PSU Magazine Winter 2006

Faculty member stretches her scholarship gift "E ducation was one of the most important things that ever happened to me ," says Laura Burney Nissen, Port– land State faculty member. "Now I want Lo invest in others and help make their world beuer. " Thanks to the James F & Marion L. Miller Foundation, Nissen can fulfill her wish Lo create an endowed scholar– ship fund-several years ahead of schedule. Nissen, who Leaches and directs the Reclaiming Futures pro– gram in the Graduate School of Social Work, wants to support graduate stu– dents who plan careers helping youth to overcome substance abuse . "When l first decided Lo start a scholarship fund al Portland State," she says, "I thought I'd have to build it slowly, say in $500 a year increments, for years and years." Then she learned about the Miller Foundation's scholar– ship challenge grant for first-Lime donors. "I thought it was too good LO be true. 1 decided to reverse my plan and figure out some way Lo front-load the scholarship endowment now, so that iL can grow in the months and years ahead. The chance Lo double your money overnight is an incredibly strong motivator. " Nissen's $12,500 gift, combined with the challenge grant's match, cre– ates a fund that meets the required $20,000 minimum to open an endow– ment through the PSU Foundation. 'Tm very grateful to the Miller Foun– dation," she says. R aised and educated in Colorado, Nissen began her academic career al Metropolitan State College of Denver, specializing in problems related to addictive behaviors. In 2000 she Laura Burney Nissen (far left) often helps students in her University Cen– ter Building office. Now she has gone much further by endowing a $25,000 scholarship using matching funds from thejames F. & Marion L. Miller Foundation challenge grant. moved west to Portland Stale Lo direct the headquarters of Reclaiming Futures, a five-year, $21 million initia– tive funded by the Robert Wood John– son Foundation. The project aims Lo reinvent juvenile justice system meth– ods of intervening with youth who get into trouble with drugs, alcohol, and crime. Pilot programs in 10 U.S loca– tions are testing new treatment models that integrate the involvement of courts, police, detention facilities, businesses, schools, and families in a network of support. Reclaiming Futures employs a strengths-based philosophy, Nissen explains. "That is to say, instead of looking al a Leen's problems or risks and trying to fix what's broken, you look for what is working and build that up. " According to the project's Web site, allowing just one youth to leave high school for a life of crime and drug abuse costs society up to $2.3 million. Nissen and her colleagues hope that their work will help find new approaches to breaking this tragic and expensive cycle. N issen's passion for positive change shaped the new Youth Strengths in Action Scholarship, which her gift is creating. She is particularly interested in assisting social work master's degree students who have creative ideas about working with youth from a strengths– based perspective. "There's no upper limit on what a young person can become," she says with obvious conviction, "if someone believes in them." She knows this from personal expe– rience. 'Tve been so lucky. I've been on the receiving end of so much help throughout my education and the early stages of my career-many people invested in me. It's really fulfilling to be ab le Lo pay some of that forward now." -Katrina Ratzlaff The Campaign for Portland State University New donors meet the challenge The Miller Challenge will match a total of $250,000 in scholarship gifts from first-time Portland State donors, resulting in an additional $500,000 toward the University's goal. What gifts qualify? ♦ gifts from new donors ♦ gifts up to $20,000 ♦ gifts for current use or to build permanent endowments ♦ gifts for any area of study or designated to a specific school, department, or program ♦ gifts for undergraduate or graduate students For more information about supporting Portland State Univer– sity students, visit www.pdx.edu/ giving or phone 503-725-4PSU. To make a gift online go to www.foundation.pdx.edu/ publicgiftl. All gifts are processed by the PSU Foundation. Learn more about how the Building Our Future campaign is promoting student success on our Web site at www.pdx.edu/giving/plans.