Our Mascot: A Community Engagement Process
We believe that the best mascots represent a shared sense of school spirit and pride and offer a common identity that a whole community can embrace.
At the beginning of 2024, a survey went out to our students, staff, faculty and alumni regarding our mascot. A steering committee of 21 Lewis & Clark community members representing alumni, trustees, faculty, staff, and students from the College of Arts and Sciences, the Graduate School of Education and Counseling, and the Law School analyzed over 7,000 responses and recommended that Lewis & Clark begin the process of adopting and embracing a new mascot. The final report and findings can be found here.
And the Next Lewis & Clark Mascot Is …
The River Otter!
The River Otter was the decisive winner. In fact, it was the top choice for students, the top choice for employees, and the top choice for alumni.
A tremendous thanks to all L&C community members who participated in the voting. It was an impressive showing! Approximately 52 percent of current students, 60 percent of employees and 16 percent of alumni (for whom we have current email addresses) voted. 6,475 ballots were cast: 1,820 from students (28 percent of the total), 489 from employees (8 percent of the total) and 4,166 from alumni and trustees (64 percent of the total).
Why River Otters Rule
The river otter is known for being smart, scrappy, and full of joy. Collaboration and navigating challenges with grit and creativity are among river otters’ outstanding qualities. River otters bring both spirit and substance: they are playful, a little goofy, and undeniably cute, but they are also deeply committed to teamwork and are fierce when needed. The river otter’s commitment, nonconformity, optimism and other notable traits resonated with the majority of L&C community members who voted: alumni, employees and students alike.
Next Steps
L&C will be working with an outside creative agency on the design of the new River Otter mascot. We expect to reveal the mascot artwork in February or March 2026, at which point official merchandise will be available.
There will be several otterly amazing opportunities to get creative with the new mascot between now and then. You ott to consider offering your input during the design process! If you want to get involved, fill out this Google form.
Selection Process and Background
Mascot Advisory and Selection Committee (MASC)
A group of undergraduate, graduate, and law students, faculty, staff, and alumni have been gathered to form the Mascot Advisory Selection Committee (MASC). This committee of 40 individuals met during the fall 2024 semester to review the factors that guided the nomination review and voting process. This group continued to meet throughout the spring 2025 semester to narrow down the nominations for final voting and advise the final voting process.
This group has students, faculty, staff, and alumni from all three campuses and representatives from many on-campus organizations. A large portion of the group is made up of students and staff members who are alumni, representing multiple groups on campus. Our goal has been to create a diverse group that represents who we are as an institution.