starring Bing Crosby. The film is told from the perspective of a middle-aged man who enters the world of a new generation of postwar youth...
, Raiders of the Lost Ark
Raiders of the Lost Ark
Raiders of the Lost Ark is a 1981 American action-adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg, produced by George Lucas, and starring Harrison Ford. It is the first film in the Indiana Jones franchise...
, Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, The Sure Thing
The Sure Thing
The Sure Thing is a 1985 romantic comedy directed by Rob Reiner, written by Steven L. Bloom and Jonathan Roberts and starring John Cusack, Daphne Zuniga, Viveca Lindfors, and Nicollette Sheridan...
, Dead Man on Campus, and Dreamscape
Dreamscape
Dreamscape may refer to:In music:* "Dreamscape", a 2006 song by 009 Sound System, a project by Alexander Perls*Dreamscape, a 1995 Jamaaladeen Tacuma album* Dreamscape, a 2009 album by Gil Mantera's Party Dream...
, among others. Part of Disney
The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company is the largest media conglomerate in the world in terms of revenue. Founded on October 16, 1923, by Walt and Roy Disney as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, Walt Disney Productions established itself as a leader in the American animation industry before diversifying into...
's 1973 film The World's Greatest Athlete
The World's Greatest Athlete
The World's Greatest Athlete is a 1973 American feature film released by the Walt Disney Company. It starred John Amos, Roscoe Lee Browne, Tim Conway, Dayle Haddon, and Jan-Michael Vincent...
was also shot at Pacific.
The Stockton campus is home to three main residential halls
Dormitory
A dormitory, often shortened to dorm, in the United States is a residence hall consisting of sleeping quarters or entire buildings primarily providing sleeping and residential quarters for large numbers of people, often boarding school, college or university students...
: Grace Covell Hall, Southwest Hall, and the Quad Buildings. The Quads are composed of several separate smaller residence halls in close proximity to each other. Grace Covell is the largest residence hall on campus holding more than 350 students while Southwest and the Quads hold a lower number of students. Upperclassmen can find housing in the University Townhouses on the northeast side of campus or in the two apartment buildings known as Monagan and Brookside Hall.
In 2008, the university opened a new University Center, at a cost of $38 million, to centralize all campus student-centered activities. The Don & Karen DeRosa University Center houses a new central dining hall, student cafe, pub, bookstore and conference centers, replacing the McCaffrey Center. It also built a new $20 million Biological Sciences Center in 2008 that provides advanced classroom and laboratory facilities for students studying the natural sciences and the health sciences.
The campus is home to Morris Chapel
Morris Chapel
Morris Chapel was dedicated in 1942 and is located on the campus of the University of the Pacific in Stockton, California, United States.-History:In 1937, University of the Pacific's President Knoles envisioned the chapel which has become a Stockton landmark...
, a non-denominational church with simple architecture, excellent acoustics and photogenic backdrops.
Campus sustainability efforts
The university strives to promote environmental responsibility. Students are given opportunities to take part in sustainability service projects through the M.O.V.E. (Mountains, Ocean, Valley Experience) program. The on-campus dining services participates in the Farm to Fork Program, buying food locally where feasible. In 2009 students from the Residence for Earth & Environmental Living & Learning (a campus residential learning communityLearning community
A learning community is a group of people who share common emotions, values or beliefs, are actively engaged in learning together from each other, and by habituation. Such communities have become the template for a cohort-based, interdisciplinary approach to higher education...
), the Students for Environmental Action, and the Department of Earth & Environmental Sciences designed and implemented the “Tap That” campaign, whose goal was to inform students, faculty and staff about the effects of disposable water bottles on the environment. Pacific's sustainability score was a D in 2009 and has risen to a C since then. In 2010, a movement titled Meatless Mondays was started by the Bon Appetit
Bon Appétit
Bon Appétit describes itself as "a food and entertaining magazine" and is published monthly. Named after the French phrase for "Enjoy your meal", it was started by M. Frank Jones in Kansas City in 1956...
food company in an attempt to reduce Pacific's carbon footprint by limiting the amount of shipped meats (and therefore, carbon emissions) to Pacific. However, this movement was heavily protested by a group led by students Joe Orr and Richard Dietrich, who ultimately had the Meatless Mondays program closed due to it being "Un-American
Un-American
Un-American is a pejorative term of US political discourse which is applied to people or institutions in the United States seen as deviating from US norms....
