In the 18 months since Norman Allen ’88, ’94 completed his service to University of the Pacific’s Board of Regents, he has continued to find new ways to make an impact.

The former board chair recently pledged $250,000 to create the Norman Allen Endowed Fellowship for COP to attract high-quality visiting professors to College of the Pacific. The fellowship specifically aims to bring additional expertise to enhance the student experience.

“I firmly believe that Pacific—the education I received and the experiences I had—changed my life, and that started at COP,” he said. “The thought of doing something philanthropically, that will benefit both the college and its students, just felt right.”

Allen’s gift will be doubled through the Powell Match program, ultimately creating a $500,000 endowment. The fellowship will support visiting faculty beginning fall 2026.

Allen believes passionately in Pacific’s liberal arts legacy and sees his gift as an investment in those who will shape and sustain this central piece of the university’s mission.

“The college is the core of the university and has been since the beginning, even as we’ve grown and expanded,” he said. “I want to support that core and make it as strong and vibrant as possible.”

College of the Pacific Dean Lee Skinner looks forward to brainstorming with her faculty the types of experiences the Allen Fellowship might enable, including short-term appointments, specialty courses or partnerships with other universities. This gift, she said, will expand opportunities for all students to explore big ideas and to think differently about the world and their place in it.

A named fellowship, she adds, will elevate Pacific’s reputation in academic circles, making the university even more attractive to outstanding teachers and scholars.

“Norm’s gift is really exciting for us. It will allow our students to see the possibilities in the disciplines and will show them how, like them, our faculty and academic departments go through processes of growth and evolution,” she said. “Students will see us being open to new things, and I hope that helps them to also be open to new experiences, both here in their classes and in their lives and careers after graduation.”

Allen graduated from College of the Pacific with a bachelor’s degree in political science and communication and earned his Juris Doctor at the McGeorge School of Law. He is a partner and senior vice president at Woodruff Sawyer, one of the largest private insurance brokerage and consulting firms in the United States.

He served seven years on the Pacific Alumni Association Board of Directors, followed by nine years on the Board of Regents, which he chaired from 2020-23. He received the Order of Pacific, the university’s highest honor, last year.

Allen and his longtime partner, Rob Garnett, have endowed two scholarships at the university and are regular supporters of the Pacific Fund and campus food pantries, among other areas.

“This generous gift represents Norm’s love of our university and his personal experiences with the transformational power of a Pacific education,” said President Christopher Callahan, who calls the former Regent chair and double Tiger the quintessential Pacifican.

“Norm has contributed immeasurably to Pacific,” the president said. “We are stronger because of his outstanding leadership and his ability to think innovatively about which opportunities will best serve our students. I am grateful that he is continuing his legacy through the Allen Fellowship, as this gift will not only help to prepare students for the workforce but will grow them into thoughtful and well-rounded citizens.”

Allen’s gift also honors the teaching and mentoring relationships that changed his life. He hopes the fellowship will cultivate such relationships for current and future students.

“I left Pacific with opportunities, friendships and an education that exposed me to so many things that, as a first-generation student, I hadn’t encountered before I came to college. That all happened because of the people I met,” he said.

“There is something special about Pacific, and you see that in so many ways when you interact with people who you can tell love it too.”

To learn more about supporting College of the Pacific, contact Amber Flores, assistant vice president for development, at 209.946.7345 or aflores6@pacific.edu.