University of the Pacific, California's oldest university, celebrates 175th birthday
California's oldest university marked a major milestone on Friday.
The University of the Pacific (UOP) in Stockton was founded on July 10, 1851, and celebrated its 175th birthday.
A celebration was held on campus Friday afternoon, complete with balloons, birthday cake, singing and lots of gratitude from students, alumni, staff and university leaders.
"This is a great day. We are celebrating our birthday, our 175th birthday, as California's first and oldest university," said Christopher Callahan, president of UOP.
The institution has been educating students for nearly two centuries and was founded just 10 months after California became a state.
"175, which is not too far from America's 250th. It's crazy to imagine that UOP opened just 75 years after our country," said alumna Yna Gonzales.
For some students and staff, UOP's history is what brought them to the Stockton campus.
"One of the things that drew me here was its long-standing history. It's not only the first university, but also the first university that admitted women in the state of California. I'm so happy to be a part of the celebration of continued diversity," said Dr. Blair Simmons, a staff psychologist.
Among its most significant milestones, UOP opened the first medical school on the West Coast in 1858, which is now Stanford Medicine. It is also home to the first conservatory of music and was the first co-ed university in the West.
Today, UOP is also preparing to open a new school of medicine in Stockton, the Central Valley's first.
"Our history, it's interesting. It's really highlighted by innovations," Callahan said.
UOP is also highlighted in Hollywood with a host of movies filmed on campus, including in the Indiana Jones franchise. UOP is pictured multiple times as the fictitious Marshall College, where Jones taught archeology.
More recently, the new HBO series "Rooster" starring Steve Carell was filmed across campus.
UOP has about 7,000 students enrolled across its campuses in Stockton, Sacramento and San Francisco.
