Hillsboro Sensory Room Launch!

The Pacific University Libraries and Student Counseling Center, with the support of the Vice Provost of the College of Health Professions, are excited to announce the launch of the Hillsboro Sensory Room. The Hillsboro Sensory Room is located on the second floor of Creighton Hall in the Library and is available! This brings the sensory rooms on both campuses online!

Pacific University believes that education should be accessible to everyone and is investing in the tools to make education more accessible to autistic and neurodivergent students. The rooms are thoughtfully designed reservable spaces with lights, sounds, textures, and objects to provide calming or stimulating sensory environments.

The rooms are available for all students, staff, and faculty at Pacific and are reservable through the Libraries’ room reservation system (Reserve FG Room). During the initial rollout, each individual may reserve a room for one hour per day, seven days a week.

The sensory rooms at Pacific were brought to life through the capstone project of recent alumna Nicollet Young OT ’25, who developed the implementation plan as part of her Doctor of Occupational Therapy degree. While the need for sensory-supportive spaces has long been recognized, Nicollet’s work provided the structure and momentum to move the vision into action, creating a meaningful experiential learning opportunity with lasting impact for students.

These new spaces also reflect Pacific’s broader commitment to neurodivergent inclusion through our participation in the College Autism Network’s Autism-Inclusive Campus Pilot Project, a national initiative supporting institutions in creating environments where autistic and neurodivergent students can thrive. Pacific is one of seven universities selected for this pilot.

We hope that you are able to make use of these new spaces and also encourage you to share the availability of this resource with other campus community members.