".
Demographics
, the Stockton campus had 4,646 students (3,470 undergraduates, 535 graduate, 641 First professional students). Approximately 83% are from California; the rest are from 43 other states and 42 other countries.The University of the Pacific Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry in San Francisco had 516 students, and the McGeorge School of Law in Sacramento had 1,073 students.
Undergraduate Ethnic Breakdown
- African-American 4%
- Asian/Pacific Islander 31%
- Hispanic 14%
- Multi-ethnic 4%
- Native American 1%
- Non-resident Alien 3%
- White/Caucasian 36%
- Unknown 5%
- Male: 1556 45%
- Female: 1914: 55%
Academics
The university is the only private institution in the United States with fewer than 10,000 students to offer degrees from eight different professional schools, giving it the broad mix of undergraduate and professional education it offers. Pacific offers more than 100 academic programs and more than 60 undergraduate degrees. In the 2010 US News & World Report rankings, Pacific was ranked as the 99th best university, one of the top 40 best value colleges, and a top university for economic and ethnic diversity. Its undergraduate engineering school, need based aid, small class sizes, and low acceptance rate were also ranked as being noteworthy. Numerous graduate degrees are offered including doctoral degrees in over 15 departments in five schools and colleges. University degrees include:- Bachelor of Arts (BA)
- Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA)
- Bachelor of Science (BS)
- Bachelor of Music (BM)
- Master of Arts (MA)
- Master of Business Administration (MBA)
- Master of Education (MEd)
- Master of LawsMaster of LawsThe Master of Laws is an advanced academic degree, pursued by those holding a professional law degree, and is commonly abbreviated LL.M. from its Latin name, Legum Magister. The University of Oxford names its taught masters of laws B.C.L...
(LLM) - Master of Music (MM)
- Master of Science (MS)
- Education Specialist (EdS)
- Doctor of Dental Surgery (DDS)
- Doctor of Education (EdD)
- Juris Doctor (JD)
- Doctor of Juridical Science (JSD)
- Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD)
- Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
- Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT)
The university offers degrees programs in nine schools and a graduate program.
- Arthur A. Dugoni School of DentistryArthur A. Dugoni School of DentistryUniversity of the Pacific Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry is one of the graduate schools of University of the Pacific. It is an American dental school located in the Pacific Heights Area in San Francisco, California.-Three Year Curriculum:...
: San Francisco - Gladys L. Benerd School of Education: Stockton
- College of the Pacific: The University's school of arts and sciences (liberal arts), Stockton
- Conservatory of MusicConservatory of Music, University of the PacificThe Conservatory of Music is one of seven schools and colleges at University of the Pacific. It is located on the school’s main campus in Stockton, California....
: The first conservatory of music on the west coast, Stockton - Eberhardt School of Business: Stockton
- Thomas J. Long School of Pharmacy and Health Sciences: Stockton
- McGeorge School of LawMcGeorge School of LawUniversity of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law is a private, ABA approved law school in the Oak Park neighborhood of the city of Sacramento, California. It is part of the University of the Pacific....
: Sacramento - School of Engineering and Computer Science: Stockton
- School of International Studies: Stockton. One of six undergraduate schools of international studies in America. The school offers four Bachelor of Arts in International Relations, Global Studies, International Affairs and Commerce, and Development as well as a minor. The school offers a M.A. in Intercultural Relations.
- The Office of Research and Graduate Studies: Stockton
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy
Anthony Kennedy
Anthony McLeod Kennedy is an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court, having been appointed by President Ronald Reagan in 1988. Since the retirement of Sandra Day O'Connor, Kennedy has often been the swing vote on many of the Court's politically charged 5–4 decisions...
, an adjunct professor, teaches at the McGeorge School of Law in Salzburg, Austria, in the University's summer program abroad.
School of International Studies
One of six undergraduate schools of international studies in America and the only school on the west coast. S.I.S. has a interdisciplinary core curriculum taught by Anthropologists, Political Scientists, Economists and Historians. The school offers multiple B.A. and minor programs, an M.A. in Intercultural Relations as well as an online certificate program in Social Entrepreneurship.In 2006, the School of International Studies opened The Global Center for Social Entrepreneurship. The center conducts research into and serves as a gathering place for students interested in social entrepreneurship. Unlike most university social entrepreneurship centers, the program has an undergraduate, student-centered approach, incorporating both academic analysis and practical applications in the field.
