Two Ducks look back on 52 years of consecutive giving
 

Jim and Andi Sandstrom met just in the nick of time. Which is to say, from starting as freshman in 1960 to graduating in 1964 – their paths didn’t cross until the final quarter of their senior year.  Andi (Education ’64) was studying education and Jim (Accounting, ’64) was in the Lundquist School of Business.   
 
They remember their time at the UO as both formative and a lot of fun. Or as Andi says with a laugh, “It was terrible to graduate and hit the real world!” 
 
“There was a lot that happened in those years that I learned not just in the courses of study, but living with people, making friends – friends that we made were for lifetime,” says Jim. “Being at the UO was a learning and nurturing experience that helped get us moving forward in our lives.”  
 
After graduation Jim and Andi moved to California, where they fell in love with the abundant sunshine and beautiful orchards. Andi taught fifth grade and Jim took a position with a start-up as an accountant where he remained over the next 30 years ending as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer.  
 
Decades later, they are still in that same community – even if the orchards have given way to housing developments and business complexes. “We haven’t made many changes,” Jim explains. “We’re in the same house!”  
 
Somewhere around their third year out of school, Jim and Andi made their first gift to the UO. It was to athletic department. “We’ve been avid Duck fans,” Jim explains. Jim also served as a trustee of the UO Foundation for 10 years.  They continued to give for the next 56 years – 52 of which were consecutive.  “We did branch out eventually,” Andi says with a chuckle.  “We realized after the first 2-3 years we should support the academic areas too.” 
 
Over more than five decades, the Sandstroms have given to the Lundquist School of Business and the College of Education. In 2009 Andi organized an effort with her sorority sisters to make a group gift to the new HEDCO building to leave our legacy. “Inside a classroom we have a plaque to the Delta Gamma Class of ’64 with 19 of our names on it,” Andi explains proudly. They also have a conference room in Lillis Business Complex.  
 
For their 50th year reunion, they commissioned an original art piece that is currently on display in the EMU. This artwork by Jim Cloutier captures the experience of being a UO student in the 60s.
 
“We both have a sense of giving as a way to recognize where we came from and who helped us get there,” Jim explained, when asked what motivated them to keep giving all these years. “Giving annually was important. It connected us with the university in a stronger way,” Jim recalls “and caused more frequent trips to Eugene to Interact with students and friends.” 

 More recently, Jim and Andi have turned their attention to student-focused giving. “We want to help others along,” explains Andi. “and make sure qualified students do not experience barriers to attending college.”