The 1930s

• September 1935: A motion was passed to establish Pacific Bible College. A previous attempt had been made to start a college in Boise in the 1920s.
• January 1936: Property was purchased in Spokane, WA for the college, and curriculum was discussed.
• February 9, 1937: The Board of Trustees voted to incorporate the college.
• October 5, 1937: Classes began at Pacific Bible College in Spokane, WA.
• 1939: The first graduating class consisted of two women who received the Christian Education certificate.

The 1940s

• 1940: Two acres (of the now 15-acre campus) were purchased on the south side of Mount Tabor in Portland, OR for $14,000. President Gilliam once asked Dr. Gray why he didn’t originally buy more land when it was still available and less expensive. Dr. Gray responded, “We shook the church from border to border when we bought it. I could never have asked for more.”
• 1940: Pacific Bible College relocated from Spokane to Portland. Fall classes had a delayed start due to the move.
• 1940: The original college building, called Old Main, was located approximately where Schlatter Chapel now stands. This large, white building was a sanitarium before the college bought the property. Until the Pearl Lewis Building (now A.F. Gray Hall) was built, Old Main housed the entire campus, including offices, classrooms, dormitories, library, and chapel. The lowest level contained the cafeteria, SUB, and music practice rooms, which were formerly padded cells.
• 1947: A second building was built. The Pearl Lewis Building (renamed A.F. Gray Hall in 1981) became the women’s dormitory and initially accommodated 84 women and one matron. The Pearl Lewis Building also housed an old-style switchboard which was the last surviving true switchboard in Portland. Its basement was used as the cafeteria until 2008.

The 1950s

• 1952: The college had its first choir tour. Venturing out in a restored school bus, the choir traveled to Anderson, IN.
• November 24, 1954: The newly built Otto F. Linn Library was dedicated. When Pearl Lewis saw the college’s need for a library, she asked Dr. Gray if she might supervise its operation. Dr. Gray gladly consented. After many years of hoping and praying, construction began on a new library building. When the Otto F. Linn Library was completed, students moved the books from Old Main to Otto F. Linn library by passing stacks of books from person to person as they stood shoulder to shoulder in a line from Old Main to the library. With its dedication, N. Pearl Lewis’ dream of an expanded library was fulfilled, and in 1963 she became the college’s first recognized librarian.
• 1955: PBC held its first Harvest Ingathering. Congregations from the Church of God in both Oregon and Washington gathered, and students collected more than 15 tons of donated food. The college celebrated with a bar-b-que by digging a hole near the gym and roasting a side of beef. L.T. Flint (a retired minister) and his wife, Helen, cooked the food. Following the bar-b-que, the choir performed under the direction of Dr. Sykes.
• August 4, 1956: Excavation on a men’s dormitory began at PBC. The new hall was dedicated during the annual Harvest Ingathering.
• 1956: PBC increased in diversity. Warner World News reported “26 states and 6 countries represented at Pacific Bible College.”
• November 1956: PBC constructed a 15×60 foot food storage building with a walk-in refrigerator which increased storage capacity to a total of 100 feet in length.
• July 1, 1957: After 20 years of service to the college, Dr. A.F Gray retired as president and moved to Africa for a year at the request of the Missionary Board. Milo Chapman became the college’s second president.
• March 1958: Construction for the gymnasium began. The $250,000 construction project was largely sponsored by the Church of God Ministries.
• 1959: The College changed its name to Warner Pacific College.

