PSU Magazine Winter 1997

A challenge for support Alumni and fri ends are taking advan– tage of the PSU Challenge Fund to build support for the University. Earlier thi year, the estate of Thomas Elliott made a challenge gift of 50,000 to Portland State to encourage alumni and others to increa e their upport fo r the University. Apparently it's working. "More people are stepping up their support," ay Donna Schaeffer, devel– opment officer for Annual G iving. The number of donors who have increased their support over last year has more then doubled, and the Challenge Fund is also attracting support from alumni who have not donated in the past, she says. Most gifts have come through the P U Telefund , which reaches more than 20,000 people every year. "The Challenge gift ha made all the differ– ence in the world, " says Heidi Gambee, Telefund manager. "When we call people and tell them about the Challenge, they are excited about it," he ay. All alumni and friends can partici– pate in the Challenge Fund. Gifts, large or small, will help P U match the $50,000 and earn new support for University students and programs, says chaeffer. For more info rmation, call the Annual Giving Office at 725-5034. Celebrating success Don Frisbee called it a day of ce lebra– tion and community pride as he helped the University celebrate the receipt of three prestigious grant . Frisbee, chair emeritus of PacifiCorp, and Judith Ramaley, PSU president, hosted a reception Nov. 13 for faculty, friends, board member , and key donors of PSU . The event marked the recent awards from Pew Charitable Trusts and W. K. Kellogg Foundation for Portland State' innovative undergraduate curriculum, and from Meyer Memorial Tru t for its community- linked Food Industry Management Program. 14 PSU MAGAZINE WI TER 1997 Don Frisbee, chair emeritus of PacifiCorp, talks with faculty during a reception he cohosted in celebra– tion of three national grants the University recently received for innovative programs. "I am here because I want to participate in this day of ce lebration– a day when our hearts should fee l warmer and respect fo r one another as players in P U ' achievements should be advanced several notches," sa id Fri bee, who chaired the Governor's Commission on Higher Education in the Portland Metropoli tan Area in the late 1980s. Frisbee verbally laid out a schematic for a new university that would lead the Portland area into the next century-one that ties classes into the professional, business, techni– cal, social, and economic needs of the community. He said such a university already exists in Portland State. New to the board Gary Cole, a partner with the Ball Janik and Novack law firm, was named president of the PSU Foundation Board of Director thi fall. Joining Cole on the executive committee are Dav id Hoffman, vice pre idem of strategic planning and BPS, PacifiCorp ; David Leland '65 , president of Leland Consulting Group; Stella Lillicrop, PSU Foundation past presi– dent; Robert Philip, pre idem of chnitzer Steel Industries Inc.; L. Wayne Purdy, partner with Ferguson Wellman Rudd Purdy and Van Winkle Inc.; Dougla Stirling, pre ident and CEO of AON Risk Services of O regon Inc.; Robert Sznewajs, vice chairman of U .S. Bancorp; and Ed Truax, partner with Coordinated Financial Planning. The 25-member board also ga ined fo ur new members recently. They are James Dunning, owner and manager of Tangent Indu trial Park; Roscoe Nelson Jr., partner with the Nelson and Nel on law firm; Judy South '86, consultant; and Robert Williams, retired insurance broker. Philanthropy briefs A $5 mi ll ion endowment dri ve for a proposed Toulan Islamic Studies Program was launched by the PSU Midd le East tudies Center and the Mu lim Educational Trust this fa ll. The program is named after Nohad Toulan, dean of the College of U rban and Public Affairs and an internation– ally recognized planner. Sigma Xi, the scientific research and engineering honorary, has established the Earle H. MacCannell Endowment for support of science and re earch at PSU. MacCannell, professor emeritus of soc iology, was instrumental in the development of cientific research at PSU fo r more than 30 years. The endowment is being admini tered through the PSU Foundation. For more information call the Foundation at 725-4911. The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation has awarded a $505 ,000 grant to two faculty members for their research on "Dual-Earner Couples in the Sandwich Generation." Leslie Hammer and Margaret Neal will study couple around the nation who must care for both children and aging parents. D j