This exhibit features a small collection of pictures, articles from the Pacific Index newspaper, and university documents which offer a brief snapshot into the often hidden history of women of color at Pacific. While there is a distinct history of women at Pacific since its founding, the stories and experience of women of color remained under the surface until the second half of the twentieth century. This collection represents an attempt to get a varied perspective on the lives of women of color using evidence from a variety of sources.

Two yearbook photos provide some detail about the college experiences of Paulette Owens and Madeleine Yamane who were likely the first African-American and Japanese-American women to graduate, respectively. Two newspaper articles share context on the racial climate at Pacific over time, and a photo shows the early stages of a relationship between Pacific University and Hawaii, which would become the largest source of minority students in the last few decades of the twentieth century. Finally, the collection features a trio of Pacific University self-accreditation studies which offer some official detail on University goals and statistics related to the racial and ethnic mixture of the student body.