The 1960s

• December 1961: Warner Pacific College was accredited by the Northwest Association of secondary and higher schools.
• 1961: Warner Pacific Joined NAIA: Through the direction of the administration and the agreement with the athletic department program, membership was applied for and received in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics. The purpose of the NAIA is to provide championships and financial aid opportunities for student-athletes at colleges with moderate enrollment. The NAIA is an active national organization which also sets rules and standards by which competition and solutions to vital athletic problems are regulated. Basic to the NAIA Program is the premise that athletics must be an integral part of the overall educational process, and must contribute in a meaningful degree to that process.
• 1962: Louis F. Gough became the President of Warner Pacific College and served until 1966.
• March 1, 1963: N. Pearl Lewis was hired as the first librarian at WPC. Born and raised in Minnesota-Miss Lewis’ father died when she was just a young girl, so her mother taught school and made a living for her children; two girls and a boy. She taught school and retired with a pension. She took her money and went to Anderson College-she then served as a minister in Montana for several years. She returned to Bertha, Minnesota, and served as assistant pastor until 1940. Miss Lewis was then invited to come to Warner Pacific College by Dr. A.F Gray. She originally joined the college as an English teacher before becoming its first librarian. Miss. Lewis’ service to the library and college was recognized by naming the women’s dorms in her honor.
• 1964: A new sign was built on SE 68th and Division.
• Fall 1964: In the fall of 1961 WPC was granted its first accreditation for two years. In 1963 accreditation was extended an additional year. Following an evaluation visit from the Northwest Association, the college was highly commended for the high morale among faculty and students, its improved facilities and increase in library holdings, and its expansion of academic programs.
• December 7, 1964: Warner Pacific College achieved full accreditation by the action of the Northwest Association of Secondary and Higher schools at the annual meeting of the Association held in Portland, OR.
• May 9, 1965: Warner Pacific College made plans to open dorms. A new, four-floor co-educational dormitory at Warner Pacific College was dedicated May 30, 1965. The building was named in honor of Lillian Odell Smith, whose family had recently contributed $150,000 to the college. At the time, it was the largest single gift in the history of Warner Pacific College. The facility housed 84 students and two resident supervisors.
• May 19, 1965: Lloyd E. Whelchel, professor of sociology at Warner Pacific College was one of 40 college professors selected throughout the nation to receive National Science Foundation scholarships for the study of anthropology. The scholarship included a $750 cash grant plus travel and other related expenses. Prof. Whelchel attended the Summer Institute of Anthropology at the University of Colorado, Boulder. The 10-week study for the college anthropologists included the most important recent developments in the field and new teaching methods. Six weeks of the study was devoted to different aspects of the anthropological subject matter.
• June 6, 1965: Governor Mark Hatfield was the commencement speaker for Warner Pacific College at the college’s twenty-seventh graduation exercises. Governor Hatfield was awarded an honorary doctor of humanities degree by the college at the same time. Thirty-one students received bachelor’s degrees.
• July 4, 1965: Dr. Kenneth L. Crose, chairman of the department of church history, received a New York University fellowship to study that summer in Israel.
• October 16, 1965: “Nearly 200 students attend WPC first ever school social” – Warner World News
• 1965-66: The Cheer Team was known for their “pom-pom pass” to the music of On Wisconsin in the C.C. Perry Gymnasium.
• 1966: Dr. E. Joe Gilliam was named as WPC’s fourth president and served until 1979.
• 1966: The Music Department received the gift of Mrs. Otto F. Linn’s piano. The gift was made possible by Mr. and Mrs. A.J. Schlatter of Seattle, Washington.
• 1966: Warner Pacific Boys Basketball won the W.C.C.C Championship.
• 1966: Crowned WPC’s first Homecoming Queen: Carol Kuykendall-Walters.
• 1967: The Christones toured the country, performing music and drama.
• Spring 1969: A new science building opened for classes. It included improved science lab facilities as well as additional classrooms.
• 1969: The Old Main building was demolished. Students held a “funeral” for the stately old place wearing black armbands “in memorial.” Schlatter Chapel now stands near that spot.

The 1970s

• April 23, 1970: Clay Meyers, Oregon’s nineteenth Secretary of State, was the featured speaker at the joint regional Circle K and Kiwanis clubs banquet at Warner Pacific College. The WPC Music department provided entertainment as well as the WPC choir.
• Fall 1975: Robert E. McNair was the guest Convocation speaker.
• February 11-14, 1975: Patricia Ann Goldman, a legislative consultant in the nation’s capital visited WPC and spoke highly of the campus and its students.”
• October 7, 1975: The world’s greatest violinist, Endre Granat, played at Warner Pacific College.
• 1976: 1976: Several of Warner Pacific College’s Black students joined together to start the college’s first club–the Concerned Black Students Club (C.B.S). Its co-founder, Tim Akers, stated, “although the club is open to the 15 black students who attend WPC, the club is willing to help anyone in need.”
• May 1976: President Gerald Ford gave the commencement address for Warner Pacific’s graduation ceremony.
• November 8, 1979: The WPC faculty approved the Center for Human Services’ proposal to offer a new major in Social Work.
• November 9, 1979: Intel Corporation donated a computer terminal to WPC. Bill Hall, a WPC student employed at Intel, developed the relationship and facilitated the donation. A related grant from Fred Meyer enabled the college to purchase additional equipment, making the terminal available to all WPC students, staff and faculty to use.
• Milo L. Chapman served as president from 1979-1981.

