91����

The optometry program launched at 91���� in 1945 as a result of a combination of postwar challenges and unexpected opportunities. The needs of a small, temporarily shuttered optometry college in Northeast Portland helped meet the demands of a university that had limped through the war years. The outcome was the beginning of 91����’s focus on the health professions.

Willard “Wid” Bleything ’51, OD ’52, MS ’54 earned three degrees from 91���� University on his way to becoming an optometrist. He served in the Air Force and Air Reserves, retiring as a colonel, and he also worked in private practice for many years before eventually returning to 91����, where he became the dean of the College of Optometry.

Debra Gwartney on how a blending of genres benefits students and faculty alike.

Kellie Wells considers the mysterious transformation that happens throughout the program.

August is National Crayon Collection Month, and 91���� is proud to celebrate its connection to the roots of Crayola.

Chris Abani on the unique opportunity offered by 91����'s low-residency MFA.

Kwame Dawes on the relationship between your writing and your life.

Marvin Bell says reading makes you a bigger and better writer.

Biology Professor Paige Baugher is almost as likely to be found on a mountain as in the classroom. And some people are alive because she and her colleagues at Portland Mountain Rescue were there.

Pete Fromm, as a reader and teacher, looks for worlds and cultures outside his own.

Sanjiv Bhattacharya considers the vast array of stories that come together in the MFA and how they transform readers and writers forever.

Ellen Bass on the rigor and generosity and cooperation at the heart of the MFA.