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May 19, 2008
Class of '58 Gift Supports Alumni Center
Most fiftieth reunion classes make a gift of some kind to the university—such as a scholarship, a bench, or a fountain. But the UO Class of '58 wanted to do something bigger.
$1 million gift takes UO art museum to new level
This fall visitors to the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art will begin enjoying major traveling exhibitions, thanks to the Coeta and Donald Barker Foundation.
Scholarships: dreams become reality
Because of scholarships, first-generation college student Jenna Grant is well on her way to fulfilling a lifelong dream.
Recent Gifts to Campaign Oregon
$777.2 million and counting! The latest additions to Campaign Oregon: Transforming Lives.
Class of '58 Gift Supports Alumni Center
Most fiftieth reunion classes make a gift of some kind to the university—such as a scholarship, a bench, or a fountain. But the UO Class of '58 wanted to do something bigger.
On April 25, about ninety class members presented President Dave Frohnmayer with a check for $141,105 for the Ford Alumni Center. It was the largest class reunion gift in UO history.
"It just seemed like the perfect thing to do for our class project," said Dr. Richard Allen, a Portland physician and chair of the reunion steering committee. "The alumni center is long overdue. It will be good for alumni, for students, and for the university."
"It's wonderful that they decided to do this as a class," said Frohnmayer. "The class of ‘58's strong connection to each other and to the university provide a great example of the future benefits of an alumni center. I hope other reunion classes will follow this lead."
"What I appreciate is the leadership they took in bringing a class together to do this," said UO Alumni Association President Ron Farmer of the steering committee. "I think they see a great value in having a center that will connect them not just to their own past but also will connect their children and grandchildren to the university."
The university has raised about half the $25 million in private gifts needed to fund the center, which will be built on the current site of the Oregon Hall parking lot along Franklin Boulevard between Agate Street and East13th Avenue. The facility will be called the Cheryl Ramberg Ford and Allyn Ford Alumni Center after the Roseburg couple who made a $5 million lead gift for the project.
The center will provide meeting and event space for alumni, faculty members, students, and guests and offices for the Alumni Association, UO Foundation, and Office of Development.
$1 million gift helps bring major art exhibits to campus
This fall, visitors to the UO's Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art will be treated to the West Coast premiere of a major international traveling exhibition, "Cuba Avant-Garde:
Contemporary Cuban Art from the Farber Collection," thanks to a $1 million gift from the Coeta and Donald Barker Foundation of Rancho Mirage, California.
UO President Dave Frohnmayer says the museum's 4,000-square-foot changing exhibitions gallery is now named for the Barkers in recognition of the
gift’s significance to the university, the local community, and the state.
"Coeta and Don have been among the University of
Oregon’s best
friends,” he said. "Their
foundation’s gift means our museum now has the financial ability to bring wonderful traveling art exhibits to the people of Oregon.”
Nancy Harris, chair of the Barker foundation, says the gift fulfills wishes expressed by Coeta Barker shortly before her death in 2005. Coeta established the foundation in 1977 with her husband, Donald Barker, while living in Eugene. He died in 1980.
The Barker gift is among lead contributions toward the
museum’s goal of building a $7.5 million endowment for ongoing support of its operations and programs.
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Scholarships: dreams become reality
Thanks to scholarship support—including a Dean's Scholarship funded by a gift from Hal and Leilee Reiter—first-generation college student Jenna Grant is well on her way to fulfilling a lifelong dream.
After completing a rigorous pre-nursing curriculum, the UO sophomore from Fairbanks, Alaska, plans to earn her M.A. at
Oregon Health and Science University
and become a nurse practitioner.
"Not having to worry about the money aspect helps you excel," says Jenna, who volunteers in the pediatrics ward at Sacred Heart
Medical Center. "During mid-terms I'm not stressed about paying my loans. Especially with the classes I'm taking. I'm stressed enough!"
Grant became interested in nursing when she was in high school. Her friend's mom was an emergency room nurse and she volunteered at the hospital, working with elderly patients.
"I've always liked volunteering and helping my community," she says. "So I thought ‘Why not make a career of it?'" Grant's mother is deceased and her father is a retired state transportation worker. Her brother and her sister are also attending college on scholarships.
"Without the scholarships, I would be at a community college or working part time," she says. "My dad can't really afford to send us all to college. We'd be struggling."
Why is scholarship support important? "It enables people to have a good future," says Grant. "They're enabling the future of our society. Without education, what does our future look like?"
Recent Gifts to Campaign Oregon
Following are just a few of the many recent contributions from private donors to Campaign Oregon: Transforming Lives for academic purposes:
Klamath Medical Services Bureau Foundation—$72,000 pledge for the Domestic Violence Clinic in the School of Law.
Georges St. Laurent Jr.—$25,000 for the New Venture Championship in the Charles H. Lundquist College of Business.
Doris M. Scharpf—$50,000 to the Oregon Bach Festival for the concert honoring the late legendary track-and-field coach Bill Bowerman.
M. J. Murdock Charitable Trust—$513,500 grant for nanotechnology research and equipment.
Douglas Spencer—$26,750 to establish the Amy Lou Ware Spencer Scholarship in the College of Education.
Dwight and Glee Davis—$25,000 pledge for the Ford Alumni Center.
Pacific Continental Bank—$45,000 pledge to fund the Scholars on Board program in the Planning, Public Policy and Management Program (PPPM) for the next three years.
Current campaign total: $777.2 million
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