The 1980s

• April 24, 1980: “The Warner campus has developed a new kind of junkie. The days of drug addicts are over and the days of food junkies are barely hanging on, but video mania has just begun. The real video game junkies play every day. When asked if he ever feels like he ever spends too much, Keith Henry, an avid player says “Always. But what’s money for?” Henry said, “it’s the spirit, the joy of competition. It’s man against machine, flesh against the components,” according to Warner World News.
• Spring 1981: College honored alumnus Dr. Marshall K. Christensen in prestigious inauguration as the fifth president of WPC. Christensen served as president until 1996.
• October 23, 1981: Dedication of the administration building as A.F. Gray Hall
• 1981-82: Planting an “Oak of Righteousness” tree on campus became part of the entering student welcome tradition.
• 1981-82: Warner Pacific was accepted as a member of the Christian College Consortium.
• 1981-82: Dr. Joyce Erickson was named Dean of the Faculty, replacing Dr. Lou Foltz who returned to full time teaching.
• 1982: WPC NCCAA Volleyball District 2 Champions.
• 1984: WPC NCCAA Regional Basketball Champs 1983.
• 1984-85: Oregon’s Teacher Standards and Practices Commission (TSPC) affirmed its certification of the teacher education program, directed by Professor Ed Whitehead.  Special praise was given to the quality of faculty and students in the program.
• 1985-86: The Mack and Irene Caldwell Award was presented to former Congress member, Edith Green, for her work with Portland’s street children.
• 1985-86: The Men’s residence hall was remodeled and renamed, Warman Hall.
• 1985-86: The men’s soccer team took the NAIA District II championship for the fourth year in a row.
• 1986-86: Under the inspired leadership of junior class member Walter Ghant, the College named one of its married student apartments “Bethlehem Inn, a temporary shelter for Portland’s homeless families.
• 1987-88: The College launched a Degree Completion Program for working adults, based upon the successful model of Spring Arbor College in Michigan.
• October 1987: David Schlatter received the very first $1000 Fellow’s Scholarship. This group later became known as the Torchbearers.
• On August 6, 1988: Warner Pacific College entered an agreement with Amvic, a Japanese educational enterprise [later known as GEOS] to develop the potential of an Asian Cultural Center in the Warner Pacific College academic program.
• Fall 1988: First Degree Completion Program business administration cohort was recruited and classes began.
• 1988-99: Rev. Gladion Carney was appointed Dean of the Chapel
• 1988-89: Ed Whitehead was named Dean of Faculty. Arthur Kelly was appointed Administrative Vice President.
• 1988-89: The Commission on Social Concerns of the Church of God conferred its “Institutional Award” on Warner Pacific College for its Bethlehem Inn program with homeless families.

The 1990s

• October 25, 1990: The ground-breaking ceremony for the Schlatter Memorial Chapel was held.
• 1990-91: Dr. Dwight Kimberly took portable biological lab equipment and programs into 27 Portland area schools.
• 1990: The Human Development program is implemented in the Degree Completion Program.
• 1990-91: As a demonstration of its commitment to budget control and avoid further indebtedness, the Board of Trustees authorized program restructuring and reductions, including the elimination of intercollegiate athletics.
• 1990-91: Teacher Education expanded to include certification in elementary education as well as an early childhood education endorsement.
• 1991: The board of Trustees approved a cooperative agreement with Mercy Corps International which linked Warner Pacific with Christian community development programs and people around the world.
• 1992-93: H.A. Schlatter Memorial Prayer Chapel was completed and dedicated during the West Coast Ministerial Assembly of the Church of God. This was the first new building on campus in 18 years.
• 1992-93: The Office of the Provost was created for the purpose of unifying academic administration and the executive vice president.
• 1994-95: Enrollment reached a historic high (692 students); tuition revenue reached a historic high ($4,250,000); new book acquisitions for the library collection reached a historic high.
• 1995-96: Having served three, five year terms as president, Dr. Christensen announced that he would not seek another term. After fifteen years in office, he accepted the appointment of Provost of East Kazakhstan State University, Ust-Kamenogorsk, Kazakhstan.
• Jesse (Jay) A. Barber was appointed as the sixth president of Warner Pacific College. He served until 2008.
• 1999: Bart Valentine returns to his alma mater to begin work on reestablishing athletics at Warner Pacific College.