One of the leading microfinance
Microfinance
Microfinance is the provision of financial services to low-income clients or solidarity lending groups including consumers and the self-employed, who traditionally lack access to banking and related services....
lenders for Central America, the Katalysis Bootstrap Fund, relocated to the University of Pacific campus in 2006. Pacific is the first U.S. University to have a microfinance center operating on its campus.
Two University of the Pacific graduates have received Skoll Foundation
Skoll Foundation
The Skoll Foundation is a social entrepreneurship foundation based in Silicon Valley, California, with a mission to drive large-scale change by investing in, connecting, and celebrating social entrepreneurs and other innovators dedicated to solving the world’s most pressing problems...
awards for Social Entrepreneurship. In 2005, alumnus Martin Burt received an award for his agricultural education and rural entrepreneurship program, Fundación Paraguaya. In 2006, Sakena Yacoobi
Sakena Yacoobi
Sakena Yacoobi is the founder of the .Dr. Sakena Yacoobi is Executive Director of the Afghan Institute of Learning , an Afghan women-led NGO she founded in 1995. The organization was established to provide teacher training to Afghan women, to support education for boys and girls, and to provide...
was recognized for her foundation Afghan Institute of Learning, which aims to restore education and health programs.
Athletics
California Collegiate Athletic Association
The California Collegiate Athletic Association or CCAA is an intercollegiate athletic conference in the Division II of the NCAA. All of its current members are public universities, and all except for UC San Diego are members of the California State University system.It was founded in December 1938...
conference but left in 1950. They were one of the charter members of the Pacific Coast Athletic Association (now known as the Big West), which was founded in 1969. They were Division I independents until beginning play in the PCAA in 1971.
Facilities include the 2,500-seat Klein Family Field for baseball, the 350-seat Bill Simoni Field for softball, the 6,150-seat Alex G. Spanos Center
Alex G. Spanos Center
Alex G. Spanos Center is a 6,150-seat, indoor multi-purpose stadium on the campus of the University of the Pacific in Stockton, California.The Alex G. Spanos Center opened on 9 September 1981 and was constructed for over $7 million dollars. It is named after Pacific alumnus and San Diego Chargers...
for basketball and volleyball, the 30,000-seat Amos Alonzo Stagg Memorial Stadium
Stagg Memorial Stadium
Amos Alonzo Stagg Memorial Stadium, previously known as Pacific Memorial Stadium, is a 28,000 seat, outdoor multi-purpose stadium on the campus of the University of the Pacific in Stockton, California.-Stadium construction:...
for soccer (and high school football), the Hal Nelson Tennis Courts and the Chris Kjeldsen Pool.
University of the Pacific competes in NCAA Division I athletics as the Pacific Tigers in the Big West Conference, where they are the only private school in the conference. The athletics department sponsors 16 sports: baseball, men's and women's basketball, women's cross country, women's field hockey, men's golf, women's soccer, women's softball, men's and women's swimming, men's and women's tennis, men's and women's volleyball and men's and women's water polo. The university's two national championships have come in women's volleyball, a sport in which the school advanced to 24 straight NCAA Tournaments (1981–2004) and appeared in nine Final Fours (2 AIAW, 7 NCAA).
The Pacific Tigers men's basketball program made three consecutive appearances in the NCAA Tournament (2004, 2005, 2006). Head coach Bob Thomason became the winningest head coach in Big West Conference men's basketball history when he collected his 206th career league victory on Feb. 14, 2009, surpassing the conference win total of former LBSU and UNLV head coach Jerry Tarkanian.
In 2003-04, the Tigers were 25-8. They defeated Cal State Northridge, 75-73, in the 2004 Big West Conference championship game
Big West Conference Men's Basketball Tournament
The Big West Men's Basketball Tournament is the conference championship tournament in basketball for the Big West Conference. It is a single-elimination tournament and seeding is based on regular season records. The winner receives the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Men's Division I...
. They went on to the NCAA tournament and defeated number 5 seeded Providence in the first round. It was Pacific's second trip to the NCAA Tournament under Thomason (1996–97). Pacific also shared the Big West Conference regular season championship with a record of 17-1. Pacific has also achieved a 16-game winning streak three times under Thomason.
