Over the last 15 years, Pacific University alumnus Bruce Bishop ’68 has become synonymous with the legacy of the university’s cherished mascot, Boxer.
The 60-pound Chinese bronze qilin statue, originally known as College Spirit, was part of a legendary campus tradition where student groups would hide, “flash,” and scramble for possession of Boxer. The tradition came to a sudden halt when the statue disappeared in 1969, just a year after it became the official university mascot.
Piqued by a desire to return “College Spirit” — if not the chaotic brawls — to a new generation of students, Bishop has devoted hundreds of hours to having the statue recast, and then hours more to research that resulted in the return of the original statue after a 55-year absence.
It’s just one of several ways Bishop has worked to uphold the legacy of his alma mater — work that has earned Bishop the Alumni Association’s 2026 David & Sandy Lowe Outstanding Alumni Service Award, honoring alumni for significant contributions of time, service and talents to Pacific throughout the years.
It may come as a surprise that Bishop — unofficial historian and caretaker of the mascot legacy — didn’t have his own personal ties to Boxer during his student days. The closest he came was at a Gamma Sigma dinner dance, where he and his now wife, Judy (Engdahl ’68) had their picture taken with the statue.
“The fraternity had it. I know people who had it,” Bishop said. “But I never possessed it or took it anywhere.”
As he approached his 50th reunion, though, he was inspired to try to restore the legacy to campus.
“For some reason, getting Boxer back to bolster college spirit became more important,” Bishop recalled. “There had been 50 years of expecting Boxer’s reappearance, but it hadn’t happened.”
In 2017, Bishop spearheaded an effort to recast Boxer for the reunion. Bishop not only led the fundraising effort but tracked down the sculptor who created Boxer II. (The first replacement statue was cast in 1982, but like the original, it went missing in 2008. Its location remains unknown.)
The sculptor, Pat Costello, created Boxer III, the newest representation of the mascot, which was unveiled at Homecoming 2018, in conjunction with Bishop’s 50th reunion year.
From there, Bishop dove into finding the original Boxer. Through research, connections, and a bit of luck, his legwork helped return the statue to the university in February 2024. Bishop joined the Pacific contingent who traveled to Southern California to take possession of the long-lost mascot.
“Bruce’s creative and relentless activism on behalf of Pacific’s beloved Boxer mascot is unparalleled,” wrote fellow alumnus Frank Baldwin ’67, in a letter supporting Bishop’s award nomination. “Bruce never gave up the search for new leads, connections and information regarding the unknown location of the original.”