The 2000s

• 2004-05: The Degree Completion Program (DCP) changed its name to the Adult Degree Program (ADP).
• 2005-06: WPC leased Center 205 for additional ADP office space and classrooms.
• 2006-07: ADP developed its first graduate program (Masters in Management and Organizational Leadership).
• 2007: The College retired its institutional debt, and for the first time in its 70 year history, is completely debt free.
• 2008-09: The College restructured its tuition and financial aid programs, resulting in a 23 percent reduction in the cost of tuition and fees for the 2008-09 academic year.
• 2008-09: WPC embarked on a $5.5 million campus commons project on the College’s main campus.
• May 2008: President Barber announced his retirement from the presidency of WPC, and was named President Emeritus in recognition of his vital service to the College.
• September 20, 2009: Dr. Andrea Cook was inaugurated as WPC’s seventh and first female, president.

The 2010s

• US News & World Report: Best Colleges 2011, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019 Regional West
• 2012-13: Warner Pacific College celebrated its 75th Anniversary at Homecoming in February, celebrating over 39 million moments in the life of the college.
• 2013: WPC was awarded the CCCU Andringa Award for Advancing Racial Harmony.
• 2014: Warner Pacific ranked 48th in the nation on the Washington Monthly’s Baccalaureate Colleges list.
• Fall 2014: WPC welcomed the largest incoming class of traditional undergraduate students.
• 2014-15: WPC reestablished men’s wrestling and was the first in the Cascade Collegiate Conference to start women’s wrestling.
• 2014-15: WPC launched online programs through the Adult Degree Program.
• 2015: The M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust awarded a $71,000 grant to establish an educational technology design lab.
• 2016: IFC Original Productions used the WPC campus to film parts of Portlandia.
• January 30, 2018: “Waltz Through Warner Pacific” was added to geocaching.com. Take a stroll through campus and search for answers to find the coordinates of the hidden cache.
• 2018: Warner Pacific College changed its name to Warner Pacific University to reflect the growth and development it experienced in the scope of programs offered.
• 2018: The Oregon State Board of Nursing approved Warner Pacific University’s Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree.
• 2018: WPU became the first federally-recognized Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) of higher education in Oregon with 65% minority students.
• 2018: WPU welcomed Pacific International Academy (PIA) to campus to teach English language classes for international students.
• 2019: The M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust awarded a $350,000 grant to Warner Pacific University’s Nursing Program.

The 2020s

• US News & World Report: Best Colleges 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024 Regional West
• August 1, 2020: Dr. Brian L. Johnson became the eighth and first minority president in Warner Pacific University’s 83-year history.
• Fall 2023: The U.S. Department of Education awarded a five-year, $3 million grant to further develop Warner Pacific University as a Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI).
• Fall 2023: WPU established an Esports team. The team won the Fall 2023 NAC Esports West Central 3 Conference Championship.
• 2024: Warner Pacific University opened the Center for Academic Success and Achievement (CASA).
• Fall 2024: The U.S. Department of Education awarded a five-year, $3.2 million grant to increase and retain well-prepared instructors from diverse backgrounds. The money will be used to increase the number of fully certified bilingual and multilingual instructors.
• Fall 2024: WPU athletics reestablished baseballl.
• June 2025: Douglas S. Wade was appointed interim president.
• Fall 2025: WPU athletics reestablished cross country, track, and men’s golf.

Past Presidents

Pacific Bible College

• Dr. A. F. Gray (1937 – 1957)
• Rev. Dr. Milo L. Chapman (1957 – 1959)

Warner Pacific College

• Rev. Dr. Milo L. Chapman (1959 – 1962)
• Rev. Dr. Louis F. Gough (1962 – 1966)
• Dr. E. Joe Gilliam (1966 – 1979)
• Rev. Dr. Milo L. Chapman (1979 – 1981)
• Dr. Marshall K. Christensen (1981 – 1996)
• Rev. Dr. Jay A. Barber (1996 – 2008)
• Dr. Andrea P. Cook (2008 – 2018)

Warner Pacific University

• Dr. Andrea P. Cook (2018 – 2020)
• Dr. Brian L. Johnson (2020 – 2025)