Lewis & Clark College is a private, independent, liberal arts college in Portland, Oregon, United States. It was chartered as the Albany Collegiate Institute in 1867 in the town of Albany, 65 miles (105 km) south of Portland by Willamette Valley Presbyterian pioneers, and relocated to Portland in 1938. With antecedents dating to 1858, Lewis & Clark is one of four colleges in Oregon (along with Willamette University, Pacific University, and Linfield College) with foundations that predate Oregon's statehood. The College has been coeducational since the first class, which graduated in 1873.
In 1942 the school adopted the name Lewis & Clark College after the Lewis and Clark Expedition as “a symbol of the pioneering spirit that had made and maintained the College.” Today, the three schools of the College and their supporting offices occupy a campus of 137 acres (554,000 m²), centered on the M. Lloyd Frank Estate on Palatine Hill in the Collins View neighborhood of Southwest Portland.
History
Albany College Administration Building
The college was founded as the Albany Academy in Albany, Oregon, with incorporation in 1858.[2] In 1866, the school name was changed to Albany Collegiate Institution, and the next year the Presbyterian church founded Albany College.[2] The early school’s campus of 7 acres (28,000 m2) in Albany was situated on land donated by the Monteith family. In 1892, the original school building was enlarged, and in 1925 the school re-located south of Albany where it remained until 1937.[2]
A junior college was established in 1934 to the north in Portland, with the entire school moving to Portland in 1939.[2] The campus grounds later became home to the federal government's Albany Research Center.[3] In 1942 the College trustees acquired the Lloyd Frank (of the historic Portland department store Meier & Frank) “Fir Acres” estate in Southwest Portland, and the school name was changed to Lewis & Clark College.[2] The original school mascots, the Pirates, was changed to the Pioneers in 1946.
Academics
The three schools of the College include the College of Arts and Sciences, the Law School, and the Graduate School of Education and Counseling.
CAS departments include Art, East Asian Studies, English, Foreign Languages and Literatures (French, Chinese, German, Greek, Spanish, Latin, Russian, and Japanese), History, Music, Philosophy, Religious Studies, Theatre, Biology, Chemistry, Computer Science & Mathematics, Environmental Studies, Physics, Communication, Economics, Classical Studies, Gender Studies, International Affairs, Political Science, Psychology, Sociology and Anthropology, and Academic English Studies.
Lewis & Clark has nationally-regarded programs in Biology, International Affairs, Psychology and Environmental Studies, and several Political Science students have recently received prestigious awards in that field.[7] A number of classical musicians have emerged from the college and several music areas are returning to a prominence the music department once enjoyed, most notably the piano performance area.[citation needed] The college has held two worldwide symphonic festivals in the past five years with professional-level performances in Dublin and the Greek islands. Lewis & Clark is ranked 71st in the list of best liberal arts colleges in U.S. News & World Report's 2009 rankings.[8]
Campus Overview
Lewis & Clark's 137 acre forested campus sits atop Palatine Hill in the Collins View neighborhood of Portland, Oregon, and is contiguous with the 645-acre (2.61 km2) Tryon Creek State Natural Area. The campus is a fifteen minute drive from downtown Portland and boasts an excellent view of Mount Hood, Oregon's tallest mountain and most popular skiing destination. Campus buildings include an award-winning environmentally sustainable academic building,[9] as well as notable historic architecture such as the Frank Manor House and Rogers Hall (formerly Our Lady of Angels convent of The Sisters of St. Francis).[10] Due in large part to the College's forest-like appeal, Lewis & Clark was recently named one of America's top ten "Most Beautiful Campuses" by the Princeton Review,[11] as well as an independent architecture blog.[12]
Residence Halls
All students are required to live on campus for the first two years, unless already a Portland resident.[13] Residence halls include SOA (Stewart-Odell-Akin), Forest, Hartzfeld, Platt-Howard, and Copeland. Residence halls open to all students are Stewart, Odell, Akin, Copeland, Platt West, Platt East, Howard, and the Forest Buildings (Ponderosa, Spruce, Juniper (women only), Manzanita, and Alder).