In the 2004-05 season, the Tigers earned an at-large bid as an 8 seed in the NCAA Tournament and beat 9 seeded Pittsburgh in the first round. The 2004-05 Tigers finished the season with the best record in school history at 27-4.
In 2005-06, after winning the Big West regular season and tournament titles, Pacific earned their third straight trip to the NCAA Tournament. As a 13 seed, the Tigers played 4th seed Boston College. Down 13, they tied the game to force overtime. In the first extra session, Pacific led by as many as six points, but Boston College came back to tie the game to force double overtime. Pacific eventually lost, 88-76.
After 77 years of competition, Pacific ended its football program after the 1995 season.
In April 2011, Athletics Director Lynn King announced he would step down in July 2011 to work on special projects for the University. Former Stanford Athletics Director and current University Vice President of External Relations Ted Leland was named as King's temporary replacement.
Capital improvements
The university undertook a $200 million fund-raising campaign to construct a University Center, Biological Sciences Center, multipurpose gymnasium, a library addition, and the Klein Family Field for baseball. In the summer of 2007, the University announced it had vastly exceeded that goal, having raised a total of $330 million, including a bequest gift of $100 million from Robert C. and Jeannette Powell.Administration
Former President Donald DeRosa's retired on June 30, 2009. Pamela Eibeck became the university's 24th and first female president.The president is selected by the University's Board of Regents, consisting of 27 members, including U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Connie M. Callahan, U.S. District Court Judge Morrison England, and former NASA Astronaut Jose Hernandez. Former members may be named Emeritus Board Members. This list includes San Diego Chargers
San Diego Chargers
The San Diego Chargers are a professional American football team based in San Diego, California. they were members of the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
owner Alex G. Spanos
Alex Spanos
Alexander Gus Spanos is an American real estate developer and self-made billionaire of Greek origin who founded the A. G. Spanos Companies and owns the San Diego Chargers.-Early life:...
.
Provost Philip N. Gilbertson served as the chief academic officer from 1996 through June 2010, overseeing all of the university's schools and divisions. He retired on June 30, 2010. The university named Dr. Patrick J. Ferrillo, Jr., dean of the Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry in San Francisco, to fill the position while a search was completed for a permanent replacement. In February 2011, Dr. Maria Pallavicini, the dean of the School of Natural Sciences at UC Merced, was appointed provost. The Council of Deans comprises all academic deans, associate and assistant provosts, the Director of Planning and Research, and the Academic Budget Officer.
In 2006, former Stanford
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
Athletic Director Ted Leland returned to his undergraduate alma mater as Pacific's Vice President of University Advancement, but was appointed as Vice President of External Relations by President Eibeck in 2009. Leland was appointed temporary athletics director in 2011 while still assuming the vice presidential duties.
60 Minutes story
The school was the subject of a rape controversy story on CBSCBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
's 60 Minutes
60 Minutes
60 Minutes is an American television news magazine, which has run on CBS since 1968. The program was created by producer Don Hewitt who set it apart by using a unique style of reporter-centered investigation....
program which was broadcast April 17, 2011, entitled The Case of Beckett Brennan, in which 60 Minutes discussed the difficulty colleges face in responding to accusations of sexual assault. Brennan, who was on the women's basketball team, said she was raped by three men's basketball players in a fraternity house. While no criminal charges were filed, University of the Pacific convened a judicial review panel which issued sanctions against the three alleged perpetrators ranging from a one semester suspension to expulsion. Brennan ultimately withdrew from the school of her own volition and sued the university. A federal judge dismissed the lawsuit on September 17, 2010.
Greek life
About 16% of students are members of a social fraternity or sorority at University of the Pacific, where there are four on-campus social fraternity houses, four on-campus social sorority houses, and five multicultural fraternities that are overseen by the University's Department of Housing and Greek Life. There are also a variety of professional organizations and fraternities on the three campus.Fraternities
- Theta ChiTheta ChiTheta Chi Fraternity is an international college fraternity. It was founded on April 10, 1856 as the Theta Chi Society, at Norwich University, Norwich, Vermont, U.S., and was the 21st of the 71 North-American Interfraternity Conference men's fraternities.-Founding and early years at Norwich:Theta...
