School History

On this date in 1943, University of Portland students, faculty, and staff gathered at Union Station to see 52 of the University’s army enlisted reserve off to Fort Lewis, Washington for active duty.   The student band played “Anchors Aweigh” and “The Marine Hymn”, and many of the boys who sang with the gleemen were singing for the last time.  Rev. John Delaunay, C.S.C., Dean of Men, addressed the reservists with these words “Broadway will not be the same without you … your homes and school will not be the same without you.”
(The Beacon, March 19, 1943)

On January 24, 1951, the University of Portland opened all of its programs to women making the University fully co-educational.   When the University of Portland was founded in 1901, female students did not become part of the University’s history until 1934 when women were admitted to the College of Nursing.  In 1947 the University opened the School of Music to women, and they were also permitted to attend summer session classes in the College of Liberal Arts.  Fifty years after the doors were first opened to male students, the University changed its policy and opened all academic programs to women starting January 24, 1951.  There were 234 women enrolled the first few weeks: 139 in nursing; 72 in music; 17 in liberal arts; 4 in business administration; and 2 science.  With the University becoming fully co-educational, the first residence hall for women, Villa Maria, was built in 1957 and a second residence hall, Mehling Hall, opened in 1964.   Today the University has co-educational residence halls, two national championships titles for women’s soccer, and over fifty percent of women enrolled and excelling in all of its academic programs.

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