Lewis & Clark College

History

Like many modern American universities, the institution that would eventually become Lewis & Clark was initially intended to provide secondary as well as higher education for a specific religious community, in this case Presbyterian pioneers in Oregon's Willamette Valley. The Presbyterian church incorporated "Albany Academy" in 1858.

Within a decade of its founding, Albany Academy began to focus more exclusively on higher education, changing its official name to the "Albany Collegiate Institution" in 1866. Lewis & Clark's official founding date comes from the current charter, which has been legally valid since the Presbyterian church reincorporated the Albany Collegiate Institution as "Albany College" in 1867. Unlike most Oregon colleges of the pioneer era, the college has been co-educational since the first class, which graduated in 1873. The early campus of 7 acre in Albany was situated on land donated by the Monteith family. In 1892, the original school building was enlarged, and in 1925 the school relocated south of Albany, where it remained until 1937.

Albany College established a junior college to the north in Portland in 1934, with the entire school moving to Portland in 1939. The former campus grounds later became home to the federal government's Albany Research Center.{{cite book | url-access=registration

Rankings

The 2020 annual ranking of U.S. News & World Report categorized admission to Lewis & Clark as "more selective" and ranked the college tied for the 72nd best liberal arts college in the U.S.; U.S. News & World Report also ranked it tied for 51st in undergraduate teaching and 89th for "Best Value" among liberal arts colleges. Forbes in 2019 rated it 184th in its America's Top Colleges ranking, which includes 650 military academies, national universities, and liberal arts colleges and 69th among liberal arts colleges. Kiplinger's Personal Finance places Lewis & Clark at 66th in its 2019 ranking of 149 best value liberal arts colleges in the United States. Money magazine ranked Lewis & Clark 585th out of 744 in its "Best Colleges For Your Money 2019" report. In 2024, Washington Monthly ranked Lewis & Clark 64th among 194 liberal arts colleges in the U.S. based on its contribution to the public good, as measured by social mobility, research, and promoting public service.

Campus

Lewis & Clark's 137 acre forested campus sits atop Palatine Hill in the Collins View neighborhood of Portland and is contiguous with the 645 acre Tryon Creek State Natural Area. Campus buildings include an award-winning environmentally sustainable academic building (John R. Howard Hall),{{cite web |access-date = 2009-12-11 |url-status = dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090626181607/http://legacy.lclark.edu/cgi-bin/shownews.cgi?1113757500.0 |archive-date = 2009-06-26

Lewis & Clark was named one of America's top ten "Most Beautiful Campuses" by the Princeton Review,{{cite web | access-date = 2009-12-11 Travel+Leisure as well as an independent architecture blog.{{cite web |access-date = 2009-12-11 |url-status = dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100430183421/http://structurehub.com/blog/2009/09/americas-ten-most-beautiful-college-campuses/ |archive-date = 2010-04-30

In August 2022, a student died and two were seriously injured while they were sitting on hammocks attached to stone columns on campus and one of the columns collapsed on them. A lawsuit was filed against the school in 2024 alleging that the school failed to warn students about the danger, failure to remove the hazard and failure to close off the area. The estate of the deceased student sought $20 million from the school and was settled out of court.

Residence halls

All students are required to live on campus for the first two years, excepting those already residents of Portland, those over the age of 21 before the start of the fall term, married students, and transfer students with at least 61 credit hours.

Most Lewis & Clark College residence halls are co-ed. While individual rooms generally house one gender, students may opt otherwise under the college's gender-neutral housing policy.

File:Stewart - Lewis & Clark College.jpg|Stewart Residence Hall File:Lewis & Clark College, Frank Manor House, View from Reflecting Pool.JPG|Frank Manor House File:Lewis & Clark College, 2017 - 13.jpg|Biology Center File:Lewis & Clark College, 2017 - 19.jpg|Fountain File:Lewis and Clark College Flanagan Chapel Portland Oregon.jpg|Flanagan Chapel File:Miller - Lewis & Clark College.jpg|Miller Center for the Humanities

Sustainability

Wind power provides 100% of the college's total electricity, and LEED-"certified" level must be met for all of the college's projects.

