PACIFIC NORTHWEST ASSOCIATION
FOR COLLEGE PHYSICS

History and Purpose

The Pacific Northwest Association for College Physics (PNACP)--an organization of colleges and universities in the five states of Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington--was founded in May, 1966 to stimulate and encourage cooperation among college and university physics instructors and thus to improve the resources of this region for both physics teaching and physics research.

It was formed in response to a call for such regional associations by the National Science Foundation. Similar associations were formed at that time in other parts of the nation. They, however, did not survive the disappearance of NSF support for college-level education programs in 1970.

In the years since it was founded PNACP has produced thirty-seven annual conferences devoted to topics of concern for college-level physics programs, and several workshops for college physics faculty. In its early years, with the help of NSF funds, it had summer institutes for college physics faculty.

PNACP today is supported by membership dues provided by its member institutions. Its funds are used for two purposes. First, it provides funds to bring speakers to its annual conferences from all parts of the nation. In this way it gives the widely-scattered* physics faculty of the region the opportunity to hear and to meet individuals who are leaders in this field, something that ordinarily would be impossible for them on their own campuses.

Second, PNACP provides travel and subsistence allowances to every college in these five states to help support the participation of physics faculty in PNACP programs. This not only has given many individuals the opportunity to attend PNACP conferences, over the three decades of PNACP it has created a cohesion among them. In a region where once there were physics teachers who never had the opportunity to meet or speak to anyone else who taught physics, there now are regular channels of communication and discussion of ideas.

PNACP is a tax-exempt educational institution (a "501c3'' organization).

*PNACP's region includes 27% of the nations land area but only 4% of its population.