Portal:Oregon/Selected article/10

Willamette University is a private institution of higher learning located in Salem, Oregon. Founded in 1842, it is the oldest university in the western United States. Willamette has approximately 2,500 students in four schools, the undergraduate College of Liberal Arts, the graduate level College of Law, Atkinson Graduate School of Management, and the School of Education. The campus is located on 69 acres (250,000 m²) directly south of the Oregon State Capitol. Buildings on campus include Eaton Hall, Smullin/Walton Hall, Collins Hall, Olin Hall, G. Herbert Smith Auditorium, the Fine Arts building, the Hatfield Library, the Mary Stuart Rogers auditorium, Putnam University Center, Gatke Hall, Lausanne Hall, Goudy Commons, Kaneko Commons and Willamette's oldest building, Waller Hall. The university is a NCAA Division III school with the Bearcat as mascot. The university was founded as the Oregon Institute in the days of the Oregon Country by the missionary Jason Lee, who had arrived in the territory in 1834. On February 1, 1842, by-laws were adopted, a board of trustees was elected and thus the school was officially established. The original building of the institute was a three-story frame structure first occupied in 1844. At the time, it was one of the largest structures in the Pacific Northwest. It housed the first session of the state legislature to meet in Salem after the capital was moved there in 1851. The name of institution was changed to "Wallamet University" in 1852.