- Iota Eta Chapter - Pi Kappa AlphaPi Kappa AlphaPi Kappa Alpha is a Greek social fraternity with over 230 chapters and colonies and over 250,000 lifetime initiates in the United States and Canada.-History:...
- Kappa Nu Chapter - Sigma ChiSigma ChiSigma Chi is the largest and one of the oldest college Greek-letter secret and social fraternities in North America with 244 active chapters and more than . Sigma Chi was founded on June 28, 1855 at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio when members split from Delta Kappa Epsilon...
- Kappa Sigma Chapter
Sororities
- Alpha PhiAlpha PhiAlpha Phi International Women's Fraternity was founded at Syracuse University on September 18, 1872. Alpha Phi currently has 152 active chapters and over 200,000 initiated members. Its celebrated Founders' Day is October 10. It was the third Greek-letter organization founded for women. In Alpha...
—Iota Gamma Chapter - Delta Delta DeltaDelta Delta DeltaDelta Delta Delta , also known as Tri Delta, is an international sorority founded on November 27, 1888, the eve of Thanksgiving Day. With over 200,000 initiates, Tri Delta is one of the world's largest NPC sororities.-History:...
—Phi Rho Chapter - Delta GammaDelta GammaDelta Gamma is one of the oldest and largest women's fraternities in the United States and Canada, with its Executive Offices based in Columbus, Ohio.-History:...
—Delta Epsilon Chapter - Kappa Alpha ThetaKappa Alpha ThetaKappa Alpha Theta , also known as Theta, is an international fraternity for women founded on January 27, 1870 at DePauw University, formerly Indiana Asbury...
Professional fraternities
- Alpha Chi SigmaAlpha Chi SigmaAlpha Chi Sigma is a professional fraternity specializing in the field of chemistry. It has both collegiate and professional chapters throughout the United States consisting of both men and women and numbering more than 63,400 members...
—Chemistry - Beta Pi Chapter - Delta Nu Tau— Pre-Dentistry - Alpha Chapter
- Delta Sigma PiDelta Sigma PiΔΣΠ ' is one of the largest co-ed professional business fraternities. Delta Sigma Pi was founded on November 7, 1907 at the School of Commerce, Accounts and Finance, New York University, New York, New York and is currently headquartered in Oxford, Ohio...
—Business - Kappa Delta EpsilonKappa Delta EpsilonKappa Delta Epsilon can refer to:* Kappa Delta Epsilon Society, a national, coeducational professional fraternity for students of education in the United States of America...
— Honors Education Fraternity- Delta Eta Chapter - Kappa PsiKappa PsiKappa Psi Pharmaceutical Fraternity, Incorporated, is both the oldest and largest professional pharmaceutical fraternity in the world. It was founded on May 30, 1879, by F. Harvey Smith on the campus of Russell Military Academy in New Haven, Connecticut. The Central Office of Kappa Psi is located...
—Pharmacy - Gamma Nu Chapter - Mu Phi EpsilonMu Phi EpsilonMu Phi Epsilon is a co-ed international professional music fraternity and honor society. It boasts over 75,000 members in 128 collegiate chapters and 74 alumni chapters in the US and abroad.-History:...
—Music - Mu Eta Chapter - Rho Pi PhiRho Pi PhiRho Pi Phi International Pharmaceutical Fraternity is a co-ed professional fraternity that dedicates itself to the profession of pharmacy and to friendship, professionalism, and community service....
—Pharmacy - Lambda Sigma Delta Chapter - Omega Eta Epsilon—Language - Alpha Chapter
- Phi Delta PhiPhi Delta PhiPhi Delta Phi, ΦΔΦ, is the world's second largest legal fraternity. Phi Delta Phi is the second oldest legal organization in continuous existence in the United States and third oldest in North America...
—Honors Legal Fraternity - Phi Alpha DeltaPhi Alpha DeltaΦAΔ , or P.A.D., is the largest co-ed professional law fraternity in the United States of America. Phi Alpha Delta has members who are university students, law school students, lawyers, judges, senators, and even presidents. It was founded in 1902 and today has over 300,000 initiated members...
- Phi Delta ChiPhi Delta ChiPhi Delta Chi, was founded on 2 November 1883 at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor by 11 men, led by Dean Albert B. Prescott. The fraternity was formed to advance the science of pharmacy and its allied interests, and to foster and promote a fraternal spirit among its brothers, now both male...
