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The earliest contact lenses were made of glass and could be worn only for a few hours at a time. Today’s contact lenses are engineering marvels, and Pacific’s College of Optometry is at the vanguard of contact lens research and design.

The remarkable Newton Wesley ’39, Hon. ’86, born Newton Uyesugi to immigrant parents, was a founding father of the College of Optometry. Forced from his home by Japanese-American internment policy during World War II, Wesley nevertheless laid the foundation for the College of Optometry and became a giant in the field of contact lenses.

The optometry program launched at Pacific in 1945 as a result of a combination of postwar challenges and unexpected opportunities. The needs of a small, temporarily shuttered optometry college in Northeast Portland helped meet the demands of a university that had limped through the war years. The outcome was the beginning of Pacific’s focus on the health professions.

Willard “Wid” Bleything ’51, OD ’52, MS ’54 earned three degrees from �鶹Ӱ�� on his way to becoming an optometrist. He served in the Air Force and Air Reserves, retiring as a colonel, and he also worked in private practice for many years before eventually returning to Pacific, where he became the dean of the College of Optometry.

Debra Gwartney on how a blending of genres benefits students and faculty alike.

Kellie Wells considers the mysterious transformation that happens throughout the program.

August is National Crayon Collection Month, and Pacific is proud to celebrate its connection to the roots of Crayola.

Chris Abani on the unique opportunity offered by Pacific's low-residency MFA.

Kwame Dawes on the relationship between your writing and your life.

Marvin Bell says reading makes you a bigger and better writer.

Biology Professor Paige Baugher is almost as likely to be found on a mountain as in the classroom. And some people are alive because she and her colleagues at Portland Mountain Rescue were there.

Pete Fromm, as a reader and teacher, looks for worlds and cultures outside his own.