Lewis & Clark College

Like many modern American universities, the institution that would eventually become Lewis & Clark was initially intended to provide secondary as well as higher education for a specific religious community, in this case Presbyterian pioneers in Oregon's Willamette Valley. The Presbyterian church incorporated "Albany Academy" in 1858.

Within a decade of its founding, Albany Academy began to focus more exclusively on higher education, changing its official name to the "Albany Collegiate Institution" in 1866. Lewis & Clark's official founding date comes from the current charter, which has been legally valid since the Presbyterian church reincorporated the Albany Collegiate Institution as "Albany College" in 1867. Unlike most Oregon colleges of the pioneer era, the college has been co-educational since the first class, which graduated in 1873. The early campus of seven acres (2.8 ha) in Albany was situated on land donated by the Monteith family. In 1892, the original school building was enlarged, and in 1925 the school relocated south of Albany, where it remained until 1937.

Albany College established a junior college to the north in Portland in 1934, with the entire school moving to Portland in 1939. The former campus grounds later became home to the federal government's Albany Research Center. In 1942, the college trustees acquired the Lloyd Frank (of the historic Portland department store Meier & Frank) "Fir Acres" estate in South Portland and the school name was changed to Lewis & Clark College.

In February 2026, the college revealed the final design for and officially changed their mascot to the River Otter. The change came as a result of indifferent feedback about the previous mascot, "Pio" the Newfoundland, which prompted the search for a new mascot in late 2024. A survey of eight potential mascots were sent to students, alumni & trustees, and employees, of which 6.4k voted. The River Otter was chosen, being the top choice for all three voting groups. The final design for the mascot was designed in collaboration with the locally based advertising firm Wieden + Kennedy.