Students from Willamette University and Pacific University have competed against each other in debate and football almost as long as Oregon has been a state.

Now, leaders of the two universities intend to merge Oregon’s two oldest universities into what would become the state’s largest private higher education institution.

Willamette President Steve Thorsett and Pacific President Jenny Coyle publicly announced their plans Thursday to create what they’re calling the University of the Northwest.

The aim is to combine the academic strengths of both schools, making it easier for students to move easily from undergraduate studies in the liberal arts into graduate programs or careers, the presidents said in a joint interview.

The result would “combine the flexibility and nimbleness of a small school with the breadth and resources of a larger institution,” according to a joint statement from both universities released Thursday.

The new university would have a single board which would determine the structure of university’s leadership, including roles for the presidents. The schools could combine resources like an alumni database and other operational programs to more efficiently serve students.

The merger could mean a smoother path for students who want to study at Willamette before going on to graduate-level optometry or education programs at Pacific.

“We dream all the time about: what can we better do for our students and how can we find more ways to offer opportunities?” Coyle said.

Thorsett said the universities can begin fleshing out new collaborations as the slow legal process of the merger moves forward. One hope, he said, is for a “richer intellectual environment” to more directly address Oregon challenges.

“Bringing these intellectual strengths together also gives us some new ways to think about things like systems approaches to health, bringing together the data scientists working on data and health and the health management people and the health professions people,” he said. “Ideally, in a fairly short order, we would start to identify some key areas where we can be stronger contributors to the state conversation.”

Together, the schools have a combined enrollment of about 6,000 students. Those include undergraduates, graduate students in Willamette’s law, business and art and Pacific’s health sciences, optometry and teacher programs. 

The merger is likely to take several years, with a required federal approval being the final and longest piece. But Thorsett said the hope is for the board of each school to approve a merger early in 2026.

One ambition is that the new institution would be large enough to open the way for collaborating with Northwest companies like Intel and Boeing.

“One of the challenges of private higher education in Oregon is that we’re a whole bunch of pretty small schools, and it’s really hard to work with large employers and provide the scale that they need in helping to design internship programs and other contributors to student pathways. So we will be very highly focused on that in the first couple of years,” Thorsett said.

The merger doesn’t mean Willamette’s identity is going away, Thorsett said. And it’s not a pretext for layoffs or reducing programs.

Both universities will keep their campuses – Willamette in Salem and Portland and Pacific in Forest Grove and Hillsboro. The colleges at each university will maintain their own admissions processes.

Willamette was founded in 1842, the first university in the western U.S.

Public signage in Salem will continue to carry the Willamette name.

Diplomas issued by the university will eventually carry the name of the merged school, Thorsett said. But they will also identify which college awarded the degree so the Willamette name will continue.

Fans of the schools’ longstanding athletic rivalry can rest assured. The Bearcats and the Boxers will retain separate sports programs through the National Collegiate Athletic Association.

Though the merger comes in a challenging landscape for higher education, it’s not a decision driven by budget or enrollment concerns, Thorsett said. 

Willamette faced some financial challenges last fall, when enrollment, though increasing, was lower than expected due primarily to a botched federal rollout of a new financial aid form. The university in 2024 cut about $2 million from its budget, including cutting retirement contributions for employees.

But enrollment climbed this fall for the fifth year in a row, Thorsett said. He described Willamette as financially healthy. The university has a $306 million million endowment and runs a balanced budget.

Pacific also is financially strong, Coyle said.

They do expect some cost savings from efficiencies, like combining software systems and databases.

Higher education faces a challenging landscape in the U.S. There are fewer college-age students now than in recent years because birth rates declined during the Great Recession starting in 2007. Interest in attending college is also lower, with fewer Americans viewing the cost of a degree as worthwhile and fewer high school graduates opting to attend college.

“There are a lot of headwinds right now that are pushing against us in higher education,” Coyle said. “We view this as a really interesting, forward-thinking strategic platform where we can combine our resources and we can navigate change and things that are coming at us that we might not have expected, and to really be able to adapt quicker and provide what the region needs.”

The idea of a merger grew out of conversations between both presidents which started last spring. Initially, they discussed how the two schools could better work together. That evolved into discussions about merging.

Willamette merged successfully with Portland’s Pacific Northwest College of Art, a process that started in 2021. The college kept its own identity, which was established in the art world.

With the merger development now public, the presidents said they’ll engage with faculty, students and others in the community as they figure out next steps and potential areas of collaboration.

“At a time when increased investment and innovation in all sectors of higher education is crucial for our state’s economic future, I appreciate the bold approach Willamette and Pacific are taking to meet the moment. We look forward to supporting their work to expand access to higher education for all Oregonians,” according to a statement from Ben Cannon, executive director of Oregon’s Higher Education Coordinating Commission.

Contact reporter Rachel Alexander: [email protected] or 503-575-1241.

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