Transportation

Throughout the year the college operates a shuttle bus between campus and downtown Portland, the Pioneer Express (also referred to as the "Pio Express" or just, "the Pio").

Student life

Athletics

thumb|left|150px|L&C athletics logo Lewis & Clark maintains 10 male and 11 female varsity sports teams and athletic facilities including Pamplin Sports Center and Griswold Stadium. Lewis & Clark athletic teams are called the Pioneers, and team colors are orange and black. The Pioneers compete mainly in the Northwest Conference against eight other NCAA Division III institutions in the Pacific Northwest. 17% of undergraduates are officially designated student athletes as of fall 2021. In the 2011 season, the women's cross-country team placed seventh at West regionals, with the men's team placing 13th. The 2011-2012 men's basketball team lost in the NWC semifinals putting them in 4th place in the conference. Additionally, the women's team of that same year placed second in the NWC and made an appearance in the NCAA DIII National tournament.

A large number of smaller club and intramural sports such as Rugby and Ultimate Frisbee enjoy broad participation. Lewis & Clark "Bacchus" are winners of the 2025 Men's D-III Ultimate Frisbee College Championships. Lewis & Clark students have invented several intramural competitive sports, including Ninja and Wolvetch, which are popular at Lewis & Clark but seldom played elsewhere.

Notable faculty, staff, and trustees

• Phillip Barron, philosopher and poet
• John F. Callahan, Morgan S. Odell Professor of Humanities and literary executor of Ralph Ellison's estate
• Rev. Elbert Nevius Condit (1846–1900), Presbyterian minister, early president (1879-?) when it was known as Albany Collegiate Institute.
• Fitzhugh Dodson, Presbyterian minister, psychologist, taught religion
• Bob Gaillard - basketball coach
• Barry Glassner - president (2010–2017), sociologist and author
• Robert B. Pamplin, Jr., entrepreneur, philanthropist, trustee
• Vern Rutsala, poet
• Kim Stafford, writer
• William Stafford, poet
• Anthony Swofford, former adjunct professor of humanities, author of Jarhead
• Mary Szybist, poet
• Edwina Florence Wills, artist and musician

Notable alumni

List of Lewis & Clark College alumni

• Penn Badgley (2004), actor
• Alan L. Hart (1912 from Albany College), transgender physician, novelist, and tuberculosis researcher
• Matt Biondi (2000), American swimmer
• Charles A. Blanchard (1981), attorney and senior Pentagon official
• Earl Blumenauer (1970, J.D. 1976), U.S. representative
• Amber Case (2008), entrepreneur
• Don Bonker (1964), former U.S. representative
• Kate Brown (1985), 38th governor of Oregon
• Larry Campbell (1953), former speaker of the Oregon House of Representatives
• Ever Carradine (1996), actress
• Ted Gaines (1981), member of the California State Senate
• Gordon Gilkey (1933 from Albany College), artist; dean of liberal arts at Oregon State University; curator of prints and drawings at the Portland Art Museum
• Haben Girma (2010), disability rights advocate
• Genevieve Gorder (1996), television personality
• Heidi Heitkamp (JD 1980), former U.S. senator and North Dakota attorney general
• Jeanne Holm (1956), former brigadier general in the U.S. Air Force
• Jon Jaqua, former defensive back for the Washington Redskins of the National Football League; member of the Lewis & Clark Sports Hall of Fame.
• Marcia S. Krieger (1975), judge on the United States District Court for the District of Colorado
• Monica Lewinsky (1995), Anti-bullying activist and party to the Clinton–Lewinsky scandal
• Jake Longstreth (1999), artist and radio personality
• Ronald A. Marks (1978), former CIA official
• Mark V. Olsen (1977), co-creator of HBO series Big Love
• Khanh Pham (2001), Oregon State Representative, House District 46
• Markie Post (1975), actress known for Night Court and other TV shows
• Ahmed Ali Al Sayegh (1983), Minister of State in the United Arab Emirates
• Quinn Slobodian (2000), professor of history at Wellesley College and writer
• Harrison Patrick Smith (approx. 2018), musician performing as The Dare
• Pete Ward (1962), Major League Baseball player

Notes

References

References

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