Uncovering George Fox University’s Quaker Heritage
Reported by Michael Nellis
Photography by Megan Stewart
Many students who come to George Fox University (GFU) have only a cursory knowledge of the school’s history. Perhaps they know that George Fox was the founder of Quakerism but are still unsure what Quakers believe. While the figures aren’t exact, only around 2% of the student population at GFU is Quaker.
Although GFU does offer a Quaker Studies minor and some Quaker texts are discussed in the Honors Program and elsewhere, should students be more aware of the school’s heritage? Does that heritage even apply to them?
George Fox began preaching Quakerism in England in the 1650s, emphasizing a direct experience with God and inner truths rather than established religion at the time. In 1885, Quaker settlers in the Willamette and Chehalem valleys began an academy for high school students, which in 1891 became Pacific College. Attendance was low and 80-90% Quaker—the college didn’t have over 700 students until 1980.
Levi Pennington, a former Quaker pastor, was president of the college between 1911 and 1941, and strove to make the school more than just a place for Quaker students. His vision was realized under the aggressive leadership of president Milo Ross in the 1950s and 1960s. The school was renamed George Fox College in 1949 and received accreditation in 1959.
“Pennington specifically said that Pacific College needed to branch out and serve widely,” said Phil Smith, a philosophy professor at GFU and former Friends pastor. “The vision’s been there for a hundred years, and it’s been effectively translated into action over the last 70 years.”
This developing vision has affected more than just the student population. “The number of faculty who are Friends is a fairly small minority,” Smith said. “That might be sad in some ways, but it’s part of the decision of the university. The Northwest Yearly Meeting of Friends is only about 5,000 people in three states. You don’t need much of a college to provide for the graduating high school class of 5,000 people.”
“A typical student coming here might say this is a Christian college, and that’s how we identify ourselves, because we’re trying to serve everybody,” Smith said. “Do most of our students agree with us? No, but that’s alright as long as they’re taking seriously the lordship of Christ, which is the central tenet of Quakers. Jesus is alive and He can speak to people, and that’s what we want our students to get. They can be whatever denomination they want.”
Smith also pointed out several reasons for students to investigate and be aware of GFU’s heritage. “There’s a certain number of students who are searching in their spiritual life and who would find themselves quite happy, identified, and nurtured in Friends churches. Purely academically, students ought to know more about our history in order to have a better understanding of higher education and of the Christian faith,” Smith said.
“Friends do not tend to be narrow, sectarian people,” Smith said. “They affirm the faith of many other people. We’ve always had the belief of equality, but now we’ve managed to actually have significant percentages of minority students on campus. That’s a tremendous accomplishment, and students should know that it’s rooted in Friends belief and not in some desire to conform to the latest political moves.”
If anyone is interested in further learning about the Friends heritage of the university, Ralph Beebe, a former history professor at GFU, wrote a book entitled “A Heritage to Honor, a Future to Fulfill” in 1991 for the 100th anniversary of the university.