University of the Pacific
The
University of the Pacific (also known as
Pacific or
UOP) is a private northern California liberal-arts university originally chartered on July 10,
1851 in
Santa Clara,
California, under the name California Wesleyan College by the
California Supreme Court. In
1858, the college opened the first medical school on the West Coast. The medical school later became part of
Stanford University and is now
California Pacific Medical Center.
In
1871, the campus was moved from Santa Clara 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
1911, the name was changed to College of the Pacific (COP). In
1925, the campus moved to Stockton, and in
1961, it was renamed University of the Pacific.
In
1962, Pacific merged with the
San Francisco College of Physicians and Surgeons, and then in
1966, with the
McGeorge School of Law (established in
1924 in
Sacramento).
Pacific was one of the state's first institutions for higher learning, chartered at about the same time as the present
Santa Clara University. The school currently has 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.
As of
2005, the Stockton campus had about 4,615 students (3,457 undergraduates, 618 professional pharmacy students, and 540 graduate students, mostly in the fields of education and business). Approximately 80% are from
California; the rest are from 43 other states and 42 other countries.
Forty-four percent of undergraduates are from ethnic and racially under-represented American minorities, and another 4% are from other countries. (Eight percent did not state ethnicity and are listed as "Unknown.")
African-American 3%
Asian/Pacific Islander 30%
Hispanic 9%
Multi-Ethnic 1%
Native American 1%
White/Caucasian 45%
International 3%
Unknown 8%
For an institution its size, the University offers a diverse curriculum (over 100 programs) and issues the following degrees:
* Bachelor of Arts
* Bachelor of Fine Arts
* Bachelor of Science
* Bachelor of Music
* Master of Arts
* Master of Business Administration (MBA)
* Master of Education
* Master of Laws (LLM)
* Master of Music
* Master of Science
* Education Specialist (EdS)
* Doctor of Dental Surgery (DDS)
* Doctor of Education (EdD)
* Juris Doctor (JD)
* Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD)
* Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
* Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT)
These degrees are offered across nine schools and a graduate office within the University. These include:
*
Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry, San Francisco
*
Gladys L. Benerd School of Education, Stockton
*
College of the Pacific: the University's school of science and liberal arts, Stockton
*
Conservatory of Music: 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 Law, Sacramento
*
School of Engineering and Computer Science, Stockton
*
School of International Studies: one of six undergraduate schools of international studies in the United States, Stockton
*
The Office or Research and Graduate Studies, Stockton
U.S. Supreme Court Justice
Anthony Kennedy, once an adjunct professor, continues to teach at the McGeorge School of Law. The school's programs of study can be found on the school's
Academics page.
The University of the Pacific competes as the Tigers, primarily in the
Big West Conference. Headed by Lynn King, 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. The school ended its
football program in 1995.
Facilities include 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 until 1995, football), the Hal Nelson Tennis Courts and the Chris Kjeldsen Pool. The 1,100-seat Klein Family Field for baseball was completed in 2006.
The University is currently headed by President Donald DeRosa, who became the university's 23rd president in 1995. During his tenure, the university has undertaken a $200 million fundraising campaign to construct, among other things, a University Center, Biological Sciences Center, multipurpose gymnasium, a library addition, and the Klein Family Field for baseball. Serving under the president are various vice presidents. In 2005, former
Stanford Athletic Director
Ted Leland announced that he had decided to return to his undergraduate alma mater as Pacific's Vice President of University Advancement.
The president is selected by the University's Board of Regents, consisting of 27 members, including U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Judge
Janice Brown, U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Judge
Connie M. Callahan. Former members are occasionally named Emeritus Board Members. This list includes
San Diego Chargers owner
Alex G. Spanos.
The provost, Philip N. Gilbertson, serves as the University's chief academic officer, overseeing all of the University's schools and divisions. The Council of Deans is comprised of all academic deans, associate and assistant provosts, the Director of Planning and Research, and the Academic Budget Officer.
Greek life plays an important role 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.
Fraternity Houses
*
Theta Chi*
Delta Upsilon (Omega Phi Alpha)
*
Pi Kappa Alpha*
Sigma ChiSorority Houses
*
Alpha Phi*
Delta Delta Delta*
Delta Gamma*
Kappa Alpha ThetaMulticultural Fraternities
*
Delta Sigma Theta*
Gamma Alpha Omega*
Omega Delta Phi*
Phi Beta Sigma*
Xi Chi Sigma*
Rho Delta ChiProfessional Fraternities
*
Kappa Psi*
Rho Pi Phi*
Phi Delta ChiApproximately 20% of Pacific students are involved in Greek life at Pacific.
*
Alex Spanos '48, owner of the
San Diego Chargers*
Arthur Dugoni '48, President, ADA Foundation. Past President: ADA, AADS, CDA, etc.
*
Bill Lockyear '86E, California Attorney General
*
Chauncey Veatch ‘70, 2002 National Teacher of the Year
*
Chris Isaak '80, actor and musician
*
Connie Callahan '75D, Judge,
Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals*
Craig Whelihan, former
NFL and
XFL quarterback. Current AFL quarterback
*
Dave Brubeck '42, jazz pianist and founder of the
Brubeck Institute*
Eddie LeBaron '50, former professional football player
*
Elaina Oden, two-time
Olympic volleyball player
*
George Moscone '53, former Mayor of
San Francisco, assassinated along with
Harvey Milk by
Dan White*
Ginnylee Roderick ‘94, Olympic Gold Medalist, Synchronized Swimming (1984)
*
James Aiona, Jr., present
Lieutenant Governor of Hawaii*
James W. Hardesty '75D, Nevada Supreme Court
*
Jamie Lee Curtis '49, actress (she attended UOP for one semester only)
*
John Gerrard '81D, Nebraska Supreme Court
*
Johnnie Rawlinson '79D,
Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals*
Janet Leigh '47, actress
*
Jo Van Fleet, actress
*
Jose Hernandez '85, NASA astronaut
*
Michael Olowokandi '98, professional basketball player
*
Malia Kamisugi ‘98, Nationally-ranked open ocean outrigger canoe racer
*
Robert Culp '49, Actor
*
Scott Boras '77 '82,
Major League Baseball agent
*
Ted Leland, former
Stanford Athletic Director
*
Tom Flores '59, retired
Super Bowl-winning coach of the
Oakland Raiders of the
National Football League*
Pete Carroll, head football coach at the
University of Southern California*
Theodore Olson '62, lawyer and former Solicitor General of the United States
*
Walt Harris, head football coach at
Stanford University*
John Dunning, won 2 NCAA women's volleyball titles and had 7 Final Four appearances as Pacific's head coach from 1985-2000; now head coach at
Stanford University*
Jon Gruden, former UOP Assistant Football Coach, current Head Coach of the NFL's
Tampa Bay Buccaneers*
Terry Liskevych, former 3-time Olympic women's volleyball head coach; Pacific's head coach from 1977-84
*
Ed Sprague, Jr., former Major League Baseball all-star; current head baseball coach, 2004-present
*
Amos Alonzo Stagg, "The Grand Old Man of Football," head football coach at Pacific from 1933-46
*
Bob Thomason, 5-time Big West Coach of the Year and school's all-time winningest men's basketball coach; Pacific's head coach from 1988-present
*
University of the Pacific Official Website *
Common Data Set for the 2003-2004 school year (PDF)*
University of the Pacific Admissions*
University of the Pacific Student Life*
University of the Pacific's Residence Hall Association*
Association of Students of University of the Pacific*
Pacific on RateMyProfessors.com
