About Lewis & Clark

On 137 deeply wooded acres in Portland's southwest hills, the next generation of global thinkers and leaders gathers to discard conventional thinking, civic complacency, and outmoded preconceptions. They gather to explore new ways of knowing through classic liberal learning and innovative collaboration.

At Lewis & Clark, we welcome all who are alive to inquiry, open to diversity, and eager to shape life in an interdependent world. We pursue baccalaureate studies in the arts, humanities, and sciences, and graduate and professional studies in education, counseling, and law. We pursue original research, interdisciplinary studies, and community service. We push beyond what is known in order to discover something new every day. We do all of this and more so that we may change the world in ways yet unknown.

It is a powerful force, education. All who gather here --students, teachers, mentors, staff, alumni, donors, friends--know that education transforms lives and reforms societies. That is the promise we make. To fulfill that promise through lives of knowledge and purpose, to continue always to explore, to learn, and to serve: This is why agile minds come to Lewis & Clark. They come to learn. They come to lead.

Schools

Lewis & Clark is a private institution with a public conscience, a residential campus with global reach. Our unmatched setting, proximity to a progressive urban center, and Pacific Northwest heritage combine to offer all who teach, study, or work here a deep sense of place and broad opportunities for reflection, renewal, and recreation.

In all our endeavors and throughout our three schools, we vigorously pursue the aims of all liberal learning: to seek knowledge for its own sake and to strengthen civic leadership. Our highly interactive communities of learning challenge us all to connect ideas, reasoning, and thoughtful expression with lives of service as citizens of the world.

College of Arts and Sciences—undergraduate courses of study leading to bachelor of arts (At a Glance) (Website)

Graduate School of Education and Counseling—graduate and professional courses of study leading to professional certification, licensure, master of arts, master of arts in teaching, master of education, master of science, education specialist, doctor of education (At a Glance) (Website)

School of Law—graduate and professional courses of study leading to professional certification, juris doctor, master of laws (At a Glance) (Website)

History

Founded as Albany Collegiate Institute in 1867, the institution moved to the former Lloyd Frank estate in Portland's southwest hills in 1942, taking the name Lewis & Clark College. In 1965 Northwestern College of Law merged with Lewis & Clark. Today the School of Law enjoys national distinction and international recognition. In 1984 graduate programs in education and counseling psychology were consolidated into a school now named the Graduate School of Education and Counseling. Read more about the history of Lewis & Clark.

Diversity and Multiculturalism

Lewis & Clark celebrates and advances its commitment to diversity and multicultural perspectives through a variety of academic and administrative outreach programs and resources. We are dedicated to creating and sustaining a campus culture that welcomes and respects diversity’s many forms and expressions. Affirming our institutional commitment, we have established diversity as an explicit educational goal. The Educational Benefits of Diversity.

Campus

137 acres in a wooded, residential area six miles from downtown Portland, Oregon, with Pacific Ocean 80 miles to the west and Mount Hood and Cascade Mountains 50 miles to the east. Take a virtual tour of campus.

Libraries

Aubrey R. Watzek Library: More than 730,000 items including books, documents, audiovisual materials, microforms, and periodicals. Most extensive collection of printed materials known to exist on the Lewis and Clark Expedition. Library open 24 hours on weekdays during fall and spring semesters.

Paul L. Boley Law Library: Largest law library in Oregon and second largest in the Northwest; only law school library in the nation designated as a federal patent and trademark depository. More than 500,000 volumes. Reference and attorney services and interlibrary loan.

Athletics

Member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division III and the Northwest Conference. Lewis & Clark Athletics.

Technology

Academic and administrative computers and a campuswide network that connects all institutionally available computing resources including all residence halls. Computers available 24 hours a day in the library at no cost to students. Round-the-clock access through computer labs to campus software, e-mail, printers, and peripherals. High-speed direct Internet access from all computer labs and residence halls. Ever-expanding wireless network access available in Watzek Library, Boley Law Library, and other public spaces on campus.

Gallery

Ronna and Eric Hoffman Gallery of Contemporary Art: emphasizing work at the forefront of the contemporary tradition. Mounts four exhibitions annually.

Environmental Benchmarks

2003: First campus in nation to comply with greenhouse gas emissions targets called for in Kyoto Protocol.

2004: Received Portland General Electric's second annual Green Power Leadership Award.

2005: Roberts Residence Hall, completed in 2003, awarded LEED v2 Silver certification by the U.S. Green Building Council for environmentally sustainable design and construction.

2005: First private institution in Oregon to sign the International Talloires Declaration of Sustainability.

2005: John R. Howard Hall, dedicated on Earth Day 2005, awarded LEED Gold certification by the U.S. Green Building Council for environmentally sustainable design and construction.