—Pharmacy - Phi Mu Alpha SinfoniaPhi Mu Alpha SinfoniaPhi Mu Alpha Sinfonia is an American collegiate social fraternity for men with a special interest in music...
—Music - Beta Pi Chapter - Sigma Alpha IotaSigma Alpha IotaSigma Alpha Iota , International Music Fraternity for Women. Formed to "uphold the highest standards of music" and "to further the development of music in America and throughout the world", it continues to provide musical and educational resources to its members and the general public...
—Music - Sigma Gamma EpsilonSigma Gamma EpsilonThe Society of Sigma Gamma Epsilon is a national honor society to recognize scholarship in the earth sciences founded in 1915 at the University of Kansas. It has chartered more than 200 chapters at colleges and universities across the United States....
—Earth Sciences - Eta Upsilon Chapter - Theta Alpha PhiTheta Alpha PhiTheta Alpha Phi National Theatre Honors Fraternity is an American recognition honor society that accepts members who achieve excellence in the art of theatre. Membership is available to undergraduates and graduate students at member institutions....
- Lambda Kappa SigmaLambda Kappa SigmaΛKΣ headquartered in Muskego, Wisconsin is an international pharmacy fraternity founded in 1913 by Ethel J. Heath and eight other female students at Massachusetts College of Pharmacy...
—Pharmacy - Alpha Xi - Delta Phi Epsilon (professional)Delta Phi Epsilon (professional)Delta Phi Epsilon is the only national professional foreign service fraternity and sorority. Founded at Georgetown University on January 25, 1920, the society's mission is to promote good fellowship and brotherhood among persons studying or engaged in foreign service...
—Foreign Service
Honors societies
- Phi Beta Kappa
- Beta Beta Beta
- Omicron Delta EpsilonOmicron Delta EpsilonOmicron Delta Epsilon is an international honor society in the field of economics. Resulting from the merger of Omicron Delta Gamma and Omicron Chi Epsilon, ODE was founded in 1963 . Its board of trustees includes well-known economists such as Robert Lucas, Kenneth Arrow, and Robert Solow...
- Tau Beta PiTau Beta PiThe Tau Beta Pi Association is the oldest engineering honor society in the United States and the second oldest collegiate honor society in America. It honors engineering students who have shown a history of academic achievement as well as a commitment to personal and professional integrity...
- Sigma Delta PiSigma Delta PiSigma Delta Pi, the National Collegiate Hispanic Honor Society , was established on November 14, 1919, at the University of California at Berkeley. Its insignia is the royal seal of Fernando and Isabel, representing Castille, León and Aragón...
- Rho Chi
- Pi Kappa LambdaPi Kappa LambdaPi Kappa Lambda is an American honor society for undergraduate students, graduate students, and professors of music. There are currently 205 active chapters and approximately 64,500 individual members....
- Phi Kappa PhiPhi Kappa PhiThe Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi is an honor society established 1897 to recognize and encourage superior scholarship without restriction as to area of study and to promote the "unity and democracy of education"...
- Phi Alpha ThetaPhi Alpha ThetaPhi Alpha Theta is an American honor society for undergraduate and graduate students and professors of history.The society is a charter member of the Association of College Honor Societies and has over 350,000 members, with about 9,500 new members joining each year through 860 local chapters.-...
- Alpha Lambda DeltaAlpha Lambda DeltaAlpha Lambda Delta is an honor society for students who have achieved a 3.5 GPA or higher and are in the top 20% of their class during their first year or term of higher education.-History:...
- Mortar BoardMortar BoardMortar Board is an American national honor society whose purpose is to recognize outstanding students dedicated to the values of scholarship, leadership, and service. The Cornell University Der Hexenkreis chapter, founded in 1892, is the oldest and predates the national society's founding in 1918...
- Phi Sigma TauPhi Sigma TauPhi Sigma Tau is an international honor society for philosophers. Its essential purpose is to promote ties among philosophy departments in accredited institutions and students in philosophy nationally...
- Beta Alpha PsiBeta Alpha PsiΒΑΨ is a national honors business organization for highly successful accounting, finance and information systems students and professionals. It was founded on February 12, 1919 at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and is currently headquartered in Durham, North Carolina...