February 17, 2020 10:30 a.m.
On Saturday the Linfield Board of Trustees voted to approve a name change from Linfield College to Linfield University.
President Miles Davis said Linfield will remain a small, high-quality, liberal arts institution. However, he said now they will be able to expand by having schools and colleges within the university and by offering master’s degrees.
A release from the school said work will immediately start on the name-change transition. The goal is to have everything updated before students and staff arrive for the fall semester.
The release said the structure of creating new schools in areas such as nursing and business is still being worked out. A recent survey of Linfield alumni overwhelmingly supported changing from a college to a university.
This will be the third time the school’s name has changed in its 162-year history. Founded as the Baptist College at McMinnville in 1858, the name was shortened to McMinnville College in 1883. It became Linfield College in 1922.
The four-year independent college has campuses in McMinnville and Portland.