Pacific and Willamette universities have officially put pen to paper on an agreement to form Oregon’s largest private university.
The universities’ governing boards unanimously approved the merger agreement in June before signing it in July, setting in motion plans to combine institutions that serve more than 6,000 students across campuses in Forest Grove, Hillsboro, Salem and Portland.
The merger will create a single nonprofit entity, provisionally named the University of the Northwest, pending regulatory and accreditor approvals. The universities expect the legal combination to take place in early 2027, with the full transition into a single university taking up to two years…