George Fox University

George Fox University is a private Christian university in Newberg, Oregon, United States. Founded as a school for Quakers in 1891, it is now the largest private university in Oregon with more than 4,000 students combined between its main campus in Newberg, its centers in Portland and Redmond, and online. The 108-acre (44 ha) main campus is near downtown Newberg, near the junction of Oregon Route 99W and Oregon Route 219. George Fox competes athletically at the NCAA Division III level in the Northwest Conference as the Bruins. The school colors are navy blue and old gold. The university is associated with the Evangelical Friends Church International and is a member of the Wesleyan Holiness Connection.

The university was founded in Newberg, Oregon, in 1885 by Quaker pioneers, originally called Friends Pacific Academy for several years before becoming a college in 1891 as Pacific College. The Bruin mascot comes from a real bear cub found in 1887 in the Coast Range's foothills near Carlton, about 15 miles (24 km) west of Newberg. Years later, the bear hide became the senior class's unofficial mascot, and other students often attempted to steal it away. Students today still participate in student-government-sponsored class competitions called "Bruin brawls" for possession of Bruin Jr.

In 1893 the school was incorporated as a joint-stock company. It became a four-year school in 1925. Herbert Hoover's uncle H. J. Minthorn served as the school's first president, and Hoover was an early student at the academy. The school's name changed to George Fox College in 1949 to honor George Fox, the founder of the Quaker movement.

In 1996, the college merged with Western Evangelical Seminary to form George Fox University. Associate professor of biology Dwight Kimberly received the Carnegie Foundation's Oregon Professor of the Year award in 2000. Associate professor of theatre Rhett Luedtke was one of three faculty members nationally to receive a National Directing Fellow Award from the John F. Kennedy Center in 2010.

The student body has grown more than 500% since 1986, when enrollment was 549. With 4,339 students in Newberg, Portland, and other Oregon teaching sites, George Fox is now the state's largest private university.

In 2014, prompted by a housing dispute involving a transgender student, George Fox University sought and received an exemption from Title IX's requirements with respect to transgender students.

In 2015, the school completed a new residence hall, Brandt Hall, named for former school president David H. Brandt and his wife, Melva. A new dining hall, Canyon Commons, opened in the fall of 2016. The university's first dedicated chapel was dedicated in 2024.

George Fox grants degrees at each of the traditional levels of university education, baccalaureate, master's degrees, and doctorates. The university participates in the Richter Scholars program, which sponsors 15 to 25 students each year in encouragement of original research. The university also offers study-abroad opportunities through the "Best Semester" program offered by the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities (CCCU).