Pacific University President John F. Dobbs Records, 1929-1940

John Francis Dobbs served as the President of Pacific University from 1924-1940. Entering his office at a time of financial difficulties for the university, he spent much of his time in office trying to raise funds.

Before coming to Pacific University, Dobbs had been a Congregationalist minister in Malden, Massachusetts. Upon arriving in Forest Grove, he embarked on an ambitious campaign to raise funds for the endowment, increase tuition rates and construct a new science building. Although the latter goal was not achieved until after his term in office, he did succeed in the first two goals. Despite the severe financial problems of the Great Depression in the 1930s, Dobbs was able to eliminate a $40,000 institutional debt, leaving the University with a $300,000 endowment at the end of his presidency. He increased enrollment to an all-time high of 348 students, stemmed the attrition rate of upperclassmen, and raised tuition by 50%.

The above information is drawn from Gary Miranda and Rick Read's Splendid Audacity: The Story of Pacific University (Seattle: 2000).