PSU Magazine Spring 1999

Tony Leineweber '68 is this year's Out tanding Friend of Athletics. His commitment to Portland State athlet– ics has inspired the support of others as the Vikings take their place in the Big Sky Conference. Leineweber, vice president of administration with Crown Pacific, has been a Viking fan since his under– graduate days and continues to advance the athletics program as a donor, vo lunteer, and adviser. He has played crucial roles on the Viking C lub board and as an active leader of the Campaign for Athletics, wh ich recently exceeded its half-way mark of $2.25 million toward its $4.5 million goa l. "Tony is a talented, dedicated, goa l– oriented leader, the kind that every team hopes for," say his nominators. In his current role as president of the PSU Foundation Board of Directors, Leineweber is demonstrating his commitment to the growing acade– mic , as well as athletic, exce llence of Portland State. Julie and Bill Reiersgaard are rece iv– ing the President's Award for University Advancement for the ir active role in fos tering growth and deve lopment at Portland State since the earl y 1970s. Their philanthropic support, whi le mostly focused on engi– neering, has also included generous investments in athletics, architecture, the annual fund , and a variety of scholarships. In additi on to the ir financial support, both Julie and Bill serve as volunteers. Early on, Bill played a cruc ial role in helping the School of Engineering and Applied Science achieve initial accreditation. He has chaired the Dean's Advisory Board , and continues to recruit local execu– tives to serve with him at Portland State. He currently is a member of the PSU Foundati on Board . Julie has served as an adviser for the Management of Informatio n and Technology certificate program. She is also an advocate for women's athletics, supporting women's basketball and soccer, and sponsoring the annual women's golf tournament. Together, the Reier gaards built a successful engineering business, IPEC/Gaard Automation, which they so ld in 1997. Bill remains president of the company. Julie i now president of Racker Investment, LLC, in Vancouver, Washington. The President's Award for Outstanding Philanthropy goes to Nike Inc., for its long-standing involvement with Portland State-a model of a corporate-university partnership. The Beaverton-based athletic shoe and apparel company has worked with PSU to provide a wide range of opportunities for students. It has supported the School of Business Administration, Chicano/Latino Studies, scholarships, and athletics, as well as campuswide projects through its employee matching gift program. In 1998 Nike increased its commit– ment to PSU through two important multiyear pledges. A major gift to the newly completed Community Recreation Field wi ll enable the University to bring a diverse range of community youth sport programs to Pictured here, left to right, are 1999 PSU Salutes award recipients Tanya Collier, Terry Cross, Devorah Lieberman, Tony Leineweber, and Julie and Bill Reiersgaard. campus, as well as serve PSU student athletes. The field wi ll be formally dedicated May 6, and is already in active use. Nike has also significantly advanced PSU's nationally recognized Capstone program, which involves senior-level students in community projects. The company will sponsor, on an ongo ing basis, new Capstone projects designed to assess and address youth recreation needs in the Portland metropolitan area. "PSU students will be engaged in investigating the needs and issues of at-risk youth . It's a fabu lous mutual relationship benefiting Portland State students and the Portland metropoli – tan community," says Seanna Kerrigan, Capstone coordinator. 0 Alumni directories on their way Alumni who purchased a print or CD version of the 1999 PSU Alumni Directory should rece ive it by the end of April. For more information, call Harris Publishing at 1-800- 877-6554. SPRI G 1999 PSU MAGAZINE 19