As of July 1, 2020, Linfield College is Linfield University.
This is the third time Linfield’s name has changed in its 162-year history. Founded as the Baptist College at McMinnville in 1858 and shortened to McMinnville College in 1883, it became Linfield College in 1922.
“Linfield will change its name, but what won’t change is what makes us special,” said President Miles K. Davis when the board approved the name change in February. “Linfield will remain a small, high-quality, liberal arts institution. Now, though, we will be able to expand by having schools and colleges within the university and by offering master’s degrees.”
Linfield University’s first graduate degree – a Master of Science in Nursing specializing in healthcare leadership – is designed to advance the careers of registered nurses and continues Linfield’s legacy of nursing excellence. Additional graduate programs are currently being developed by the Linfield faculty.
In addition, the university also implemented a new organizational structure consisting of the College of Arts and Science, School of Nursing and School of Business. The School of Nursing is led by Dean Kimberly Dupree Jones. Searches for the dean positions for the College of Arts and Science and School of Business are currently ongoing.
As a university, Linfield has strategically positioned itself for enrollment growth in high-demand fields, more curricular opportunities for students and faculty and greater market recognition as a comprehensive higher education institution.
“What we’re not doing is rejecting the past,” Davis said, “but building toward a bright future.”
A survey of Linfield alumni conducted earlier this year overwhelmingly supported changing from a college to a university.
