Willamette and Pacific continue merger process, provide updated timeline for formal merge
Since the announcement of the university merger last December, both universities have sent out periodic updates highlighting the progress being made behind the scenes. One of the most recent updates was directly by Willamette University’s President Steve Thorsett and Pacific University’s President Jenny Coyle who sent out their first joint newsletter to students.
Pacific University is located in Forest Grove, Oregon, just 35 minutes west of Portland and it is the third largest private university in Oregon. Both Willamette and Pacific are the oldest universities in the western United States.
“The Board of Trustees at Pacific and the Board of Trustees at Willamette, in December [2025], agreed to explore a merger,” said Lisa Landreman, vice president of student affairs at Willamette. “[The two boards] did enough due diligence to decide that this was a good idea to move forward with.”
Through the completion of this merger, the two universities will share the joint institutional name as University of the Northwest , Thorsett explained in an Oct. 16 interview, which will make it the largest private university in Oregon with a student body composed of about 6,000 students.
“[The merger] provides resources and efficiencies without compromising why people pick a place like Willamette or Pacific, that kind of small close knit community with intimate relationships with faculty and staff and students,” Landreman said.
Currently, both universities are in the process of creating accessible pathways to more graduate programs, sorting out computer systems and smoothing over fine details.
Katelyn Beissel Rosales, president of the Associated Students of Willamette University (ASWU), shared that currently the two institutions are not looking to have consistent transportation between the two campuses, as it would be difficult to have reliable transportation due to students’ varying schedules and unpredictability of traffic.
Although students wouldn’t be able to regularly commute between campuses, Thorsett shared that faculty and staff may have the opportunity to spend semesters at either campus. Students may also have the opportunity to take hybrid classes at the other campus without commuting.
“I can’t predict [how the process] will work. I mean, the reason I can’t predict it is because the faculty get to make that decision, not the administration,” Thorsett said, “So once we’re one university, the faculty will set policies — on credit transfers and all of that. It is a priority and I’m sure that it will happen quickly.”
The merger is set to be finalized in April of 2027, but there won’t be noticeable changes for students until further into the merger, Beissel Rosales said following the Board of Trustees meeting on Saturday, Oct. 24. The present timeline extends the steps of the merger far into 2028.
“The timeline has always been uncertain in part because we’re trying to figure out how to do it efficiently without interrupting any of the activities of either campus,” Thorsett said.
He stressed that although the merger will result in changes to the name of the joint institution, an increased opportunity to pick between graduate programs and other various benefits, the two institutions will stay fairly independent. This includes admission processes, athletics, undergraduate degree requirements, mascots and traditions that make up each institution.
According to Thorsett, one of the main motivators behind the merger had to do with increasing job opportunities for students post-graduation and in building stronger relationships with big companies.
“Being a smaller institution is a disadvantage for us if we want to talk to [local companies in the area like] Columbia sportswear, Boeing, Intel, Nike, or some other big employer when we only have a small number of graduates each year in each field,” Thorsett said.
Furthermore, Thorsett shared that he has been traveling to cities throughout the west coast and holding meetings with alumni to share the news of the merger and hear their thoughts. Thorsett, Landreman and Beissel Rosales all shared that the response from alumni has been overwhelmingly positive.
“In June, I attended a virtual meeting with the Board of Trustees and they voted yes on the proposed plan for the merger with Pacific,” said Beissel Rosales. “I think almost all of the members of the Board of Trustees are Willamette alums and they are very positive about the merger. They’re very positive about all the different opportunities.”
Subsequently, with all of the various pieces of information slowly being decided on and released to the public, there will most likely be a time later in the academic year where students will be able to ask Thorsett about the merger, Beissel Rosales shared in a written statement after the October Board of Trustees meeting with the two universities.
“We, [ASWU], are hoping to have President Thorsett attend a senate meeting sometime this year to address questions about the merger, but overall there may not be a lot of updates about the merger,” she said.
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