Linfield University will host its 2025 Opening Convocation from 10 to 11 a.m. Friday, Aug. 22 on the Commencement Green at the McMinnville campus.
The featured speaker is Dr. Trevor Phillips ’96, an emergency physician, health care advocate and former member of the Salem City Council. At Linfield, Phillips majored in biology, earned three minors and graduated magna cum laude. He was a student-athlete, resident advisor and campus leader — experiences that shaped his future in medicine and public service.
Phillips earned his medical degree from Yale University and completed an emergency medicine residency at the University of North Carolina. For more than 17 years, he has served the Salem community. Not only does he care for patients at Salem Hospital, he also champions access to health care and safer communities through local government and volunteer leadership.
Convocation is the traditional ceremony that celebrates the beginning of the new academic year. New Linfield University President Mark Blegen will preside over the ceremony as part of Wildcat Welcome Weekend. The event features a special musical performance by Linfield studetn MJ Lorino ’28, as well as the university’s acorn tradition.
Started in 2012, the tradition of the acorn connects students with the legacy of one of Linfield’s most beloved symbols – the Old Oak. Undergraduate students receive a single acorn during Opening Convocation of their first year. At Commencement, students deposit their acorns back into a large bowl made from the wood of the Old Oak. Each acorn is then given to another first-year student at the following year’s convocation.
All Linfield University offices and departments will close from 10-11 a.m. on Friday to attend Opening Convocation.
