
“For the past three years, Norm has played a central leadership role in putting our university on a course to be the very best student-centered university in this nation,” Chambers said during the ceremony.
A first-generation student from the Bay Area, Allen earned his bachelor’s degree from Pacific in 1988 and a Juris Doctor degree from McGeorge in 1994, where he served as comment editor and staff writer of the Pacific Law Review, known then as the Pacific Law Journal.
After passing the State Bar of California, he was in private practice for more than five years before moving into the insurance industry. He is currently senior vice president and partner at Woodruff Sawyer, one of the largest insurance brokerage and consulting firms in the United States.
Looking forward, Allen sees tremendous opportunities for Pacific.
“I have long thought that this decade is Pacific’s decade and a real opportunity with a visionary president, some exciting initiatives like our School of Health Sciences, a strong financial position and other attributes that put us in a position to excel through hard work,” Allen said.