Written by Starla Pointer. Reprinted with permission of the News-Register. Originally published May. 12, 2026.
Julie Fitzwater, a 2006 Linfield graduate who’s now a nursing professor and chair of the Faculty Senate, presents the university’s mace to now president Mark Blegen during his inauguration ceremony Friday. The ceremonial mace represents the authority of the faculty and the faculty and president’s shared responsibility for educating students, Fitzwater said.
Mark Blegen has had a “wonderful” 10 months as president of Linfield University, he said as he prepared for his formal inauguration Friday, May 8, in Ted Wilson Gymnasium on campus.
He listed some of the elements that have contributed: “wonderful people, a beautiful community, relationships, faculty, staff, alumni,” he said. “And our students are the best. They are inquisitive and prepared.”
Blegen, a first-time president who taught and served as an administrator at colleges in the Midwest before arriving in McMinnville, said Linfield’s students and the community give him hope for the future.
“More than I’ve had in a long time,” said the educator, who is becoming familiar with students while teaching an exercise physiology class — his specialty — this semester.
He said he has felt great about his new home since his first day on campus. “I walked the campus, met people and realized the opportunities here,” he said.
Other days have been great, as well, he said, especially when he has attended theater and music performances or watched the Linfield Wildcats win — a baseball game on the morning of the inauguration; the women’s basketball championship earlier in the year and, especially, the football game that continued Linfield’s 69-year winning streak.
The inauguration was a celebration of the great aspects about Linfield, Blegen said. “I look at this as more about Linfield than about myself,” he said.
Linfield University President Mark Blegen, dressed in his ceremonial robe of cardinal and purple, addresses the crowd at his inauguration Friday, May 8, in Ted Wilson Gymnasium. Blegen came to Linfield in July 2025 to be 21st president of the 168-year-old school.
Later in the ceremony, longtime Linfield administrator and interim president Marv Henberg called out Blegen for his “appealing modesty.” He urged him to “relish YOUR inauguration.”
Henberg was part of the search team who found a replacement for President Miles Davis after he left Linfield in 2024 after six years with the school. Rebecca Johnson served as interim president during the search.
Henberg, who retired from the presidency of the University of Idaho after his many years at Linfield, advised the new president to learn from his faculty and students as much as they learn from him.
“Value both the theoretical and practical. Defend freedom of conscience and morals. Nurture the co-curricular as well as the curriculum,” he advised.
Henberg and former Linfield President Thomas Hellie were among supporters at the formal inauguration. Guests from other schools, along with Linfield professors, staff, students, alumni and community members, helped honor the 21st president in Linfield’s 168-year history.
Jon George, Tribal Council member, represented the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde. He sang and drummed during the invocation, celebrating the land on which Linfield sits that once was the home of the Kalapuya tribe. He also presented a traditional necklace to the new president.
Linfield Chaplain Stephen Sherwood prayed for Blegen to have the wisdom, courage and support needed to serve Linfield well. He also prayed “for all of us in the Linfield community to work together” to help students reach their potential.
Students from the school’s McMinnville and Portland campuses made presentations, along with the president of the Alumni Leadership Council and the Faculty Senate chair.
McMinnville Mayor Kim Morris discussed the longstanding relationship between the school and the city. Linfield’s preschool is outstanding, she said; the university is one of McMinnville’s largest employers; and it develops positive partnerships with the city and other organizations. Not only that, she said, but many graduates remain in McMinnville and help build the city.
U.S. Rep Andrea Salinas, D-Oregon, also spoke, congratulating Blegen and Linfield on their “new chapter and renewed promise.”
Joe Wilkins, chairman of the Department of English, read an original poem. Instrumental and choral groups performed.
One of the numbers was a new composition by Linfield Professor William Campbell, which was inspired by the words of Blegen’s mother, a lifelong educator and national teacher of the year.
Lucinda Day Fournier, a 1995 graduate and chair of Linfield’s Board of Trustees, presented Blegen with the president’s purple and crimson robe and medallion, “to remind you of the scared trust and bond between you and the students of Linfield University.”
At 4 p.m. May 8, the new president removed his doctoral robe from Kent State to don his new robe of office. Fournier and two students helped him into the heavy garment. “It takes a village…” the trustee quipped.
Then the various groups in the audience stood in affirmation of Blegen’s status as president..
Blegen said his mother inspired him to become an educator. She told him, “good teaching changes lives,” and that learning is not about pouring information into students, but about developing relationships, he said.
“That lesson never left me,” he said. “It’s everything about relationships.”
He added, “That’s brought me to Linfield, one of the greatest honors of my life.”
He arrived at Linfield at a time of profound change in higher education and in the way higher ed is perceived. “Is higher education worth it? Yes,” he said. “But you can’t just say it; you must demonstrate it.”
He said keeping students at the center of their work is critical, as is transparency and “mutual accountability.” In addition, he said, schools must take a long look at what they offer and let go of what no longer serves students.
“The greatest challenge is standing still,” he said.
Blegen said he thinks of higher education as the three Rs, but not the “reading, writing, ’rithmetic” of the past. Rather, the Rs stand for Range, meaning students should try a variety of opportunities; Reasoning, advancing their potential by thinking, listening and questioning; and Relationships, developing not just friendships, but mentorships and collaborations.
The three Rs will lead to academic success and living a full and engaged life, he said.
Blegen earned a bachelor’s degree from St. Olaf College, a master’s degree from St. Cloud State University and a doctorate in exercise physiology from Kent State University. He started his career teaching and coaching. He was an assistant football coach at the University of Mount Union and taught and held leadership positions at St. Catherine University, then at Carroll University.
His adviser in the master’s degree program at St. Cloud, David Bacharach, spoke glowingly of Blegen during the inauguration.
They first met when Blegen applied to the St. Cloud master’s program, which accepted six students a year. Bacharach said he quickly made an impression with his “exceptional leadership and communication skills” and for his ability to encourage others to work together.
He called Linfield’s new president “a very special person who will undoubtedly guide students, faculty and staff to greater heights.”
Sydney Downing, a student from Sumner, Washington, enrolled in Blegen’s exercise physiology class this spring.
She is a senior majoring in exercise science. She didn’t need the course in her final semester but wanted to experience a class taught by the new president, whom she met while serving as student body vice president in charge of events.
As a president, she said, “he’s the kind of leader who shows up,” develops relationships and makes everyone feel a part of the process.
“As a teacher, he is so passionate about his subject. He knows what he wants to convey,” added Downing, who will graduate May 31 and start a doctoral program in physical therapy in the fall.
“I’m devastated to leave Linfield. This feels like home,” she said.
Downing said Blegen is extremely knowledgeable about his subject. He also has a unique way of teaching, including giving students a “one sheet” listing both what students should learn in his class and “what we need to learn for the rest of our lives,” she said.
“That was very special,” she said. “It’s been an honor to be in the president’s class.”
