MCMINNVILLE, Ore. — Linfield College will now be Linfield University.
The school's Board of Trustees voted to approve the change Saturday. School officials said the transition will increase what Linfield offers to students but won't change the school.
"Linfield will change its name, but what won't change is what makes us special," said President Miles K. Davis. "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.
"What we're not doing is rejecting the past, but building toward a bright future," Davis said.
Linfield officials said the change will be fully implemented before the 2020 Fall semester.
The complete details of the transition will likely be voted on during the Board of Trustees meeting in May, according to school officials. New schools in nursing and business, and which master's degree programs the university will offer are under consideration.
LInfield was founded as the Baptist College at McMinnville in 1858. In 1883, the name was shortened to McMinnville College, and it became Linfield College in 1922.
The school said it conducted a recent survey of alumni and the support for changing from a college to a university was "overwhelming."