Several of the student residence halls have themes. Stewart is "Substance Free/Wellness", providing a home for those who wish to live in a drug and alcohol-free environment. Akin is known as the "Multicultural Dorm", hosting a majority of students from outside of the United States as well as some U.S. students with international experience. Platt-Howard: Platt East houses the Platteau student-run arts center, and the "Visual and Performing Arts" (or VAPA) and Howard has an "Outdoor Floor". Hartzfeld is an extended quiet-hours community; it requires sophomore standing or higher to live in. East Hall, Roberts Hall and West Hall are a series of on-campus apartments completed in 2003 and require junior class standing or higher to live in. The college is also experimenting with Language Floors beginning in the academic year 2009-2010.
Sustainability
Roses are abundant at Lewis & Clark College.
Lewis and Clark became the first campus in the country to comply with the Kyoto Protocol's emission targets in 2003,[citation needed] and in 2005 became the first private institution in Oregon to sign the Talloires Declaration.[citation needed] Currently, wind power provides 30% of the college's total electricity [14], and LEED 'Certified' level must be met for all of the college's projects.[15]
Transportation
The college operates shuttle buses between campus and downtown Portland. The most notable of these shuttles travels between the college and Pioneer Square (called the Pio Express, or colloquially The Raz, due to its operation by Raz Transportation). TriMet line 39 also operates between the college and the Burlingame transit center, where students can transfer to buses to downtown Portland.
First year students are not permitted to have cars on campus, though sophomores, juniors and seniors are allowed to pay for a parking permit. Different permits exist for residential, commuting, and carpool students. Parking spaces are at a premium on this residential campus, leading to expensive semester or year-long permits.
Notable faculty, staff, and trustees
Miller Center for the Humanities
- Stephen Dow Beckham, historian[16]
- Greta Binford, biologist[17]
- John F. Callahan, Morgan S. Odell Professor of Humanities and literary executor of Ralph Ellison's estate
- Jerusha B. Detweller-Bedell, Associate professor of psychology and recipient of 2008 U.S. Professor of the Year award from CASE[18]
- Bob Gaillard - basketball coach
- Michael Mooney - President of the College for 14 years until his resignation in 2003 after reports surfaced in the media of a $10.5 million loss from an investment made outside full knowledge of the board of trustees.[19]
- Robert B. Pamplin, Jr., entrepreneur, philanthropist, trustee[20]
- Vern Rutsala, poet[21]
- Kim Stafford, writer[22]
- William Stafford, poet[23]
- Anthony Swofford, former adjunct professor of humanities, author of Jarhead[24]
- Mary Szybist, poet[25]
Notable alumni
Flanagan Chapel, site of various on-campus religious services and weddings.
- Becca Bernstein (2000), artist
- Earl Blumenauer (1970, JD 1976), US Representative[26]
- Don Bonker (1964), former US Representative[27]
- Larry Campbell (1953), former Speaker of the Oregon House of Representatives[28]
- Ever Carradine (1996), actress[29]
- Genevieve Gorder (1996), television personality[30]
- Jeanne Holm (1956), first female Brigadier General in the United States Air Force and first female Major General in the United States armed forces[31]
- Percy R. Kelly (1887 from Albany College), Chief Justice of the Oregon Supreme Court
- Monica Lewinsky (1995), White House intern and party to the Lewinsky scandal[32]
- Ronald A. Marks (1978), former CIA official[33]
- Myah Moore (2003), Miss Oregon USA 2003[34]
- Markie Post (1975), actress
- Mark V. Olsen, (1977), co-creator of HBO series Big Love[35]
- Pete Ward (1962), Major League Baseball player[36]
Notes
References
- Lewis & Clark College (2005). "Academics". Retrieved July 26, 2005.
- Princeton Review (2006). [4]
External links
Coordinates: 45°27′03″N 122°40′12″W / 45.450891°N 122.670117°W / 45.450891; -122.670117
