Four Pacific University graduates pose in caps, gowns and leis with their diploma covers

Empower

From our earliest days, Pacific University has been defined by the people who learn, teach, and grow here. Through the Empower pillar of our strategic plan, we are committing to a culture where every student is equipped with the tools to succeed, every employee is valued and supported, and every community member finds a true place of belonging.

Moonshot

From Opportunity To Impact

By 2030, Pacific University will be recognized as an “Opportunity University,” ensuring that every student — undergraduate and graduate — graduates with the skills, experiences, wellbeing, and confidence to thrive.  Through high-access, high-impact learning and personalized support, Pacific will turn opportunity into measurable, long-term impact. We will know this transformation is achieved when every graduate completes a career-connected experience; students receive individualized life-design coaching; time- and cost-to-degree decrease; alumni career placement and earnings rise; and Pacific attains Health-Promoting University recognition with marked gains in wellbeing and belonging. 

Students listen to a lecture in Taylor Auditorium at Pacific University

Be A Best-In-Class University For Learning

By transforming Pacific’s academic structure, learning supports, and career advising, we will ensure that every student, regardless of program or background, has robust opportunities to develop not only subject expertise, but also the wellbeing, soft skills and real-world experience to uplift their academic and career goals. 
 

Key Initiatives & Priorities

  • Career-Connected Pathways: Reorganizing academic units into interdisciplinary pathways and embedding career preparation into curricula. Every student will complete at least one applied experiential opportunity—such as an internship, clinical placement, research project, study away, immersive winter term module, on-campus work study, or outside job placement.  
  • Accelerated & Flexible Learning Tracks: Launching 3-year undergraduate degree options to reduce the time and cost required to graduate while boosting median alumni earnings.  
  • Pacific Priority Cohorts: Structuring dedicated cohort pathways for the Pacific Priority program to strengthen early academic transitions and student retention.  
  • Reimagined Career Coaching: Establishing a modern career center that delivers hands-on, personalized life-design and career coaching for all students and alumni.  
  • Micro-Credentials & Graduate Footprint: Offering targeted, stackable skill-based certificates to complement traditional degrees while expanding Pacific’s healthcare footprint through graduate and continuing education.  
  • Inclusive & Health-Promoting Campus: Adopting the Okanagan Charter to integrate health and wellbeing into all aspects of campus life, alongside specialized support systems and adaptive learning tools to position Pacific as a designated Autism-Inclusive campus.  
  • Student Well-Being & Athletics: Growing club sports, intramurals, outdoor activities, and activity/wellness courses to advance student belonging and engagement for non-varsity and varsity athletes alike.  

Pacific employees cheer for each other during a community celebration

Be A Great Place To Work

By attracting, developing, and retaining mission-driven employees who find purpose in student success, we will create a workplace where people thrive because their work matters. When faculty and staff are supported, valued, and empowered to lead with care and creativity, our students benefit through stronger teaching, mentorship, and service. Together, we will build a culture where employee wellbeing and student achievement advance hand in hand.

Key Initiatives & Priorities

Professional & Leadership Development: Expanding professional development opportunities through an academic academy focused on leadership and management, a Faculty Excellence Center supporting all career stages, and platforms like LinkedIn Learning.  

  • Staff Competency Pathways: Advancing high-impact, competency-driven professional development strategies and opportunities tailored for staff level employees.  
  • Inclusive Hiring & Search Advocates: Developing employee search processes and training search advocates to ensure diverse and highly qualified talent applicant pools.  
  • Competitive Compensation & Retention: Aligning hiring, promotion, and engagement structures while using market data to provide competitive total compensation packages that retain high-performing team members.  
  • Community Resources & Conflict Resolution: Launching an ombuds program for confidential, neutral conflict resolution and establishing cost-efficient language access services to foster community.

Family members help an audiology student don her white coat during a ceremony

Champion Diversity, Opportunity & Access

By ensuring that support reaches those who need it most, we will prioritize affordability, equity, and opportunity — so that every student who is ready to learn can afford to thrive and every employee knows they are valued, respected, and supported at Pacific.

  • Shifting Aid Models: Transitioning institutional aid from merit-based to need-based over time, supported by temporary endowment payout increases to minimize enrollment loss and close affordability gaps.  
  • Targeted Scholarship Support: Expanding graduate student aid — particularly for fields with high program costs and lower post-graduation earnings — and increasing direct aid for first-generation, low-income, and historically underserved students.  
  • Proactive Early Warning Systems: Integrating academic, career, and financial support systems while leveraging data and AI early warning systems to identify and support at-risk students.  
  • Mentorship & ROI Analysis: Conducting long-term ROI analyses across undergraduate, accelerated, and graduate degrees, underpinned by a network of culturally informed mentorships and professional development partnerships.
'Empower' In Action