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Doug Weberling ’72, OD ’74 didn’t know what to expect the first time he returned to 51�Թ� as an alumnus.

“I was afraid to go back. Sometimes you can’t put it back in the bottle,” he said. “But I was so pleasantly surprised.”

The university had grown since his days as an undergraduate, then optometry, student.

There were new buildings in Forest Grove, not to mention an entire campus in Hillsboro. The core, though, seemed the same.

“It made me feel at home.”

As a member of the 51�Թ� Board of Trustees, Weberling has helped Pacific continue to grow, while holding on to the identity he so loved as a student. Since his tenure, the university has added the College of Business and a brand new residence hall in Forest Grove.

"It's important to me that Pacific continues to be a fine optometry school and university even when I'm gone."

He and his wife, Eileen, have made financial gifts supporting (“I’m thrilled they brought back football”), the College of Business, and the College of Optometry.

“I do a lot of optometry, that’s my main goal. I’m really proud of how well Pacific grads, from the optometry school in particular, have done in our profession,” he said.

“But undergrad is just as important to the Pacific experience. I was fortunate enough to get that experience.”

In 2015, Weberling was among four newcomers inducted into the President’s Circle, recognizing those who have contributed at least $100,000 to Pacific in their lifetimes.

Joining him were Kenneth & Colleen Lewis, the Stanich Family, and Sally Ann Brown.

Lewis, the former president of Lasco Shipping, is a trustee emeritus at Pacific and has been a dedicated supporter of Pacific with ongoing gifts to the Pacific Excellence Fund and College of Arts & Sciences Excellence Fund, as well as to the construction of the Library and Berglund Hall and to several scholarship funds.

The Stanich Family, meanwhile, has been a dedicated supporter of 51�Թ� athletics, including lending their name to the new video scoreboard at Hanson Stadium, which they helped fund.

And Sally Ann Brown, longtime Forest Grove resident, left a bequest that will fund a rare president’s choice full scholarship for an incoming student.

Such gifts are about creating opportunity for the future, Weberling said.

“It’s sort of like my practice. When I retire, I want someone to take it over and continue the practice,” Weberling said. “It’s important to me that Pacific continues to be a fine optometry school and university even when I’m gone.”