December 3, 2007 Musical Milestones: 1948 and 2007 A gift from Ulli and Don Weaver reflects a commitment to the Oregon Bach Festival—and a life transformed by music. :: READ MORE Life of Service: Private Gifts Make it Possible Thanks to a scholarship funded by private gifts, UO student Norah Al-Wetaid can follow her dreams of a career helping kids. :: READ MORE Recent Gifts to Campaign Oregon Following are just a few of the many recent contributions from private donors to Campaign Oregon: Transforming Lives: Kelly and Wayne Allen—$25,058 for law school scholarships. The Coeta and Donald Barker Foundation—$1 million pledge to establish the Coeta and Donald Barker Foundation Changing Exhibits Endowment in the Jordan Schnizer Museum of Art. Bend Research, Inc.—$25,000 for the UO Venture Development Fund. Mira Frohnmayer and Marcia Baldwin—$25,000 for the music building renovation project, in honor of Professor Emerita Exine Bailey. Teresa and Philip Hansen—$60,000 pledge to establish the Philip Hansen Graduate Student Fellowship in the Department of German and Scandinavian Studies. Hibler Family Trust—$250,000 for the UO Venture Development Fund. Jim Johnson and the Jim and Betty Johnson Trust—$25,000 pledge for the Ford Alumni Center. Robin and Douglas Oas—$62,500 pledge for the Ford Alumni Center and the Accounting Circle in the Lundquist College of Business. Judith and Robert Rosso—$25,000 pledge for the Ford Alumni Center. Jeanne and Thomas Walker—$100,000 pledge for College of Education internships for students from underprivileged backgrounds who want to return to their communities after graduation. Musical Milestones: 1948 and 2007 "All through my life, music has played an important role," says Oregon Bach Festival donor Ulli Weaver. "My mother was an accomplished pianist who, for adverse circumstances (World War II), could not pursue a musical career. But she instilled in me a lasting love of music, and I am lucky enough to be able to look back on a number of musical milestones in my life—like seeing the opera Haensel und Gretel with its heartwarming music on a cold winter night in 1948, wrapped in a British army blanket, in Hannover's bombed out castle . . . and the latest, a crowning event, having the great honor to receive a visit from Helmuth Rilling with his family in my house!" On July 5, Oregon Bach Festival Artistic Director Helmuth Rilling joined Executive Director Emeritus Royce Saltzman and others in celebrating a $500,000 gift pledge from Ulli and Don Weaver of Cottage Grove. The reception, which occurred during this summer's Oregon Bach Festival, featured a musical performance by Rilling's daughters Sara and Rahel. "The Weavers' gift is a symbol of how music can touch lives and mark personal histories," says Saltzman. "And it is a reflection of the Weavers' desire to leave a legacy and ensure that future generations will be touched in the same way." Among the top five gifts of all time for the festival, the Weavers' donation will support the Saltzman Endowment and is part of Campaign Oregon: Transforming Lives. The endowment, which will support the operations of the festival in perpetuity, is more than halfway toward its $10 million goal with a current total of $6 million. Weaver's parents were German, though she was born in Indonesia and lived with her mother in Japan while her father was in British custody in India. At the end of 1947, she returned to a war-ravaged Germany where, almost immediately after arriving, she attended the performance of Haensel and Gretel that left such a lifelong impression. "To emphasize what place music takes in German culture, just realize that rebuilding the opera house in a city 85 percent destroyed by bombs was one of the first priorities, second only to rebuilding the railroad station! And somehow, that symbolizes the power of music: it is uplifting as well as soothing, it refreshes the spirit and also gives peace, it diverts and entertains, yet is intellectually challenging." :: 2008 OREGON BACH FESTIVAL SCHEDULE       :: BACK TO TOP Life of Service: Private Gifts Make it Possible When Norah Al-Wetaid transferred to the UO, she knew what she wanted to do after graduation. But she also knew that taking on debt would make it hard, if not impossible, to make it as a social worker. Three years later, Norah's dream is becoming reality, thanks in part to a scholarship established by a private gift, the first scholarship created specifically for the sociology department. A senior participating in social service internships, Al-Wetaid plans to work with at-risk youth after graduation. "I see myself in the students, having had a rough childhood myself, and I recognize that getting away from it is hard," says Al-Wetaid. "It is hard to make the right decisions in life when those around you, especially family, aren't." The scholarship was established by the late Diana May Woodruff '60, whom her husband describes as a "lively, energetic, vivacious lady who enjoyed life thoroughly." Woodruff had a long and distinguished career in the field of social work, and she established the scholarship to "keep alive her memory and to provide opportunities to other social work students." Awarded for the first time in 2007, the scholarship is intended for undergraduates in the sociology department with junior or senior standing and a particular interest in pursuing a career in social work. "We have consistently seen a substantial number of graduates go into social work to become caring professionals, where income is not likely to be high," says Michael Dreiling, associate professor of sociology. According to Dreiling, this scholarship helps reduce future debt for students who want to pursue a career in social work. :: BACK TO TOP